Benson Boone delivers an upbeat and frothy sophomore album with 2025's
American Heart. One of the more unexpected pop successes of the decade,
Boone broke through with his 2024 single "Beautiful Things," a stirring ballad whose message of gratitude and acceptance arrived in the form of a smack-you-in-the-face rock chorus. It was a lightning-in-the-bottle moment, at once capturing the Washington-bred singer's effusive, mustache-and-bodysuit-accented pop charisma, while underscoring the
Queen-meets-
Billy Joel influences at play in his sound. The song cracked the Top Ten of the Hot 100, transforming his debut,
Fireworks & Rollerblades, into a global sensation and earning him a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist in the process -- and this was all after he had willingly dropped out of a promising American Idol run in 2021. While he seemed like the genuine article, a former small-town kid turned pop star, he also suffered accusations of being a kind of industry plant whose music was more style over substance. All of which he addresses on
American Heart. Working with producer/collaborators
Jason Evigan,
Evan Blair, and
Malay, the album features many of the same elements that made his debut such a welcome surprise. Here we get dance-rock hooks accented with a modicum of electronic undercurrents and lyrics that poke a bit of ironic and knowing fun at
Boone's image, while also leaning into his natural, earnest optimism. A few of the songs -- including the hooky "Mr Electric Blue," "Man in Me," and "Wanted Man" -- conjure a synthy, neon-colored '80s vibe, like
Olivia Newton-John and
Freddie Mercury songs tailor-made for the high knees and hip twists of an aerobics class. "Mystical Magical" alone, with its meme-ified "moonbeam ice cream" line, falsetto vocals, and
ELO-esque disco orchestra production, nicely amalgamates much of
Boone's appeal. That said, cuts like "Sorry I'm Here for Someone Else," "I Wanna Be the One You Call," and the ballad "Momma Song" disappointingly don't sound that dissimilar from the work of more contemporary acts, or any of the dozens of artists that
OneRepublic singer
Ryan Tedder has worked with. Overall,
American Heart is pleasant, but it lacks some of the rock & roll kick and glitz that
Boone's stage-flipping antics imply -- a momentary rush of moonbeam ice cream that leaves a sweet aftertaste, but not much else. ~ Matt Collar
