Benson Boone’s publicity team sent posters to high school newspapers (including the Purbalite) as a marketing tactic in February. Shortly after this, his single “Beautiful Things” blew up on TikTok.
Now comes his debut album, Fireworks and Rollerblades, which is good but predictable, sounding like it could have been written by Shawn Mendes or Justin Bieber.
Many of the songs, such as “There She Goes” and “Cry Follow,” follow the same formula as “Beautiful Things,” starting slow and then speeding up. They are good at first, but an entire album made up of a lot of similar songs can get repetitive.
There are some songs that break this mold. “Ghost Town,” another popular song on TikTok, and “In the Stars” are both slower, emotional songs. These songs add a little bit of variety.
The best song on the album remains “Beautiful Things.” It is catchy and it’s a fun song to sing along to. “Ghost Town” is a close second. This song’s emotional lyrics and slow tempo draw listeners in. It is understandable why these songs are the ones that blew up on TikTok.
The worst song on the album is “Friend,” in which Boone sounds like he is straining his voice a little too much to hit the notes. The harmonies in this song also are slightly off, so they make it sound disjointed. The song sounds like he is trying to be artsy, but it fails.
Overall, Boone’s debut album is better than expected, but still it is nothing special.
