Released April 5, Benson’s Boone’s newest album “Fireworks and Rollerblades” has taken the momentum from his viral hit “Beautiful Things” and created an unforgettable sound that might just become the soundtrack of the summer.
Boone first came into the spotlight as a participant in the 2021 season of American Idol, and in the past few months, his breakout single “Beautiful Things” has risen to the top five of Billboard’s Hot 100 and amassed nearly half a billion streams on Spotify so far. His first full album, “Fireworks and Rollerblades” has made quite a splash on social media, and it seems Boone has hit the ground running with his soulful lyrics and haunting voice.
The album opens with an all-new track, “Be Someone,” an upbeat love song that showcases Boone’s lyricism and song writing brilliance. He describes the long, slow descent into falling in love with someone, and the future he can envision for the lover he has fantasized. To a peppy drum line, Boone swoons about the ways he could change in order to be the perfect soulmate for the girl he loves.
The next track is “Slow it Down” which is slower and more deliberate song which really brings Boone’s legendary rasp showstopping voice, which seems to resonate for minutes after the song has finished.
Next comes the song that rocketed him to fame “Beautiful Things.” The power ballad includes hard hitting lyrics that have exploded on social media, and the chorus perfect for scream-singing in the car: “Please, stay, I want you I need you, oh God don’t take these beautiful things that I’ve got.”
The album continues with several slower ballads including “Cry,” “Forever and a Day” and the pre-released “In the Stars” which has circled social media and made an impact for its devastating lyrics. Tackling the unique kind of heartbreak that comes with the death of a lover, the song oozes emotion and pure feeling.
The tone picks back up with the pop-rock beat “Drunk in My Mind” that begs to be sung along to with a catchy chorus and gorgeous vocals from Boone. The album continues with “My Greatest Fear” a song that carries similar themes to “Beautiful Things” with heart wrenching lyrics like, “I’m terrified of the day that I die, I’ll lie there all alone, no flowers on my bones, All the things that I’ve been afraid to lose, My greatest fear of all is losing you.”
Later in the album, his first released single, “Ghost Town” makes an appearance. With the lyrics and haunting vocals that made it a hit immediately upon release back in 2021.
The final track of the album, “What Do You Want” finishes this whirlwind of an album with a bang. Both upbeat and heartfelt, and as always full of powerful emotion, the song is the perfect crescendo to bring the “Fireworks and Rollerblades” to a close.
Like the name suggests, listening to this album feels like cruising down the street with fireworks attached to your rollerblades. Young, wild, a little bit out of control and full of possibility. Boone captures the experience of being young, being in love, being heartbroken and being free to be yourself all in one album. “Fireworks and Rollerblades” is the best kind of catharsis that feels like an authentic celebration of life even after surviving heartbreak. A true masterpiece from a promising young artist that has surely just tapped the surface of his true potential.
Grace Giger can be reached at [email protected]