Courtesy of Benson Boone

On Jan. 18, Benson Boone released “Beautiful Things.” In the single, Boone reflects on the meaning of life.

We take what we have for granted. That’s just a fact of life. In the song Beautiful Things, Benson Boone begs to keep what he has and does his best to appreciate it. However, his best wasn’t good enough for fans, who were ultimately let down.

When the song was first teased on Instagram, decent excitement buzzed around the upcoming release. It sounded fun and exciting, like a song one could scream to in the car late at night. However, when it came out, it was nothing but chaotic — like it was different songs strung together. While the chorus is decent, the verses are wildly different, being slower and softer than the loud and aggressive chorus. Fans have compared Beautiful Things to Your Needs, My Needs by Noah Kahan, albeit a failed attempt at it. 

Boone lacks the lyrical storytelling needed for that kind of song, and listening to it just invokes confusion. To make a song that goes from soft and calm to loud, you need to tell a story that allows it to make sense, and Boone fails to do that. While the concept of anxiety and fear of losing what you have isn’t a rare one, Boone seems to have oversimplified it, leaving listeners wanting more. The haunting and calm verses contrast the chaotic and loud chorus but as a discordant clash rather than a meaningful complement.

While Boone’s topic is relatable, the way he goes about it takes away from the complexities of anxiety. There is a plot to the song, but all of the details are stripped away. Boone called the song “a ballad about the meaning of life,” and while anxiety and fear are common, they aren’t the meaning of life — and one thing’s for sure, the song isn’t a ballad. 

Beautiful Things is pretty different from Boone’s other hits, like Ghost Town and In The Stars. These songs are much sadder and slower, which fits Boone’s vibe better. In The Stars particularly was a big hit as it trended on TikTok and Instagram after it was released. Beautiful Things starts sad and slow but quickly diverts from that, sending it in a whole new direction. Meanwhile, In The Stars stays the same during the whole song, which fans seem to enjoy a lot more.

While Beautiful Things and In The Stars were similarly launched to success, In The Stars has done substantially better, most likely because of the consistency of the song and the vibe, which fits Boone’s energy more. All in all, most fans agree that they felt ripped off by all the teasing done by Boone only to have the song sound nothing like the clip.