In today’s fast-moving musical landscape, it seems like hit songs quickly soar to the top of the charts, only to recede just as quickly. That’s why it’s quite the feat that Benson Boone‘s smash breakout single “Beautiful Things” has just hit 100 weeks on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. As Forbes points out, it’s not unusual for an album to reach triple-digit reigns on the charts, but it’s less common for individual songs.
“It’s rare for any track of any genre – even those from the most famous names in the music industry – to live on any tally for 100 frames or longer,” senior contributor Hugh McIntyre explains. “Even on the Adult Contemporary roster, where the most successful cuts hang on for months and potentially even years, it’s still a feat managed infrequently. Boone cracks 100 weeks on the list for the first time in his career.”
“Beautiful Things” was released just over two years ago on January 19th, 2024, ahead of Boone’s debut album, “Fireworks & Rollerblades.” It peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March of that year. Since then, it has racked up over 2.7 billion streams on Spotify, and the official music video has been viewed over 926 million times.
Boone had previously released two songs – “In the Stars” and “Ghost Town” – but “Beautiful Things” marked a shift in the singer’s tone and approach. He began writing the song over two sleepless nights after moving to Los Angeles, but it didn’t begin as a fully formed idea. Instead, it was two separate fragments.
“They started as separate ideas in different keys in my head. I didn’t even consider putting the two together,” he told Billboard, “until the next day, when I met with [producers Evan Blair and LaFrantz Larsen].”
The two ideas are evident in the song: it begins in 4/4 with a gentle atmosphere and shifts to 6/8 for the chorus and the remainder of the tune. The over-the-top chorus features heavier guitars than anything he had done previously. That came from a moment of serendipity in which Blair’s distortion pedal went off on accident during a studio session. Boone actually loved it and told him not to adjust the setting.
“That changed everything,” Blair told Billboard. “It set a precedent for us as collaborators: Let’s do something that might not make sense at first, and we might not know where or how it’ll end, but we’ll get there.”
Clearly, Boone’s dynamic vocals are the song’s biggest asset. From a tender request to a belting plea, he sings about not losing love. Get a deep dive on the lyrics and song meaning from Boone himself in this Genius clip, which also showcases his incredible pipes as he sings the song a cappella.
Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things” has a unique song structure and an otherworldly performance. As such, I think we can expect it to stay on the charts for much longer.
Get the sheet music for “Beautiful Things”:
