ANAHEIM, Calif. — This past week, the young, rising pop music artist Benson Boone performed two local concerts at the Honda Center in Anaheim and Crypto Arena in Los Angeles. 35,000 fans arrived at the venues ready for a mystically magical show. 

The 23-year-old “Beautiful Things” singer announced his “American Heart” album at Coachella on April 11, 2025, and announced his first-ever arena world tour of the same name on May 5, 2025. 

We attended the 8 P.M. show at the Honda Center in Anaheim on Sept. 28, and here’s what we thought.

Benson Boone’s concert had a multitude of effects that made it nothing short of remarkably visually appealing. The stage design featured a long runway stemming from a circular shape where he entered, which had stairs leading downward from a platform. At the end of the long runway was a heart-shaped area that symbolized the tour name “American Heart.” The heart-shaped stage had multiple spots with lift systems that allowed Boone to be elevated and sink below the stage for costume changes at certain times throughout the night. 

In addition to this, there was an outline of lights around the stage that defined its shape in the dark arena. There was a spotlight that followed Boone as he roamed the stage during his performance. Light beams around the border of the stage moved around in different directions as he performed his songs, as well as other lighting and screen effects that were synced with his performance. 

Some of the coolest visuals were the red, white and blue confetti that was shot from canons while he sang “American Heart,” the album and tour namesake. A giant chandelier emerged from behind the stage that Boone sang his hit song “Mystical Magical” on, as it moved around the arena. Both of these effects made the audience go crazy and created an electric atmosphere within the Honda Center.

Although the American Heart tour did not have as many moving components or effects as other larger performers like Taylor Swift or Coldplay, the lighting, confetti and stage setup were more than enough to create a visually engaging show. 

Brooke Combe, a 23-year-old rising artist from Scotland, opened for Boone. She sang a couple of her R&B-style songs and danced around with her band.

She led the crowd in a sing-along exercise to get us engaged in her songs, although we were unfamiliar with them. In addition to this, she shared her story about being from a small town in Scotland and explained what a dream it was to be performing for Benson Boone. 

Despite initial unfamiliarity, Combe’s songs were catchy, fun and got the audience ready for the exciting show that was to come. Her appearance also showcased Boone’s desire to help support young artists like himself who don’t have as big a following. 

At approximately 9:30 P.M., Boone rose to the stage singing “I Wanna Be the One You Call,” the seventh track on his “American Heart” album. He then continued with other songs from the touring album, such as “Wanted Man,” followed by “Sorry I’m Here For Someone Else” and “Man In Me.” 

After these 4 songs, he performed some of his older fan favorites, including “Drunk In My Mind,” “Slow It Down” and “Be Someone,” all songs from his first studio album, “Fireworks and Roller Blades.” 

After “Be Someone,” the young popstar changed his outfit, then appeared floating on a chandelier singing his viral song, “Mystical Magical.” After floating around the stadium, he landed on his piano and sang “Pretty Slowly,” a single he released in 2024. 

He then sang “In the Stars,” an emotional song about grieving a loved one, released as a single in 2022. He followed this emotional ballad with another single, “Let Me Go” and “There She Goes” from “Fireworks and Rollerblades.” After this, he sang “Take Me Home” and shared that it was his favorite song from the “American Heart” album.

Also from “American Heart,” Boone sang the title track “Young American Heart.” “Mr Electric Blue” and “Momma Song,” both songs he wrote for his parents, were next and were followed by “Love of Mine,” another song from “Fireworks and Rollerblades.”

Finally, he sang “Reminds Me of You,” the only remaining song from “American Heart,” followed by his grand finale, “Beautiful Things,” the song that majorly contributed to his fame. 

Everyone thought this was the end as he ran around the stage giving everyone on the floor high fives, but he returned and sang “Cry,” a popular song from his first studio album.

The way Boone strategically crafted his setlist formulated the concert into a show that would appease his longtime fans, new fans and highlight the songs from his “American Heart” album.

Every show on his tour, Boone sings a cover of a song from another artist. At past shows, he sang songs by Adele, Frank Sinatra, The Goo Goo Dolls and more. To reveal this song, Boone brought out his longtime friend, Mclean Long, who carried a t-shirt launcher. The shirt in the t-shirt launcher had the title of the song he was going to sing. 

A fan in the first few rows of the arena caught the shirt, unrolled it and revealed Adele’s song, “Rolling in the Deep” as the night’s surprise cover song. He expressed his nervousness due to the song’s difficulty before getting started. 

With music sheets in front of him, Boone performed a beautiful rendition of the popular ballad and sounded remarkably similar to Adele as he sang. This was incredibly impressive as not many people can do justice to many songs in Adele’s discography because of her wide vocal range and powerful belting techniques. 

The crowd passionately sang along to the popular song as Boone sang his heart out. This created a beautiful moment inside the arena, as Boone shared his version of the intense song with his fans. Boone’s voice sounded like it was made for the soulful genre of Adele, and it’s definitely something he should experiment with in future albums. 

Through his recorded tracks, it is clear to see that Boone is an incredible singer, but after seeing him live, it is apparent that he may be one of the best male vocalists of his generation of young artists. His live vocals were so much more complex and impressive than the recorded versions of his songs, and he sounded better overall.

Some of his best songs vocally at the concert were “Slow it Down,” “Drunk in my Mind,” “I Wanna Be The One You Call,” “In the Stars” and “Beautiful Things.” In “Slow It Down,” Boone includes different vocal runs that make it more impressive than the recorded version. “Drunk in My Mind” and “In the Stars” are incredible songs that are impressive in both their live and studio versions. The high notes in “I Wanna Be The One You Call” and “Beautiful Things” are even more impressive in person, as he makes it look effortless. 

Benson Boone’s vocal performance was consistently remarkable throughout the entire show. Even as he performed impressive acrobatic stunts, hung from a chandelier and ran up and down the length of the stage, there were no errors or falters in his voice. 

Overall, Benson Boone’s vocals were astounding with no flaws. After every song, the audience was left completely mesmerized by his pure talent as a performer. 

To start the show, Boone wore a black shirt with cut-off sleeves and a sparkling star in the center. He paired this with black pants that had sparkly features and a sparkly belt. For footwear, he wore mismatched Adidas Sambas, one silver and one black.

Before singing “American Heart,” during a long guitar solo, Boone quickly changed into a rustic brown vest and black pants. He kept the same shoes, but spruced up his outfit by adding sunglasses. For his final song, he changed into a suit jacket, black velvet pants and black dress shoes.

Each time he had a costume change, he gave his band a moment of appreciation. They were able to play powerfully and dance with each other on stage. This was a moment the crowd enjoyed each time it happened. 

The costume changes weren’t necessarily impressive or unnoticeable, and his outfits weren’t overly flashy, but this was all made up for with his vocals and overall performance.

In addition to Boone’s astounding vocals and flashy stage effects, he produced an incredible atmosphere both on stage and among the audience.

Throughout the night, Boone ran back and forth on the stage while singing. He also flipped off various things on stage, like his piano and floating platforms. This impressive amount of agility and endurance created an entertaining show and made his vocal skills even more impressive. 

At the beginning of the show, Boone told his fans it was their night to enjoy, shifting the attention off himself. As often as he could, Boone made the show interactive for the audience. Although we were not the ones running around the stage, he asked us how we were doing multiple times, ensuring his beloved fans were safe, happy and enjoying their night. 

Boone explained to the crowd the meaning and importance of some of his songs. One of these songs was “In The Stars”; he took a moment to share the backstory of the song, explaining that a couple of years ago, he lost someone special to him. Writing this song helped him understand and control what he was feeling. This personal story left the crowd in tears and made the song even more special to hear live.

Another one of these songs was “Take Me Home.” He told us it was his favorite song from the “American Heart” album and explained that it was about where he came from and how special that little city in Washington was for him. This song was written as a tribute and reminder of his origins.

To lead up to “Everything Reminds Me of You,” he created a hilarious 10-minute story using a young fan and her crush from school. He acted out the roles in the story, making the crowd roar with laughter. 

Additionally, at the end of his show, he ran all the way around the floor level giving his fans high fives, shaking their hands, accepting gifts and signing merchandise. This experience was more personal as he actually took the time to appreciate his fans in a one-on-one manner. 

Benson Boone performed his show in an interactive, heartfelt and entertaining way, which is hard for artists, especially new ones, to do. This made the night truly memorable for anyone who attended and caused his fans to fall even more in love with him as an admirable artist.