If you thought we were exaggerating about the man’s love for backflips in our Benson Boone preshow coverage, we were not. In fact, he did a backflip before he even sang a single note at his sold-out show Tuesday.
Benson Boone did not one, not two, but seven backflips total during his show at the Kia Center. And those were just the backflips that we counted — there were several other moments where the American singer-songwriter left the surly bonds of Earth.
When he flew over the crowd on a giant chandelier, for instance. As mesmerizing as the stunt was, Boone’s addiction to adrenaline kicks is borderline concerning. The chandelier was suspended above attendees on the floor and in the 100 sections, and we couldn’t help but notice how little support Boone seemed to have while in the air. He tightly gripped a rope on the base of the floating prop, but that was it.
Boone’s “American Hearts” tour has a heavy theme of pushing boundaries to “live life on the edge,” and we were certainly on the edge of our seats praying that the 23-year-old’s knees wouldn’t give out upon landing. Yes, the flips were the only instances where Boone was upside-down, but he was continuously jumping off the sets and vaulting over instruments. It was astonishing to see how easily Boone leaped atop his Yamaha piano.
Sure, we’ve all seen the internet discourse: Boone is either fervently loved or unbelievably hated. No matter which side your personal coin falls, it’s undeniable that the artist has talent. His vocal capabilities were surreal. Not to mention, Boone can land a trick and then immediately begin singing — all in the same breath.
Boone is very self-aware when it comes to what people in the music press think of him. He took the opportunity to repeatedly poke fun at his meme-worthy personality, making jokes about his TikTok hate-train and the demographic of his listeners.
There was an almost nine-minute monologue dedicated to the fact that many of the audience members weren’t even old enough to get their driver’s licenses. Part of the same monologue included a question posed to the audience: “Have you ever been in love?” One concertgoer shouted that the audience was too young to be in love, so Boone immediately shifted the question to “Have you ever had a crush?” He continued to go on about how one of his songs could be relatable to the audience if they have a crush on their elementary school classmate.
Other notable moments from the show included a hurricane of heart-shaped confetti, colored red, white and blue, and a lone T-shirt shot into the audience by one of Boone’s dear friends, McLean. The T-shirt, snatched by a lucky fan, had the name of the night’s surprise cover to be performed by Boone.
The Orlando show’s selected cover was “All of Me,” by John Legend. Now that’s showmanship.
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