Hi! Welcome to my 4th of July edition of the summer special, and my 23rd album review! So, I've known about Benson Boone ever since he made his debut to Hits 1 and I don't think I've ever disliked one of his songs. Recently I listened to one of his albums in full for the first time, his latest release American Heart. He is a bit of a polarizing artist, with a lot of fans and a lot of haters, but in case you couldn't tell from Hallett's Hits, I'm in the former category.
Anyway, let's get to this relatively short album review!
1. Sorry I'm Here For Someone Else
My rating: 5/5 Great
So we start off strong with the lead single and one of the biggest hits from the album being great, which isn't something we see often. One of my favorite things about the lyrics is the titular phrase and how it takes on a (possibly unintentional, but probably not) double meaning throughout the song - the song begins with Benson going on a date that he's not quite sure he wants to be on. His date doesn't show up for a while, and while he's waiting he runs into an ex, and as much as he wants to have a private conversation with them, he can't because he's "here for someone else" - in this case, the one he's "here for" is the actual date. Then, she (nice touch in the song to refer to the date as "she" and the ex as "you" to show that he's really only wanting to talk to the ex) finally walks in, and while the voices in his head say "Benny don't do it, you're breaking her heart", he decides to break up with her because he's "here for someone else" - now the one he's "here for" becomes the ex who he still loves. At the end of the song, there's a production twist - ascending synths and intensifying production as Benson makes his decision to stay with the ex. Wow. That's a lot. I just wanted to point out that cool double meaning thing and how well-made the production is, but I promise the other reviews won't be this long.
2. Mr. Electric Blue
My rating: 5/5 Great
Well, there are a lot of great songs on this album. This seems to be currently being promoted as the fourth single, and I'm glad it is because I love this song. One of the themes that runs through a few songs on this album is family, with the last two singles both being about his parents. Mr. Electric Blue is a song dedicated to his dad, essentially just about how cool he is and how you don't wanna mess with him, with the lyrics and production drawing inspiration from a lot of 70s and 80s pop-rock music. This song is just a lot of fun and one of my favorites on the album. I also love the music video. If you haven't seen it, I recommend you watch it. It reminds me of some of my favorite Taylor Swift music videos making fun of common criticisms toward him. Overall, really cool song.
3. Man In Me
My rating: 4/5 Good
Alright, I find myself somewhat conflicted about this one. I love the production on this song. The synths sound amazing, and I like the driving drums as well. For this song, the only reason why I don't have it rated as "great" is the lyrics. Lyrically, it's about someone "stealing" the man in him, but I think the songwriting is particularly basic. The vocals are pretty good, but at times feel somewhat... whiny? I don't know, the production is incredible so I'll give it that, but it's definitely not a favorite.
4. Mystical Magical
My rating: 5/5 Great
This extremely viral song needs no introduction unless you live under a rock. In fact, even if that's the case, the rock you're living under is not even a rock at this point. It's a giant scoop of moonbeam icecream, and you don't even know it, but this song has taken the memeverse by storm. "MINIONS! TONIGHT... WE STEAL... THE mooooonbeeeeeam iiiiiicecreeeeeam!" A lot of people seem to hate this song, and a lot of people love it. I don't think I need to say which of those categories I fall into. I'm not sure why, but this is one of my favorite songs currently charting. I think my favorite thing about it are the vocals. I'm not sure how to explain it, but he does this really cool vibrato-type thing on the end of every line and once someone pointed it out to me, I can't unhear it. And I really like it. The production is also cool and unique in a sort of campy, almost theatrical way. Great song.
5. Reminds Me Of You
My rating: 5/5 Great
We've arrived at another one of my favorite songs on the album. I think this is my second-favorite song on here at the moment, just behind one other song that I'll get to a bit later. I'm a huge fan of the lyrics here. It's a super relatable song about life being consumed by those inexplicable moments when totally random places and objects that have no connection to someone whatsoever... remind you of a certain person. And it's backed by, yep, great production. I don't think there's a single song on this album I can't say that about. I've recently come to love this 80s-synth-infused pop-rock sound that Benson Boone has. Anyway, this is just another fantastic song. There's still many more to come.
6. Momma Song
My rating: 5/5 Great
I believe this was the third single for the album (or maybe just a promo single? I'm not sure) and I'm glad this was one of my first introductions to this album. Like Mr. Electric Blue, it's another song about spending time with family, this time in a bit of a more serious light. It's an emotionally charged ballad about wanting to have more time with his mom, with orchestral production that kinda harkens back to the 2022-23 days of Benson Boone. Not much else to say for this one, it's just all-around an amazing song.
7. I Wanna Be The One You Call
My rating: 3/5 Decent
Well, this was actually one of the first songs I heard from this album because it came up first in my recommendations for some reason. And... yeah, it's actually one of my least favorites, which isn't saying much considering it's such a great album. I like the intro and the melody, and the production is fine (albeit pretty generic and not evolving that much). The lyrics are also relatable but just kinda forgettable. Most of my issue with this one is the end. There's a key change, and I know this is a bit weird to say about him since Benson is known for his high "screaming", but it almost sounds like he's singing out of his range, and it feels unnecessary considering there's no lyrical change - missed opportunity to change the lyrics to "I'm gonna be the one you call", or otherwise just remove the key change altogether. I don't know, this song's fine, it's just... why is there a key change at the end?
8. Wanted Man
My rating: 3/5 Decent
I think this is my least favorite song on the album. We're almost to the end and it's mostly uphill from here. I'm not crazy about this fast 6/8 synth-pop rhythm used in a lot of songs, and the production here is well-made but ultimately very generic and forgettable. But the vocals are great as usual, and the lyrics... well, they're alright. I'm not sure what it's going for here. He feels wanted because of someone, and I guess that's a relatable concept, but it's a very repetitive song. I don't have much to say for this one, because even my least favorites on this album are not songs I would skip.
9. Take Me Home
My rating: 5/5 Great
YES!!! This is my favorite song on the album right now, and it might be easy to see why because of my strange taste in music. It's another pop-rock ballad like Momma Song or a lot of the Fireworks & Rollerblades tracks, and my favorite thing about it is a word that'll instantly bring you back to my 2023-24 blog: E V O L U T I O N. It's a piano driven ballad with gorgeous instrumentation that progresses as the song moves along. And the lyrics are beautifully written. I'm not sure 100% what they mean, and they seem to be about being with someone that makes him feel nostalgic, probably someone he's known since childhood. And I love it. Benson Boone haters, listen to this song and you'll completely forget that you once only knew him as the "moonbeam icecream" guy.
10. Young American Heart
My rating: 5/5 Great
And we finish the album with a song that was on yesterday's Hallett's Hits July 4th mix, a great album closer, and an all-around great song. We finish things off back at that 80s synth sound with a resolutionary and nostalgic album closer, with lyrics about special times with the ones he loves, and super well-done vocals. Yeah, it's nothing out-of-the-ordinary but that's kinda the point. It's a song about the joy in simple occurrences, and that's what it embodies. (I know this review is making this song sound real great, isn't it, lol.) Well, I love this as an album closer. Wow!
Conclusion
Overall album score: 90% (Great Album)
So, it's actually a better album than I expected, currently falling at #13 on my album score chart out of the 21 full-length albums I've reviewed. I don't know what else to say here, just please, if you "hate" Benson Boone, listen to the other eight songs on this album and come back to me.
Favorite songs: Take Me Home, Reminds Me Of You, Momma Song, Mystical Magical
Least favorite songs: Wanted Man, Man In Me, I Wanna Be The One You Call
That's all for now! Byeeeeeeeeee!
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