Pop star Benson Boone revealed that he has never tried drugs or alcohol, but his abstinence is not due to his Mormon upbringing.
The 22-year-old musician was raised by a devout family in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members are taught to refrain from indulging in harmful substances.
However, during a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Boone, who skyrocketed to fame last year with the success of his hit song “Beautiful Things,” explained that his choice to embrace sobriety isn’t motivated by an adherence to religious beliefs.
“I just think for me personally, like, dude, I would die,” he said.
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“’Cause I have such an addictive personality,” Boone continued. “I feel like if I started, I would do it so much that my health would just decline, and I wouldn’t enjoy touring as much.”
When asked how he knew that he had an “addictive personality” despite being a teetotaler, Boone told the outlet, “Dude, candy.”
Along with drugs and alcohol, Mormons are also prohibited from using tobacco and “hot drinks,” including coffee and tea.
While speaking with Rolling Stone, Boone admitted that he has tried coffee and attempted to cultivate a taste for the beverage while on outings in Los Angeles with his girlfriend, influencer Maggie Thurmon.
“ There was a period of time where I really wanted to like coffee,” he said. “And [I would] go out to this place in L.A. with Maggie, and I would try sips of her coffee every day and, it literally tastes like burnt wood.”
During his interview with Rolling Stone, Boone also opened up about his faith, sharing that he no longer identifies as a Mormon.
“ I don’t want to be a part of one religion,” he said. “I have my own opinions. Some are from this religion, some are from this religion, some are from no religion.”
The singer recalled that he was ambivalent about his faith from an early age and questioned why he felt disconnected from the religion that was embraced by his family and other members of his community.
“Growing up, a lot of people at church would talk about these experiences that they’ve had and these personal revelations and feelings and voices. I never felt it as physically present as they did, and so I was always confused and frustrated,” Boone said.
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“I was always scared to bring that up to people because I just didn’t want to accept that, like, I wasn’t feeling what everyone else was feeling,” he added.
Boone remembered his relief when he finally confided his doubts during a conversation with a friend, who told him, “Thank goodness. I feel the same way.”
After high school, the Washington native enrolled at Brigham Young University (BYU), a private college in Provo, Utah, that is owned and operated by the LDS Church. Students and faculty at BYU are required to adhere to a strict set of guidelines under the Church Educational System (CES) Honor Code.
The rules include abstaining from substances that are already forbidden by the LDS Church, practicing chastity, forgoing the use of profanity and following a dress code that prohibits men from wearing beards or goatees and requires skirts to be no shorter than knee-length.
However, Boone told Rolling Stone that he never experienced life under BYU’s campus rules because he took classes remotely for one semester before dropping out to pursue his music career.
Though his parents, Kerry and Nate Boone, remain committed to the LDS Church, Boone shared that his decision to distance himself from Mormonism hasn’t affected his relationship with them.
“My parents definitely have their own views, but when it comes to religion and God, they want me to figure it out on my own,” he said. “And whatever I come to, and whatever I feel is right, that’s what they want for me.”
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While speaking with the outlet, Boone likened his mixed feelings about religion to his stance on politics.
“ People think if you have one or two views that are on the left or right side, that you have to be the left or on the right,” he said. “And I don’t think that’s how it is.”
However, Boone clarified that the title of his upcoming album, “American Heart,” is not meant to have any political connotations.
“It’s not political at all,” he said. ”It’s more of a personal thing. It’s just me. ‘American Heart’ is my heart, and it’s not my heart because it’s American. It’s my heart because I’m Benson Boone.”
During an October 2023 interview with MTV, Boone shared how he first discovered his musical abilities by chance when he was in high school.
“Singing was never something I thought that I could do,” he recalled. “I was always too busy being outside and doing something active to think about music. I played a little bit of piano growing up so when my friends knew I could play, and my best friend asked if I could play the piano for his band for Battle of the Bands in high school, I agreed, and everything was going great.”
Boone continued, “The day before, the girl that was supposed to sing in our band quit, and it was just me and him. We went back and forth and argued about who was going to sing or if we should just quit, and then I just decided I would try it. I went out on stage and I started singing and my voice kind of just came out of me.”
“It was like I just unlocked something I didn’t know I had,” he added. “I stopped halfway through the first verse and looked around, and was so shocked that I just sang. I went for it again, and it was the best feeling of my life. We ended up winning, and it was the coolest experience and my mom was front row bawling her eyes out.”
After finding his voice, Boone began posting videos of himself performing his original songs on TikTok. He went on to audition via Zoom for the 19th season of the singing competition series “American Idol” in 2021. After being impressed with the aspiring singer’s voice, producers invited him to the show’s Hollywood Week. Boone secured a spot in the Top 24 but unexpectedly dropped out of the competition. He later explained that he decided competing on the show was not the best move for his musical career.
“My biggest weakness, and sometimes my biggest strength, is when I convince my brain of something, I have to do it,” Boone told Rolling Stone. “There’s no backing out or stepping down.”
In October 2021, Boone was signed to Imagine Dragon’s frontman Dan Reynolds’ Night Street Records and released his debut single “Ghost Town,” which charted in several countries and was certified gold by the RIAA. Boone followed up with his second single “Room for 2” in 2022 and was tapped to open for Taylor Swift at her June 23, 2023, show at London’s Wembley Stadium during her Eras Tour.
“I didn’t even know much about her,” Boone told Rolling Stone of Swift. “Her team reached out, and I literally, like, s— my pants. I could not believe it. It was insane, so I started listening to more of her music. I didn’t want to go to that show and not know anything.”
He told the outlet that he was blown away by Swift’s talent after seeing her perform live at the concert.
“She is an unbelievable performer and has an unbelievable world built around her that is unmatched,” Boone said. “It is incredible to see how vastly gigantic her show is, just countless moving parts behind the scenes that nobody knows about. She is one of a kind. Such a genuine person. I got the privilege to talk to her, for a while, and she’s so kind.”
In January 2024, Boone released his breakthrough hit “Beautiful Things,” which reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the charts in over 20 countries worldwide. He earned a best new artist nomination at the 2025 Grammy Awards. Despite losing to Chappell Roan, Boone gave a scene-stealing performance of “Beautiful Things” at the awards show, donning a sparkly blue jumpsuit and performing a backflip off the stage at the end of the song.
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While Boone is thrilled with the massive success of “Beautiful Things,” he told Rolling Stone that he wants to avoid only being known for one hit.
“I think I’m getting to the point where I just want people to know that there’s more than just that song,” he said. “I think I’m a little past that point. But, of course, I still love the song. I’m still proud of it. And I’ll be performing it for a while, so I hope that feeling sticks around.”
“I think this year has taught me a lot of things, especially that it is incredibly easy to get carried away with my ego,” he admitted. “After ‘Beautiful Things,’ I was like, ‘Dude, I can do anything.’ And I can’t.”
Boone said that he stays down to earth by having weekly “ego checks” with his manager and best friend, Jeff Burns.
“It’s good to talk about, ‘Hey, you know, I’m not the king of the world,'” he explained. “I’m not somebody that everybody in the world knows. I’m still an up-and-coming artist.”
