Benson Boone has lit up the charts — and the fashion blogs — all year with his breakthrough hit, “Beautiful Things,” and his unique sartorial taste. Which is why it was no surprise that the mustachioed crooner from Washington whose penchant for sleeveless denim vests and gauzy shirts have inspired robust “What to Wear to Benson Boone” TikTok and Pinterest pages brought the looks to the 2024 MTV VMAs on Wednesday (Sept. 11).
Seated at a black grand piano for a moving performance of his breakthrough No. 2 Billboard Hot 100 hit “Beautiful Things,” Boone crooned the ballad from his debut studio album, Fireworks & Rollerblades, with a passion — and fashion — reminiscent of peak 1970s Elton John. When he stood up to walk across the stage, Boone revealed that he was wearing a full-on glittery belted blue onesie cut down to the navel, cementing his simultaneously low-key and flashy style.
Rocking matching Adidas shoes featuring blue glitter, Boone — who was nominated for four awards at this year’s VMAs — climbed onto a riser as his band rocked the song up a notch, and he executed a perfect forward flip without missing a beat to screams of delight from the fans whose outstretched hands he slapped as he worked the stage.
Reaching into a rafter-rocking crescendo that had Sabrina Carpenter crooning along from her seat, Boone leaped onto his piano and tapped into his falsetto range on the stirring “Please stay/ I want you, I need you, oh God/ Don’t take/ These beautiful things that I’ve got” chorus as sparks rained down all around him. Not content with all that glitter and gold, Boone executed yet another perfect gymnastic flip off the piano and hit another sky-high note while ad-libbing the perfect lyrical sign-off, “I need … the VMAs!!!
