What Happened to Benson Boone on ‘American Idol’? Why He Quit the Show

Alyssa Norwin May 30, 2025, 1:42 pm

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Benson Boone performs onstage during the 2025 American Music Awards — Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Years before Benson Boone was backflipping on awards show stages and at massive music festivals, he was a contestant on Season 19 of American Idol. The rising star was on the show in 2021, but mysteriously withdrew from the competition about halfway through.

As Boone, who opened for Taylor Swift on one of the London dates of her Eras tour in 2024, continues to make waves in the music industry, we’re looking back at his time on Idol. Scroll down to find out why he left the show and more.

What happened to Benson Boone on American Idol?

Boone was 18 years old when he auditioned in front of judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie. He revealed that he had only been singing for a year at the time. “I don’t know where it came from,” he admitted. “It’s become a really big passion of mine really quickly.”

He got standing ovations from Richie and Bryan for his audition rendition of “Punchline” by Aidan Martin. Perry told him she could see him winning the show. Boone got the golden ticket to Hollywood Week, but was never on the show again.

“It was a very hard choice,” Boone said in a statement. “I didn’t really know who I wanted to be as an artist yet, and I didn’t want to show the world someone I’m not. Social media is the biggest opportunity to get people to know you personally. Hopefully, they will not only like my music, but they’ll understand and like me as a person, so I’m more than just a song to them.”

Why did Benson Boone quit American Idol?

In 2022, Boone appeared on The Zach Sang Show and explained his decision.

“The reason I quit American Idol is because I wanted to do music. I don’t want people to be like, ‘Oh, Benson Boone. American Idol blew him up. That’s where he comes from,'” he shared “No. I want to be Benson Boone because I write smash hits and they love my music. That’s why I quit. I just didn’t want that label on me.”

He added that he’s always been a “risk taker” his whole life. “I’ve been that way in sports, or in cliff jumping, or stuff like that,” Boone continued. “I always like to feel the thrill of not knowing fully how something’s going to go. Obviously, this is a very different category than jumping off a cliff into 10-foot water.”

Boone credited his parents with playing a “big part” in his decision making. “I talked to my mom while I was on American Idol. When I told them I wanted to quit, they don’t know anything about music, so they were very confused about why I wanted to quit. Once I explained it, like, ‘I don’t want to have this label posted on me for life, that I’m the American Idol kid. But if I really want to do music, and I really think I can do it, then I’m going to try my best to get as far as I can,’ they just believed in me. I think it was because they believed in me that I really thought I could do it.”