Katy Perry Told Benson Boone He Could Win American Idol. He Quit, Bet on Tiktok, and Landed at Taylor Swift’s Wedding
· Thought Catalog
Updated 1 hour ago, July 3, 2026
In 2021, Benson Boone made the Top 24 of American Idol, then walked away before the live shows because he didn’t want to be known as the Idol guy. He’d never written a song at that point. Five years later he’s a guest at Taylor Swift’s wedding.
Katy Perry told Benson Boone she thought he could win the whole competition. He quit anyway, right before the live shows, with no scandal behind the exit.
He went home to Monroe, Washington, and started posting raw singing clips on TikTok. One of them grew into “Beautiful Things,” a global smash with billions of streams that made him a star without a competition-show label attached.
He later explained the decision on the Zach Sang Show: “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.’ No. I want to be Benson Boone because I write smash hits and they love my music.”
In 2024, Swift’s team asked him to open for her at Wembley Stadium on the Eras Tour, and he had to dig through her catalog before the show. On July 3, 2026, he was spotted arriving at Madison Square Garden for her wedding to Travis Kelce, one of the most locked-down guest lists of the year.
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