BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA – MAY 13: Benson Boone attends the 2025 BMI Pop Awards at Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel on May 13, 2025 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by JC Olivera/Getty Images for BMI)
BEVERLY HILLS, CA (LA ELEMENTS) 5/20/2025 – “With his authentic songwriting and electrifying performances, he is redefining the music scene with an irresistible energy that is both fresh and timeless,” says BMI President and CEO Mike O’Neil. “And Benson, it’s not not just those amazing backflips you do, it’s your passion for honest storytelling that draws us in and keeps us coming back.”
Singer-songwriter Benson Boone received top honors at the 2025 BMI Pop Awards held on May 13 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills. The ballroom of the iconic hotel was packed with music industry luminaries and other VIP guests, who gathered to see Boone honored with the BMI Champion Award. An award recognizing a career that has skyrocketed in just a few years. As recently as 2021, he was posting music videos to TikTok. That changed when Dan Reynolds from Imagine Dragons signed Boone to his record label, Night Street Records. Songwriters of 2024’s 50 most streamed songs also shared the spotlight at this invitation only event.
In introducing Boone, O’Neil noted the events that made 2024 a banner year for BMI’s newest Champion. “You know 2024 was massive for Benson. He released his platinum debut album, Fireworks and Roller Blades. It featured the number 1 smash hit that you heard tonight, “Beautiful Things” that went five-times platinum, topped multiple charts and became the most streamed song in the world with over 4 billion performances and counting.”
“2025 is going just as strong. This year started out with a nomination for Best New Artist at the GRAMMYS and he’s been busy touring the globe ever since with stops in Australia, South America, Europe and Asia. He’s on the cover of Rolling Stone. He headlined Coachella. Next up I believe is the Governor’s Ball and we all saw him perform on Saturday Night Live. With his new album American Heart which is dropping next month, the singles,“Sorry I’m Here for Someone Else,” and “Mystical Magical” are already climbing the charts. He’s also-because he’s not busy enough-kicking off his sold out tour this summer.”
In accepting the BMI Champion Award, Boone acknowledged the special people in his life who had a hand in his success. “To the songwriters and producers, to my mother and father, to my best friend, to my girlfriend, to my label, to Warner Chappell, everybody who has played a part that has been so crucial in my upbringing in who I am and my musical career. It takes a huge powerhouse of a team to do what I’m trying to do, and I have a wonderful team so I can’t take all the credit for this so please give it up for my team.”
Once the applause died down, Boone gave a rousing live performance of “Slow It Down” and “Drunk In My Mind.” He also gave a special shoutout to Jack LaFrantz. “I want to work hard and I want to make people proud but I also want to have fun. I’m a big believer that life should not be taken too seriously. Because of that, I found somebody that I love to work with. A songwriter that means everything to me because I love to do things that people appreciate, that people can take with them, and that people can feel. I love to write songs that help people, that people can relate to and I also of course love to enjoy the process of doing that. And I would just like to say a special thank you to Mr. Jack LaFrantz. Any new songs that you hear, you would not be hearing them without him.”
The husband-wife songwriting team of (L-R) Meg LaFrantz and Jack LaFrantz attend the 2025 BMI Pop Awards. (Photo by JC Olivera/Getty Images for BMI)
“The producers, the writers, and the people that I get to be in the room with, mean everything to me because it does make my job fun. And especially when I can bond with those people and be friends with those people in and outside of the studio, it means so much to me. So, if you’re trying to be a musician, if you’re trying to play shows, if you’re trying to write songs, if you’re trying to release songs, find people that you love and make it something that you love. I promise you, it is the best thing ever when you find just gold in a room. Whether the music does well or not, Thank you to the people that I get to work with.”
After his remarks, Boone got the crowd on their feet with his final performance of the night, an especially passionate rendition of “Beautiful Things.” In addition to his BMI Champion Award, Boone received two BMI Pop Awards for “Beautiful Things” and “Slow It Down,” with co-writer La Frantz. Boone joins previous BMI Champion Awards recipients including SZA, Benny Blanco, Khalid and many more.
Julian Bunetta attends the 2025 BMI Pop Awards at Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel on May 13, 2025 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by JC Olivera/Getty Images for BMI)
The evening’s ceremony recognized the 50 most-performed pop songs of the previous year. “Lose Control “by Teddy Swims co-written by Julian Bunetta, Marco “Infamous” Rodriguez and Mikky Ekko was named BMI’s Pop Song of the Year. “Lose Control” has spent a record breaking 60 non-consecutive weeks in the Billboard Hot 100 top ten and seized the number one spot in March 2024.
Mikky Ekko attends the 2025 BMI Pop Awards. (Photo by JC Olivera/Getty Images for BMI)
BMI’s Pop Songwriter of the Year went to Taylor Swift for the second year in a row for penning seven of the previous year’s most-performed songs including, “Don’t Blame Me,” “Down Bad,” “Fortnight,” “I Can Do It with a Broken Heart,” ”Is It Over Now?” “Now That We Don’t Talk,” and “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?”
Publisher of the Year went to Universal Music Publishing Group. They represented 28 of the year’s most performed songs including “Espresso” performed by Sabrina Carpenter.
BMI also celebrated 61 first time Pop Award winners including J. Cole for “All My Life” by Lil Durk, Jesse Fink and Peter Finn for “Stargazing” performed by Myles Smith. Djo for “End of Beginning,” and Nevin Sastry for “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” by Shaboozey among others. This also marked the first BMI Pop Awards for country music superstar Morgan Wallen for “I Had Some Help,” co-written with Charlie Handsome and other first time BMI Pop Winners, Hoskins, ERNEST and Chandler Paul Walters.
Celebrating over 80 years of service to songwriters, composer, music publishers and businesses, BMI is a global leader in music rights management, serving as an advocate for the value of music. For more information on BMI, please visit their site.
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