Honestly, if you've spent more than five minutes on TikTok or scrolled through a Spotify curated playlist lately, you've heard that voice. It’s that raw, slightly gritty, high-octane belt that makes you feel like you’re falling off a cliff in the best way possible. Benson Boone has this weirdly specific talent for capturing the exact moment a heart snaps in half. But while everyone was screaming the lyrics to "Beautiful Things," a quieter, more devastating track was bubbling up in the background.
Pretty Slowly Benson Boone isn't just another breakup song. It’s a case study in how a relationship doesn't always end with a massive explosion. Sometimes, it just erodes.
People keep asking where this song came from and why it feels so different from the rest of his Fireworks & Rollerblades era. There’s a lot of confusion about whether it was a surprise drop, a deluxe addition, or just a leftover scrap from the studio.
The Real Story Behind the Release
Most fans first heard the track as a live snippet. Benson has this habit of road-testing his most vulnerable material before it ever hits a streaming platform. He debuted it live during his tour long before the official August 15, 2024, release date. It was a risky move. Usually, labels want everything locked down, but Benson operates on vibes and fan connection.
When it finally dropped as a single, it didn't just slide onto the charts; it parked there. We’re talking about a song that peaked at 43 on the Official UK Singles Chart and stayed in the Top 100 for months.
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The song wasn't originally on the standard 15-track version of his debut album. This led to a massive scavenger hunt online. Fans were checking every version of the vinyl—the "Highlighter Yellow," the "Ruby" edition, the "Fireworks Splatter"—just to see if it was hidden there. Eventually, it was tucked into digital "extended" versions of the album, basically acting as the bridge between his debut and his next project, American Heart.
Why the Lyrics Actually Hurt
The opening lines are a gut punch. "Oh, I remember how you were / You were every shade of perfect / And then the colors blurred."
It’s about the "blur." Most breakup songs focus on the cheating, the fighting, or the "I hate you" phase. This song focuses on the terrifying realization that the person you love is slowly becoming a stranger.
- The "Old Me" Concept: There’s a specific line in the chorus where the partner asks about "the old me." Benson’s response is chilling: "I think I left him somewhere I no longer go."
- The Rocky Mountains: He mentions driving through the Rockies and feeling a "little knife" in his heart. It’s local, it’s specific, and it feels real because Benson is actually from the Mountain West.
- The 4 A.M. Reality: Verse two hits that universal feeling of lying awake in the middle of the night wondering if you "put them through hell."
He’s not playing the hero here. He’s acknowledging that he changed, they changed, and they both watched the relationship drive off a cliff at a thousand miles an hour.
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Production and the "Live" Energy
Producer Evan Blair handled the technical side of things, but the soul of the track is all Benson. It’s 4 minutes and 21 seconds of building tension. Most pop songs today are barely hitting the 2-minute mark to satisfy the TikTok gods. Benson didn't care. He let the song breathe.
The music video is basically a love letter to his fans. It’s mostly live footage. It shows him doing those signature backflips and high jumps, but it also captures the quiet moments. You see him at 180°C energy, then immediately pivoting to a vulnerable piano ballad. It’s that contrast that keeps him relevant.
Misconceptions and AI Fakes
Since the song became a "fan favorite," the internet did what it does best: it got weird. In late 2025 and early 2026, several "unreleased" versions of pretty slowly benson boone started popping up on YouTube and Reddit.
Let's be clear: most of those are AI-generated trash.
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Accounts with names like "Benson RecordLabs" have been pumping out fake tracks that mimic his vocal grit. If you hear a version that sounds like it was recorded in a tin can or has weirdly robotic phrasing, it’s not him. The real song is the one on the official single release and the American Heart tour setlists.
What You Should Do Next
If you’re trying to really "get" the Benson Boone phenomenon, don't just listen to the studio version on a loop. You need the full context.
- Watch the live versions first. The studio track is polished, but the version he performed in Abu Dhabi or during the 2025 American Heart tour has a level of vocal desperation you can't fake in a booth.
- Check the credits. Look at the work of Jack LaFrantz and Evan Blair. They are the architects behind this specific sound—cinematic, orchestral, yet somehow still "indie-ish."
- Listen for the transition. Play "Pretty Slowly" immediately followed by "Beautiful Things." You’ll hear the evolution of his vocal control. In "Pretty Slowly," he lingers in the lower register much longer before the big breakout.
The song is a reminder that the end of something doesn't have to be a crash. It can be a slow, painful fade. And honestly? That’s way more relatable.
To get the most out of the track, head over to his official YouTube channel and find the "Official Music Video" shot by Shayden Schoonover. It’s the definitive version of the song's visual identity. Pay attention to the way the lighting changes during the bridge—it mirrors the "blurred colors" he sings about in the first verse. Once you see the connection between the lyrics and the tour visuals, the song hits about ten times harder.