"In The Stars" by Benson Boone - A Musical Analysis

     When listening to music I prefer to have engaging and relatable lyrics, as opposed to works that are more instrument oriented, hence, why I tend to prefer pop music over genres, such as rock music, where  struggle to follow along with the lyrics. Some artists are gifted with the ability to weave together words in such a way that it connects individuals at the most intimate level by capturing  raw human emotions and reconfiguring them into something exquisite and universal. When I saw Benson Boone in concert he said, "I love this song because, no matter who you are, it's something everyone can relate to." When I first heard the song I was stricken with near shock as it had come over the radio so randomly, and then once I heard it live, a week before the one year anniversary of my grandmothers passing, it was gut wrenching. The point he was making at the concert was that we are all going to lose someone important to us at some point in our life, and I feel that American composer Benson Boone did an excellent job capturing the weight and intensity of true mourning through the pitch, lyrics, and dynamics of "In The Stars"(2022).

Pitch

    "In The Stars" was Boones first single to be released and the break out song for his career. Perhaps the most entrancing part of the song is Boones use of pitch as it emphasizes the parts of the song that are most impactful for him. When he creates music he intends for it to have a general interpretation, and he explains this to Wonderland Magazine in stating "I just want people to be able to enjoy the feeling of listening to my music, knowing that then can relate it to their own lives in some way." Boone provides the music so that listeners can draw the conclusions that they need from it, however he connects to them and guides them through the journey by using a somber pitch. He has demonstrated through out his discography that he has an incredible range and affinity for hitting resounding high notes, however, he restrains his usual vibrato and remaining in the lower end of his range for the verses. The verses contain Boones story, and he uses them as a way to express himself regardless of what others think. To demonstrate how person these sections of the song are he surprises the showmanship that his music generally contains. He restricts his use of vibrato and refrains from relying on flashy high notes to focus on using low measured lines until the pre chorus. This conveys that his experience is not intended to be used for entertainment, but to put himself out there. He then raises the pitch for the chorus, where he uses more general terminology that depicts his emotions. At this point it's approaching a general experience and the unbound use of his voice brings out the emotionality of his words. Using a higher pitch he creates a more engrossing experience that listeners can appreciate and begin to apply to their own life experience now guided by his more comfortable range. As he reaches the end of the song he continues to raise the pitch in anticipation of the crescendo, which helps listeners to stay engaged with the lyrics even with the building instruments. He settles back into the lower pitch to end the song so as to leave listeners with a reminder of the lingering pain that he singing about. 

Lyrics

    Boone had not dreamed of becoming a pop star, and he hadn't even realized how much talent he possessed until high school. The Grammys dedicated an article to him when he was up for Best New Artist where it explains "...the 21-year-old pop-rock artist didn't even discover his voice until he reached high school, after his best friend asked him to play the piano in their school's battle of the bands competition and the singer dropped out at the last second. Boone found himself filling in, an impromptu decision that would unwittingly alter the course of his entire life." Singing had not been on Boones heart but the words that would rock the world over night were. After this he went on to write songs such as "In The Stars" and "Ghost Town" that spoke to a multitude of people. In the past several years he went from an average high school student in the state of Washington to selling out Madison Square Gardens, despite excessive back lash from social media for some of his newest songs from his third album that did not exemplify the depth conveyed in his first two albums. This song in particular, I feel, uses vivid imagery and directness to create an emotional masterpiece. One segment in particular that demonstrates such sorrowful symbolism comes from the chorus and provides the source of the title, Boone asserts

"Now you're in the stars, and 6 feet's never felt so far

Here I am alone, between the heavens and the embers"

    These lines cause listeners to reflect on a moment they laid someone they cared about to rest and the overwhelming realization that comes with that experience. It demonstrates a finality that Boone rebukes and expresses the isolation of that moment where he felt his loved one had gone beyond this existence. He references his religious back ground to demonstrate that 6 feet to him had stretch across worlds leaving him somewhere hollow and without anything worth noting as, facing death, the only things that matter lay beyond. He then continues to explain these emotions by directly declaring 

"Oh, it hurts so hard for a million different reasons

You took the best of my heart 

And left the rest in pieces"

    In this Boone has addressed the emptiness he feels in this world and expresses that he is missing what had made this place more significant to him than "the heavens and the embers".  All he can say of this existence in this moment of finality is that it has brought him great suffering that has no distinct point of which could be cured. It demonstrates the insurmountable feeling of that grief and he closes the song with this leaving the healing journey as a separate story. Boone carefully uses the lyrics to focus on what he was recollecting and realizing in the moment he said good bye to his loved one because, while everyone heals differently, the trauma at this point that creates a universal experience where he can connect with listeners.

Dynamics

    Boone uses a wonderful variety of volumes throughout this work to represent the overwhelming feeling as a casket is lowered into the ground containing someone you loved. The song tracks the progression as it lowers, and as the distance grows so does the music swell. Boone begins the song with his unique sense of quiet restraint, accompanied by only a piano. As he begins to collect his thoughts during this time he includes a soft array of background singing from a choir, as a nod to his shared religious experience with the loved one he is recollecting. This provides for a more full sound as the sound gets into the chorus where he anticipates for people to begin to understand his experience. As it progresses and he begins to feel a deeper sense of anguish at the growing distance the song builds up to include several instruments, and eventually Boone must rise to remain heard despite the factors all around him that would have superseded him, much as he felt during that moment where the world was continuing around him as he felt that he was stuck in the past. He begins to belt out shorter phrases to emphasize that he is struggling to overcome the despondent feeling until it all fades away. There is a brief pause in the music just after a crescendo to demonstrate the moment of finality, presumable as the casket has reached its resting place. Then the song resumes into another dramatic build bringing back all of the instruments and again overwhelming the artists as he has made it through the most painful moment only to return to his grief as everything else progresses around him. It reaches its loudest point as Boone reflects on his words from the chorus one final time and then fades out again as he addresses his loneliness conveying the emptiness of the moment once the confusion around him has ended. He uses this to appeal to listeners who may be experiencing that loneliness as a demonstration that there is someone out there who understands. 

References

Benson Boone. “Benson Boone - in the Stars (Official Lyric Video).” YouTube, 28 Apr. 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2n5GKLdrTfk&list=RD2n5GKLdrTfk&start_radio=1. Accessed 25 Sept. 2025.

Rowley, Glenn. “Get to Know Benson Boone, the “Beautiful Things” Singer & Rising Pop-Rock Sensation | GRAMMY.com.” Grammy.com, 15 Mar. 2024, https://www.grammy.com/news/benson-boone-beautiful-things-singer-bio-tour-american-idol. Accessed 25 Sept. 2025.

Staff, Staff, Wonderland. “Benson Boone Talks His New Track “in the Stars.”” Wonderland, 18 May 2022, https://www.wonderlandmagazine.com/2022/05/18/new-noise-benson-boone/. Accessed 25 Sept. 2025.