Ever since the Justin Bieber/Shawn Mendes/One Direction golden era faded, major labels and tween girls alike have been on a desperate hunt for the next chart-topping pop prince. There was a fleeting moment where I thought The Kid Laroi would take Justin’s place (they literally have the same face), but alas, he’s settled comfortably into B-list fame and seems content to watch his GF, Tate McRae, shine. Surely, Benson Boone, the Tiktok dude who was on American Idol for five minutes, can’t be the Justin of this generation, I thought.

I stand corrected… kind of. While Benson has virtually nothing in common with JB persona-wise or music-wise, he’s on his way to a similar level of commercial success. With a few major hit songs, a Grammy nom and an SNL performance on his resume, and a polarizing new song about ~moonbeam ice cream~, people online are getting confused and even pissed about Benson’s new A-list status. My FYP, at least, has been inundated with “why I hate Benson Boone” TikToks this past week. So, why do people hate Benson Boone so much? Let’s unpack these “inauthentic” and “JCPenny music” allegations.

Why Do People Hate Benson Boone? Inauthentic Allegations, Explained

The No. 1 reason why people hate the “Beautiful Things” singer is a perceived lack of authenticity and musical identity. And do I disagree with them on those points? Not at all. Everything about Benson seems manufactured — there’s arguably a lack of artistry, songwriting ability, “it” factor, and I fear his style is giving Harry Styles hand me downs. “He doesn’t understand that he’s not being authentic because I don’t think he knows who he is yet,” one TikToker, Lincoln Presley, theorized in a video captioned, “He is honestly the boy JoJo Siwa right now.” (Dying at that.) The creator described Benson’s music as “Kohl’s cash raining from the sky” and something “Ryan Tedder’s second cousin would write.”

Another creator, Tell The Bees, shared similar thoughts about the rising pop star: “There’s no grit, there’s nothing to grab onto there,” he said about Benson’s music. “It feels very shiny and polished and fake, and it is sort of a copy of a copy, and it’s not interesting to the average person.” There are also countless (hilarious) edits of plates full of white foods like plain chicken breast, rice, and yogurt set to “Mystical Magical” with captions like, “This is what Benson Boone sounds like to me.”

Benson only discovered he could sing at the age of 17, spent most of his teen years on TikTok, and had literally never written a song before until a few years ago. He’s been in the music world for a whole five minutes, so it’s no wonder he doesn’t have a unique and intriguing artistic identity (yet). But to be a great artist, you do need to have something (serious or unserious) to say. Think Kendrick Lamar’s political commentary, Taylor Swift’s diaristic musings on love and womanhood, Charli XCX’s passion for partying, Chappell Roan discovering and celebrating her sexuality, etc.

At this moment, I’m not convinced Benson has much to say. I think he just has a really great voice and unlimited access to the world’s best songwriters and producers — and listeners do see through that. What could shut us all up? If he gets a lot of transformative life experience and has something better to sing about than “moonbeam ice cream.” And he needs to chill out with the flipping.