Benson Boone doesn’t find organized religion a particularly beautiful thing.
The “Beautiful Things” singer, who hails from Monroe, Washington, recently detailed how it felt to grow up in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and where he currently stands with his Mormon faith.
“Growing up, a lot of people at church would talk about these experiences that they’ve had and these personal revelations and feelings and voices,” Benson explained to Rolling Stone in a profile published March 11. “I never felt it as physically present as they did, and so I was always confused and frustrated. I was always scared to bring that up to people because I just didn’t want to accept that, like, I wasn’t feeling what everyone else was feeling.”
It took a friend who also grew up Mormon to soothe his anxiety around the predicament, with the 22-year-old noting that after he opened up on his concerns, his friend told him, “‘Thank goodness, I feel the same way.’”
Now, Benson is pursuing a more secular relationship with his faith.
"I don’t want to be a part of one religion,” he shared. “I have my own opinions. Some are from this religion, some are from this religion, some are from no religion.”
And while his parents are still devout in their own faith, Benson noted that he doesn’t feel pushed to follow suit.
“My parents definitely have their own views, but when it comes to religion and God, they want me to figure it out on my own,” he added. “And whatever I come to, and whatever I feel is right, that’s what they want for me.”
Of course, Benson admitted, there are remnants of his Mormon upbringing in his day-to-day life. For one, he’s only tried coffee—a forbidden substance in the Church of Latter-day Saints—a few times, telling Rolling Stone it “tastes like burnt wood.”
Other than that, though, he has opted to stay away from other substances like drugs and alcohol that are also forbidden, saying, “I just think for me personally, like, dude, I would die.”
Indeed, Benson said his “addictive” personality has kept him from indulging, adding, “I would do it so much that my health would just decline and I wouldn’t enjoy touring as much.”
As for how the “Slow It Down” singer knows he has a penchant for compulsive indulgence? He joked, “Dude, candy.”
To learn more about Benson and other artists taking the world by storm, keep reading...
Sabrina Carpenter
A decade after playing Maya on Disney Channel’s Girl Meets World, Sabrina is now working late, ’cause she’s a singer. With hits like “Espresso” and “Please Please Please” under her belt, the 25-year-old solidified herself as a bona fide pop princess with her 2024 album Short n’ Sweet.
Before embarking on her global tour of the same name, she spent a whole lot of time in the company of pop royalty as the opening act for Taylor Swift on The Eras Tour. Now, she’s a six-time Grammy nominee as she’s also up for Record of the Year and Album of the Year.
Chappell Roan
Good luck, babe! The breakout synth-pop artist—whose birth name is Kayleigh Rose Amstutz—is up for six Grammys for her breakthrough 2023 album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, which is a nod to her upbringing in Willard, Missouri.
Indeed, the last year has marked quite a whirlwind journey for the artist, whose latest album is full of hits like “HOT TO GO!” and “Casual.” But the song that has everyone fighting the urge to get up and dance is the 26-year-old’s 2024 single “Good Luck, Babe!"
Shaboozey
The "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" singer is another artist who has had quite the year—in the country space and beyond. For starters, his hit single—an interpolation of J-Kwon’s 2004 hit has gone certified platinum, and became a staple on the radio airwaves.
And then Shaboozey—born Collins Obinna Chibueze with his stage name borrowing from a mispronunciation of his last name—collaborated with Beyoncé on two songs for her Cowboy Carter album: "SPAGHETTII" and "SWEET HONEY BUCKIIN."
Known for bridging the gap between country music and hip-hop, this Virginia native is also nominated for Song of the Year and Best Melodic Rap Performance.
Benson Boone
While he wasn’t named the next American Idol in 2021, the season 19 alum has made a name for himself just the same. The 21-year-old made waves with ballads “In the Stars” and “Ghost Town.” But it was his single “Beautiful Things”—which became a much-used sound on TikTok—that shot to the top of the charts this year and landed him a deserved spot in this category.
Teddy Swims
It’s been five years since the 32-year-old dropped a cover of Lewis Capaldi’s “Someone You Loved” on Spotify. Now, Teddy (real name Jaten Collin Dimsdale) is taking off for his own hits, including “Lose Control,” “The Door” and “Hammer to the Heart,” all on his 2023 album, I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 1).
The artist, who hails from Atlanta, blends genres of R&B, soul, country and pop into his music.
Raye
Go ahead and just hold those Oscar winning tears, because the British music sensation is Grammy-bound. The R&B and jazz singer took the music world by storm with the release of her 2022 single “Escapism,” which went mega-viral on TikTok and ended up on her 2023 album My 21st Century Blues alongside “Oscar Winning Tears” and “Worth it.”
In the few short years following, Hollywood has hopped on-board the Raye bandwagon. For Halloween 2024, vocalist Christina Aguilera dressed up as the performer, sporting a bouncy bob and bejeweled gown. In addition to Best New Artist, the proud South London-native is also nominated for Songwriter of the Year.
Doechii
Though her 2020 song "Yucky Blucky Fruitcake" made for an instant hit online, that was far from the only single that helped the 26-year-old gain a massive fanbase. With hits like “Crazy,” “Persuasive" and “What It Is,” the Tampa native has proven herself as a force to be reckoned with—as evidenced by her 2025 Grammy nomination for Best New Artist.
In fact, with the release of her album Alligator Bites Never Heal, the timing was perfect for Grammy submissions, confirming her entry to Rolling Stone, with an ecstatic: “Yes. Yes, yes, yes.”
“Curating it, I went in with the intention of context,” she told the publication in September. “That was a big thing for me. Sometimes projects can feel long when there’s no context to what you’re talking about. There’s no story or no narration to build on. I felt like it was necessary for me to tell my story in detail and in many different ways, through many different beats. And it was important for us to go in chronological order of what has happened to me, how that has made me feel, how I overcame it, and where I am now.”
Khruangbin
The musical trio from Houston, Texas, made waves after meeting and performing together in 2004. But it would be their 2015 debut album The Universe Smiles Upon You released by the group—comprised of guitarist Mark Speer, bassist Laura Lee and drummer Donald “DJ” Johnson—that would take the music world by storm.
But it’s the band’s latest album A La Sala that has them getting back to “a simpler and more heartfelt place.”
“We felt like what we ended up making was an album that was really intimate and personal between the three of us,” Lee told Elle in April. We’re like a family and ‘a la sala’ was something that I used to say to my own family when I was three or four years old to get everybody to go to the living room and be together. I would just run around the house and scream it. So, this felt like that sentiment.”