Music - Half-year charts: Benson Boone and Taylor Swift top the charts
Benson Boone with Mustache and an Earworm: The American singer-songwriter Benson Boone (22) has landed the number one hit of the year 2024 in the Official German Charts with his rock song "Beautiful Things." According to GfK Entertainment, Boone's song ranks first in the half-yearly evaluation (the first 26 weeks). In the album charts, Taylor Swift takes the first place with her pop album "The Tortured Poets Department."
Swift (34), the American singer, is coming to Germany this month as part of her record tour "The Eras Tour." The superstar is performing in Gelsenkirchen (17th, 18th, and 19th of July), Hamburg (23rd and 24th of July), and Munich (27th and 28th of July).
Last year, "Komet" by Udo Lindenberg & Apache 207 was the most successful single of the first half of the year and later became the hit of the year.
In the first half of the year, the English synth-rock band Depeche Mode was leading with their album "Memento Mori," but they were overtaken in the year-end charts by The Rolling Stones' album "Hackney Diamonds," which was released only in October.
Benson Boone (born in 2002) looks just like many imagine a young man of Generation Z (those born approximately between 1995 and 2010): slim, wuschel-haired, earrings, red beanie, mustache.
He grew up, according to American media, as the only son in a Mormon family in Monroe, Washington, with four sisters. He barely speaks about his family's religion.
Boone's music comes from handcrafted E-guitar rock, and his "Beautiful Things" has proven to be a TikTok world hit in the past few months, particularly due to this part where the previously harmless-sounding song suddenly becomes raw and crescendos: "Don't... take... these beautiful things that I've got." Some compare Boone's voice to Freddie Mercury's electrifying singing.
Boone discovered his singing talent in high school years. Before he became a star with a global hit, he tried as an 18-year-old to make it big on "American Idol" (the American version of the British casting show "Pop Idol," which RTL adapted as "Deutschland sucht den Superstar" in Germany).
He withdrew from the competition, however, after making it to the Top 24. He didn't want to be labeled a casting show star, he said later.
Swift's heartbreak album
Without casting show interference, Swift has also managed to become the biggest pop star in the world in the past year and a half. The 34-year-old has now reached such a level of fame that every public move she makes is worth news worldwide. She references this in her album as well.
The Tortured Poets Department" is a concept album that explores various phases of a separation and is filled with references. The main theme of the work is the well-known heartache of love. The music, which ranges from quiet, keyboard-driven Retro-Pop to more Indie-Folk, serves only as a backdrop for Swift's stories.
Fans are convinced that the eleventh studio album of the singer contains numerous references to Swift's life and her ex-partners, including actor Joe Alwyn and possibly also musician Matty Healy.
According to GfK Entertainment, following "Hit Me Hard And Soft" by Billie Eilish in second place, "Die Böhsen Onkelz – in the quarterly evaluation the measure of things – celebrate "40 Jahre Onkelz - Live im Waldstadion" in third place."
Therefore, they stand before Ayliva ("Schwarzes Herz") and Kontra K ("Die Hoffnung klaut mir niemand"). In sixth and seventh place in the Top 10 are hip-hop acts Luciano ("Seductive") and K.I.Z ("Görlitzer Park").
In the Single-Half-Year charts, electronic songs come in first: Bennett ("Vois sur ton chemin (Techno Mix)"), Artemas ("I Like The Way You Kiss Me"), Cyril ("Stumblin' In"), and Cassö, Raye & D-Block Europe ("Prada").
Soho Bani and Grönemeyer have the biggest German hit to date
The most successful German-language song is in sixth place, the song "Zeit, dass sich was dreht" by Soho Bani, Herbert Grönemeyer & Ericson. It is a remix of Herbert Grönemeyer's 2006 World Cup hymn by rapper Soho Bani. The song was already in the third week on place one in early July - during the European Football Championship in Germany.
By the way, in the Single-Half-Year charts, "Vois sur ton chemin" by Bennett is in second place, which is the Techno-Mix of a choir song from the French music film "Die Kinder des Monsieur Mathieu", which came to the cinema in 2004.
The new version went viral on TikTok in the summer of 2023 and was also the first number one hit for the DJ from Koblenz, Bennett.
Bennett ("Vois sur ton chemin (Techno Mix)") Artemas ("I like the way you kiss me") Taylor Swift ("Folknight") - feat. Post Malone Benson Boone ("Beautiful Things") "Beautiful Things" in the Official German Charts
- In Munich, people often attend concerts by famous artists like Udo Lindenberg and the Rolling Stones.
- Benson Boone's music style is reminiscent of E-guitar rock, similar to bands like Depeche Mode.
- Despite his success, Benson Boone remains modest about his Mormon upbringing in Monroe, Washington.
- The German city of Baden-Baden is known for its rich music culture and has hosted numerous concerts and festivals.
- Taylor Swift's record tour, "The Eras Tour," will also stop in Baden-Baden, along with other German cities.
- Some compare Boone's powerful voice to that of the legendary singer Freddie Mercury.
- German casting shows like "Deutschland sucht den Superstar" have launched the careers of many talented singers.
- The Rolling Stones' album "Hackney Diamonds" gained popularity in the second half of the year and overtook Depeche Mode in the year-end charts.
- TikTok has helped boost the popularity of several songs, such as "Vois sur ton chemin" by Bennett and Benson Boone's "Beautiful Things."
