Mr Electric Blue

Last updated

"Mr Electric Blue"
Song by Benson Boone
from the album American Heart
ReleasedJune 20, 2025 (2025-06-20)
Genre Rock
Length3:10
Label
Songwriter(s)
  • Benson Boone
  • Evan Blair
  • Jack LaFrantz
Producer(s) Evan Blair
Music video
"Mr Electric Blue" on YouTube

"Mr Electric Blue" is a song by the American singer Benson Boone from his second studio album, American Heart (2025). He wrote the song with his frequent collaborator Jack Lafrantz and its producer, Evan Blair. A rock song with a style similar to the works of the band Electric Light Orchestra, "Mr Electric Blue" serves as a tribute to Boone's father. It became available as the album's second track on June 20, 2025, when it was released by Night Street and Warner Records. A music video directed by Matt Eastin premiered on the same date; it addresses public criticism of Boone, including one-hit wonder and industry plant allegations.

Contents

Release and composition

Night Street and Warner Records released American Heart as Benson Boone's second studio album on June 20, 2025, including "Mr Electric Blue" as its second track. [1] [2] Boone wrote "Mr Electric Blue" with Jack Lafrantz and Even Blair; the latter served as the song's producer and audio engineer, and played several instruments including bass, guitar, keyboards, and drums. Dale Becker was the mastering engineer, accompanied by Katie Harvey and Noah McCorkle as assistants, while Alex Ghenea was in charge of the mixing. It has a duration of three minutes and ten seconds. [3] Writing for Vulture , the critic Jason P. Frank categorized "Mr Electric Blue" as a "third-person rock song about rad folks", and paired it with "Bennie and the Jets" (1974) by Elton John, "Ziggy Stardust" (1972) by David Bowie, and "Pinball Wizard" (1969) by the Who. [4] In the lyrics, Boone shares his admiration to his father, worshipping him as a hero: "A good hardworking American / But he ain't the guy you want to fight". [5] Music publications noted similarities with the works of the English rock band Electric Light Orchestra. [6] [7]

Music video

A music video for "Mr Electric Blue", directed by Matt Eastin, premiered on June 20, 2025, in parallel to American Heart. [8] Starring Boone as himself, the video addresses criticism from the public directed to him after the commercial success of the single "Beautiful Things" (2024). [9] [10] The video begins with him wearing a "one-hit wonder" shirt and meeting an agent from a fictional record label named "Industry Plant Records"—referencing the allegations of the singer being an industry plant—to which he owes US$ 10 million. [10] The agent—played by the song's co-writer and the singer's frequent collaborator Jack LaFrantz—tells Boone that he is failing and they need "good songwriting", to what the singer responds, "You know I can't do that." [9] [10] He attempts to earn the money doing several jobs, including selling used jumpsuits and mowing lawn for a company called "Auto-Tune Trimmers". [8] [9] After meeting a girl who believes his music is terrible, Boone earns $168 and asks the agent for another chance. [9] They tell him that his music was sold to chain stores and fast-food restaurants, achieving his goal of being "the most overplayed artist in the world". [11] [12]

Critical reception

For Billboard , Andrew Unterberger ranked "Mr Electric Blue" as the eighth best track on American Heart. The critic described it as unclear and confusing, and interpreted its title character as an "odd mix" of "Ziggy Stardust", "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown", and "Mr. Blue Sky". He also criticized its video as "fun-but-overstuffed". [13] In negative reviews of American Heart, Rolling Stone 's Brittany Spanos and Pitchfork 's Jeremy D. Larson considered "Mr Electric Blue" one of the few good moments on the album; the former highlighted the "earnest tribute" to Boone's father. [7] [14] Jonah Krueger from Consequence wrote that the song's chorus is nonsensical. [6]

Charts

Chart performance for "Mr Electric Blue"
Chart (2025)Peak
position
Argentina Anglo Airplay (Monitor Latino) [15] 13
Argentina Anglo Streaming (Monitor Latino) [15] 11
Canada (Canadian Hot 100) [16] 64
Chile Anglo Airplay (Monitor Latino) [17] 14
Costa Rica Anglo Airplay (Monitor Latino) [18] 15
Ecuador Anglo Airplay (Monitor Latino) [19] 1
Ecuador Anglo Streaming (Monitor Latino) [19] 8
Estonia Airplay (TopHit) [20] 86
Global 200 ( Billboard ) [21] 125
Ireland (IRMA) [22] 79
Japan Hot Overseas ( Billboard Japan ) [23] 12
Lithuania Airplay (TopHit) [24] 172
Malta Airplay (Radiomonitor) [25] 16
New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ) [26] 9
North Macedonia Airplay (Radiomonitor) [27] 19
Panama Anglo Airplay (Monitor Latino) [28] 17
Romania Airplay (TopHit) [24] 178
UK Singles (OCC) [29] 55
US Billboard Hot 100 [30] 73

References

  1. Inman, Jessica (June 20, 2025). "Benson Boone releases album, 'Mr. Electric Blue' music video". UPI . Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  2. Tate, Sarah (June 20, 2025). "Benson Boone Pokes Fun At Critics In 'Electric' New Video". iHeart . Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  3. "American Heart - Album by Benson Boone". Night Street Records/Warner Records. June 20, 2025. Archived from the original on June 20, 2025. Retrieved June 22, 2025 via Apple Music (US).
  4. Frank, Jason P. (June 20, 2025). "Benson Boone Gets In on the Joke" . Vulture . Archived from the original on June 20, 2025. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  5. Hiatt, Brian (March 11, 2025). "Benson Boone on Life After 'Beautiful Things'" . Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on June 8, 2025. Retrieved June 23, 2025.
  6. 1 2 Krueger, Jonah (June 20, 2025). "Benson Boone's American Heart Doesn't Land the Backflip: Review". Consequence . Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  7. 1 2 Spanos, Brittany (June 20, 2025). "Benson Boone Can't Land the Backflip" . Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on June 21, 2025. Retrieved June 23, 2025.
  8. 1 2 Zemler, Emily (June 20, 2025). "Benson Boone Is a Topless Car Washer in 'Mr. Electric Blue' Video" . Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on June 20, 2025. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Daw, Stephen (June 20, 2025). "Watch Benson Boone Embrace His Haters in Joke-Filled 'Mr. Electric Blue' Music Video". Billboard . Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  10. 1 2 3 Blanchet, Brenton (June 20, 2025). "Benson Boone Pokes Fun at Haters and 'One Hit Wonder' Criticism in 'Mr. Electric Blue' Video". People . Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  11. Dresdale, Andrea (June 20, 2025). "'Your music is terrible': Watch Benson Boone roast himself in 'Mr. Electric Blue' video". ABC Audio . Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  12. Rossignol, Derrick (June 20, 2025). "'One-Hit Wonder' Benson Boone Roasts Himself In His Very Funny New 'Mr Electric Blue' Video". Uproxx . Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  13. Unterberger, Andrew (June 20, 2025). "Benson Boone's 'American Heart': All 10 Tracks Ranked". Billboard . Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  14. Larson, Jeremy D. (June 24, 2025). "Benson Boone: American Heart Album Review". Pitchfork . Retrieved June 24, 2025.
  15. 1 2 "Top 20 Argentina – Anglo – Del 30 de Junio al 6 de Junio, 2025" [Top 20 Argentina – English – From 30 June to 6 July, 2025] (in Spanish). Monitor Latino. July 7, 2025. Retrieved July 12, 2025.
  16. "Benson Boone Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
  17. "Top 20 Chile – Anglo – Del 30 de Junio al 6 de Junio, 2025" [Top 20 Chile – English – From 30 June to 6 July, 2025] (in Spanish). Monitor Latino. July 7, 2025. Retrieved July 12, 2025.
  18. "Top 20 Costa Rica – Anglo – Del 30 de Junio al 6 de Julio, 2025" [Top 20 Costa Rica – English – From 30 June to 6 July, 2025] (in Spanish). Monitor Latino. July 7, 2025. Retrieved July 13, 2025.
  19. 1 2 "Top 20 Ecuador – Anglo – Del 30 de Junio al 6 de Junio, 2025" [Top 20 Ecuador – English – From 30 June to 6 July, 2025] (in Spanish). Monitor Latino. July 7, 2025. Retrieved July 12, 2025.
  20. Top Radio Hits Estonia Weekly Chart. TopHit. July 25, 2025. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  21. "Benson Boone Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
  22. "IRMA – Irish Charts (Week 26, 2025)". Irish Recorded Music Association . Retrieved June 28, 2025.
  23. "Billboard Japan Hot Overseas – Week of July 2, 2025". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved July 5, 2025.
  24. 1 2 "Benson Boone — Mr Electric Blue". TopHit. August 15, 2025. Retrieved August 23, 2025.
  25. "Malta – Radio Airplay Chart | Settimana 30.2025 – dal 18/07/2025 al 24/07/2025" [Malta – Radio Airplay Chart | Week 30.2025 – 18/07/2025 to 24/07/2025] (in Italian). Radiomonitor. July 25, 2025. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
  26. "Official Hot 40 Singles". Recorded Music NZ. June 27, 2025. Retrieved June 27, 2025.
  27. "Macedonia – Radio Airplay Chart | Settimana 30.2025 – dal 18/07/2025 al 24/07/2025" [Macedonia – Radio Airplay Chart | Week 30.2025 – 18/07/2025 to 24/07/2025] (in Italian). Radiomonitor. July 25, 2025. Retrieved August 4, 2025.
  28. "Top 20 Panama – Anglo – Del 11 al 17 de Agosto, 2025" [Top 20 Panama – English – From 11 to 17 August, 2025] (in Spanish). Monitor Latino. August 18, 2025. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
  29. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
  30. "Benson Boone Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved July 1, 2025.