Column: Benson Boone doppelganger at USU
You may have heard a tune that goes a little something like: “Moonbeam ice cream, taking off your blue jeans, dancing at the movies….” If you’re anything like me, you may have heard this Benson Boone song one — or two or three — too many times. Nonetheless, I heard the sounds of this song again coming from the Quad as they announced the winner of the Utah State University Benson Boone Lookalike Contest.
The contest was organized by two individuals who met only 30 minutes prior. Sophomore Chelsea Peterson and first-year student Clara Lassley met on Yik Yak, where the idea for a lookalike contest originated.
Benson Boone poses with a pint of “Benny’s Moonbeam Ice Cream” in a photo taken from his Instagram account.
Hazel Harris-Staples/The Utah Statesman Sam Taylor flexes for the camera after winning the Benson Boone Lookalike Contest on Sept. 5.
“So, we’re both on some of the same social media platforms, and then I heard some people on social media being like, ‘Hey, a Benson Boone contest at USU would go crazy.’ Then someone else was like, ‘Oh, let’s plan an actual date’ and came up with Sept. 5 at 4 p.m. on the Quad just really randomly,” Peterson said. “I was like, ‘You know what, let’s actually do it.’ So, I recruited Clara, I recruited another person and we made flyers. We printed them out,— put them all over campus — and the rest is history.”
I too can see how, with the uptick in facial hair culture at USU, a Benson Boone lookalike contest would succeed on campus. I kind of think the campus store would do numbers in sales of sparkly blue jumpsuits and white, tight-fitting tank tops.
Peterson and Lassley also pointed out none of the competitors for the competition signed up beforehand. They simply showed up and threw their name in the hat for the chance to be USU’s own Benson James Boone.
“We didn’t make any, like, Google Forms,” Peterson said. “It started off as a joke at first, and it was a little bit spontaneous. It was like, ‘You know what? Let’s actually do this because I think that would be fun.’”
Peterson also said they would enjoy hosting another lookalike competition for students on campus.
Contenders for the ultimate lookalike prize stood in a line and as they were called forward, presented their best Benson Boone impersonation. One contestant gave a twerk, another dropped into a front split, but notably, none were required to sing to win the competition.
I personally think at least one rendition of a song from Boone’s discography should’ve been required, but the competition was entertaining to watch, nonetheless.
Sam Taylor, a first-year student studying physics, was crowned the winner of the contest, after which he immediately attempted a front flip and began to sing “Mystical, Magical.”
“When I saw the flyers for this, I just knew I had to join. Friends, colleagues, family — they all told me, ‘Sam, look, there’s this Benson Boone Lookalike Contest.’ You have to go. And I figured, you know, it wouldn’t hurt,” Taylor said.
Taylor also told me being crowned Boone doppelganger meant more because the competition fell on his birthday. He continued by listing a few people he felt helped him towards this accomplishment.
Hazel Harris-Staples/The Utah Statesman Clara Lassley, an organizer of the Benson Boone Lookalike Contest, addresses the crowd to crown the winner on Sept. 5.
“I’d like to shout out my hairstylist Brian. I’d like to shout out the person that gave me this belt. Really just all around, it’s been a good day,” Taylor said. “Great birthday, and I’m proud to be Benson Boone.”
This whole event reminded me of when Benson Boone performed two hours away from my hometown in southern Utah. People were coming out of the woodworks to go see this show. I remember my friend’s mom saying how excited she was to go to the concert and being surprised that a forty-year-old woman knew ball. Every 14–16-year-old girl that I knew — okay, at least most of them — posted a photo of their meet-and-greet with Boone on their Instagram stories — they were ecstatic about meeting the mustachioed backflipper live in person. I really hope Sam Taylor can do that for someone on USU’s campus one day too.