Benson Boone’s onstage backflips have become a signature part of his performances, much like the dramatic moves of classic rock legends. Unsurprisingly, this athletic stunt made not one but two appearances on The Tonight Show on Wednesday, June 4.
In the show’s cold open, Jimmy Fallon met Boone backstage and claimed he could also perform the flip. “You know, I can actually do a back flip too,” Fallon said. “Yeah, I just kind of jump and turn around all the way in the air. Just kind of always had a knack for it, if that makes sense. Flippity Floppities is what I call them.” Boone responded kindly but advised Fallon there was no need to go to such lengths to impress him and expressed concern that he might get hurt. Fallon, insisting it was “very easy,” was then replaced by a stunt double who attempted a flip but ended up crashing into a snack table without completing a single rotation.
Later in the interview, when asked by Fallon if his flips would be featured in his upcoming arena tour, Boone answered, “there’s no guaranteed flips.” When pressed on whether he practices the move, Boone explained he doesn’t rehearse them because he’s been doing flips since childhood. “I’ve been doing them forever,” he said. “Like, if you knew me growing up and you saw a video of me now and you hadn’t seen anything else — if you went to preschool with me and then you just had not heard the name Benson Boone since them — and then you see a video of me doing a backflip, you’d probably be like, ‘He’s still doing this?’” Following this, Boone performed the move from Fallon’s desk to loud applause.
Boone, now 22, also took part in a game where he offered one-word reactions to major career milestones from the past year. His responses included: the Grammys (“whooo!” with crotch grab and a “wow, that’s tight”), Coachella (“crowd”), MTV VMAs (“it was very sparkly”), Eras tour (“whoa!”), Lollapalooza (“I still don’t think I can spell it”) and the American Music Awards (“… moonbeam ice cream…”).
He later joked about his efforts to create buzz for “Mystical Magical,” the first single from his upcoming second album American Heart, due June 20. He said he attempted to turn the puzzling phrase “moonbeam ice cream” into a meme. “Nobody knows [what it means], I don’t know,” Boone said. “So it went downhill quick. People started doing ‘what is ‘moonbeam ice cream?’… I hate Benson Boone!’” Despite the backlash, he admitted the strategy still worked to his advantage.
Boone concluded his appearance with a performance of “Momma Song,” a heartfelt ballad from American Heart, accompanied by a string quartet under warm lighting and without any flips. His tour continues with a show in Canadaigua, NY on Thursday, June 5, followed by a performance at Governor Ball in New York City on Friday, June 6.
Watch Boone on the Tonight Show below.
