'In The Stars' singer Benson Boone on finding fame after dropping out of 'American Idol': 'Destiny took its course'

American singer-songwriter Benson Boone has taken over the airways with his hit song In The Stars and now he is set to perform live in New Zealand.

Ahead of his October concert, the 20-year-old caught up with Jono and Ben and he revealed how excited he is to make his way to Aotearoa.

“I am absolutely beyond pumped [to be coming to New Zealand],” Benson told the morning show hosts. “I actually have two of my best friends there right now.

“They've been telling me to dream. I really hope I can stay there.”

Benson, who first made waves when he appeared on American Idol, opened up about how he decided to forge his own music career and ended up working with Imagine Dragon’s frontman Dan Reynolds.

“You know, when I was on [American Idol] - and don't get me wrong, like, I had a blast on the show, everyone was great. The judges were great producers, all of it,” Benson said.

“But, I kind of felt like everyone that was there, it was like a big dream of theirs to be there. And to me, like I had only been singing for a year. It wasn't really necessarily my biggest goal to be a singer. I just kind of didn't know if I was there for the right reason.

"So I stepped away from the show so that I could figure that out on my own. If I was going to be a musician, then I would just break myself as an artist instead of taking a step in a direction that I'm unsure.

“It definitely was very scary to step away,” the pop star continued. “I didn't know what I wanted to do and how it was gonna work and if it was gonna work."

“But after I stepped away, I guess destiny took its course and Dan Reynolds from Imagine Dragons reached out to me the week after.”

“I could not believe it. He has so many hits,” Benson added.

“[Dan] is the nicest human being ever, like, he truly cares about everyone and just like makes you feel like you're the most important person in the world. And it's a great feeling to be in his presence.

“So I'm, I'm so glad that he reached out.”

We’re glad he did too! Benson Boon is now set to perform live in Auckland on October 2 at the Tuning Fork – click here to find out more – and listen to his full interview with Jono and Ben above.