As it prepares for its Friday (May 31) release. Honeymind — his third studio album (and first on Interscope) — and culminating in his just-opened, 18-date run reopening Broadway's iconic Palace Theater, singer-songwriter and actor Ben Platt recently spoke with Billboard News about to discuss the creation of his new music, the relationships and artists that inspire him now, and his upcoming projects.
The Honeymind The creative process took place in Nashville during what Platt calls “a transition point personally and career-wise, re-exploring my reasons for being an artist, re-learning the importance of following passion and doing things that feel authentically fulfilling and not necessarily checking the boxes.” It was also a happy time, Platt says, when he settled into the comfort of his relationship with his now-fiancée, fellow actress Noah Galvin — and found himself exploring, through songwriting, “that crossroads between what it feels like to reach the real relationship and have a partner who you feel really understands you holistically and how do you need to work on yourself as a person to be ready for such a relationship?'
Of Honeymind Collaborators include beloved Nashville writers Natalie Hemby and Hillary Lindsey, as well as executive producer Dave Cobb, who worked with Platt in his home studio in Savannah. If something feels worn, or like a bell or whistle, he has no problem being very honest about it.”
Platt also talks about the unique experience of filming the very personal music video for the single “Cherry on Top”, in which he enjoys a day in Los Angeles with Galvin. “I was apprehensive at first – I like to keep some things sacred and private,” she explains. But he eventually realized that since the song was written specifically about his experience with Galvin, “nothing was as real as the actual relationship itself that brings that joy.”
An unabashed pop fan, Platt also gushes about his own favorite music right now, citing perennial favorites Maggie Rogers and Chappell Roan (he's a longtime vocal fan: “I knew she was a superstar all along!”) . He's also big on Beyoncé Cowboy CarterKacey Musgraves' Deeper well (Musgraves made a surprise appearance at Platt's opening night at the Palace to duet with him on her “Rainbow”), and Ariana Grande Eternal sunshine (“Ari is one of the greatest pop voices of this generation and it's such a sharp, delicious bubblegum album that reminds me of Mariah….she's always on my mind”).
Plus, Platt shares the inspiration he draws from two of the biggest tours of the past year: Beyoncé's Renaissance tour and Taylor Swift's Eras tour. Swift “shares her own experiences and makes us feel like we're in her living room … in a way that feels very off the cuff, but is clearly very thought out and well-crafted,” she says. Beyoncé is “an incredible live singer… and on top of that the level at which she practices and gives of herself no matter what show she's doing? You've never seen her perform in her life!”
Platt will handle promotion Honeymind for some time — following his residency at the Palace, he'll embark on a US and Canadian tour (supported by album partner Brandy Clark) through the end of July. In the meantime, he reveals to Advertising sign that Richard Linklater's twenty-year film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's musical Merrily We Roll Along — announced in 2019, in which Platt stars alongside close friend Beanie Feldstein and Paul Mescal — is moving forward.
Platt says two of the “eight or nine” sequences have been shot, adding with a laugh, “about 16 more years to go.” Linklater, he says, “puts a lot of emphasis on not looking too far ahead … it gets very discouraging, so I treat it as this gift to have little checkpoints in my life to meet again with Sondheim, with Paul, and obviously Beanie ». Platt praises Mescal, who is making his major screen debut Gladlyas “handsome, kind, amazing actor, beautiful voice – he's the real deal.”
See what else Platt had to say in the video above.
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