It was the collaboration no one expected… and everyone is still talking about.
As the golden hour melted into twilight on the shores of Gulf Shores, Alabama, thousands of festival-goers were already lost in the magic of Lana Del Rey’s ethereal set at Hangout Fest 2024. But as the soft piano intro of “Beautiful Things” began to echo across the sand, the atmosphere shifted — and an audible gasp rippled through the crowd when Benson Boone emerged quietly from stage right.
No announcement. No fanfare. Just two voices, two hearts, and one of the most emotionally gripping songs of the decade — reimagined together, in real time.
From the first verse, Benson’s signature trembling vulnerability held the crowd in rapt attention. But when Lana joined in — her haunting, smoky tone weaving gently into his — the song transformed. What had once been a solitary plea became something more expansive: a conversation. A confession. A duet between two artists who know what it feels like to love deeply and fear losing it all.
Their harmonies on the chorus — “Please don’t ever take them away…” — were like waves crashing against the shore: soft, powerful, aching. Benson’s falsetto floated above Lana’s grounded resonance like sunlight over water, and the chemistry between them was palpable. They didn’t need to move much. Just a glance. A shared breath. It was enough.
The crowd? Silent. In awe. Phones held high, tears flowing freely.
“This is the duet we didn’t know we needed — and now we’ll never recover,” one fan posted.
“Lana and Benson just turned Hangout Fest into a spiritual experience.”
“I will never hear ‘Beautiful Things’ the same way again. That was soul-shattering.”
By the end, they stood side by side, hands clasped, smiling through the emotion that lingered on their faces. No words were needed. The performance spoke everything — of love, of fear, of beauty too fragile to last and too precious to let go.
And as the last note faded into the warm coastal breeze, the crowd roared — not just for what they had heard, but for what they had felt.
Two voices. One unforgettable moment.
And a song about Beautiful Things that just became one of its own.
