ST. PAUL, Minn. — Fresh from serving as the musical guest on “Saturday Night Live,” emerging pop star Benson Boone will kick off his first arena tour Aug. 22 at St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center.

Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday through Ticketmaster. American Express cardholders have access to a presale that started Wednesday morning.

A Washington state native, Boone’s first experience performing was when a friend asked him to play piano and sing in their high school’s battle of the bands. After graduating in 2020, he briefly attended Brigham Young University before dropping out to pursue a career in music.

Boone made it onto the 19th season of “American Idol” in 2021, but withdrew from the competition after making it to the top 24. He focused on posting his music to TikTok and won the attention of Imagine Dragons front man Dan Reynolds, who signed Boone to his Night Street Records label.

His 2021 debut single “Ghost Town” went platinum, as did 2022’s “In the Stars.” But Boone’s career really took off with last year’s “Beautiful Things,” one of the year’s biggest hits on the planet. It reached No. 2 in the States and topped the charts in 19 other countries.

On “SNL,” Boone played “Sorry I’m Here for Someone Else” and “Mystical Magical” from his upcoming sophomore album “American Heart,” which is due out June 20.

Boone is known for his athleticism, bombastic performing style and arena-ready songs. Last month at Coachella, he covered Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” and had guitarist Brian May join him for his first of two shows. (He brought out a cardboard cutout of May for the second performance.)

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