Ben Platt Says His New Album Is His 'Most Authentic' Yet — and It's Inspired by Fiancé Noah Galvin (Exclusive)

• Ben Platt has released his new album, Honey mindon Friday
• The actor and singer recently began a three-week residency at the Palace Theater in New York
• She is also preparing for her upcoming wedding

Like one of his inspirations, Beyoncé, Ben Platt is entering a new era — and showing a new side of himself.

The third studio album of the group Multi-hyphenate, Honey mindwill be released on Friday, May 31. And days earlier, he began a three-week residency at the Palace Theater in New York, where he premiered country star Kacey Musgraves.

Unlike his previous work, Honey mind finds Platt, 30, in a love-drunk state of mind, singing ballads inspired by American folk. At the start of this interview, Platt is shy and soft-spoken, but if there’s one thing he’s sure of, it’s that this album was meant to share himself with him most authentically.

Although folk traditionally tells the story of heterogeneous experiences in relationships, Platt’s goal was to turn the genre on its head and give it its own “queer band” while maintaining the “classic” feel of the music.

“I think a lot of times queer music can be very — not that I don’t like Troye [Sivan] or Lil Nas X — very aggressive, with elements aimed at sexuality, and I think that’s amazing and also very important in life when it’s presented,” he tells PEOPLE over lunch at an Upper West Side restaurant a month before his residency begins. “But I was really excited to do something softer and more love-oriented while still being queer.”

Ben Platt.

Vince Aung

Platt accomplishes just that on sweet, buttery songs like “Andrew,” which tells a story of unrequited gay infatuation, and the all-too-relatable track, “Right Kind of Reckless,” about taking exciting but enjoyable risks in a relationship. The romance in the lyrics doesn’t just come from Platt’s imagination: many of the songs were inspired by his fiance Noah Galvin.

Ben Platt and Noah Galvin Relationship Timeline

The Dear Evan Hansen star tells PEOPLE that his relationship with Galvin fueled his music when he realized their partnership was what he’d been searching for since childhood, but unexpected in many ways.

Honey mind the culmination is a year of coming out and being proud, but also of finally coming into who he is — regardless of what others think.

“It’s such a different feeling that I didn’t expect… [and I was] very inspired by just trying, as I get older, to figure out how to make things that feel authentic and fulfilling to me,” he says. “And making art that goes forward and tries to filter the outside perception of what people think I should be doing.”

Platt began to write Honey mind in the spring of 2022 after spending time in Nashville, where he says he felt very “removed” from NYC and Los Angeles. He intended to work continuously on the album, but then he started rehearsing and performing for Parade, which carried him through the rest of the year.

The hiatus gave Platt a chance to step away from the album and come back to it, tweaking it to fit what felt most authentic to him at the moment — especially since he turns 30 in September 2023.

Ben Platt.

Vince Aung

While many of the songs touch on love, Platt also includes songs like “Fear of Missing Out,” singing about how he worried about missing out on moments like parties and work events and disappointing the people around him.

However, as he got older, he found other priorities. “I’m afraid that I’ll hold back from what I was meant to be/I’m afraid that I’ll be missed,” he sings. “It’s so hard to tell the difference between pressure and desire / What comes from them and what’s in my heart.”

“After you turn 30, you have to sort of balance what those criteria and considerations are at the end of the day and how you feel,” he says. “I mean, you don’t want to be a careless, abrasive person in any way, but also, you have to prioritize what you feel authentically and what kind of person you want to be. I think ‘FOMO’ means embracing it.”

In addition to coming into his own, Platt delves further into his deepest anxieties, including having children. In the song “Home of the Terrified”, he sings that although he is looking forward to raising his own children, he is afraid of the world in which they will grow up.

The song depicts how Platt can help her child with a variety of tasks, from homework to riding a bike, but there are some things — like gun violence — she can’t protect her future child from. The song’s vulnerability and political imagery made it the most difficult song on the album to write, he says.

“It speaks to something that can easily turn into a preachy or holier-than-thou feeling,” Platt says. “I wasn’t trying to be political, but I was thinking a lot about the fact that I’m going to get married now and one day we’re going to have children, and what will that be like? When I think about it — I’m a very concerned person — one of the many things I question is just the state of our country and guns in schools.”

Cover of Ben Platt’s third album, “Honeymind.”.

Vince Aung

While children are hopefully the future, Platt and Galvin are currently focused on a big event coming up soon: their wedding. The Grammy-winning artist says Galvin is in charge of the aesthetics, while he handles what is arguably a more crucial role: the music.

Platt describes the playlist as “super gay,” followed by “everything else we got to do.” Like the rest of the world, he listens to a lot of Beyoncé and Chappelle Roan (a must-have for a wedding, he says), but his ultimate goal is just to get people dancing.

Ben Platt and Noah Galvin on Their Double Proposal and Wedding Plans: ‘Just a Dance Party’ (Exclusive)

Ben Platt performs at the opening of his residency at the Palace Theater on 28 May 2024.

Jenny Anderson

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“For me, the only real judge is how many people are on the dance floor,” he says. “At one moment we will have a band, and at another we will have a DJ. So that’s my focus. I’m not someone who needs to focus on the settings of the place as, apart from the food, I relax.”

Between a wedding, a residency, and a new album, the year has a lot going for Platt — but he’s nowhere near slowing down.

Three-quarters of the way to an EGOT (he just needs an Oscar!), Platt still has a lot more on his career list: touring Europe, writing his own musical, and starring in a “down-to-earth movie.”

Just a few years ago, Platt wasn’t so sure of himself. But with Honey mind coming out at this point in his life, he is ready to take his place.

“I think this is a coming-of-age story, not just about this specific moment in my life, but about finally starting to sound and feel like me,” he says of the album. “Obviously, when you’re writing and living what I’ve been, I’m kind of locked in, and I think this is the closest thing to coming.”

And he arrived.

Honey mind will be available on streaming platforms on Friday, May 31. Platt will perform as a resident at the Palace Theater for 18 performances from May 28th to June 15th.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education