BOYBANDS ARE BACK: A Profile Of The New Wave
by Aaron Zorgel
March 7, 2012
Pop music trends are moving in cycles, especially with regards to the boyband phenomenon. We are now on the cusp of the new era of boybands. Some are imports from the UK, and some are prefabricated North American troupes, assembled by a panel of “media experts.” Let’s take a closer look at 5 of burgeoning boybands, and see what we’re up against for the next few years.
Let’s flash back to 1996, which is in my opinion, the golden age of contemporary boybandom. It was the year Hanson set the stage with the release of MMMBop. These three blonde brothers scatted their way into the hearts of girls around the world.
The Backstreet Boys soon followed with their self titled debut, that would go on to sell over 10 million records worldwide. After BSB’s unbelievable success, boy groups flooded and saturated the market (N*Sync, 98 Degrees, O-Town, and even little-known Canadian fake-tanned weirdos B4-4), but it’s safe to say that the boyband craze of the mid-nineties is no better exemplified than by AJ, Brian, Nick, Howie, and Kevin.
Ten years later, there is a boy group who set the stage for pre-pubescent domination the same way Hanson did. It just happened to be another trio. A trio of brothers, even? A trio of Jonas Brothers, natch.
Next, instead of a boy band stepping up to become a modern BSB in the wake of the Jo-Bros, the next progression favoured a solo act. The current prince of pop, Justin Bieber was embraced by the masses starting in 2009.
Scooter Braun and Usher brought Justin Bieber to a welcoming market, and proved that despite the boy band saturation of the 90s, there was still room for a clean-cut, wholesome white kid to sing, dance, and smile all the time.
As major labels continued to fail, they looked to the success of Justin Bieber, and multiplied it by 5. If one Bieber is successful, 5 Biebers will be 5 times as successful, right? In 2012, boybands are back. And you can trace it (in order) from Bieber, the Jonas Brothers, BSB, Hanson, NKOTB, all the way back to the Beatles. Demand, Supply, Saturation. Demand, Supply, Saturation. See? It’s totally cyclical.
Average Age:18-23
# of Twitter followers:383,717
The Wanted were formed in 2009 through a mass audition, and have been releasing their brand of ensemble melodic dance vocal pop ever since, much to the pleasure of their mostly tween fanbase. The group is just starting to break in North American with their latest single “Glad You Came.”
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Average Age:“Early teens”
# of Twitter followers: 516,925
Assembled in 2008, Mindless Behavior went through 2 years of vocal and dance training before ever recording a single song. Given that they’re all in their “early teens,” their songs are pretty overtly sexual. They’ve already toured with Jason Derülo, Janet Jackson, Justin Bieber, and the Backstreet Boys.
Hometown: England/Ireland
Average Age: 18-22
# of Twitter followers: 2,053,905
These chaps are one of the biggest success stories of the new wave of boybands, quickly gaining momentum with the release of their first record Up All Night. In 2010, all 5 of them submitted as solo contestants for the 7th series of the U.K. X-Factor, but they were placed into a group based on a suggestion from guest judge Nicole Scherzinger. They finished third in the competition, and were signed to a record deal by Simon Cowell.
Big Time Rush
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Average Age: 21-22
# of Twitter followers: 566,132
Big Time Rush is a boyband as well as a television show on the Nickelodeon network. The basic premise of the show is that 4 hockey players from Minnesota are chosen to be in a boyband, and the show follows that transition. The actors that were cast in this fictional live-action youth drama series are also the members of the band. It sounds overly manufactured, but maybe Big Time Rush is really the most authentic boyband out there, as they make no attempt to hide the fact that the group is a constructed fictional entity.
Average Age: 14-16
# of Twitter followers: 1720
IM5 are a brand new creation, put together by Simon Fuller (American Idol), Jamie King (Madonna’s creative director), and Perez Hilton (blogger). These kids were pulled from all over the States, and though they have yet to even release an original song, their Youtube covers and mashups are garnering them a lot of attention.
Tags: Music, Big Time Rush, one direction, The Wanted
