If there is one thing I took away from my ‘90s childhood, it is my complete and utter infatuation with the boy band.
I can remember desperately obsessing over who Justin Timberlake was dating, where ‘N Sync was touring and searching for the fastest way I could get my little fan-girl hands on the super-exclusive, fan-club version of their newest album.
The history of the boy band is often widely disregarded, but in terms of how boy bands helped shape the pop culture mechanism and music in general, it is very important to study what makes even the most level-headed of individuals go absolutely berserk at the mention of their favorite teenaged crooners.
The term “boy band” can be pretty vague, considering acts like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and U2, as well as The Jackson 5 and The Monkees, were all technically “boy bands.” But to make for less ambiguity, a boy band can be defined as a group of (usually attractive) boys who perform to upbeat pop songs and enjoy tremendous amounts of commercial success in the beginning stages of their careers, yet have a not-so enduring shelf-life on the market.
Some prime examples include: ‘N Sync, Backstreet Boys, LFO, O-Town, 98 Degrees and New Kids on the Block. There were acts like BBMak and Hanson that fit within the spectrum of upbeat pop songsters that define the term.
And it was all of these talents that had thousands of little pre-teens (and me) swooning day in and day out for their music.
After the disbanding of most of the aforementioned acts in the early 2000s, there has been somewhat of a dry spell of boy bands. Between 2002 and 2007, none of the most popular acts have been of the teeny-bopping, cheesy-love-song singing variety.
But now a rift is making its way through pop music, and the resurgence of boy bands is fully on its way.
Acts emerging from this new scene include the guitar-wielding Jonas Brothers, the Nickelodeon-sponsored crooners Big Time Rush and the new British-Irish import (and my personal favorite) One Direction, who became hugely popular in 2010 and 2011 after winning the UK X-Factor Competition.
Although most would find it silly that a sophomore in college is shameless when it comes to listening to a bunch of guys who are younger than him singing about puppy love and partying after school, what I love most about boy bands is the simplistic message behind their music.
Boy bands can make thousands of teenage girls (and me) fall completely head over heels, and according to a theory from Canada’s Dalhousie University, it’s the boy bands like ‘N Sync and Backstreet Boys that helped “break down traditional constructs of masculinity and influenced the rise of the ‘metrosexual’ movement.”
Whatever movement boy bands are assisting in, they are an essential part of pop music and should be treated as such. Besides, what’s better than a bunch of attractive males singing about love, loss and hanging out after school? Nothing.
So put away all of your preconceptions of what a boy band is. Don’t act like you’ve never owned a ‘N Sync album. Stop resisting the urge to dance along to Big Time Rush and sing at the top of your lungs to One Direction.
At some point in our lives, we all probably were (and maybe still are) fans of the boy band.
Reach the columnist at jermac@asu.edu
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