Throughout the last few decades, the world has been sensationalized by a common phenomenon; the boy band. Boy bands are simple. A few attractive young men. Long hair. A lead singer. Pop songs about love and heartbreak, dancing and being young.
Teen girls seem to love boy bands immensely and often become “superfans” of their respective bands, incessantly fawning over each member of the pop sensations.
Each band seems to follow a similar pattern – the band starts small, becomes a huge hit, then burns out or breaks up. This is an interesting pattern, considering the success the bands tend to incur over the time period of their band’s peak, though drugs, alcohol, or the rapid and inordinate amount of fame these young men are given. After these problems occur, breakups are usually very close in the future.
“Boy bands often fall off the face of the earth because they only have a few popular songs, then end up not being successful with older generations,” said freshman Liam Conroy.
The Beatles were named the most influential and popular musical group in history, and still holds hundreds of thousands of fans. The popular band started humbly in 1957 in Quarry Bank School in Liverpool when John Lennon decided to create a band entitled, “The Blackjacks.” With a love for American Rock ‘n’ Roll, Lennon set out to establish a band with strong rock influences. In 1960, John Lennon added more members to the band, creating the Beatles. However, the Beatles were only together for ten years before their split in 1970. Lennon left the group in 1969, followed by Paul McCartney in April of 1970, who announced that the Beatles were no more. Three of the six members of the band are now deceased.
“I went to a Beatles’ concert which was a very inspiring and eye opening experience because Paul McCartney is over the age of 50 and is still doing what he loves,” sophomore Melanie Valencia said, “I love the Beatles because their music puts me into a good mood.”
Hanson is an American band formed of three brothers in 1992, which originated in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The band is best known for their 1997 hit single “MMMBop” which was in their popular album Middle of Nowhere. They had troubles with their record label, causing them to go through periods of inactivity. However, Hanson is still in operation today, and have sold over 16 million copies of their albums through the years.
‘N’ Sync was the one of the most popular boy bands in the ‘90s. This American boy band was formed in Orlando, Florida in 1995, then later came out with their debut album in 1998. No Strings Attached was their most popular album, which sold over 1 million copies in one day, and 2.42 million in it’s opening week. Over the course of their career, ‘N’Sync sold 50 million albums. ‘N’Sync was nominated for several Grammys and performed at the World Series, Super Bowl, and Olympic Games. After becoming teenage heartthrobs for millions of young girls, the band announced a ‘temporary hiatus’ in 2002, then later closed the band’s website in 2006. Chris Kirkpatrick announced the band’s official breakup in 2007.
Jonas Brothers. The original “JB” for many girls. The Jonas Brothers were three young and attractive brothers who started their American pop rock boy band in 2005. They appeared on the popular Disney Channel movie Camp Rock in 2008 then later started their own Disney Channel show entitled JONAS which was cancelled after two seasons. However, the band of brothers became extremely popular, then ended up recording and releasing four albums and selling over 17 million albums worldwide. The band won several awards and was nominated for a Grammy. The brothers took a hiatus in 2010 which continued until October 29, 2013 when they announced their official breakup.
“I like the Jonas Brothers because Nick Jonas is a singer, Joe Jonas is beautiful, and Kevin is good at guitar.” sophomore Keila Montiel said, “I will always be a Jonatic.”
One Direction. One Direction is arguably the most popular boy band of this generation, with one of the largest fandoms in band history. This English-Irish pop boy band was started in 2010 after competing in the British branch of The X Factor then signing with Syco Records, Simon Cowell’s record label. One Direction has been unimaginably popular, with each of their three albums, Up All Night, Take Me Home, and Midnight Memories, debuting at number one, topping the charts in almost every country. They have won an extraordinary amount of awards and have been at number one on several Billboard charts many times. This boy band is unique in how it has captivated the entire world while continuing to steal the hearts of teen girls living in countries worldwide.
“I love One Direction because they are hot, have great personalities, are funny, and they are real guys who can actually sing,” sophomore Amanda Adenan said, “Their concert was amazing because they interacted with the audience and they didn’t have choreographed dance moves. Their voices were perfect. It was perfect.”
The band is due to start their worldwide arena tour in the spring, which will be stopping by National’s Park in Washington, D.C. on August 11th. The band continues to evolve and change into a more mature sound, so it will be interesting to see the future of One Direction. “I think after 2014, and maybe after they make another album, they will take a break from the band or stop because they have worked so hard these past few years and they deserve one.” Adenan said, commenting on what she believes the band will do in the future.