With fresh faces, raw talent, and a combination of dance and singing skills, boy bands appear to be making a comeback in popular music after more than two decades since the movement first began. Although it appeared that the days of *NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, and New Kids on the Block were over and forgotten about, new bands like One Direction, Big Time Rush, and The Wanted are proving that they can still cause a stir in the music industry.
The main distinction between boy bands today and those of an earlier era seems to be the attention they receive and how they attain it. Boy bands were serious business in the late eighties, nineties, and early two thousands. They gained their attention through MTV back when the channel still played music and fought for the top spot on TRL. Students today are still familiar with the rivalries that existed in the nineties like junior Nelly Pineda who was a Backstreet Boys fan.
“The Backstreet Boys kept it classy and did not have to expose themselves like *NSYNC,” Pineda said.
Today there are fewer rivalries and not as much attention surrounding music on television. If a band that someone does not like is on the screen, they can simply turn it off and go on YouTube.
The target audience has always been primarily young girls that swoon over the boys releasing albums and performing shows. Posters of Justin Timberlake and Nick Lachey eventually left the walls of millions of teenage girls’ bedrooms as they grew older. Now, posters are filling the walls of the new generation with the faces of Harry Styles, James Maslow, and Max George among others.
“I love Harry Styles from One Direction,” sophomore Ellie Ramos said. “He does not only have good looks, but an amazing voice.”
The Nickelodeon band, Big Time Rush, began their show over a year ago, but it is not until now that their popularity is being recognized. Maybe that recognition is due to the fact that the UK boy band One Direction and The Wanted are dominating the charts as well. One artist is not enough to be considered a trend, but it is when there are three bands having great album sales and large fan bases.
An interesting perspective, as explained by junior Grecia Gonzalez, is that the only reason people are considering boy bands popular again is because the industry is making it seem that way.
“The people who are saying that boy bands are making a comeback are those who are trying to make them come back,” Gonzalez said. “They are promoting their own cause for their own benefit.”
No one can predict a phenomenon before it happens, therefore it is too early to compare the success of The Beatles to the success of One Direction. However, a few years down the road the legacy that these bands have left will remain and their impact will be clearer. Ipods have replaced CDs just like CDs replaced records; who knows what is to come. One thing is clear, the evolution of music will continue to revolutionize.
