We Miss the 90s: Boy Bands
Jen: You missed your chance to be in Glitter?!! Only the worst movie of all time. Actually, I’ve never seen it, but from what I understand it’s right up there with Gigli.
As a side note, I once saw Pink open up for Hot Night at the Providence Civic Center – that’s right she was the opener – and she was probably the worst act I’ve ever seen in my life. Right after her was Destiny’s child and the show runner was Nelly in his prime, so I can only hope she was much better when you saw her.
I think I was a little old for Hanson myself, but a very good friend wrote to Oprah and told her how much she wanted to meet them. And then next thing she knew, she and her best friend were whisked away to Chicago with their mothers to meet the band! To this day, when she tells the story she sounds like an excited 12 year-old. The video of her on Oprah is one of the best things I’ve ever seen in my life. There may have been screen shots of the video in a slide show for her wedding.
What do you guys think of all these reunion tours? I’ll admit, I haven’t jumped on the New Kids bandwagon. My musical tastes have changed, and although I love Hangin’ Tough and Larger than Life, I can’t see myself shelling out the dough to see these groups that don’t even play their own instruments. The only exception would probably be Justin Timberlake.
If you think about it, these tours make sense. Their fans are all older, they have their own disposable income and they are starting to feel nostalgic.
And what about the boy bands today? I don’t know if he even counts, but I didn’t even know who Justin Bieber was until he was on Saturday Night Live. I am pretty sure I heard about One Direction only because he dated Taylor Swift (who hasn’t?) or Lindsey Lohan or someone. Think they could do a reunion tour in 20 years and still be relevant?
Ben: I barely remember the Pink performance. I had no idea who she was at the time. I saw Backstreet Boys a year later and Sisqo opened for them. He was awful.
That Hanson story with your friend is fantastic.
I was talking to my wife about the reunion tours after we first started this chain. A friend of hers wants to go to a BSB concert later this year and has nobody to go with so she asked if I’d be interested. My initial inclination was that it would be weird to be a 30 year-old dude seeing a boy band older than me, but then I realized it was probably no stranger than being a 20 year-old dude at a concert full of teenage girls was. But yeah, I’m with you, I don’t really have much interest in watching these guys at this stage at my or their lives, both because of the reasons you said and because I think it would make me kind of sad. If I see a Motley Crue show or something, I don’t care that those guys are old as dirt, because they were already worn-out in their prime, but boy bands are all about youth and vitality, so I don’t really want to see 40-year-old Nick Carter trying to bounce around a stage. Another good point about their fans having their own disposable income now though.
It’s hard to judge groups like One Direction because we’re no longer anywhere near their target demographic; I find most of their stuff repetitive and dull when I hear it on the radio, but maybe that’s how people 10 years older than me felt about ‘NSync. At the same time, I could appreciate the Beatles and Jackson Five, so maybe they just don’t have it. Certainly I don’t think now is the golden age of boy bands that the 90’s was. If anything, it seems more about girl groups these days.
If the kids in One Direction are smart, they’ll see that Justin Timberlake has already created the template for them and know they need to diversify their solo portfolios ASAP to stay relevant. What are the Jonas Brothers doing these days?
(Also, I just finished you guys’ first 90’s column and am now embarrassed over my AOL e-mail)
Justin: I hope Sisqo at least performed the Thong Song. Or the song with Chris Tucker.
Foxboro traffic is brutal, so I can’t blame you for entertaining yourselves with impromptu boy band karaoke!
Never was a big Pink fan, maybe because I think the name is stupid. She seems so angry too.
The reunion tours totally make sense…for the exact reasons you mentioned, Jen. As we reach our 20s and 30s, nostalgia reigns supreme (obviously, look at this column). It was super smart for these dudes to suck it in, toss on the tight clothes and hit the road to cash in on fans that want to recapture their youth. My wife’s friend has seen NKOTB every time they have toured since the comeback!
Ben has a great point about the key component of boy bands: youth. They are young, innocent, happy and peppy with their whole lives ahead. Donnie Wahlberg is none of these things. So yeah I can see how it would be weird watching them act like they are 19.
One Direction seems to have staying power. Bieber may be in trouble with the young crowd though, because at some point parents are going to notice the antics and decide they don’t want their young daughters idolizing that jackass. He is going to be best served (well, he shouldn’t be served at all, but I digress) changing his tone up and appealing to teenage girls rebelling against their parents (this is all making me very depressed for my daughter to grow up).
Even though NSYNC was possibly more influential, in my mind I always associate Boy Bands with BSB. NKOTB blazed the trail, but things went a bit dormant until BSB stormed onto the scene and kicked the door back open. Hanson was in there too, but I think most see them as a one hit wonder.
Ok, let’s wrap this up… Share your final thoughts on the subject before we go.
STEP THREE
Ben: Of course he performed the Thong Song. What other song was he going to do? He had other songs? I’m pretty sure it was a 30 minute long version of the Thong Song.
My final thought on boy bands is that more than any other form of music or entertainment, they’re an assembly line product. The songs are fun and catchy at their best and some of these kids have talent, but pretty much every boy band ever formed was done using a tried and true formula. There’s not a lot of artistic integrity involved, and dudes who do get in it for the love break away at the first opportunity like Michael Jackson or Justin Timberlake; the Chris Kirkpatricks of the world fade into obscurity because they were just there to fill a spot. It will be interesting to see who of the One Direction kids and so forth split off and have a successful solo career if any do.
I’ll always enjoy boy band music because it’s goofy and enjoyable, but I don’t really envy the short lifespans they have as stars. Like a candle in the wind and all that.
Jen: How did we forget Color Me Badd???! I mean. These guys were on Beverly Hills 90210 for crying out loud. I guess, they were geared towards an older audience, “I wanna sex you up” really isn’t meant for a teenage audience. But their fashion sense was phenomenal. I don’t think we’ll see another boy band member break free and end up the super star that JT is any time soon. Good luck to the member of 1D that tries!
Justin: You never know… Who the hell expected them to dominate the late 90s like they did? JT is a generational talent, so it won’t be easy.
Nice job hanging tough on this one…until next time, always remember that I adore, mi amor…
STEP FOUR
