Framework of a Boy Band

The Backstreet Boys, N’sync, 98 Degrees, Five, Take That and Westlife – ever heard of them? I’m sure you did! (If not, I’d like to ask which cave you stayed in for the past decades!)

Take That

Indeed, boy bands were a thriving trend during the 90’s. It was such a hit that it supported a huge database of fans (most of them girls, obviously!) Millions of album copies sold over a span of months -- even weeks! Advertisements, commercials, sold out concerts and numerous sponsorships were given to these boys. What made them such a hit? As compared to “boy bands” in the 70’s such as The Beatles who actually held instruments, we could say that the 90’s boy bands, on the other hand, were able to hit it off with their looks, charm and cheesier-than-ever song lyrics. What made boy bands back in the 90’s a hit, even though they, technically, went against the mere idea of a band having to play instruments? (Seriously, do you remember any one of them holding a guitar or drumsticks?)

Backstreet Boys        

So now, we scrutinize the framework of a boy bandas to understand how they swept so many girls’ feet and how they made a revolution in the music scene. A regular boy band usually compromises of 5 members each. They usually have:

1.) the boy-next-door, 2.) the rough-looking guy or the bad boy, 3.) the one who is not of the same race as the others in the band, 4.) the one who can really sing (usually the lead vocalist) and 5.) the eccentric one who starts the unusual fashion trends and outrageous hairstyles.

I guess we can conclude that these boys made it big because they offered diversity and multiple choices of cute guys with different and distinct personalities to choose from! With this factor involved, it intensely contributed into the widening their range of fans! So never mind the instruments they were not able to play; at least we got to listen to more of those heart-warming and immensely butterfly-in-the stomach-generating songs that marked their spot in the 90’s up to present.

That's it! Time to bounce!

Bien-Bien Tan

Sources for the images:

* - - (1997). Backstreet Boys [Photograph]. Retrieved from http://new.music.yahoo.com/backstreet-boys/albums/backstreet-boys--149977

* Taylor, D. (2011). Take That [Photograph]. Retrieved from http://www.daveytaylor.com/?p=245