The other day I was talking to my teenage niece about how they don’t make boy bands like they used to. She looked at me like I was completely insane and I started looking up video evidence of this on youtube. She insisted that I was insane and that One Direction is “everything”. Maybe actually enjoying a boy band has something to do with your ears being young and impressionable. You can’t tell me that the boy bands of the late ’80s into my teen years of the early 2000’s weren’t the complete shit.
Because I have zero shame, I decided it would be best to unleash my top 5 favorite boy bands. I refuse to believe that you haven’t enjoyed at least a couple of these boy bands in one way shape or form at some point in your life.
NKOTB started the boy band craze for a lot of us born in the ’80s. I had everything from NKOTB t-shirts, stickers, even bed sheets. I developed a crush on each of these boys at the age of 3 1/2. Apparently, in my toddler brain there was something fantastic about these choreographed boys. As I got older, I was exposed to more music and grew out of NKOTB before a lot of my other friends but I like to think this is where my synthetically formed musical group obsession began.
I have always been on the fence with Backstreet Boys. I didn’t think they were really anything wonderful until this happened…
It’s still impossible for me not to sing along to this song and dance around. I don’t know where they were coming “back” from but it didn’t matter. After this jam, they had a few other songs here and there that I was into as a pre-teen but nothing that really changed my life or made me actually want to go see them in concert or anything. Nevertheless, they were a big part of me bustin’ a move at school dances and in my bedroom. I feel like they were decent enough to earn a spot in my top 5.
3. 5ive
I used to feel like the only person in the world that was obsessed with 5ive. I remember my mother would special order some of their VHS tapes and Special Edition CDs from the UK to feed my obsession. I honestly don’t think they got the credit they deserved. They had all the fine makings of a boy band AND accents. A pre-teen American girl couldn’t have asked for more. I used to even take part in some of their fan fictions online in true nerd fashion.
I was just doing some research on what happened to them and apparently they tried to make a comeback in 2006-2007 and failed. It looks like they are trying to give it a go again and hopefully it all works out for them. In case you have no idea who these guys are, here is their most popular song…
2. * N S Y N C
I don’t care what anyone says, male or female, you know all of the words to at least one *NSYNC song. I feel that *NSYNC was the best of all of the boy bands during the reign of boy bandom. Thank goodness for the New Mickey Mouse Club because I feel like the forming of *NSYNC would have never happened if it wasn’t for that show. I am not sure if *NSYNC will ever be a thing again due to Timberlake world domination, but it doesn’t matter because *NSYNC will forever hold a special place in my heart.
1. 2Gether
Before you say anything…2Gether totally counts as a boy band. Most boy bands were manufactured, styled, and put together in a rapid manner and this is exactly what 2Gether was. They were a wonderful parody of pop infused boys and I personally couldn’t get enough of them. 2Gether was originally introduced to the world as a MTV original movie which then became a series. Sadly, Michael Cuccione passed away during 2Gether takeover but there are rumors that there will be some form of reunion for this comedic pop group. I suppose we will all have to wait and see. Because I am sure you all need this in your life right now, here is the reason why we love 2Gether…
These were the boy bands that were a big part of my childhood into my teenage years. Who were some of your favorites? Were you team Backstreet Boys or team *NSYNC? Have no shame, embrace your boy band love!
