Scandalous Facts About Boy Bands
Scandalous Facts About Boy Bands
The term “boy band” has been met with a lot of derision over the years, unless you yourself are either young enough to adore them or old enough to be nostalgic about them.
Love them or hate them, boy bands have an indisputable place of musical importance in the past and present.
But much like the rest of Hollywood, the boy band world is not without scandal. Notorious music manager, Lou Pearlman came crashing down in a storm of lawsuits after horrifically scamming several boy bands in the 90s—but an even much more sinister story emerged in 2009.
1. What Makes Them A "Boy Band"?
In case people aren’t sure of the definition, a boy band is usually defined as a group made up of young male singers whose focus is making love songs for girls.
More often than not, they also don’t play instruments, focusing on singing and choreography.
2. That’s Excessive
The term “boy band” wasn’t coined until the late 1980s. Before that, they were often called “hep harmony singing groups.” We can certainly see why another term was necessary to describe them.
The Osmonds
3. High Water Marks
So far in history, the popularity of boy bands has peaked at four different times: the 1960s, the late 1990s/early 2000s, the early 2010s, and the late 2010s. So, if you’re reading this in 2019, enjoy this peak while it lasts!
4. Nowadays, They’re the Old Kids from the Block
The first commercially successful boy band that was actually labeled as a boy band in the modern sense was New Kids on the Block.
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, New Kids on the Block sold tens of millions of albums, setting the mold and the stage for every major American boy band who emerged after them.
