From The Beatles to One Direction, we've dissected the evolution of the boy band, all the way from their hair to their musical style.
Created by emilywrightBDC on Jan 23, 2013
Last updated: 02/06/13 at 01:01 PM
The British boy band announced on Feb. 6, 2013 that its reality show would premiere on E! in June. The fivesome is planning to record its third album in 2013, which will be the second released in the U.S. They'll also head out on tour. Think that will be good material for the cameras? We'll have to wait to find out!
The Wanted (Max George, Nathan Sykes, Jay McGuiness, Tom Parker, and Siva Kaneswaran) is managed by Scooter Braun, who also manages teen sensation Justin Bieber.
http://www.boston.com/ae/tv/2013/02/06/boy-band-the-wanted-sign-for-reality-series/VwUF56R6uJ48FsxRKS88CN/story.html
Daytime talk show "The View" served as a platform for a major announcement on Jan. 22 when Boston's own New Kids on the Block dropped by to announce "The Package" tour, featuring Boyz II Men and 98 Degrees. The fellas from all three boy bands sang a cappella and chatted with the lady hosts after the bomb was dropped. Check out footage from the show to the left.
The U.S. tour kicks off at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. on May 29 and stops in Boston at TD Garden on June 2 and 3.
http://www.boston.com/ae/music/blog/2013/01/new_kids_on_the.html
The Jo-Bros reportedly sold out Radio City Music Hall in minutes for a reunion show Oct. 11, 2012. It was the group's first show in more than two years. Disney helped gain the brothers fame after they formed in 2005. They have released four albums to date.
The band split up to focus on solo projects, like Nick's solo tour, Joe's album "Fast Life," and Kevin's television show, "Married to Jonas," but the reunion tour and talk of a new album in 2013 could mean a more permanent Jo-Bro combo. We'll just have to wait and see.
http://perezhilton.com/2012-08-24-jonas-brother-sell-out-radio-city-music-hall-concert#.UQl0tR1EFvA
After coming in third place on the UK version of "The X Factor," One Direction blew up on the boy band scene with its first single, "What Makes You Beautiful." The track became the best-selling single by a boy band in digital history, according to Yahoo (http://music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart-watch/chart-watch-extra-top-songs-2012-155237610.html). This article also reports that it came in at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2012.
http://www.secondhandsongs.com/performance/248838
Justin Timberlake, J.C Chasez., Joey Fatone, Chris Kirkpatrick, and Lance Bass made pop history when they were joined by the King of Pop during a performance at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards in New York City. The late Michael Jackson, a former member of one of the original boy bands, The Jackson 5, stepped on stage wearing his iconic white v-neck T-shirt and penny loafers to dance alongside the 'N Sync guys while Justin Timberlake beat-boxed.
'N Sync performed its song "Pop" that night off of their third album, "Celebrity," which went platinum five times in the U.S. The group was formed in Florida in 1995.
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1614843/michael-jackson-joins-nsync-at-2001-vmas.jhtml
One-third of the upcoming "Package" tour, 98 Degrees, released "98 Degrees And Rising" in Oct. 1998, and the album went on to go quadruple platinum. The CD featured the hits "I Do (Cherish You)" and "The Hardest Thing."
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/story?id=107973&page=1
The Backstreet Boys (Brian Littrell, A.J. McLean, Howie Dorough, and Kevin Richardson -- Nick Carter didn't make it; he was sick) stopped by the now-defunct "Total Request Live" ("TRL") set on Oct. 22, 1998, at the height of BSB pandemonium. Their appearance in the Times Square studio shut down Times Square. No, we're not joking. Check out the video of the craziness to the left. The group, which formed in 1993, became a sensation in 1996 with its album "Backstreet Boys."
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/blogs/staff-blog/tr-later-rock-dailys-farewell-to-trl-live-blog-20081116
When Hanson released its debut album "Middle of Nowhere" on May 6, 1997, the then-governor of Oklahoma -- the group's home state -- deemed the day "Hanson Day."
The day honoring the brotherly band members, Zac, Isaac, and Taylor Hanson, continues to be celebrated by fans of the "MMMBop" singers to this day with tribute concerts and other Hanson-themed events. The band, which has sold more than 16 million albums to date, has a new album due out in 2013.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/scene/article.aspx?subjectid=269&articleid=20120520_269_D3_CUTLIN748192
The singers of songs like "I Can Love You Like That" picked up a Grammy in 1995 for a cover of the country song "I Swear." All-4-One took home the best performance by a pop duo or group award at the March 1, 1995 ceremony, the same year that Bruce Springsteen's "Streets of Philadelphia," took home song of the year.
http://www.popculturemadness.com/Trivia/Grammies/Top-1995-G.html
Boyz II Men has had five No. 1 singles, but the first was "End of the Road," which hit the top of the Billboard chart on Aug. 15, 1992, and remained there for what-was-then a record 13 weeks. The song was a collaboration between the group and famed producer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, along with the now" X Factor" mentor L.A. Reid. The group went on to break its own record with "I'll Make Love to You," which stayed at the top for 14 weeks in 1994, and a duet with Mariah Carey called "One Sweet Day" topped that with 16 weeks in the best slot.
http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/464618/1000-no-1s-watch-boyz-ii-men-chat-about-topping-the-hot-100
New Kids on the Block were groomed on the streets of Boston and performed in front of various Hub crowds before becoming teen heartthrobs and the object of girls' affection across the globe.
The five-some (Donnie Wahlberg, Jon and Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre, and Danny Wood) headed out on tour to open for Tiffany on July 19, 1988, and their parents had no idea what was coming.
“The boys went on the tour bus with care packages from the parents,” Marlene Putnam, Jon and Jordan Knight's mother said in a Sept. 2012 interview with the Globe. “We were there to say goodbye, and the bus rode off. Off they went to become famous. They were going off, as far as we were concerned, to be an opening act for Tiffany. Wasn’t this great? But that was really their first big bus ride off into stardom.”
The New Kids made room in their tour to stop by Barnstable High School for an intimate concert the day before Thanksgiving in 1988. Check out footage of an interview with a BHS student before the show (left).
http://www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/2012/09/29/new-kids-block-their-early-boston-days/QkknuflO1Uy45M0xDmOIPP/story.html
New Edition was the first boy band to hail from Boston (yes, before The New Kids on the Block), and their debut album "Candy Girl" propelled them into the pop stratosphere. The group's first single, which was also named "Candy Rain," was reminiscent of the Jackson 5.
New Edition singers Ralph Tresvant, Ronald DeVoe, Michael Bivins, Ricky Bell, and Bobby Brown were all between the ages of 13 and 15 at the time of the release, giving real meaning to the term "boy band." New Edition's self-titled second album went double platinum with hits like "Mr. Telephone Man," and "Cool It Now."
http://www.allmusic.com/album/candy-girl-mw0000315708
Another famous boy band of brothers took the world by storm in the late '60s and early '70s: The Osmonds. The group's single "One Bad Apple" hit No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart on Feb. 8, 1970, and the boys continued to make music well into adulthood. Their younger sister, Marie Osmond, didn't join her brother's act, but went solo in the '70s.
The Osmonds stopped by The Boston Globe on July 23, 1968 (left) and performed in the cafeteria -- the same day that the Jackson 5 auditioned for Berry Gordy and Motown in Detroit. Weird, huh?
http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/72802/this-day-in-music
The brothers from Gary, Ind., auditioned for Berry Gordy Jr. and Motown in the summer of 1968 (video at left). Michael, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Jackie were signed to the record label soon after, and made musical history when they had their first four singles become No. 1 hits ("I Want You Back,” “ABC,” “The Love You Save,” and “I’ll Be There").
Unlike The Beatles, the Jackson 5 typically performed sans instruments, relying primarily on the members' vocals and choreographed dance moves to gain popularity.
http://rockhall.com/story-of-rock/timelines/berry_gordy_jr_timeline/more/, http://rockhall.com/inductees/the-jackson-five/bio/
While members of The Beatles and The Beach Boys formed bands on their own, The Monkees were put together by executives at NBC and groomed for television. The foursome, made up of Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork, Mike Nesmith, and the late Davy Jones, debuted on the small screen in 1966 and joined the world of boy band fame. The TV show named after the band ran from 1966-1968 and spawned radio hits like "Daydream Believer" and "I'm a Believer." The band maintained enough star power to continue touring through 2012, wrapping its first tour after Jones's death on Dec. 2 that year.
http://www.boston.com/ae/music/2012/08/08/monkees-announce-tour-since-davy-jones-death/msbv8w7friYebzdXXUuD9M/story.html
The British invasion was in full swing by 1964, and John, Paul, George, and Ringo had taken the United States by storm. Although the four played instruments -- unlike many groups that came after them, like the Backstreet Boys -- the young fellas set an international precedent for a male group act with their polished look and tone. By April 4, 1964, the Beatles held the top five positions on the Billboard singles chart, and they were the only musical act to ever do so:
No. 1, "Can't Buy Me Love"
No. 2, "Twist and Shout"
No. 3, "She Loves You"
No. 4, "I Want to Hold Your Hand"
No. 5, "Please Please Me"
Bands like The Beach Boys came just before The Beatles when they formed in 1961, and along with the "I Want to Hold Your Hand" singers, cornered the market on swooning teenage girls.
http://www.billboard.com/articles/chartbeat/513480/april-4-1964-the-beatles-make-hot-100-history
Update Sources