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{{quote|''You thought that boy bands were dead and gone,''
''But just like cancer and
''Ten million tween girls and old perverts can't be wrong!''
|'''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v{{=}}t7CHfqg0wd8 The Key of Awesome]''' ''[[One Direction]] parody''}}
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Although they are not very famous outside Asia, Japan has been creating boy bands since [[The Seventies]]. The most notable boy band factory is [[Cast Full of Pretty Boys|Johnny's Jimusho]], which currently manages about ''fifteen'' boy bands. Today Johnny's bands dominate the charts, with SMAP and [[Arashi]] topping pretty much constantly. Dramas that famous boyband members star in pretty much always do well, and you will see members of popular boybands on TV variety shows quite a lot. The boyband machine is so well-oiled in Japan that many of the tropes applied in the West don't function - boybands have large adult followings (usually middle-aged women) and men seem to be able to handle it, if not love it - you WILL sing A-RA-SHI many times in karaoke in mixed company, just because [[Ear Worm|everybody knows it]].
Lately, Korea has been getting on the action too with bands like [[Dong Bang Shin Ki|DBSK]], 2PM, [[SHINee]], [[B2ST]], U-KISS, [[Super Junior]], etc. The [[Korean Pop Music|K-pop]] method usually consists of groups with [[Loads and Loads of Characters|a larger number of members]] than western equivalents and then subdividing them in smaller subgroups/"units" for expanded appeal and easier promotional efforts. Also, while borrowing the above archetypes for the members, K-pop bands tend to divide the members for position:
* '''The [[Face of the Band]]''': [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin]]. The most publicised member of the group, whenever for his actual abilities, his looks, or his popularity with fans. Usually overlaps with any of the positions below. Tends to be assigned the Hearthrob archetype. Some groups avoid having one appointed to keep an image of cohesive equality or groupal friendship.
* '''[[The Leader]]''': [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin]], the one who leads the group, heads the interviews, talks on stage, herds the rest of the members, and serves as an intermediary between the group and the agency. Usually the member that was a trainee the longest. If he isn't the actual [[Face of the Band]], he'll act as such on offstage matters. Generally acting under the Older Brother or the [[Sempai-Kohai|Sunbae]] archetypes.
* ''' The Center''': A less set position, he's the member on whom the current promotion is based on (if said position isn't an alternate name for being [[Face of the Band]]). Usually the lead vocalist or the most rounded-up member, tends to be the one who gets the most lines in songs.
* '''The Visual''': The official [[Mr. Fanservice]] of the band, the most attractive member under Korean beauty standards. Not necessarily the Face of the Band, albeit it sometimes overlaps.
* '''The Main/Lead/Sub Vocalist/Dancer/Rapper''': The Main specialist is always the best one of the group on said specialty, whenever rapping, singing or dancing. The Lead is usually the second best at it and tends to be put in the front lines. The Sub specialist is intended to be better at it than the non-specialist members, but still not as good as the ain or the Lead. Some groups formed from the mid-late 2010s onwards tend to not have these positions assigned as they intend to show that their members are pretty rounded or equally capable of singing, rapping ''and'' dancing.
* '''The ''Maknae''''': the youngest member of the group, on top of any other position he may already have. Usually directed to be [[Keet|the cutest and more childish]] member, but subversions do exist.
Boy bands are a major source of [[Real Person Fic]] (a subgenre called bandslash), where you basically have one of two types: Female OC woos band member, or the band members woo each other. In Japan the majority of RPF [[Doujinshi]] are bandslash.
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* Menudo: Best known nowadays to non-Latin people as "Ricky Martin's Old Band" (it was much more popular in Latin America). Notable because they combined this with a [[Revolving Door Band|rotating cast]]; when you [[Dangerous Sixteenth Birthday|turned sixteen]], grew facial hair, or underwent a voice change, you were fired. It has two incarnations under that name, one that ran from 1977 to 1997, and a second one that ran between 2007 and 2009. Because of management and rights troubles, a set of band members created a new group under the name of MDO in 1997, which lasted until 2008.
* [[New Kids on the Block]].
* Hikaru Genji was the biggest boyband managed by Johnny's from the mid
* [[Take That (band)|Take That]]: Not [[Take That|the trope]], but Robbie Williams' old band.
* East 17 were marketed as "[[The Rolling Stones]] to Take That's [[The Beatles (band)|The Beatles]]", with a tougher sound influenced by hip-hop. However, they were outlasted by Take That and are best known today for their biggest hit (and first ballad) "Stay Another Day".
* Boyz II Men: Took NKOTB's place in the early-to-mid 90's, but had a more traditional R&B sound. Directly influenced many of the bands listed below.
* Color Me Badd: Similar to the aforementioned Take That/East 17 example, this group was more or less the "edgier" alternative to Boyz II Men. While they were less successful, they performed a similar-sounding New Jack Swing stlye and incorporating some rapped interludes.
* The [[Backstreet Boys]]: Notable for being the first of the 90's Boy Bands to throw off their previously mentioned large, intimidating boss.
* *N SYNC: Stood in the shadow of [[Backstreet Boys]] during the former's height of popularity, although they had one #1 Billboard single with "It's Gonna Be Me". Ironically, [[Justin Timberlake]]'s solo career has been more popular and critically loved than anything BSB or *N SYNC ever did.
* Boyzone: Irish boy band who took over from [[Take That (band)|Take That]] after their split and were hugely successful in the UK. Stephen Gately of the group was the first member of a really successful boy band to come out as gay.
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* Blue: early 2000s British boy band with stronger than usual R&B influences and a multi-racial line-up. Particularly notorious for member Lee Ryan's initial reaction to a journalist when asked about 9/11 ("Who gives a fuck about New York when elephants are being killed?").
* Rascal Flatts began as, essentially, a [[Country Music]] boy band.
* McFly (named after the character from ''[[Back to The Future]]''), an early 2000 band, fitted the
* LFO - A [[Power Trio]], though they weren't even half as popular as 98 Degrees. However, they ''did'' get the all-important [[New Kids on the Block|Joey McIntyre]] Elder Boy Band Statesman Seal of Approval; he had them as openers for some of his solo shows. (LFO supposedly stands for "[[Brain Bleach|Lyte Funky Ones]]".)
* BBMak was a British [[Power Trio]] that broke a few of the Boy Band rules: Besides the aforementioned three members every single one was a classically trained musician, none of them danced, and besides playing all of their own music (and writing a good deal themselves) they often incorporated unlikely instruments such as Bagpipes, Recorders/Tin Whistles and even a Hurdy Gurdy.
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* [https://web.archive.org/web/20131028144508/http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/500/18583905/3T+2351360747_76e4417295_o.jpg The 3 T] (Michael Jackson's nephews)
* [[Arashi]] is what Johhny's Entertainment came up with when they realized SMAP would one day grow old, and are generally positioned at number 2 on the charts after SMAP. They are everywhere in Japan and cannot be avoided.
* [[The Jonas Brothers]]: Notable for possibly having had about a half dozen TV shows (most of
** Leave it to ''[[The Onion]]'' to [https://web.archive.org/web/20100317214220/http://www.theonion.com/content/video/disney_lab_unveils_its_latest take this one on.]
** While it's pretty clear why some people would classify them as a boy band, they don't really fit the above criteria considering they are brothers (not formed by a label) and play several instruments, plus they are more like a boy-band-ish version of a typical pop-rock band anyway. They went on hiatus in 2013 to pursue individual interests and reunited in 2019.
* [[Celtic Thunder]] is essentially Public Television's answer to the Boy Band — too bad they're about a decade too late. Basically, they took five incredibly attractive Irish guys who could sing and range in age from about 15 to 40 in order to attract as many women as possible. Though not as well-known or well-merchandised as some of the examples above, they have a big international following.
* [[Rockapella]] was a college a capella group that was signed on to a PBS game show in order to cash in on the popularity of boys bands. The show was called ''[[Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?]]''.
* [[Big Time Rush]]: Known as a current
* [[SHINee]] is a Korean band that debuted in 2008, sliding into the R&B/pop genre. They've started something of a fashion trend with their style of tight pants, boots, and colourful jackets.
* [[Super Junior]], from Korea, is known for having a grand total of fifteen members (it depends on whether you ask the purists, those who are willing to accept the Chinese sub-members, or if you count the inactive members). Since debuting in 2005, they have broken records and pioneered a unit system for K-pop groups, in which members of the band were put together in smaller sub-groups catering to different fanbases.
* Mindless Behavior is a boy band. Fairly different from most on the list, in that they are all black, sing [[Rhythm and blues]] / [[Hip Hop]], and there's only 4 of them. They started out opening for acts like [[Janet Jackson]] before releasing "Mrs. Right" in 2011.
* [[One Direction]], the main sensation during the first half of [[The New Tens]]. Yet another boy band to come out of England,
* British group The Wanted have been around for the few years; after initial success in their native UK, they're starting to enjoy Stateside success as well, thanks in part to them being managed by [[Justin Bieber|Scooter Braun]].
* JLS, from England; like One Direction, they rose to popularity after their season of [[The X Factor]]. Much like 98 Degrees, though, they formed independently and initially auditioned for X Factor together.
* [[BTS (band)|BTS]], the current (as of early 2020s) international sensation from Korea. Debuted in 2013, this septet slowly gained fame
== Boy Band Parodies ==
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* The ''[[Josie and the Pussycats (film)|Josie and The Pussycats]]'' [[The Movie|movie]] featured a boy band called [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ica0S13BTh4&feature=related Dujour.] To make fun of the effeminate nature of many boy bands, their hit single was called "[[Does This Remind You of Anything?|Backdoor Lover]]". When they find out that their record label is putting [[Subliminal Advertising]] into their music, their manager (who isn't a big burly dude, but is instead an evil Alan Cumming) tries to have them killed by causing their plane to crash. {{spoiler|They survive, having managed to safely land the plane on their own... only to find that they had landed in the parking lot of an arena hosting a [[Metallica]] concert.}}
* ''[[Sons of Provo]]'', which takes the Boy Band idea (using just three, instead) and mixes it with the most humorously ironic thing possible: the Latter-Day Saint lifestyle. "Evercleen", as they called themselves, managed to lampoon several things in both worlds. Well worth seeing, if only for the strange fascination of the idea of an LDS "''boy band''"—or any other religious-pop act.
* In ''[[Turning Red]]'' there is the multiracial boy band 4*Town, whom the protagonist and all her friends are hardcore fans of. While in-universe they are played more straight than most examples here, the band itself is a mashup of boyband concepts from the 2000s, up to including a Korean member in representation of the Second Wave K-pop bands.
=== Live-Action TV ===
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* Señor Senior Snr. and Señor Senior Jnr. kidnapped a group like this in ''[[Kim Possible]]''. They'd outlived their popularity (which lasted about a week) until the kidnapping put them back on top.
* ''[[Totally Spies!]]'' had an episode where a washed up boy band kidnapped a "hip" boy band and stole their faces.
* In (of all things) ''[[Arthur (animation)|Arthur]]'', boy band Binky is not real... sort of. In concerts, holograms are used in concerts, somehow, without anyone noticing at all. Which kind of begs the
** One word: [[Vocaloid]].
* In the [[Total Drama Island|Celebrity Manhunt]] episode of TDA/TDWT, Justin, Trent, Cody, and Harold make up a boy-band called ''"The Drama Brothers"''. Of course, a lot of tropes are played, such as the band splitting in that same episode. The boys also reunited in the first TDWT Aftermath, under the suggestion of Blaineley.
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Always Male]]
[[Category:Music Tropes]]
[[Category:Boy Band]]
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