Boy Band: Difference between revisions

{{quote|''You thought that boy bands were dead and gone,''

''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''}}

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]].

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.

* 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]].

* [[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".

* 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.

* 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.

* [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.

** 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?]]''.

* [[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.

* 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.

== Boy Band Parodies ==

* 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.

** 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.