(Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images For BET)
Do you remember what you were doing when you heard that new Boyz2Men, Bel Biv Devo, *NSYNC, or Jodeci record for the first time? There was a time when a team of talented young men would join a group in hopes that a super group would form and dominate both radio, touring and, now, television’s extinct music channels.
We at HipHopMyWay have a few questions: call us…curious. Where have all the boy bands gone? Can we consider the boy band phenomenon extinct?
It’s no coincidence that boy bands do not exist anymore; we live in a time where society’s mentality is very singular, selfish and all about the “what about me” — asked in 140 character or less. We lack teamwork and camaraderie, two essential components needed for the success of any singing group.
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Boy bands generate millions of fans, which equates to millions of dollars. When done well, not only did boy bands make for a smart investment, but they gave us beautifully timeless music — a priceless legacy. Which leads me to wonder, why is it that younger artists are not taking pointers from the successes of the past? Probably ego, but when the going gets tough out there as a solo artist, it might be better to team up with some of your singing buddies. Hence the great music brought to us by the collaboration from TGT — better known as Tyrese, Ginuwine and Tank.
These days the closest hip hop gets to a boy band is a DJ Khaled record featuring Chris Brown, August Alsina, Jeremih, and Future. The production team over at We The Best Music did a great job, but whenever I hear songs like “Hold You Down” or August Alsina’s “I Luv This Sh*t (Remix)” where they brought in an assist from Chris Brown and Trey Songz, I have to ask myself the following: “Is there any new fresh talent out there that can do this routinely?” And, why are A&Rs scared to develop singing groups?
Something is wrong, and while we have a handful of questions, similar to Sway we don’t got the answers. #BringOurBoyBandsBack
