I have a confession to make: I am OBSESSED with boy bands. Like, I can’t think of one boy band I don’t like at least one song of. Lucky for me (and everyone else who isn’t afraid to rock out to bubblegum pop every once in while), boy bands are becoming popular again. (Thanks, One Direction!) Here are some more boy bands for you to fangirl over:
1. Westlife
Westlife was an Irish boy band active from 1998 to 2012. They sold over 50 million records worldwide and have had 14 number-one singles in the United Kingdom. To get a taste of Westlife, listen to “Flying Without Wings.”
2. Dream Street
Dream Street was only active from 2000 to 2002, but they produced one of my favorite songs as a preteen: “It Happens Every Time.” More noticeably, Jesse McCartney was a member.
3. JLS
JLS is a British boy band who was runner-up in the British X Factor in 2008. They split up this year. Listen to “She Makes Me Wanna” (featuring Dev).
4. LMNT
(The group name is pronounced “Element,” by the way.) Running from 2000 to 2003, LMNT was a five-person boy band formed after failing to win reality TV series, Making the Band. Matthew Morrison, of Glee-fame, was a member. Listen to their biggest hit, “Hey Juliet.”
5. E.M.D.
This Swedish boy band, active from 2007 to 2010, was formed after each member individually participated in the Swedish version of American Idol, Idol. They won a Swedish Grammy for the song “Jennie Let Me Love You” in 2009.
6. Union J
Union J is another British boy band who competed on the British X Factor (in 2012). The group, originally called Triple J, was put together with soloist-hopeful George Shelley by the producers after bootcamp. They finished fourth. Listen to their second single, “Beautiful Life.”
7. One Direction
A list of boy bands is not complete without One Direction. If you don’t know about them, they all auditioned as soloists on the British X Factor in 2010 and were put together as a group during bootcamp. They ended up finishing third. They have sold 19 million singles and 10 million albums in less than 3 years of being a band, making them one of the quickest success stories of all time. Listen to one of their deluxe edition bonus tracks, “Magic.”
There are so many great boy bands around the world. I could go on and on with more suggestions (I have not forgotten about Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC and 98 Degrees and…) but it would probably take me three years.
Don’t be ashamed of loving boy bands, even if you are a grown man with a two-foot beard or a young girl who is just about to start school. Boy bands don’t discriminate—they think each and every one of you is beautiful.