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The boy band is generally composed of well-dressed men, moves like Jagger, and voices smoother than Jagger’s—accompanied by A LOT of fans. In the American POP exhibit, we’ve got classic artifacts of the boy band craze from across generations. Which one of these heartthrobs knew you as their number one fan?
The Boys Who Started It All
The Beatles bobbleheads
Car Mascots
1964
No need for introduction—these guys drove crowds wild with hits starting in the UK in the early 60s. The Beatles were touted as the leader of the “British Invasion,” a cultural phenomenon in which musical artists from the UK became wildly successful in crossing over to the United States. Paul, John, Ringo, and George had such an intense following, the subculture was considered “Beatlemania.” We’re not going to get into the details of their albums and hit singles—because we don’t want to blow your mind. There’s entire college courses on that stuff. The band split in 1970, but to this day, are the best-selling band in history worldwide. If you don’t know who they are, you’ve likely been living under a rock with the wrong kind of beatles.
The Boys With the Right Stuff
New Kids On The Block Signed Poster
Funky Enterprises
1990
New Kids on the Block (NKOTB) had a rough first round with their debut album, and were almost cut from Columbia Records. That is until the boys released Hangin’ Tough in 1988 with their iconic hit “You Got It (The Right Stuff).” The music video caught the attention of MTV (yes, back when MTV played music videos) and skyrocketed on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts. After the album went platinum eight times, NKOTB kept dishing out the right stuff indeed—with a third chart-topping album, approximately 200 concerts a year, and enough merchandise to brand any fan.
The Boyz Who Grew Up
Boyz II Men CD and Singing Teddy Bearz
Motown/Commonwealth
1991/1996
Boyz II Men hit the R&B radio waves in the 90s with ballads and harmonies that could make a grown man cry. Their first big hit “End of the Road” stayed at number one on the Billboard charts for 13 weeks, beating a record set by Elvis Presley decades prior. With the release of their sophomore album, II, and hits like “On Bended Knee” and “I’ll Make Love To You” the group would replace themselves in the number one spot on the Billboard charts TWICE, making the band the third one in history to due so next to Elvis and The Beatles. Since then, Boyz II Men shoved a few grammys up their sleeves, and are still performing as a trio today. (You may have even seen Wanyá Morris groove his way into the semifinals of Season 22 of Dancing with the Stars!)
The Boys WIth No Strings Attached
NSYNC dolls
Living Toys
2000
Bye. Bye. Bye—BYE. BYE. We know you sang that line. No shame. There’s also no shame in frosted tips and high falsettos like Justin Timberlake’s. NSYNC became one of the first boy bands to bust through to the new millennium. Starting in 1995, Joey, JC, Chris, Lance, and Justin started crawling up the charts with singles like “Tearin’ Up My Heart.” In 2000, the band released their groundbreaking album, No Strings Attached, which sold over a million copies in its first day and boasted singles like”Bye, Bye, Bye” and “It’s Gonna Be Me.” Needless to say, the guys started to build quite the iconic repertoire. The group split in ‘02, but still continued to make appearances and performances for a few years after. This year, the band has been awarded with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The Boys From the Backstreet
Backstreet Boys lunchbox
Pyramid
2001
A counterpart to NSYNC, Backstreet Boys brought edge to the boy-band scene in the late 90s. With international success from their debut, self-titled album, it was their fourth single "Quit Playing Games (with My Heart)" that put them on the U.S. map. After that, no one wanted to play games with their hearts—NO ONE. The swoon-worthy group anticipated the 2000s with an appropriately named third album, Millennium. That album became the best-selling album of 1999. The band kept making albums, and in 2011 even toured with NKOTB. They plan to officially part ways this year after their 2017 Vegas residency shows.
The Boys With the Best Song Ever
One Direction dolls
Hasbro
2012
Another British band crossover with no introduction necessary—One Direction was picked up by Simon Cowell after placing third in the popular talent show, The X Factor, in 2010. Since then, the band’s popularity propelled thanks to social media. No one reading this is stranger to at least one of their hits: "What Makes You Beautiful," "Live While We're Young," "Best Song Ever," "Story of My Life," and "Drag Me Down." We know that even dads can’t deny it...that’s what makes you beautiful, dads. One Direction has released five albums. By their fourth album, the band became the first band in Billboard history to have consecutive number one albums upon release. They released their fifth album in Sept., 2015 and have since been on a hiatus. Each member has released their own singles and speculation stands as to whether or not they’ll get back together....will they?
In American POP, your favorite boy bands are still together in our hearts...and artifact cases. We didn't even have time to get to all of the boy bands you can see in the exhibit—from the Monkees to Menudo and even the Jackson 5. So come by to see the things you “HAD to have” to prove your loyalty to the group of guys you couldn’t get enough of.
