I have seen a lot of bands and artists play live, in all kinds of genres reaching from Hardcore Punk to Metal to Rock to Pop (which includes my fair share of boy bands). One thing I’ve noticed about boy bands is that you don’t even have to be present, you can just watch it on TV and still find yourself caught up in the moment – this of course is a personal opinion. But there’s no denying that boy bands have a certain flair that always pulls in young and teenage girls, even women.
Now, I have my own little theory as to why these boy bands (almost) always make it big (and honestly, this is probably the theory everyone else has, but I like to call it my own – I’m egotistical like that). Some people may say it’s the fact that it’s four or five gorgeous men dancing in unison, but that’s where One Direction has proved the world wrong. Others think it’s only about the looks and that these men are talentless, which are petty assumptions drawn from ignorance if I may say so.
These boy bands just have the total package. They sing the words that every girl wants to hear while growing up, they (or at least one of them) look good to every fan, they usually have a whole team behind them that tells them what they should mention and say during concerts. Of course these artists have a mind of their own, but to quote One Direction saying they would definitely date a fan – now that’s the manager speaking.
But none of those fans care if what those men are saying is true? None of them care if those men mean it when they say how beautiful they think their fans are? It’s not about the words they are speaking, but it’s about the charisma they have when speaking those words.
There’s plenty of boy bands for every generation… whether people are willing to admit it or not, The Beatles were the exact same concept as the boy bands we know and love today. It’s about the marketing and the branding behind it.
For example, One Direction – amazing marketing, right? Which band has ever been able to open up their own (pop-up) stores, filled with merchandising in all kinds, ever before? And on top of that, have all those stores be so successful that some actually were prolonged? Five boys, growing into men before the eyes of their fans – joking around on stage, making their fans feel as if those five boys or men could be one of their friends! That’s what every young girl dreams of!
And how about the Backstreet Boys? They’ve been around for over 20 years, they’ve been around longer than I’ve been alive and I still love them. I’ve spent over a 100 euros to see two of their shows this year, the second time was even better than the first time to me. Both times, I screamed my lungs out, sung and danced to all of their songs – it felt like an actual party, I was going to instead of a simple concert.
The Backstreet Boys have had their own cruise for two years on which they give fans the absolute, perfect fan experience. I’m speaking: squirting vodka in their mouths with water guns, dressing up as sailors and other weird ass stripper outfits and just giving every woman their the time of their lives.
People can hate on the concept all they want, but clearly the people behind it have the right brain to understand exactly what has to be done at which exact time. And what has to be said to make fans feel alive and involved.
I’ve seen three boy band concerts this year and have a fourth coming up in December. I saw the Backstreet Boys twice in four months, because that’s how much I love the concerts… and the music too, because I get to shamelessly sing along and know it’s alright.
I went to Amsterdam to see One Direction, even though I knew that most of my friends would laugh their asses off if they found out… I proudly announced it on Facebook and posted Instagram pictures of it. I think a lot of people hate on these boy bands because they don’t understand and don’t even want to understand, but whenever they laughed I said I wasn’t ashamed and actually proud I was going and they quickly stopped – I think none of them can deny that the music is good, the men are talented and it’s actually a great show to go (this goes for all boy bands).
And in December I’ll be seeing Boyz II Men… I can’t fucking wait! I also can’t wait to see Backstreet Boys again, because honestly… BACKSTREET’S BACK!