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The Backstreet Boys first US hit "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)", one of Max Martin's many hits of the 90s.

Max Martin

A Swedish music producer, Max Martin wrote and produced some of the biggest pop hits of the 90s for many artists. After the success of Britney Spears' "...Baby One More Time" (US no.1, UK no.1), Martin became an in demand producer, later working with some of the biggest names in pop. He would have fully produced songs presented to artists, with their vocals being recorded last.

Boy band hits include:

  • Backstreet Boys - "Quit Playing Games (with My Heart)" (US no. 2, UK no. 2)
  • Backstreet Boys - "I Want It That Way" (US no.6, UK no.1)
  • Five - "Until The Time Is Through" (UK no. 2)
  • *Nsync - "It's Gonna Be Me" (US no.1, UK no. 9)
  • *Nsync - "I Want You Back" (US no. 13, UK no. 7)

Cheiron Studios

  • American production studio based in Sweden
  • founded in 1992 by Denniz Pop and Tom Talomaa
  • closed down in 2000 after Pop's death
  • home to songwriters and producers including Max Martin (Cheiron 2015)

Produced some of the biggest pop songs for boy bands and other artists including:

  • Backstreet Boys - "I Want It That Way"
  • Nsync - "Tearing Up My Heart"
  • Five - "It's The Things You Do"
  • Britney Spears - "Baby One More Time"

Marketing

BOY BAND

Production

  • Magazines (Seventeen, Girlfriend) had multi-paged interviews and picture spreads of boy bands
  • Pop focused magazines such as Smash Hits sales peaked at a million in the early 90's, however quickly dropped off with the availability of internet and other media (Magforum 2012)
  • Concerts - performed elaborate shows with choreography and costumes
  • Concert merchandise - T Shirts, posters, etc.
  • Singles and CDs
  • Music videos and performances

Songs were written, arranged and produced for boy bands, often with songs being completely produced and then given to the band to record vocals.

Production techniques:

  • auto tune
  • vocal filters
  • layering instruments (bass, snares)
  • multiple hooks
  • tight harmonies

Songwriters include:

  • Andreas Carlsson - Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, Westlife
  • Rami Yacoub - Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, Westlife - later One Direction and The Wanted
  • Wayne Hector - Westlife, 5ive - later One Direction, The Wanted (McGahan 2015)

THE BOY BAND

Wave

Westlife

*NSYNC

  • Irish boy band
  • signed by Simon Cowell
  • original lineup: Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Shane Filan and Brian McFadden
  • pop driven records
  • sold over 50 million records worldwide
  • didn't break into the US market
  • Brian McFadden left the group in 2004 to pursue a solo career (McGahan 2015)

Successfully marketed worldwide

  • heavily relied on image and entertainment value rather than musical qualities
  • CDs and singles
  • magazine covers - poster spreads
  • merchandise
  • MTV and VH1
  • Live performances - awards shows (Mysticwryter 2015)
  • American boy band
  • formed 1995
  • 5 members: Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, Chris Kirkpatrick, Joey Fatone, and Lance Bass
  • dance-pop
  • released three albums
  • sold over 50 million albums
  • disbanded in 2004 with Timberlake making a move to acting and solo (McGahan 2015)

THAT BOY BAND

5ive

References

Sound

  • formed in 1997 by Bob and Chris Herbert - talent managers associated with the Spice Girls
  • English boy band
  • 5 members: Sean Conlon, Ritchie Neville, Scott Robinson, J Brown & Abz Love
  • sold 20 million records worldwide
  • split up in 2001 and had several unsuccessful reunions (McGahan 2015)

Boyz II Men

THE 90s WAVE OF

  • vocalists - rarely played instruments
  • harmonies
  • synthersized sounds
  • songs written by songwriters or producers
  • lyrics were based on love and heartbreak
  • melodies were shared between the band
  • catchy hooks
  • basic song structure - ABABCB
  • later albums would shift to a more mature sound to break from the boy band image (Raykhinshteyn 2014)

Magforum 2012, 'Music magazines', viewed 8 May 2015, <http://www.magforum.com/glossies/music_magazines.htm>

McGahan, M 2015, ‘Then + Now: ‘90s Boy Bands’, Popcrush, viewed 29 April 2015, <http://popcrush.com/90s-boy-bands-then-now/>

Modest 2015, ‘One Direction’, viewed 29 April 2015, <http://www.modestmanagement.com/one-direction>

Mysticwryter 2015, ‘90’s Boy Bands’, Retrojunk, viewed 29 April 2015, <http://www.retrojunk.com/article/show/3563/90s-boy-bands>

Raykhinshteyn, D 2014, ‘Musitionary: ‘Boy Band’’, The Michigan Daily, viewed 25 April 2015, <http://www.michigandaily.com/blog/filter/musictionary-boy-band>

Skooldays 2015, ‘The Jackson 5’, Skooldays, viewed 25 April 2015, <http://www.skooldays.com/categories/music/mu1001.htm>

Boy Bands

  • formed 1988
  • R&B vocal group
  • quartet consisted of: Nathan Morris, Shawn Stockman, Wanya Morris, Michael McCary
  • emotional ballads
  • still active recently releasing 11th album
  • sold 60 million albums
  • 4 Grammy awards (BoyzIIMen 2015)

Backstreet Boys

Backstreet Boys

Billboard 2015, ’10 Biggest Boy Bands (1987-2012)’, Billboard, viewed 29 April 2015, <http://www.billboard.com/articles/list/502728/10-biggest-boy-bands-1987-2012?mobile_redirection=false>

BoyzIIMen 2015, ‘Biography’, viewed 29 April 2015, <http://www.boyziimen.com/biography/>

Cheiron 2015, ‘History’, viewed 29 April 2015, < http://www.cheironmusicgroup.com/cheiron-history.html>

Crystal 2013, ‘A History of Boy Bands in the U.S.: From Beatles to One Direction’, ticketnetwork, viewed 25 April 2015, <http://www.ticketnetwork.com/blog/post/2013/10/15/a-history-of-boy-bands-in-the-us-from-beatles-to-one-direction.aspx>

Dougherty, S 1990, ‘The Heartthrobs of America’, People, viewed 25 April 2015, <http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20118457,00.html>

Erlewine, S 2015, ‘Backstreet Boys’, Allmusic, viewed 25 April 2015, <http://www.allmusic.com/album/backstreet-boys-mw0000084822>

Heyitsmebrandy 2007, ‘Boy Band Technical Definition’, viewed 29 April 2015, <http://boybandcrazy.blogspot.com.au/>

Kaplan, A 2012, American Pop: Hit Makers, Superstars, and Dance Revolutionaries

The bands self-titled album released in the US was a compilation of their first and second international releases. Backstreet Boys became one of the bands best selling album, hitting number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and selling over 14 million albums in the US (Erlewine 2015).

Featured international hits:

  • "Quit Playing Games (with My Heart)" (US no. 2, UK no. 2)
  • "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" (US no. 4, UK no. 3)
  • "As Long As You Love Me" (pop no. 3, UK no. 3)

The early 1990s saw the beginning of the typical boy band image. Their image was made of the following characteristics (Raykhinshteyn 2014):

  • matching outfits
  • distinct choreography
  • catchy hooks
  • featured solos
  • stereotypical personality types
  • American boy band
  • Founded by Lou Pearlman in 1993
  • 5 members: A J Maclean, Howie Dorough, Nick Carter, Kevin Richardson and Brian Littrell
  • Dance-pop and hip hop
  • Biggest selling boy band of all time
  • Sold more than 130 million records worldwide
  • Borrowed style from New Kids On The Block
  • Worldwide success in 1995 and success in the US in 1997 (Arie 2012, p. 37)

*Nsync - "Bye Bye Bye"

THAT BOY BAND

WHAT IS A

Look

Boy Band?

1980s

New Kids On The Block

Most boy bands of the 90s had a stereotypical image

  • boy bands were made to look "trendy" keeping up with the most recent fashion and musical trends
  • had a 'perfect boyfriend' image, making them family friendly and receptive to parents
  • maintained a clean image
  • each member would have a different personality stereotype, including "the bad boy", "the boy next door", "the shy one"
  • high energy, pre-choreographed dance moves
  • hairstyles current to the time
  • stereotypical music video settings in public, eg. on the beach (Heyitsmebrandy 2007)

An example of a stereotypical boy band music video, filmed in an airport and featuring simple choreography.

  • founded by Maurice Starr in 1984
  • saw international success in 1988
  • Pop, R&B and hip hop
  • five members - Jonathan Knight, Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg & Danny Wood
  • hits including "Step By Step" (pop no. 1)
  • sold over 80 million records (Dougherty 1990)

A vocal group consisting of male singers, marketed to appeal to a teenage audience. Generally their music is made up of pop and R&B but they are not restricted to these genres. They are commercialised to appeal to a younger audience, with their music having themes relevant and relatable to teens; usually about love and heart break (Crystal 2013).

BOY BANDS IN

BOY BANDS

BOY BANDS IN THE

Recent Years

Pre 90s

2000s

THE FIRST WAVE OF

Boy Bands

Early 2010 saw a huge rise in boy bands with bands such as One Direction, The Wanted and 5 Seconds of Summer coming to fame. This resurgence saw a new look for boy bands, straying away from the typical stereotypes of the 90s bands, which included choreographed dance moves and stereotypical image.

Boy bands were regularly formed in talent shows such as X Factor with success from bands including One Direction and Emblem 3.

Backstreet Boys and New Kids On The Block also combined to a supergroup: NKOTBSB, touring and recording an album together.

1980s saw boy bands taking a rise and impact on the pop charts. New Edition were pioneers for future boy bands, with New Kids On The Block being a pop version of the R&B group (Crystal 2013).

The term "boy band" didn't emerge until the 1980s, however prior to the 80s there were male vocal groups and bands that would go on to influence the genre. In the 1960s both male and female vocal groups impacted the charts. This continued on until the late 1980s when there was a rise in pop oriented groups known as "boy bands." (Crystal 2013)

From 2001, the typical 90s boy bands started fading on the music charts, with groups taking hiatuses or members moving on to pursue a solo career. However some bands, including Backstreet Boys and Boyz II Men continued to record and tour, however never reaching the success they experienced in the 90s.

In the late 2000s, bands such as the Jonas Brothers rose to popularity, ultimately paving the way for a resurgence in boy bands (Billboard 2015).

BOY BAND

Competition

Boy Bands of the 90s

Girl groups were taking a rise in the 90s along with boy bands. Groups such as The Spice Girls, B*Witched and Sugababes experienced similar success to boy bands at the time.

Boy bands would struggle to break their stereotypical boy band image, often trying to release records that would appear more mature. Members including Justin Timerlake later saw success as a solo artist (Kaplan 2012).

VOCAL GROUPS OF

The 60s

BOY BAND

Simon Mollison

209747

Mus 201

Struggles

1960s vocal groups included:

  • The Jackson 5
  • The Temptations
  • The Monkees
  • The Osmonds

  • All members sang
  • Close harmonies
  • Catchy pop hooks
  • Mix of genres from pop to soul and R&B
  • Inspiration for future boy bands (Skooldays 2015)

One Direction

  • boy bands struggled to break from the 'boy band image' and stereotypes, often trying to release more mature sounding records that fail to reach the success of earlier albums
  • often looked on as 'short lived'
  • criticised for being overnight success
  • were seen as a shallow surfaced image with no depth
  • seen as marketing tools for record labels rather than musicians (Kaplan 2012)
  • formed in 2010 and finished third in UK X Factor
  • 5 members: Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson
  • signed to Simon Cowell's label Syco Records
  • released four albums within four years (2011-2014) topping charts in the UK, US and worldwide
  • worked with 90s boy band producers and songwriters including Rami Yacoub and Wayne Hector
  • sold more than 50 million records (Modest 2015)

Hits including

  • "What Makes You Beautiful" (US no. 4, UK no. 1)
  • "Live While We're Young" (US no.3, UK no. 3)
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