Where the boy bands are

Back - Index - Submissions - - What is RSS? Date: Jun 06, 2000 Source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram Submitted By: Michelle *Michelley* 'N Sync and Backstreet Boys battle for heartthrob supremacy, CD sales titles and, yes, artistic control. By DAVE FERMAN, Fort Worth Star-Telegram Screeeeeeeeeeam! That is a sound heard only in one setting in the known universe: an arena or stadium filled with hormone-charged teenage girls shrieking uncontrollably over the boy band on stage. It's like the old Spinal Tap joke about setting the amps on 11: When 'N Sync or the Backstreet Boys are performing, there is a sustained, nails-on-blackboard shriek that starts at dentist's-drill decibels and increases to eardrum-shattering proportions when the video cameras zoom in on, say, 'N Sync lead hottie Justin Timberlake. And it never lets up. Not until the night is over. Yes, those screams are the sound of money being made and CD sales records being demolished: Boy bands may have been around for decades, but the past several years have seen an explosion in popularity brought on in large part, experts say, by a robust economy, new marketing tools and a pop landscape that emphasizes ear-candy over angst and guitars. This phenomenon may have hit its apex with 'N Sync's latest, "No Strings Attached." After an ugly legal battle involving former Svengali Lou Pearlman, this is the band's first CD with Jive Records (home also to Britney Spears). "Strings" sold 1.3 million copies the day it was released, 2.4 million its first week, 5 million in five weeks, and 7 million in eight weeks. "We couldn't dream of having a goal like that," says group member Joey Fatone Jr. "The fans broke the record. A lot of people are interested because of what we're about and the music we stand for. It's not like we're just trying to throw something together to sell the album. We really do put our blood, sweat and tears into it." At the same time, the commercial catfight between 'N Sync and the Backstreet Boys continues unabated. 'N Sync was hotter last summer; then the Backstreet Boys released their latest, "Millennium" (11 million copies and counting) and did a sold-out tour. Now its 'N Sync's turn again; J.C. Chasez, Timberlake, Fatone, Chris Kirkpatrick and Lance Bass have the summer to themselves; more than 1 million tickets (worth about $40 million) were sold the day the tour dates went on sale. [The tour hits Raleigh on July 5.] The Backstreet Boys and their new CD won't be back in the mix until the fall. The boy band second string -- LFO, 98 Degrees, Youngstown, all attractive young men with high voices -- grows daily, and public interest in All Things Boy is so intense that ABC is airing "Making the Band," a documentary-style program showing how a new boy band is recruited. So how much more of this can we expect? And why are there so many boy bands out there? After all, the last white-boy band this hot was New Kids on the Block, a group that filled stadiums and sold millions of records without any imitators coming along to share the wealth. But the playing field has changed since then. According to Jackie Rubin, with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and Wayne Isaak, VH1's executive vice president for talent and musical programming, the influence of the Internet (from live broadcasts to band Web sites to chat rooms) fuels fans' interest in young groups to a massive degree. So do shows such as "Total Request Live" and groups performing on the Disney Channel, Nickelodeon and HBO. It's like the early days of MTV times 10. "There are just so many more formats right now," Isaak says. "That's why they sell more than ever. Now you have 7-year-olds at Backstreet Boys shows. And now there are a lot of moms who love it. They're more likely to have their 'N Sync experience. It's more inclusive." Marketing people, Rubin says, "have the formula down to a science. There are more groups, and they feed off each other. There's a teen explosion at least once every decade in America, and with the economy doing so well, the kids have more fun money to spend." Indeed, the boy-band phenomenon grew out of people turning away from the anger and hopelessness of grunge. The success of Hootie & the Blowfish signaled the beginning of the change, and behind them came Hanson and the Spice Girls, Ricky and Britney. Smiley pop music, Isaak says, flourishes in good times because people generally feel better about themselves and their future. "It's a chicken-and-the-egg effect," says Geoff Mayfield, columnist and director of charts at Billboard magazine. "Which came first -- the boy bands or pop being so hot? One feeds the other; pop is hotter so it feeds the groups, and they feed pop, and so on." Plus, young moms are buying more boy-band material than ever. This is partly because the boys in the bands are often in their 20s, and part of it is because the groups' CDs are well-produced and their live shows are such eye-popping productions. With this popularity comes higher expectations. In the '60s, the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson drew inspiration from the Beatles and gave the world "Pet Sounds"; the Beatles, in turn, listened to that record and came up with "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." Nobody is suggesting that the 'N Sync/Backstreet rivalry will lead to a pop masterpiece on that level, but it is obvious that both groups are trading off their time atop Boy Band Mountain, and that they are seeking more control over their music in an attempt to be more than a passing fancy. The Backstreet Boys wrote a couple of songs on "Millennium." Bristling from their wrangle with Pearlman and RCA, the members of 'N Sync made a point of trying to give "Strings" a grittier, more hip-hop-flavored edge. Half the CD was written by band members; also, they recruited noted hip-hop producers Teddy Riley and She'kspeare, and covered Johnny Kemp's "Just Got Paid." Trying to do this years ago wouldn't have worked. But this latest revival of bouncy, bubblegum pop in the mid- to late-'90s coincided with the popularity of hip-hop. As a result, the transition from one to the other does not seem as much of a stretch as it would have seemed back during the days of the New Kids. And let's not forget about the respect a band gets from selling millions of records -- and how it can wield that respect. "The bigger a group gets, the more creative control they can have," Rubin says. "They have the clout to say, 'I want to write more songs' or 'I want to produce.' Backstreet is writing most of their new album together. They raise the bar and it gives them more artistic freedom. It allows them to grow but not totally abandon their roots." In a recent conference call, 'N Sync's Lance Bass and Joey Fatone underscored this point. "This is just us," Bass says of the hip-hop flavor of "Strings." "We wrote a lot; it's our baby. The pressure was definitely on because everyone was going to know it was us and if anyone had any fault with it or hated it, it was on us. But the fans love it, and that's all we really care about." With so much money being made so quickly, there is always the possibility that a member might leave to go solo, following in the footsteps of Michael Jackson (the Jackson 5) and George Michael (Wham!). But can 'N Sync or the Backstreet Boys survive intact? "There's no way you can call it," Rubin says. "The typical life of a teen idol is four years, unless they can break out of the mold. Ricky Nelson went from teen idol to rock 'n' roll. "The key is if they want to, or can, grow with the audience," he says. Comment on this item. 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