Top 10 Boy Bands of All Time

 

The phones are ringing off the hook! Thirty-seven-year-old divorcees are storming the building! The Donnie Wahlberg Fan Club has quit his job at Chick-fil-A! As a tie-in to a local performance of Altar Boyz,Times editor Kelly Smith and I concocted a list of history's greatest boy bands. The result has been pandemonium. I'm pretty sure I can fight the Menudo fans, but the 98 Degrees mob looks really angry getting out of its AMC Pacer.

1. Jackson 5 With all due respect to Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon, when you watch footage of the Jackson 5, your eyes are drawn to one person and one person only: a cherubic-faced kid named Michael. From ABC to I Want You Back, MJ was a smiling, spinning, soulful marvel, the budding birth of pop perfection. Born in Gary, Ind., in the 1960s, the Jackson 5 would influence the future of boy bands. But that wee lead singer, someday to be crowned the King of Pop, would change the boundaries of music, TV and American culture.
 
2. New Edition There’s nothing better to hear at a beach amusement park -- perhaps while riding the Himalaya! -- than New Edition’s Candy Girl. Or maybe Cool It Now. Gobs of R&B talent in this mid-'80s Boston crew, and don’t overlook their influence: From Ne-Yo to Kanye West, the good-time synth-bounce of New Edition can still be heard today. Before he went loopy and married Whitney, Bobby Brown was a fresh-faced star with jangle-leg dance moves. Johnny Gill and Ralph Tresvant would also have solo fame. Members Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins and Ronnie Devoe went on to form Bell Biv Devoe, which had a few smashes, including Poison ("Rob Moore, you're dead!")

3. Jonas Brothers Nick, Joe and Kevin, the JoBros, the hottest ’tween-pop trio in all the land! Eeeeee! The cutie-pie prides of Wyckoff, N.J., the shaggy-haired Disney kids write and perform their own janglers, which has helped them attain cool cred with older, savvier power-pop fans. Whether we’re still talking about them five years from now, who knows? But their upcoming tour didn’t just sell out in minutes — it shut down the overworked computers at Ticketmaster. They’ll be at the St. Pete Times Forum on Aug. 18.

4. ’N Sync A product of fallen mogul Lou Pearlman, the group has one of the best pedigrees in boy-banddom: Justin Timberlake, Lance Bass, Joey Fatone. It was impossible to zip through the radio in 2000 without hearing the relentlessly chipper Bye Bye Bye (also dubbed one of the most annoying songs of that year). J.T. has pulled off a rare feat in boy bands: crazy success in a solo career. Bass became a NASA-certified cosmonaut; he never made it to space, but he did compete on Dancing With the Stars. Fatone hit it big on Broadway, plus did a few films and TV shows — including, you guessed it, DWTS!



5. Hanson Squeaky-clean bros Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson are the do-gooders of pop, right down to their 1997 feel-good hit MMMBop. If there’s any dirt on these guys, it’s on their feet. Highly involved in charities, Hanson combines walks — sometimes barefoot — and shoe drops with its concerts to fight AIDS and poverty in Africa.

6. Boyz II Men These harmonizing hunks weren’t about cheeseball pop, but Motown-Philly soul, an amalgamation of grooving goodness. They excelled at serious swoon tunes in the ‘90s: End of the Road, I’ll Make Love to You and On Bended Knee. None of the Boyz or, for that matter, the Men had much solo success. But although Michael McCary dropped out, remaining members Nathan Morris, Shawn Stockman and Wanya Morris still perform, and recently had a guest spot on Dancing With the Stars. (We’re starting to see a trend here...)

7. Backstreet Boys Another brainchild of Pearlman, the Orlando group hit the stratosphere of superstardom in 1999 with Millennium, spawning endless radio play of hits I Want It That Way, Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely and The One. The album hit No. 1 in 25 countries. Member Nick Carter, who grew up in south Hillsborough County, has been known to show up in Tampa clubs.

8. New Kids on the Block NKOTB owes a Florida radio station big time for giving Please Don’t Go Girl some love on the airwaves in 1988 as the band was struggling. They kept the hits coming with You Got It (The Right Stuff), I’ll Be Loving You (Forever) and Step By Step until waning popularity did the group in. But wait! The “kids,” now ages 36 to 40, reunited last year. You can see them May 30 at the Ford Amphitheatre in Tampa. Members include bros Jordan and Jonathan Knight, Joey McIntyre (on the first season of Dancing With the Stars!), Donnie Wahlberg and Danny Wood

9. Menudo As far back as the ’70s, Menudo was bouncing around the Puerto Rican mall circuit in their tight, shiny pants smiling out bubble-gum pop. But they didn’t get the American girls in full scream until the ’80s. Maybe you remember Like a Cannonball from the movie Cannonball Run 2? No? Well, trust us, they were hot. Ricky Martin left Menudo to be Livin’ la Vida Loca with a solo career. The group has churned out and chewed up dozens of forgettable names. Today’s version is five teens picked through the MTV reality series Making Menudo.

10. 98 Degrees The 98ers had a couple of hits — Because of You and Give Me Just One Night — but to be brutally honest, we couldn’t sing a lick of either of them. Nobody’s heard a peep out of them since about 2002, though they’ve never officially broken up. Drew Lachey, winner of the second season of Dancing With the Stars, and brother Nick Lachey, tabloid king with former wife Jessica Simpson, are the only members we could pick out of a lineup.

Jackson photo courtesy of Getty Images; Times photog Keri Wiginton snapped the JoBros classic; other pix are publicity shots 

Comments

[RANNY]

I THINK NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK SHOULD BE NO-1

[courage]

this list is false 'cause the real list should be as:

1.The Beatles
2.Backstreetboys
3.Nirvana
4.U2
5.New Kids On The Block
6.N Sync
7.Take That
8.Outlandish
9.Green Day
10.Westlife

[courage]

this list is false 'cause the real list should be as:

1.The Beatles
2.Backstreetboys
3.Nirvana
4.U2
5.New Kids On The Block
6.N Sync
7.Take That
8.Outlandish
9.Green Day
10.Westlife

[Bianca]

WHERE ARE TAKE THAT?THEY ARE THE BEST!!!

[Nick]

Nirvana should be number: 1#

[alicia mclean]

BACKSTREET BOYS nobody else

[Andrea]

backstreet boys are the number 1!!!!

[Ashmi]

BUSTEDD. they were awesome. the jonas brothers ripped a couple of their songs. like what i go to school for. busted totally owned that one.

[sam]

um, just pointing out k, the jb doesnt dance. they play instruments. their more of a band than a boyband. sry about the jb fans, but its true. plus bsb would be better if kevin didnt leave. but its all good.

[music]

wrong list..
bsb should b 1,,

[BonQiQi]

NLT no doubt about it! They should be up there!

[craig]

NEW EDITION IS THE BEST BOY BAND OF ALL TIMES. THEY PAVE THE WAY FOR SO MANY BANDS BUT DIDN'T GET THE REWARDS THAT BANDS LIKE NKOTB, THE BACKSTREET BOYS AND THE OTHER BOY BANDS GOT. WAS IT BECAUSE OF RACE? YOU TELL ME. IN THE 80'S EVERYBODY WANTED TO LEARN THEIR STEPS. NOBODY COULD STEP LIKE THEM. EVER SINCE THEY CAME ON THE SCENE IN 1983 UNTILL NOW, THEIR MUSIC WILL LAST FOREVER. COOLING NOW, CANDY GIRL, POPCORN LOVE AND I CAN GO ON. THAT'S WHAT NEW EDTION DID, THEY SET TRENDS.

[JONATHAN HUDSON]

*NSYNC>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> BackSHIT Boys.

[kate]

im rily disappointed seeing bsb on no.7!they should be on top!revise your list ok?

[Lol]

McFly, Busted, Fightstar or Son of Dork isn't there? This is fake.

[kathy]

IL go for the bsb!the guys deserved to be on top 5 or should i say top 1.they sold out million of records worldwide and very famous around the globe compared to the other groups who are only known in US Or UK.

[Chloe]

Are you kidding me....REALLY?? Menudo and 98 Degrees are on here but the Osmonds aren't? Did either of these groups sell 80 million records or lay claim to an entire decade of fan worship?? Yeah.....I didn't think so!

[Caroline]

Backstreet Boys >>>>>>>>>>>>> Everything else on the list

[demi4ever]

the jonas brothers is the best!!

they conquered my heart!!
hehehe..

they're amazing..

they are the best boy band ever!!

[Monica]

Backstreet Boys >>>>>>>>>>>>> Everything else on the list

ijaf

[really?]

Nsync sold 1.1 million in one day, 2.4 in a week. BSB sold 1.1 million in a week. Not to mention, both of them were not just hits in the US but had big followings and reached number 1 in many other countries.
Jonas Brothers? Their highest selling album in the US has so far sold 1.6 million in 8 months. Even Nsyncs Christmas Album has done better!
So just because Ticketmaster was overwhelmed means nothing.
Try again

[Alexandria]

Jonas Brothers at 3? Come on.. COME ON! You didn't see Times Square shutting down when they were on TRL, did you? No, you didn't. They're overrated and nowhere near as talented as the other bands. I could see them even being number 7, but 3? No.
Total fail.

[Anna]

BSB >>>>>>> Jonas Brothers.
Just thought you should know.

[riz]

jobros above bsb, nsync, and boyz II men? what is going on here?

[me]

this is stupid! some of these groups shouldnt be in this!
a BOY BAND is a group of boys who sing & dance.
not sing & play instruments.
thats a different category.

[Square BoB]

How could they leave off the BIGGEST boy band of ALL: The BEATLES, of course .!?!.

[TeenyBopper]

And I'm with everyone else questioning the Jonas Brothers. Sure, put them on the list (especially if you're leaving 98 Degrees on there), but #3? That's crazyness. At least ALL of the Hanson brothers played instruments (AND they wrote and performed all of their own songs too- plus they were younger when they started).

[TeenyBopper]

Marissa, it's funny that you said that Jeff Timmons is "the guy no one knows from 98 Degrees"-- because sure, no one knows that guy, but there is an even lesser known member, Justin Jeffre. He was always the "ugly/old" one... I think he's trying to be involved in politics now.

[Antonela]

Its in incredible how you can compare bands like BSB or NKOTB that has more than 10 years of carrer with bands like Jonas Brothers that they are just a boyband of the moment and im sure that is no going to last more time..

[Caroline]

I don´t agree, see my list:
Backstreet Boys
Jackson 5
New Kids on the Block
’N Sync

and in the end of all of the being lists:
Jonas Brothers

[meriem]

mai favorite boys band is they backstreet boys i love it alex they bsb

[Lisa]

Perhaps you don't know who the boys from Menudo are but other people do. Certainly not all of the 32 members decided to stay in the music industry; 2 are lawyers, 1 a financial expert, 1 a software programmer, 1 SWAT member (injured), 1 graphic artist, 1 pro dancer, 1 suffers from Lou Gherig's Disease. The rest have dabbled in the music industry and acting. You should know the name Robi Rosa - he wrote Ricky Martin's English (and Spanish) hits.

P.S. They're the only group to record in Spanish, English, Italian, Tagalog, and Brazilian Portugese.

[King of New Jack Swing]

New Edition deserves to be #2 and no one will top The Jackson 5 who paved the wave for all boy bands. But the Jonas Brothers at #3? Why? All boy bands had the hype they had when they first came out. They haven't accomplished more than Boys 2 Men or anyone else on the list yet

[sparky]

How did you forget about Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers? Probably the forefathers of all the teen boy bands.

[Marissa]

The guy no one knows from 98 Degrees is Jeff Timmons. He was most recently in the VH1 show MISSION: Man Band. Along with Chris Kirkpatrick (n'sync), Color Me Badd's Bryan Abrams, and LFO's Rich Cronin, he endured some major humiliation.

In the episodes I did watch, it seemed their agent was more determined to make fools of them than anything. Bryan Abrams was severely overweight and selling tires when they recruited him for the show. If memory serves, his drinking was cause for much of the house drama.

http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/mission_manband/series_characters.jhtml

[Marissa]

I was just about to shout, "WHAT!!!!? No love for my beloved Osmonds?!"

I was a Jackson 5 fan from the minute I cut out their single on the back of a Sugar Crisp cereal box. http://mentalorigami-wildhair.blogspot.com/2009/04/prize-in-every-box.html

You can keep the rest of those on the list.

[Jeane]

NSync, The Backstreet Boys, Hanson and Boyz II Men are ahead of New Kids On the Block??

The New Kids paved the way for NSync and Backstreet. Boyz II Men were good, but not good enough for a successful reunion. By the end of the 90s, everyone forgot about them. And Hanson just plain SUCKED!

[DerekT]

I don't know if the Osmonds count since the one of the biggest stars was Marie.

[Bassnote]

Any band that played their own instruments should not qualify as a boy band.

[Mary]

Wouldn't the Beatles count? (they DID start out as teenagers...)

[Sean Daly]

We're getting some cranky calls from Osmond Brothers fans as well -- and those folks are ALWAYS in a good mood.

[DerekT]

Hey Sean, well if you want to please European Fans, you will have to give a mention to Take That, they had so many hits and sold out shows in the 90's it is not funny. In fact, in total Album sales and concert revenues, i bet they would be placed higher then 1/2 the bands on your list. They had one hit on the American charts Back for Good, and one of thier former members is Robbie Williams a superstar here in Europe. Take care

[chops]

Not exactly sure of the criteria for this list, but I'm thinkin' the Monkees should be on it considering there was an open call for singers and they were extremely popular. Other than the Jackson 5, there's no other boy band with as many hits.

[Sean Daly]

Thanks for the article, BOTB. Loved everything about the Himalaya: backwards, forwards, the loud music, squishing and being squished, especially if you were riding with a hot girl from school (alas, I was usually squishing my Cousin Melissa, who just kinda yelled at me).

[BOTB]

Funny you mention this ride because the famous Himalaya Guy ("Do you wanna go real real fast?") died recently.

http://www.newburyportnews.com/puopinion/local_story_099233906.html?keyword=secondarystory