Boybands. Hate them or love them, they’re a staple part of the music scene. From *NSYNC to BTS to Brockhampton, boybands have been around for decades now, and have all fallen onto our playlists at one point or another. Our writers are here with their top picks for who they think are the very best of the boyband scene.
Backstreet Boys
When someone says boybands, my mind instantly goes to the very intriguing but memorable music video for ‘Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)’ by the one and only Backstreet Boys. Nothing can beat the five-piece, whose catchy dance-pop songs led them straight to international fame in the 1990s after the release of their self-titled debut album Backstreet Boys (1996). If you ask someone who the most famous boyband in the world is, it’s quite likely they’ll answer with the Backstreet Boys. This could be due to their superstar status that followed after their first album and a 184 city (almost) worldwide tour, or the 24,000,000 sales made by their third studio album Millennium (1999) only proving further their expansive popularity. It’s clear to say the band defined the expectations set for boybands not only in the 90s, but for the many years to follow with their influence being seen to this day, with One Direction, Take That and Westlife as obvious examples.
Katie Evans
Check out Backstreet Boys ‘Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)’, via Jive, down below.
Brockhampton
Ever since their arrival with their widely acclaimed SATURATION Trilogy back in 2017, Brockhampton have been a refreshing shake-up of the boyband formula. Led by rapper and creative director Kevin Abstract, the group is 13 members strong, with vocalists like Matt Champion and Merlyn Wood, to the production side in Romil Hemnani and Jabari Manwa, and management in Jon Nunes. Every cog in the music process is collectively recognised and, in comparison to other boybands, the group has been allowed to organically form their own brand of DIY hip-hop, music videos and live shows without outside interference. Likewise, this is a boyband without any boundaries and strives to celebrate all-inclusivity with half of their members being of colour and some who are openly gay, which their music isn’t afraid to reflect. Speaking of which, any boyband has to have a collection of music bangers and Brockhampton are no exception: from the bombastic ‘BOOGIE, to the silky ‘SUGAR’, as well as the gleeful freestyle ‘STAR’ and woozy ear worm ‘GOLD’, the list is eclectic and endless. With six albums under their belt, this isn’t a group that shows signs of slowing down and as Abstract famously said, “We are the best boyband since One Direction“.
Theo Smith
Check out Brockhampton’s ‘SUGAR’, via RCA Records, down below.
Jonas Brothers
The Jonas Brothers are the boyband of our generation; if we weren’t battling our parents who refused to admit they were a pop rock band, we were crying over which JoBro to choose to be our soul mate. Consisting of Kevin Jonas, Joe Jonas and Nick Jonas they have rocked the charts since 2005 with their first releases ‘Mandy’ and ‘Time For Me To Fly’. But unlike many of our favourite childhood bands the Jonas Brothers are back together and better than before. Their recent album Happiness Begins proves they can conquer all genres and adapt to the changing musical landscape. However, we cannot forget their true bangers such as ‘S.O.S’ and ‘Burnin Up’, which I will admit I still play on repeat on the regular. The Jonas Brothers broke up in 2013 citing a “deep rift within the band” but they overcame their differences, and with their many concert films available to watch on streaming platforms you can still live out your JoBro fantasy and rock out to every single track of theirs.
Morgan McMillan
Check out the Jonas Brothers’ ‘Burnin’ Up’, via Republic Records, down below.
Listen to our best of boybands and girl groups playlist down below!
