I was just talking to my sister about music, and we agreed that the presence of 90's boy bands made the world cheesy and mushy... and awesome. And why not? With mellow songs crooned by four or five boys (well okay, you can call the others 'men'), music really took a honeydew turn during those times. I remember singing along to those songs and thinking about my crush who didn't know I existed. If I was any good at lying, I'd have denied that I listened to 90's boy bands. But I totally suck at making up stories, so yes, I listened to them... but still, there are many of us who pretend that we didn't. Here are those 90's boy bands.
1 A1
The roll call of 90's boy bands is never complete without Christian Ingebrigtsen, Mark Read, Ben Adams and Paul Marazzi (Paul left in 2004), who belted out: "You treat me like a rose/You gave me room to grow..." Familiar? My brother used to say, "For heaven's sake, leave the rose alone and just sing your song." I used to hate him a lot when he said that. But now, it does makes sense.
Frequently asked questions
2 'N Sync
This is the American boy band where Justin Timberlake (with Chris Kirkpatrick, Joey Fatone, JC Chasez and Lance Bass) came from. He's making movies and not music nowadays. I liked this group in high school because every girl liked them. I only realized recently that I liked them because of one song entitled, "(God Must Have Spent) A Little More Time On You."
3 Backstreet Boys
My Dad liked them first. I was in the first grade when Nick, Kevin, Brian, Howie and A.J. made everyone in school move with the dance track "Get Down." My Father said this band is cool because the song's lyrics are not about drugs and sex. I listened and I got hooked to "10 Thousand Promises." I still listen to some of their songs to this day.
4 98 Degrees
I swear every girl swooned at "I Do" and wanted to have their boyfriends and would-be husbands serenading them as tears fall from their eyes. I wonder if Nick Lachey sang this to Jessica Simpson. If he did, then it must be effective because he got her to say "yes." Unfortunately, the marriage didn't last. So ladies, you might want to take that as a warning.
5 WestLife
Do the names Nicky, Shane, Kian, Mark and Brian sound familiar? They formed the group Westlife that started in the late 90s. I have completely buried them in my memory but alas! my husband just unearthed their song "My Love" and used it in a music video he made for me on Mother's Day. The group disbanded in 2012 but some loyal fans are still hoping for a reunion.
6 Boyzone
The name Ronan Keating became synonymous with this Irish boy band but before that happened, he actually had four other bandmates named Keith, Mikey, Shane and Stephen. Stephen died in 2009. Two songs from them off top of my head right now: "No Matter What" and "I Love The Way You Love Me."
7 Code Red
Of the seven in this list, this is the only boy band that I didn't memorize the names of its members. I was in fifth grade when two songs "Is There Someone Out There" and "This Is Our Song" were played by my neighbor. I liked them when I heard them so I asked the neighbor if she could copy them in another cassette tape in exchange for sweeping her front yard.
Oh, boy bands - swoon! Did you listen to any of these boy bands? What were your favorite songs?
