Like most girls, I went through a boy band phase when I was younger. I’ll fully admit, though, that if *NSYNC were to announce their reunion tomorrow, my excitement would know no bounds. I’m also not ashamed to admit I bought the Backstreet Boys’ last single. And have several Best of (insert boy band name here) playlists in my iTunes.
But when and how did my love for boy bands start?
With New Kids on the Block, of course.
Though I would definitely call NKTOB the first boy band I ever liked, I will say I wasn’t completely and totally obsessed with them. Yes, I bought their cassette tapes but I didn’t pin their posters on the walls, buy magazines with their picture on the cover, or fantasize about being an NKOTB wife one day (in fact, I can’t even remember which member of the the group I liked the best, but based on the above pic, I’m gonna say either Jordan or Joey).
Then “MMMbop” was released and I fell deeply in love with Hanson.
I adored Taylor (mainly because he was my age) and my sister adored Zac (mainly because he was her age). The boys were cute, sweet, and when their popularity exploded, they were everywhere. We bought their albums and played them all the time (we still play their excellent first Christmas album when decorating our tree), we bought the behind-the-scenes VHS about them and watched it over and over. My sister tacked pics of them all around her room. I even wrote a story about the five of us going hiking in the desert, getting lost, and by the end, Taylor’s in love with me and Zac’s in love with my sister. For awhile, Hanson were all we thought about.
Then Backstreet Boys came along.
“Quit Playing Games With my Heart” just wrecked me when I first heard it, and seeing Nick Carter with a wet shirt plastered to his body in the music video made me, along with millions of other millennials around the world, fall in love with BSB. I bought all their singles and CDs and put their posters up on my walls. I thought no other group would be able to compare.
Until *NSYNC came along.
Ah, *NSYNC. The loves of my lives. I don’t know why I loved them more than BSB. I can’t explain it. Maybe because they’re better dancers? All I know is, my sister and I thought we knew what obsession was but we didn’t. Not until *NSYNC went mainstream. We bought their albums, their posters, watched their music videos and TV specials. We went to two of their concerts. I was actually devastated when they announced they were splitting to pursue solo careers.
But I’ve never forgotten them and they’ll always have a place in my heart, along with all the other bands on this list.