Teenbeats - Your guide to who's hot in pop

Back - Index - Submissions - - What is RSS? Date: Mar 21, 2099 Source: JAM! Music - The Canadian Online Explorer Submitted By: Thanks to the many Backstreet.net readers for sending this in. By DAVID VEITCH -- Entertainment Editor Parents, unlock your daughters! Next weekend, the MacEwan Hall Ballroom is going to play host to two, like, totally hot boy groups, 98 Degrees (March 27) and The Moffatts (March 29). Now you're probably thinking: Which one of those groups sing that awfully nice (God Must Have Spent) A Little More Time on You song? Actually, it's the Backstreet Boys ... uh, on second thought, it could be 'N Sync. Forgive the confusion. It's just the top of the charts looks like one big sock-hop and it's sometimes difficult to tell all these fresh-faced brat-pop acts apart. There's more to pop than the Spice Girls (if you haven't heard of them, it's time to throw out your Saturday Night Fever disco memento video and get with the '90s.) The following guide is intended to help you know your B*witcheds from your All Saints. It's hardly comprehensive -- the record companies seem to be pushing a new young sensation every week -- but the following acts are definitely the heavy-hitters of teen pop. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BRITNEY SPEARS WHO IS SHE? Former Mouseketeer turned pop star. HOME: Kentwood, La. IN A NUTSHELL: Dual personality. At times she's the wholesome girl next door, to attract girls her own age and younger, and at other times she's the underage vixen, to attract boys and, most likely, dirty old men. WHAT DOES SHE SING? Baby One More Time. SCANDAL: Although she's only 17, the record company isn't reluctant to sell her as jailbait. The booklet in her CD opens to a closeup photo of Spears' crotch. The chorus of her single, "Hit me, baby, one more time," also has alarmed some. WHAT'S NEXT: Guest spot on the hit teen drama Dawson's Creek. LONG-TERM PROSPECTS: She's not a great singer but, if she can successfully branch out into acting, she may elude the fate that befell Tiffany. QUOTE: "I think it's fun with me wearing a little midriff top and skirt or whatever. It'd be different if my skirt was up to my a--." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE BACKSTREET BOYS WHO ARE THEY? Nick Carter, 19; Brian Littrell, 24; A.J. McLean, 21; Kevin Richardson, 26; Howie Dorough, 25. HOME: Orlando, Fla. IN A NUTSHELL: A 1990s version of New Kids on the Block, except these Boys can sing. WHAT DO THEY SING? As Long as You Love Me, All I Have To Give, Quit Playing Games. SCANDAL: Last year, the Boys fired one of their managers and sued another, claiming he's pocketed $7.5 million while the band has pocketed $300,000. WHAT'S NEXT: Their third album, Millennium, due in May. LONG-TERM PROSPECTS: These young men have the talent to stick around, providing their current management wrangles don't derail their career. QUOTE: "We don't want to be a boy group or a teen group, a flash in the pan," -- Howie Dorough. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'N SYNC WHO ARE THEY? Joshua Chasez, 22; Justin Timberlake, 18; Chris Kirkpatrick, 27; Joey Fatone, 22; Lance Bass, 19. HOME: Orlando, Fla. IN A NUTSHELL: Backstreet Boy clones. WHAT DO THEY SING? Tearin' Up My Heart, I Want You Back. SCANDAL: Power struggle at the top. Their manager Louis Pearlman says he created 'N Sync. Chris Kirkpatrick responds: "You can take it however you want, but I started this group." WHAT'S NEXT: Recording their third album; a U.K. tour starting next month. LONG-TERM PROSPECTS: Things look rosy now, but it'll be interesting to see when, or if, 'N Sync rebels against its management, the same team that the Backstreet Boys are now fighting. QUOTE: "We have fans who know my underwear size," -- Justin Timberlake. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AARON CARTER WHO IS HE? The 11-year-old younger brother of Backstreet Boy Nick Carter. HOME: Tampa, Fla. IN A NUTSHELL: Something for preteen girls to listen to before they graduate to the relative sophistication of The Backstreet Boys. WHAT DOES HE SING? Crazy Little Party Girl. SCANDAL: Scandal? He's only 11! Well, he does like Beanie Babies ... WHAT'S NEXT: Puberty. LONG-TERM PROSPECTS: Dim. The kid banks on his cuteness and, so far, demonstrates negligible singing and dancing talent. Hard to believe he'll be anything more than the Jimmy Osmond of the 1990s. QUOTE: "I've always wanted to do this all my life." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- B*WITCHED WHO ARE THEY? Sinead O'Caroll, 19; Keavy Lynch, 18; Edele Lynch, 18; Lindsay Armaou, 17. HOME: Dublin, Ireland. IN A NUTSHELL: Celtic-flavored hip-hop pop by a quartet comprised of four Sporty Spices. WHAT DO THEY SING? C'est La Vie, To You I Belong. SCANDAL: The only skeleton in the closet belongs to their manager, who used to guide the career of (snicker, snicker) New Kids on the Block. WHAT'S NEXT: A visit to the Donnie and Marie Show on Wednesday; touring North America with 98 Degrees in April and May. LONG-TERM PROSPECTS: Their debut album is actually pretty good, but it's difficult to believe B*witched will outlive the teen-pop boom. QUOTE: "With Spice Girls, All Saints and ourselves, it's completely different and there's room for everybody" -- Sinead O'Caroll. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ALL SAINTS WHO ARE THEY? Natalie Appleton, 25; Melanie Blatt, 23; Nicole Appleton, 24; Shaznay Lewis, 23. HOME: London, England (though the Appleton sisters hail from Canada). IN A NUTSHELL: Spice Girls without the cartoonish image and Girl Power schtick. WHAT DO THEY SING? I Know Where It's At, Never Ever, Under The Bridge, Lady Marmalade. SCANDAL: Nicole reportedly left All Saints last year after a series of fights with her bandmates, but was somehow convinced to stay with the group. Sister Natalie is an unwed mother of a 6-year-old daughter. WHAT'S NEXT: A U.K. tour starting next month. LONG-TERM PROSPECTS: Continued reports of internal strife do not bode well for the future. QUOTE: "I don't like what they call Girl Power. How can the Spice Girls live in a world without men? I surely can't!" -- Melanie Blatt. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HANSON WHO ARE THEY? Brothers Isaac, 18; Taylor, 16; and Zac, 13. HOME: Tulsa, Okla. IN A NUTSHELL: Motown-inspired bubblegum pop from three brothers who can actually sing, play and write decent songs. WHAT DO THEY SING? Mmm Bop, Where's The Love, River, I Will Come To You. SCANDAL: Zac admits he steals mini-shampoos from every hotel he's in. Otherwise, these boys appear to be squeaky-clean. WHAT'S NEXT: Currently working on their third studio album. A feature film based on their rise to fame is also in the works. LONGTERM PROSPECTS: Excellent, providing they avoid overexposure. These kids have good heads on their shoulders and have the talent to mature like the Jackson 5 -- minus the bizarre behaviour. QUOTE: "Whatever it was that happened to the Jacksons isn't going to happen to us," -- Taylor Hanson. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE MOFFATTS WHO ARE THEY? Brothers Scott, 16; and 15-year-old triplets Clint, Dave and Bob. HOME: Victoria, B.C. IN A NUTSHELL: Canada's answer to Hanson. WHAT DO THEY SING? I'll Be There For You. SCANDAL: They used to sing -- gasp! -- country music! WHAT'S NEXT: A push in the U.K., where their album Chapter 1: A New Beginning has just been released. The siblings recently recorded eight acoustic songs for release on their British singles. LONG-TERM PROSPECTS: By snubbing media outlets -- they didn't talk to the Calgary Sun on a promotional trip last year and they're not speaking to us in advance of their concert here -- they're not doing themselves any favours. QUOTE: "Hanson said one of their influences was us," -- Clint Moffatt. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 98 DEGREES WHO ARE THEY? Justin Jeffre, 25; Nick Laghey, 25; Drew Laghey, 22; and Jeff Timmons, 25. HOME: Los Angeles, Calif. IN A NUTSHELL: Backstreet Boyz II Men. WHAT DO THEY SING? Because of You, Invisible Man. SCANDAL: As a struggling quartet in Los Angeles, they used to sleep on mattresses stolen from trash bins. WHAT'S NEXT: Hosting ABC's TGIF lineup of teen shows on April 2. A summer tour with Monica, to run from June 17 to Aug. 29. LONG-TERM PROSPECTS: Uncertain, only because recent music industry takeovers have left their label Motown in a precarious state. QUOTE: "We don't really mind being compared to other boy bands, but we're different .... We're more R&B sounding than the rest of them," -- Jeff Timmons. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BRANDY WHO IS SHE? A 20-year-old R&B singer; star of TV sitcom Moesha, a made-for-TV adaption of Cinderella, starring Whitney Houston, and the feature film I Still Know What You Did Last Summer. HOME: Los Angeles, Calif. IN A NUTSHELL: A girl-next-door, albeit a very talented girl-next-door. WHAT DOES SHE SING? The Boy Is Mine, a duet with fellow teenaged pop star Monica. SCANDAL: Lingering rumours that, behind their smiles, Brandy and Monica actually hate each other. WHAT'S NEXT: Double Platinum, an ABC-TV movie to air in May. Brandy plays a young woman reunited with her birth mother, played by Diana Ross. They've also recorded a duet for the show, Love Is All That Matters. LONG-TERM PROSPECTS: The sky's the limit. QUOTE: "Hey, I'm not Miss Perfect. I rebel like every other teenager." Comment on this item. Next Item: Backstreet Boys Update: Wheels, Deals and tushes Prev Item: CARTER CARES