The Backstreet Boys are not my favorite boy band!

Back - Index - Submissions - - What is RSS? Date: Sep 12, 2099 Source: Neil Papa Submitted By: I know what all of you may be thinking. How could somebody say that on a Backstreet Boys website, right? Well, I will tell you why I have said this. I believe that the Backstreet Boys are not a “boy band”, and that they are a wonderful singing group. I have written this article to tell you that they are not a “boy Band” and I hope you change your opinion on whether or not they are a boy band. First of all when I think of Boy Bands I think of New Kids on the Block. When I was young I remembered all of the hype that went around them. All of the screaming girls and of the merchandise that went along with them. The posters, shirts, and the whole nine yards. I hate the fact that people include BSB under that category of “Boy Band”. They may all look good and have a bunch of screaming young fans, but they have much more than that. First of all the BSB have talent, they have the talent to sing. They also have the drive to sing, dance and perform for their fans. The BSB can also dance really great, that is due to the fact that they have a great choreographer, Fatima Robinson. I don’t think of the Backstreet Boys when I here the phrase boy bands. “Boy Bands” are just a bunch of guys who sing and dance and aren’t that really good at it. Also, all of the members have to be cute. Plus, the most important thing is that they appeal to the “teeny-boppers”, who make up most of their audience. They are those young girls between ten and thirteen who yell and scream over any person, actor, singer, or group who is on those “teeny-bopper” magazines, such as Bopp. Boy Bands have fans that love them mostly for their looks. That philosophy doesn’t apply to the Backstreet Boys. They have the music sales or record sales to prove it. If people just liked them for the looks they should just buy the posters and T-shirts. BSB have sold over 35 million records worldwide and have sold over fifteen million in the United States alone. With their US debut album reaching ten million sales, they received the Diamond Award. They broke Garth Brooks record for the most records sold in a week. The boys’ “Millennium” went gold in one day and after selling 1.13 million albums in the first week went platinum. That much fan power could not be the work of just “teeny-boppers”. That would include many adults and other younger people who enjoy that kind of music, like ballads and some more upbeat, harder hitting songs. BSB have their own sound that many people enjoy. They sing many kinds of music. Besides their usual love song they have a few dance songs. The most known is “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)”. They have a song with a good message such as “Roll with It”, and “The Perfect Fan”, which is song dedicated to their moms. They also have some songs that you would never expect them to sing, like “Don’t Want You Back”, which is the exact opposite of what you would usually expect from them. “Larger Than Life” was written for their fans. It thanks them for their support. It shows that they appreciate their fans and that they would take time to write it. I have known as a fact that their music is for everybody. I know many adults who listen to it. I also know some male fans. They enjoy BSB music and say that they are very talented. They are not only great singing artists, but great performers as well. Along with their great live singing voices they are great dancers. On their “Live in Orlando” concert they showed lots of great moves and sang with their wonderful variety of voices. In every award performance they always have really up-beat and energized feeling. Just recently the MTV Video Music Awards, in which they performed IWITW and “Larger than Life” which was dope. Everything about the whole performance was great. The transition between the songs, the dance break… everything!!! Their performance got the loudest response from the audience, you can hear them cheering. I just can’t wait to see them live on stage in concert on October 14 at the Pond. They also won the Viewer’s Choice Award, which is probably the most meaningful and wanted award. Good job everybody who voted!!! They deserve the award. Many people criticize on how BSB just sing and dance, and don’t play instruments. They are a pop group and/or an Adult Contemporary group. They are in those types of genre of music. They can be identified as both since they are played on both kinds of stations. They don’t usually play their own instruments. Many R&B and Pop artists don’t play their own instruments and they aren’t criticized, and are respected very much, so why can’t everybody respect BSB? But, there is something they should know, it is that BSB can play their own instruments. They can play like a band, but they seem to prefer signing and dancing and having a band play for them. If you have seen their “Live in Orlando’ concert on PPV or on video, I am sure you have seen them play instrument and you have seen them play it well. Their music is different from other pop, because they have a certain sound. That is what attracts many different kinds of people to their music. I also would like to add that their music is very enjoyable by all kinds of people, from young to old, people of all races, and both female, and even male. I myself am a male BSB fan and I am proud of it!!! I find it surprising when people tell me that I am the first male fan that they have met when I go into the chat rooms. When I tell them that I am a fan they are astonished and think that I am cool. I don’t feel special though, cause I am just a normal guy who likes to listen to BSB. I feel that there are many other male fans out there and most just hide it to prevent any ridicule from friends and/or classmates. The only reason why I would vote for BSB in those polls or voting places under categories, such as best boy band is to show that BSB is better then the other groups, ummm... NSYNC. I hope after reading this article you feel the same way. BSB are more than singers and dancers, and even more than instrument players. They are also behind the scenes people. They have had trouble with their management for sometime. They wanted more say in they way things were run. With Johnny and Donna Wright they felt like they had no freedom so they fought against their management and got a new one, The Firm. They are much happier now. They also write and co-write some of their songs. Brian has written “That’s What She Said’ and “The Perfect Fan” and Kevin wrote “Back To Your Heart”. BSB have also done vocal arrangements on some of their songs. BSB are very humble people. Their fame has grown and they still stay the same people they were five years ago. They keep it real. They don’t change their image to stay along with the current trends. They don’t act like people that they are not. They also don’t keep the fame for themselves. They still stay close to God and thank him for giving them the chance to do what they are doing. I like that. They also give back to the community. They had a benefit concert to help the victims of the hurricanes that hit Florida last year. They also have started medical charities, Brian has a Heart Foundation, and Howie has a foundation for Lupus. BSB are very caring people. BSB are not a fad. They have been together for over six years now. They have struggled to get to where they are. It took some time but they have become popular artists. They are now a household name. I don’t think that a group that has sold over 15 million albums is a fad. If you mention their name most people should know who they are. Instead of saying, “who is that?” or “who are they?” they will say, “Yeah I have heard of them”. I believe that BSB will stay together for a long time. They have been very popular here in the US for over two years now and even longer everywhere else around the world. Many of the BSB “haters”, as most of us call them, just don’t understand. They may hate them because they don’t listen to the style of music that BSB have. But, that shouldn’t mean that they should hate BSB or other pop groups. And just because we don’t like rock or alternative music or their kind of bands such as Korn or Limp Bizkit, that doesn’t mean we should hate them either. Both groups of music fans should just learn to either appreciate and respect the other artists or just not say anything at all. There is no need to put down any kind of artists. Everybody is a music fan; it is just that it isn't the same kind of music. Hey I like BSB and I am into Limp Bizkit, and there is nothing wrong with that. The critics, on the other hand, have stereotyped BSB as a “boy band” and that is how the rest of the media or public has viewed them. But, as I have said before many adults do listen to them. They won an award from Billboard for best Adult Contemporary Artist. I don’t think that would qualify them as a “boy band”, it would qualify them as a pop group and even an adult contemporary group. I doubt many adults listened to NKOTB, right? They should receive as much respect as any other artist and not be criticized and called a boy band. They will be in the music scene longer than their expected shelf life for a “boy band”, which they are not! I know that they will continue to write and sing more wonderful songs in the future, well beyond the beginning of the new “Millennium”. What I have told you explains to you why the Backstreet Boys are not a boy band and it also sort of explains why I am fan. KEEP THE BACKSTREET PRIDE ALIVE!!!! FOREVER!!!! Comment on this item. 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