Backstreet's Back, or Not?

Please do not be scared off by the pictures that have been added to this post, they are not meant to harm you in anyway. However, these pictures may bring back memories of your past, some good, some probably bad. Bear in mind, that I am posting these pictures with good intentions.

I've touched base on Weird Al's influence on American Music, but what about the wave of music that hit the world in the late '90s. You remember the music trend I am talking about. That's right, BOY BANDS. I may have denied it when I was younger, but I am too old to be embarrased of my younger days, so now that it has been almost ten years since the assention of the boy bands that I will happily, or at least confidently, say that I was one of the crazy teenagers that was absolutely in love with the boys bands.

I was about 13 years old when boy bands got really popular, and needless to say I got sucked into a black hole. I was 13 and in love, and they loved me back, in the same respect that they loved every other 13 year old girl who ever so faithfully purchased every album they made. It has been quite a few years since my teenie bopper years, but I still remember waiting for their music videos to come on everyday. When they finally did come on, I would stand in the middle of the room and belt out the lyrics and dance (because of course, I, like every other girl, knew all of the words and all the dance moves).
Each band had their typical personalities and each one catered the different personalities of the girls who loved them so. There was always the heartthrob, the older brother, the cute one, the shy one and the rebel. These personalities were most obvious with the biggest bands, Backstreet Boys and NSYNC. I was in love with the rebel, but that was just me.

In the never ending rivalry of boy bands, there were two bands that consistently rose to the top of the game. The Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC seemed to be the two groups that made way for many others. Although they were not the original boy bands, they were the leaders of the time. They opened up a window to a world of POP music that we never knew existed. Without boy bands, in my opinion, much of the music we know today would not exist, or at least be what it is. Would American Idol even exist if it wasn't for the pop wave of the late '90s. With the boy band era there came groups like 98 Degrees and the ever loveable Hanson. No one who was around for the boy band era could possible forget its effects on the music industry as well as the effects it had on MTV. The boy band era was unforgettable. Everything about it, the bands, the music, and what came of it. We all may want to forget, but I doubt any of us ever will. Just say boy bands, or give someone the name of a boy band, and you'll get flashbacks too.