Nevertheless, producers and executives contin-
ued searching for singers whom they could shape
into similar molds, including Pearlman’s sculpting
of less-enduring groups like LFO and O-Town, the
latter of whom formed during the ABC/MTV reality
programMaking the Band. Given the prefabricated
nature of that selection process, the focus on fash-
ion, and the fact that members did not write most of
their songs, critics were quick to lash out
against the concept as a whole. Even so, au-
diences (particularly teenage girls) fell
head over heels with the appealing pack-
aging, fueling the fire for record labels to
clone the concept (spawning the likes of
BBMak, Boyzone, Westlife, and Plus One,
to name a few).A Sharp Decline in Sales By the end of
the 1990’s, the market had become so satu-
rated with groups who sounded quite simi-
lar to one another that a public backlash
ensued, sparked by the aforementioned
criticisms, plus the music industry’s em-
brace of rock trends and instrument-play-
ing acts that did not get their start as a mar-
keting idea in a record label boardroom.
Though many of the top-tier groups (like
Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC) would con-
tinue to tour throughout the early 2000’s,
they experimented with a more mature ap-
proach to making music and were scorned
by those only interested in their earlier
works. Many of the other acts associated
with the time frame were hampered by
personnel problems and eventually lost
their record contracts, leading many to
break up in the process.Impact Though some critics dismissed
boy bands as nothing more than prefabri-
cated groups of pretty faces, the cavalcade
of groups who defined the sound and look
went on to sell millions of CDs, concert
tickets, and offshoot products geared to-
ward youthful audiences. Outside of mak-
ing waves with their music, the most suc-
cessful boy bands were able to market to
every imaginable facet of popular culture,
simultaneously riding the record charts
while igniting frenzied fads in the process.
Despite many members of boy bands fall-
ing out of public favor, some stars birthed
out of this movement have transcended
those roots to evolve in solo contexts.118 Boy bands The Nineties in America
Selected Boy Band AlbumsYear Title Band
1990 Los Ultimos Heroes Menudo
Step by Step New Kids on the Block
1991 Cooleyhighharmony Boys II Men
1992 Detras de tu Mirada Menudo
1993 Cosmopolitan Girl Menudo
Everything Changes Take That
Take That and Party Take That
1994 Face the Music New Kids on the Block
Imaginate Menudo
II Boys II Men
1995 Nothing Else Take That
II: Yo Te Voy a Amar Boys II Men
1996 Backstreet Boys Backstreet Boys
Tiempo de Amar Menudo
1997 Backstreet’s Back Backstreet Boys
Evolution Boys II Men
Middle of Nowhere Hanson
98 Degrees 98 Degrees
Shoved In Hanson
1998 5ive: The Album 5ive
15 Anos de Historia Menudo
Home for Christmas *NSYNC
Live from Albertane Hanson
Menudo Menudo
98 Degrees and Rising 98 Degrees
*NSYNC *NSYNC
1999 Heat It Up 98 Degrees
Invincible 5ive
LFO LFO
Lyte Funkie Ones LFO
Millennium Backstreet Boys