the beat

WHY DON’T WE: COURTESY OF ATLANTIC RECORDS. HOMME: KEVIN MAZUR/GETTY IMAGES. GAGA: BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES.

D

DURING ITS FIRST TELEVISED PERFORMANCE

at the Teen Choice Awards on Aug. 13, PrettyMuch

made a convincing case to lead the next boy band

wave. Clad in casual streetwear and exhibiting

boyish charm, the quintet glided across the stage

in sync, hitting choreographed dance moves to its

debut single, “Would You Mind.” The rhythmic

pop track wouldn’t sound out of place on an early

New Kids on the Block album; meanwhile,

the homemade signs and excited shrieks from

the crowd of teenage girls recalled the fandom

captured in the Backstreet Boys’ classic “I Want

It That Way” music video.

“The world’s ready for another boy band,”

declares PrettyMuch’s Edwin Honoret a few days

after the performance, relaxing on the rooftop of

Los Angeles restaurant E.P. & L.P. next to fellow

members Austin Porter, Zion Kuwonu, Nick

Mara and Brandon Arreaga. At a moment

when solo male artists like Justin Bieber, Shawn

Mendes and Ed Sheeran are ruling the charts, the

late-teens members of PrettyMuch — assembled

from across North America, from Ottawa, Ontario,

to Corinth, Texas — are hoping that a group

mentality works in their favor. “Think about the

teen girl,” Arreaga chimes in. “What’s better than

one guy who can sing and dance? Five guys!”

That vocals-plus-choreography combination

hasn’t been seen in mainstream pop since the turn

of the millennium, when ’N Sync and Backstreet

Boys would shimmy toward 1 million-plus albums

sold in their first weeks of release. One Direction,

which debuted in 2011,

remains one of the best-selling

acts of this decade, but did

so with a more rock-based

sound and rejection of stylized

dance moves. Following the

announcement of 1D’s hiatus

in early 2016, however, a

gap has opened in the pop

landscape for new boy bands

to fill — and groups like

PrettyMuch, L.A.-based quintet Why Don’t We

and Latin group CNCO are each hoping to capitalize

with a vintage aesthetic.

“My idea was to go back to different grooves

that aren’t on the radio,” says producer-songwriter

Savan Kotecha (Ariana Grande, Maroon 5),

who is executive-producing PrettyMuch’s Columbia

debut. A hip-hop-influenced follow-up to “Would

You Mind” boasts a French Montana guest spot;

another retro-leaning song features a writing credit

from Sheeran. “A throwback ’90s sound feels fresh

to the kids,” adds Kotecha, “because they weren’t

around during that time. But to the parents, it’s like,

‘Wait, I used to listen to that; I like that.’ ”

Of course, this concept isn’t entirely new.

Boy bands have sprouted up every half-

decade or so since the rise of groups like

New Kids on the Block and Boyz II Men in

the early ’90s. Because a majority of their

fan bases consist of young teens who often

outgrow their sound, boy bands tend to

reach astronomic heights, own the spotlight

for a compressed period, burn out and move

on to other endeavors (as the members of

One Direction are currently doing).

During the past year, different factions

have prepared for the next generation.

PrettyMuch assembled with oversight

from Simon Cowell (who signed 1D to

his Syco imprint in 2011) and former Syco

president Sonny Takhar; Why Don’t We

formed in 2016 and is backed by former

AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips, partner

David Loeffler and Atlantic Records

chairman/CEO Craig Kallman; and CNCO came

together in December 2015 on reality competi-

tion La Banda, which was created by Cowell and

produced by Ricky Martin.

“The One Direction era was

over, and it was time for the

next wave,” says Phillips. “And

I wanted to be on top of that.”

Why Don’t We — which

consists of Jonah Marais,

Corbyn Besson, Daniel

Seavey, Jack Avery and

Zach Herron, all solo artists

before linking up — embody

a boy band for the vlogger

generation, regularly posting videos from the studio

and of recorded mashups. YouTube star Logan

Paul featured the act on his single “Help Me Help

You”; the clip has garnered over 100 million views.

“If you’re just constantly dropping content,

the fans love it,” says the group’s Besson. Thus

far, Why Don’t We has taken a more-is-more

approach to proper releases, with three EPs in the

past nine months (the most recent, Why Don’t We

Just, peaked at No. 2 on Billboard’s Heatseekers

chart). Kallman adds, “When an artist delivers a

consistent reveal of who they are, that has its own

magnetic appeal.”

Although none of these groups are heard on

top 40 radio in the United States, their respective

journeys to mainstream success have been steady.

With “Would You Mind,” PrettyMuch earned

840,000 on-demand streams since July, according

to Nielsen Music, while Why Don’t We recently

wrapped its first U.S. headlining tour. And CNCO’s

debut album, Primera Cita, debuted at No. 1 on the

Top Latin Albums chart in 2016; single “Reggaetón

Lento (Bailemos)” became a Spanish-language

smash with over 1 billion YouTube views. The Sony

Latin group has yet to hit the Billboard Hot 100,

but recently joined forces with U.K. girl group

Little Mix for a “Reggaetón Lento” remix.

The boy band industry can be competitive —

five years ago, One Direction battled The Wanted

for pop supremacy — but none of these new

groups seem anxious to establish dominance.

“The world’s big enough for two boy bands!”

exclaims PrettyMuch’s Arreaga. “We have our

own little lane, and we’re going to cruise.”

From left: Why Don’t We’s Seavey, Besson, Marais, Herron and Avery.

The L.A.-based act has 1.5 million Instagram followers.

JOSH AND MARK’S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE

RONSON’S A QOTSA SUPERFAN

The “Uptown Funk!” producer has a signed

poster of the group in his London studio; his

innate understanding of what he calls “my

favorite rock band of this era”

made him want to push the

act into new territory. “It’s

odd to produce a band you

grew up on,” says Ronson, 41.

“[But] as a fan, you know what

a fan wants to hear.”

LADY GAGA GREASED THE WHEELS

Credit for the uptempo sound of Villains

(out Aug. 25) goes partly to the pop

star, who brought in both artists

for 2016’s Joanne. Homme, 44, was

impressed with Ronson: “I got to

watch him immerse himself in Lady

Gaga’s world,” he says. “He’s a good

communicator who’s not afraid to

say [something] you don’t like in a

way that’s not being a dick.”

ADDED BONUS: PISSING PEOPLE OFF

For Homme, part of the allure of recruiting

Ronson to his Pink Duck studio in Los Angeles

and recording songs like the hand clap-

anchored “The Way You Used To” was

subverting expectations for longtime

listeners. “The excitement of knowing we

were going to mess with people’s heads

became this dirty little thing,” says Homme.

“I have no interest in fitting in. I want to fuck

with people at every stage.” —DAN HYMAN

BACKSTORY

Homme (left)

and Ronson

“A ’90s sound feels

fresh to the kids,

because they

weren’t around

during that time.”

—Savan Kotecha

How did Mark Ronson, famed for working with Bruno Mars and Amy Winehouse, helm Queens of the Stone Age’s

new hard-rock opus, Villains? The producer and QOTSA frontman Josh Homme break down their bromance

Villains artwork Gaga

32 BILLBOARD | SEPTEMBER 2, 2017