The before and after of the most successful “boy bands” of the last decades

For years, we have followed the emergence of “boy bands”, groups that are marked by the lyrics of their songs, choreography, video clips and costumes. Since the 1970s, numerous musical groups have appeared, formed by young male members, such as the Jackson Five, New Kids On The Block and One Direction. How much have the members of these bands changed since they rose to fame? What have they been working with lately? These are some of the curiosities that populate the minds of many fans of “boy bands” from the past. After all, it was to their sound that many people decided not to repress themselves, dancing and singing great hits like there was no tomorrow.

O awesome.club did a good research about the most important “boy bands”, and prepared for you a before and after list of its members.

Jackson 5, now known as The Jacksons, could be considered one of the first “boy bands” in history, and was formed by five very talented brothers: Marlon, Jackie, Michael, Randy and Tito. Young people stood out at the time mainly for their musical peculiarity, mixing styles such as R&B, pop, funk and pop rock, and also for the vocal power, especially of two members: Michael Jackson and Jermaine Jackson. It’s no secret that Michael became the best known among the brothers, enjoying a meteoric career and going down in history as the “King of Pop”. The Jackson 5 officially disbanded in 1990, returning to the stage in 2008.

Menudo was one of the most important “boy bands” in Latin America, serving as a gateway to stardom for now-renowned artists such as Ricky Martin, Robi Draco Rosa and Johnny Lozada. The 1980s were the golden age for them, but from then on, the group’s popularity went into decline. In the mid-1990s, the group’s copyright was sold, leading to the formation of a new band, called MDO. Menudo would come to an end in 2009, but before that its former members were already dedicated to other initiatives. For example, from 1998 to 2015, Ray, René, Charlie, Johnny, Miguel and Ricky Meléndez started a project called reunion🇧🇷 Today, in 2020, other former members of the band participate in a world tour called Get on My Motorcycle🇧🇷 During its existence, Menudo sold around 20 million copies worldwide.

Another of the most popular bands of the 1990s, a pioneer in the diffusion of the “boy band” concept. The group’s members have always been the same since its formation in 1984, remaining active until 1994. After a hiatus, they returned in 2008, and continue producing to this day. New Kids on the Block paved the way for the emergence of other groups such as Take That, Backstreet Boys, Five and NSYNC. Since their comeback, NKONTB has been working to further increase the sales of their records. To date, this mark exceeds 175 million copies.

Originally from England, they began their career in the 1990s, and were very successful until one of their most famous members, Robbie Williams, decided to leave the group in 1995. In 2005, the band decided to return to the stage, even without Robbie. The singer would reunite with his former teammates in 2010, but not full-time as he didn’t want to give up his solo career. Today, Take That is still active as a trio, formed by Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Howard Donald, since Jason Orange left the band in 2014. They have sold around 45 million records worldwide.

The band formed in 1993 achieved worldwide fame in 1997 with the album Backstreet’s Back🇧🇷 They remained on the crest of the wave until 2000, when they decided to take a break, which lasted three years. Between 2005 and 2009, the group released three albums. In 2011, the boys joined forces with the band New Kids on the Block on a world tour, even releasing the album together NKOTBSB🇧🇷 The Backstreet Boys are still together to this day, being considered one of the most influential “boy bands” in music history. To date, they have sold over 130 million copies in several countries.

The group formed by five young people reached its international peak in the 1990s and at the beginning of the new millennium. In 2002, they announced a temporary break, which was very well taken advantage of, especially by two members: Justin Timberlake and JC Chasez, who went on to dedicate themselves to their respective solo careers. In 2007, another member of the band, Lance Bass, confirmed the definitive separation of NSYNC, and two years later JC told MTV that they would never get back together. In 2020, the Backstreet Boys left open the possibility of holding a world tour with NSYNC. When it was in the spotlight, the group sold between 50 and 70 million copies of their studio albums.

MDO is the group that spun off from Menudo, after the copyright on the brand was sold to a Panamanian production company. The band members at the time, Abel Talamántez, Pablo Portillo, Alexis Grullón, Anthony Galindo, Didier Hernández and Daniel René Weider, became well known with the song. Huele me solitudeand then with I wanted to forget you🇧🇷 After the release of their first album in English, new member Caleb Avilés left the group, forcing the others to take a hiatus. One of the most popular members was Abel Talamántez, who with the end of the project started to bet on cumbia, joining the Kumbia Kings group. In 2018, Alexis, Abel, Pablo and Didier decided to have a meeting with the purpose of making up for lost time.

The British band also known as 5ive was formed in 1997, achieving great popularity in Europe and some Latin American countries. In 2001, despite the resounding success of the boys, the group came to an end. In 2006, the members got together again, but the idea only lasted 7 months. In 2012, a new attempt was made to resume, but without the presence of Jason “J” Brown. Thus, Scott Robinson, Ritchie Neville, Richard “Abs” Breen and Sean Conlon started a new phase of the group Five, but in 2014 Richard informed via Twitter that he was leaving the band. Today, Conlon, Neville and Robinson continue with the project. When Five first disbanded, they had already sold around 10 million copies of their albums.

Westlife is a band from Ireland, emerged in mid-1998. World success came with the release of the eponymous album Westlifeallowing the boys to be launched to stardom mainly because of the version of the song Uptown Girl, by Billy Joel. In 2004, Brian McFadden left the group, but the other members continued until 2011. In 2018, they got together to release a new album, this one with a song composed by Ed Sheeran. Westlife sold around 40 million records.

The Irish quartet began its career in 1993, and came to be considered a phenomenon in Ireland and the United Kingdom, with around 20 million albums sold. In addition, the band was considered the second best “boy band” in Britain, after Take That. In 1999, they had already separated, which started the solo career of one of its most successful members: Ronan Keating. In 2007, Boyzone reunited for the purpose of touring, but two years later, Stephen Gately, another member of the group, died of natural causes in Spain, a fact that had an intense impact on his bandmates. In 2018, as part of the celebrations for the 25th anniversary of Boyzone, the remaining members released an album and performed a tour that ended in 2019, marking the definitive end of the project.

Despite not having been as successful as other boy bands, 98 Degrees also had its heyday, selling around 10 million records. The quartet formed by Nick Lachey, Drew Lachey, Justin Jeffre and Jeff Timmons announced a break in 2003, when the members began to invest in personal projects. There is no doubt that Nick Lachey was one of the most famous members of the group. He has released solo albums and participated in the reality show Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica, from MTV, alongside his then-wife, fellow singer Jessica Simpson. The group went several years without giving any news about their work, which led the public to think that they had broken up for good. However, after initiating publicity actions on social networks, the band returned in 2012, and remains active to this day.

The award-winning R&B and soul group was founded in 1985 with four members, who would reach worldwide success 3 years later, in 1988. Boyz II Men is considered one of the most influential groups of all time, and continues to exist today, only as a trio, as Michael McCary left the band in 2003 due to back problems resulting from scoliosis.

O-Town is a “boy band” formed in 2000 through a reality show on ABC (later MTV) called Making the Band🇧🇷 Just at that time, public interest in bands formed by boys began to wane, and the group was disbanded in 2003. After that, the members explored their solo careers, with Ashley Parker Angel being the most successful. In 2011, rumors of a reunion surfaced, but without Ashley’s presence. The resumption would only come in 2013, and since then O-Town has kept working with Erik-Michael Estrada, Trevor Penick, Jacob Underwood and Dan Miller.

One Direction is a “boy band” formed in 2010 in England, as a result of the program The X Factor🇧🇷 Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson all took the tests, but were eliminated. However, they were guided by singer Nicole Scherzinger and Simon Cowell to perform as a group. Thus, they formed the group One Direction and participated in the The X Factor, reaching third place in the competition. However, luck seemed to be on the boys’ side as they achieved worldwide success. In 2011, Simon Cowell (who is also a music producer) sponsored the group and the boys signed a contract for the release of their first album, which was very well received by the public. In 2015, Zayn Malik announced his departure from the band, which continued until the recording of their fifth and final album. The band was disbanded, and today the former members work on their personal projects.

CNCO is a Latin boy band formed in 2015 thanks to a TV show on the Univision broadcaster called La Banda, created by Simon Cowell, who was looking for new talent to turn them into music phenomena. After several challenges…