And that seems to be ALL kinds of music on the radio from rap to "alternative" to pop.

Like someone mentioned earlier, it does seem that boybands are experiencing a gradual decline. In fact, during the past one and a half years, several of them have broken up:

-No Authority
-Youngstown
-MyTown
-98 Degrees (Although they have not come out and formally announced it, they stated that they are taking a few year "break" to "explore other projects", plus they just released a greatest hits CD. Most have agreed that they are basically over.)
-LFO
-Five

Plus, if you have been paying attention to the Top 10 songs on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles Chart over the past few months, you have probably noticed the lack of songs by boybands.

I know the music is only made for young teenagers but to tell you the truth, I have some friends that listen to that teenage garbage and it's hard to believe that they didn't grow out of it yet, and they are around their mid 20's too.

I can't picture someone in the mid 20's listening to this stuff and I sometimes wish they would grow out of it and listen to something that's more "maturing", but as I said many times before, people can have the freedom to listen to what they want. There is music for everyone so it doesn't really bother me.

Yes, I notice that the boy bands that are fading off the charts and that's good to see. So it looks like that they are slowly starting to fade away because a lot of them are breaking up like you said. Even though I don't like boy bands, it would be nice if they stay out of the mainstream...because "boy bands" really do hold back other talent 'cause there are some great rock bands that are waiting to get to the top. Give some rock music a chance.

To be honest i really do not believe nsync has ever done a truly good song. Lets try and compare any of their albums to their idol michael jacksons, Thriller. Not only does michael jackson sing a lot better, he also puts their dancing to shame. I believe TRL is a conspiracy anyway. I really dont know many people who buy such music. I bet record companies are the ones calling up the show and placing ads around like crazy, buying tons of copies in the store to make it reach number 1 in an attempt to make sure they have a winner on their hands. Nsync look so stupid too with those annoying little goatee's and silly accents. Hell i'd be embarresed to leave the house if i was one of them coz i know that there are real musicians out there.

i do know that only one of the nsuk members actualy does sing and he is dating ms spears. (who does not sing, except the balads, which she sounds terrible doing)

shakira DOES sing because she has the band, sounds a little off tempo and did an unplugged show, which elton john said that it is a show that lip syncers do not dare go on.

Were The Temptations or The Four Tops a boy band cuz they don't play instruments?

"Boy bands" have been around since the Jackson Five, it's not a fad

The Jackson 5, The Temptations and the Fourtops were not considered boy bands back then. That term wasn't even used back then until the first boy band to hit the 80's which was New Kids On the Block, I think they were the first group that start using the term "Boy Bands", I'm not quite sure.

You see, pop music today is just like professional wrestling. Most pop music is all a staged show just like professional wrestling is.

This is your "point", but IMHO, it boils down to "nitpicking" semantics.

Personally, I have always been a fan of vocalists. Usually, but not always, a vocalist develops a powerful stage presence in addition to their primary "instrument", their voice. Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald - all these seminal artists rarely wrote their own songs, and none played an instrument. They sang the songs of the pre-eminent songwriters of their day (Basie, Ellington, Porter, Carmichael, Lerner and Lowe) just as today's vocalists often do (Teddy Riley, Kenny Edwards, Jermaine Dupri).

P.S. I do not place NSync on the level of Sinatra or Ella. In fact, I don't place them in the same vicinity, but that Timberlake kid, well, he is pretty talented.

P.S. Prince is a once a generation talent. Stevie Wonder is a similar talent.

P.P.S. Jackson 5 was definitely a boy band, and so were the Osmonds. I was there. The Beach Boys were a boy's band, although Brian Wilson was a genius composer and they did play instruments. You could accurately say that some boy bands, like the Beatles, Beach Boys, and BBMAK play instruments, while others do not. It's kind of the comparison between Prince and Michael Jackson. But, it is only a matter of opinion as to who's art is more "valid". I like them all, really, but YVMV.

Who cares? They disappear when you dont listen to them.

well actualy nobody here listens to them anyway. It is those damn 10-16 year old girls that listen to them. even though, now many in my school are listening to eminem, papa roach, linkin park, soad, ect. so i see the boy bands going away very soon.

But now we have a new type of pop music. teen girls as singer songwriters. i prefer this type of music alot more.

Well I'm a big fan of vocalists too. I agree that Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Louis Prima, Ella Fitgerald, Bjork, etc. Yes, they all wrote their own songs even though they don't play instruments but they have a backup band to back their music up. They have real people playing real instruments to back their music up. These vocalists have drums, bass, guitar and other instruments backing them up and that's why I respect them because they have a real "band" backing them up.

Did "boy bands" like N' Sync and Backstreet Boys have a real band to back their music up? *shakes head*.....No, they don't. All "boy bands" did today was sing and dance on stage with a bunch of other dancers with no band at all. I once watched like 20 minutes of an N Sync concert on HBO just for the hell of it, just to laugh and make fun of them for fun, they didn't have no live band at all.

If you read my earlier posts before, the soundman plays their backup music on a cassette tape and that's exactly what they do, it's like a karoake kind of thing. If you don't believe me, then go watch a live show of any pop artist like Jessica Simpson, Shaggy, etc. They don't have a live band, they sing over a cassette tape that the soundman puts in his sound system. When you go see them live, you won't see a drummer, guitar player or bass player on the stage. Just singers and dacners that's it. *yawn*

Now, I can give a band respect if they play their own instruments or vocalists using a real backupband (instead of using fake equipment like turntables and sound systems) but this is what I'm getting at here. [/B][/QUOTE]

Yup, and don't forget Ray Charles too.

Yup, that is true also. I agree with everything you said in that quote. But all those bands you listed in that quote like Beatles, Beach Boys, Jackson 5, the Osmonds, BB Mak, etc. I respect them...why...because they have a real band that plays real instruments. So I consider all them bands being very talented.

You see what I'm trying to get at here, folks? Since most of today's pop/dance music don't use a "real live" band at their live shows, that's why I consider them talentless like N'Sync and Backstreet Boys and blah blah blah. Today's "boy bands" use all that fake crap like MIDI synthesizers/computers and turntables. If today's boy bands can start using real instruments, they don't have to use them themselves but they can at least hire other musicians to play the music for them instead of using computers and turntables. If today's "boy bands" start doing the real thing, then maybe...just maybe I'll start respecting them.

Not only teen girls listen to that stuff but I know some guys in thier mid 20's that listen to it.

Yes, the boy bands are slowly fading away from the music industry and I hope to see that soon.

So don't I.

I don't mind that stuff either as long as they play their own instrument and write their own songs. Michelle Branch is a great example, and now she's got real talent 'cause she plays the guitar.

I also think Nelly Furtado is a very talented singer but she has real musicians backing up her music. I think you guys are starting to get my point now I hope.

Okay, enough of my discussion on this 'cause I no longer want to discuss this anymore. I think it's now time to give this argument a rest.

Well unfortunately it's not that simple. I certainly don't listen to this crap. But you can't get away from it (or them!) It's everywhere. Thankfully not as much as say a year or so ago. But let's not just limit this discussion to boy bands. I'd like to put all these manufactured pop puppets in a cage (including Titney and her clones) and toss them in the ocean.

Agreed. It's really hard to get away from that stuff when I have friends in their mid 20's and family members that listen to that stuff. A lot of times I get stuck listening to that garbage and I can't stand it. I do have a 13 year old sister and very surprisingly, she hates that "boy band" stuff, she's more of a country fan but country music doesn't bother me as much as this stuff though.

Everytime I get stuck listening to that dance/pop music all the time, it makes me want to slam my head against a brick wall like this:



Ok, I'll shut up now. Let's give this discussion a rest folks.

now spears has a backup band. but the funny thing is that when the hbo concert was on, you could only hear the backup singers during parts of the chorus, but she was still mouthing the words. if any of you wanna make fun of her for looking stupid, watch when she does the overprotected song. dancing looks really bad, and it is so obviously not her singing.

Ok, one last thing. Sorry but after this quote, I have to get this off my chest.

A few years ago, I admit I did see Britney Spears in concert. It wasn't my decision. My parents forced my 13 year old sister to go with me because they wanted me to take my sister to the Britney Spears show because she has been dying to go as my sister is a huge fan of Britney. So I decided to be a nice guy and take my sister with me even though I hate that music so I decided to invite 2 of my other friends with me too. At the show, I put on a Led Zeppelin t-shirt on so I don't look like a Britney Spears fan.

As Rypro said, yes, Britney does have a backup band but Britney wasn't really singing the vocals. When her voice was singing, I could immediately tell that her voice wasn't "Live". Her vocals was either someone else singing for them or her vocals was recorded as she lip synched them. I could immediately tell that Britney's voice was "fake" and it sure as hell wasn't "live".

And besides, it's got to be very difficult to sing and dance at the same time anyways. That's why they use "fake" voices so they can dance over the singing too.

Enough of my rant now, I hope.

i think it is her voice, but recorded some other time.

Lip syncing is very common in this type of music.

Here is exactly how it's done - The vocal part is recorded at an earlier date. It's typically not the studio track, but something a little less polished. The singer then sings along to this track. Now, this gives the sound man 2 options - If there live singer is not cutting it - he can then just keep the pre-recorded track going through the sound system. But if the singer is sounding good that night, he can simply make the live mic the one that the audience hears. Usually it's part of the song pre-recorded and another part live.

Mark

Well, I take exception to the quote about no one in this forum listen's to those bands anyway. I actually like that form of music and own a few of the cd's. I seperate the singer from the music. If the music is good enough I could care less who is singing.

It's so easy to say that I'm just following along with the newest trend, but I just enjoy music. Always have. So most of my music gets airplay. I don't have a problem with that.

That's good Powerbomb. Even if you listen to boy band stuff like you said, then I have no problem with it. People can listen to what they want, if they like the music, they listen to it. There's something for everyone. It is not a crime to listen to that stuff even though I hate this kind of music.

I sure hope not. Then what will I have to bitch about?

Ok, I have seen Britney Spears in concert 5 times because I like her, think she is hot, and actually thinks she can sing. Call me crazy, I don't care. I have a right to enjoy Ms Spears Now, yes Britney lip syncs. That is a given. However, she is lipsyncing her own studio vocals, not someone else's vocals. The first time that the whole concert was basiclaly lip sync'd was the Dream within a Dream tour aka the HBO Special which in times you can hear her singing over her own recorded vocals. At all the other concerts I have been to (Baby 1 More Time, Crazy, Oops Tours) she usually sang about 90% of the songs live and went waaayyyy out of tune during heavy dancing and high notes (I know because I can review the minidisc of the concert ). It is hard to dance around like that and sing at the same time. But the point is she was singing live and not lip syncingI remember when there was the big spat on MTV that Paula Abdul was using backing tracks at her concert during heavy dance stuff. Same with Madonna. Some peopel seem to think that lip syncing = Milli Vanilli which = these people don't sing on their albums. Not true.

And, whoever said she was lip syncing "Overprotected" at the HBO Special - you are correct. But she is lip syncing her own studio vocals - listen to the cd and you can tell it is the same. And, I think that Spear's voice sounds different and you can tell it is her singing on the studio tracks, not someone else. I don't give a rat's ass though if it is enhanced, etc in the studio.

Also, I took my girlfriend to two NSYNC concerts because she loves them. Both times they had a live back up band and sang their songs live. The show to me was a tad boring, but she enjoyed it.

I also don't see why people harp so much on people that do not write the music, lyrics, and play the instruments. If someone just wants to be a singer, I see nothing wrong with that.

I agree. There are some people who can write the best songs, but to hear them sing is well, rather disturbing. In country music, they are honored along with the artist who performs the song, so at least they are recognized.

You have every right to say you enjoy her music, I agree. But can you honestly say that Britney Spears can sing? I'll agree that a few of these teeny bopper acts have decent vocal cords, like Christina Aguillera. But Britney Spears has the most limited range in vocals I've seen in awhile. Even the wonders of studio engineers cant help her out. There's a reason she's lip snyching, because she's knows she cant pull it off live. And when she does sing live, im pretty sure she has about 10 backup singers drowning out her voice

Yes, I actually think she can sing, weird huh? I never said she had the greatest range though. I agree that Aguilera has a better voice (I also think Mandy Moore has a better voice) but I don't enjoy Aguilera's music (or personality heh), but I do Britney's. Britney's voice was actually more powerful when she was a child (like her two stints on Star Search).

And "im pretty sure she has about 10 backup singers drowning out her voice" - yep during the choruses, but only 2 background singers.

I agree with that post 100 percent Eternia. When pop singers, sing in the studio, yes, that is definitely their own recorded voice because it is much more easier to sing in the studio than a live stage. People can sing in the studio but not on stage. It is very difficult to sing and dance at the same time, that's why they have to lip synch at some point on stage.

But Eternia, even if you love the music, that's fine. I'm not trying to force people to listen to something else because it is their thing and their music what they want to listen to. But it's good to see that "pop" music fans admit that they really lip synch on the stage. Great post Eternia, I liked everything I read.