BATTLE! of the Boy Bands

Your list is very U.S.-centric

R1 because most people in the US never heard a Boyzone song

Take That at least had one hit in the states.

This one.

Yep.

BTS? Nope.

I’m surprised Boys II Men is doing so poorly. They could really sing, unlike most of these others.

I can't stand any of this crap.

They're equivalent to the Chipmunks. In human form.

And of course none of them up against the original Chipmunks.

Boyz 2 Men are not generic. They are the real deal!

They’re still a boy band, and generic, even if they could sing.

NSTINK

New Edition was the bridge between the old and the new, and with their individual successes (Bobby, Bell/Biv/Devoe, Ralph Tresvant, later Johnny Gill), there wasn’t any deadwood in the bunch.

Hotties

I always liked the British boy bands better - Take That were the blueprint (and Robbie Williams really charismatic and hot) and One Direction were a lot of fun. Musically both had some catchy tunes.

Why is NKOTB higher than New Edition? How is NSYNC higher than Boyz II Men? Backstreet Boys and Take That, I think deserve their spot though.

Boyz II Men is an R&B group, grown men singing grown people songs. Not really a boy band. New Edition was a boy band that was assembled as a tribute to the Jackson 5.

Take That was fun at the time but their music hasn’t aged too well. Robbie was the sexy one.

My votes are for New Edition, Boyz ll Men and NKOTB.

I'm not surprised that the Jackson 5 is a leading contender for this. They should be running away with this! They were the original "Boy Band!" Nothing beats an original!

*NSYNC because out of all the bands you mentioned, out side of the Jackson 5’s (I’ll say more about them below), only NSYNCs three big hits are still relevant and get people moving. But then again, “I want it that way” is still a staple for karaoke when guys get up to the microphone. So maybe it’s Backstreet Boys.

Back to NSTNC, their 2 big hits still make everyone want to sing along. I’ve seen it real time in many bars, weddings, clubs, or random events with music. Just corny enough for everyone to get in on the joke for “Bye-Bye-Bye” or “It’s Gonna Be Me”. The last song is still a meme on May 1st.

What’s also great about *NSYNC thanks to selfish JT is that they bowed out at the top. They didn’t overstay their welcome which helps cement their short legacy. Flash in the pan that was fun, then ended.

Other bands had to be shown the door.

Now, the J5 are really the best band musically and probably talent wise but different eras so it’s hard to compare because the boy band style hadn’t really set in until the MTV era. So it’s just not the same. Like comparing the Supremes to Destiny’s Child. The world in industry was just too different to compare.

Now Backstreet Boys had maybe a longer run on top with their own hits, but they overstayed their welcome and at one point where desperately chasing after *NSYNC. Like Christina A they had better vocal capabilities then the pop tarts NSYN/Britney but they just ran out of steam. They have gems in their catalog but I just feel out of the two big bands, *NSYNC has a higher place in the public.

NKOTB - no comment. I heard one good hit the rest seem terrible. They are before my time ( I was alive but too young to care/in diapers ). I’m just don’t hear their music anymore. Same with One Direction. Talk about derivative.

One Direction is allegedly huge but their music sort of sucked and they left no impact on pop. Everything they did had been done and no ones checking for them. Their breakout stars are interesting but the band was just a generic money pit that was worse then the previous groups because none of those assless Brits could dance. Zero choreography. It’s almost a crime against big band law. They did next to nothing but stand there and sing songs written by someone’s else but were treated like the second coming of the Beatles. The power of marketing!!!!

K-Pop boys have perfected many of the boy band checklists but the emotion is missing. That’s due to a cultural disconnect. But they are getting/gotten hip to the needs of Western markets. Very impressive with dance, looks, and ok sounds. They are the future unless we can get white boy bands to dance again.

Other point, I’d like to see an interracial boy band as we’ve gotten with recent girl groups. Make it happen America.

98 Degrees has no business in this poll.

[Quote]Now, the J5 are really the best band musically and probably talent wise but different eras so it’s hard to compare because the boy band style hadn’t really set in until the MTV era.

R19 You could have stopped after the first part of that sentence. LOL When discussing music what is more important than music and talent?

I don't think MTV is much of an arbiter of the best band (especially since Michael Jackson helped put MTV on the map - but I digress). What MTV does is further expose the exceptionalism of the Jackson 5.

The Jackson 5 gained notoriety primarily from live performances and only "very limited" TV exposure. We all know that giving outstanding live performances (much less becoming famous for that) is very hard to do. They also crossed over in an era when few Black groups were able to do that. That was no small feat. Finally, they had none of the studio tricks and editing available to ALL these other groups decades later.

I don't think NSYNC got many fans outside of their specific genre nor did they have much multi-generational appeal. I barely remember most of NSYNC'S music and I pride myself in being a music connoisseur. Everybody knows a Jackson 5 song and we know all of the Jackson 5 by name. I doubt most people can name all the members of NSYNC much less even one of their songs.

I think NSYNC leaving early actually hurt them. Obviously JT is an amazing talent as evidenced by his subsequent success, but who knows if NSYNC as a group had the staying power to compete much longer. The market was flooded with many groups just like them. To be honest, I had a hard time telling them a part. NKOTB stood apart as being in a different era. I would actually put them above NSYNC.

NSYNC was not a group long enough nor did they have enough originality to be enough of standouts to be considered "the best."

The Jackson 5 was the original Boy Band and really developed the formula that all their successors followed. There are actually memes of the Jackson 5, which is surprising since they left the stage so long before memes were even a concept. Their songs are played in commercials and will always be a part of pop culture.

NSYNC dissolved after JT left. The Jackson 5 (while not the same without Michael) rebranded as "The Jacksons" and continued for many years which shows the strength of the group.

Not to mention the Jackson name and notoriety was able to spinoff two world renowned superstars in Michael and Janet!

Finally, side note: Of all these bands including NSYNC, the Jackson 5 was the ONLY TRUE BOY BAND in that ALL their members were under the age of 18 when they started. That truly puts them in a category all by themselves.

I don't think different time periods prevents these groups from being properly evaluated if you know music. And certainly, MTV should not be the standard used to measure anything. By all objective standards, The Jackson Five was the best!

NSYNC was quickly assembled to be capitalize on surprise success of The Backstreet Boys. Lou Pearlmen founded both groups. NSYNC was not created to last, NSYNC went further into the hip-hop and electronic sound to differentiate themselves from BSB who became more pop-rock. Backstreet Boys lasted longer because they were working together for years before they became famous, they are like a family. NSYNC was more like a bunch of coworkers and they were popular on arrival hence why it was easy for them to split, JT had more opportunities thrown his way.

I think musically and performance-wise New Edition is superior to NKOTB in every way. But NKOTB was more mainstream and had a bigger impact on pop culture. They didn't even last that long like 3 years of massive popularity and most of their music is forgettable and cheaply produced. New Edition's individual members had more solo success than any of NKOTB's members did. I compare them because they were both founded by Maurice Starr, NKOTB's music is basically the same as early NE's music (NE got better after they fired Starr) and both were from Boston.

I love BSB. Their first album was more urban. Their sophomore more pop-rock.

NSYNC was the opposite, their first more poppy and rocky and then their sophomore more urban. By the third they were pure urban.

And then JT left.

BSB stopped for a few years and then came back. And refuse to leave now.

And Menudo is weirdly missing from this list. They were influential too at least in the Northeast. New Edition and New Kids on The Block probably would not have been a thing without Menudo.

How many white kids were listening to Menudo? Please

"They are the future unless we can get white boy bands to dance again."

Yep. It's amazing how K-Pop has international appeal, since the language differences are great. But, if they can get a Brazilian audience to sing in Korean and English, there must be something there.

Enough kids must have liked Menudo that they were featured on ABC Saturday Morning. I figure they were mostly an NYC thing though.

Music transcends languages and races.......... RM of BTS.

Yes, because NYC had a massive Puerto Rican population then.

They’re now 3rd in Hispanic population in NYC. Sad.

Why was this grayed out by FF votes? It's dumb but hardly offensive.

The "Boy Band" makes it sexist and the predominance of white acts makes it racist. This is the Age of the Woke.

R31 there’s a troll on here with numerous account. Most red tagged person ever on this site. They FF just because

K-Pop is so wretched.

NKOTB for me (I’m old I know). I found Jordan and Donny were very attractive back then