Before the days of Lil Wayne and Justin Bieber, there was a group of singers that made music impossible not to sing along to — back when MTV and VH1 actually played music videos 24/7 …
Bubblegum pop. And to be fair to all, I am including boy and girl bands in this entry.
Back when Justin Timberlake had an afro, music sounded different. These teen musical groups made videos that had choreography we could actually follow, and their words were simple and fun.
Boy bands came in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Of course, you had your big names, such as *NSYNC and BSB. Then you had your one-hit-wonder boys, aka Youngstown, O-Town and LMNT. (So many acronyms. Oy. How did we keep track of them all?) It was the same with the honeys, too. Remember when S Club 7 had their own TV show? That was just a weird career move.
Here are my top 5 favorite boy band/girl group songs: (In no particular order. I mean, they’re all amazing.)
“Spice Up Your Life” by Spice Girls: It would be an understatement to say I loved the Spice Girls. I worshipped them. I knew every Spice’s likes, dislikes and not-so-secret crushes, and my second-grade notebook was covered in Spice Girl lollipop stickers. It was really hard to choose my favorite song by them, but I think this definitely reflects the attitude of the ‘90s.
“Bye Bye Bye” by *NSYNC: From my favorite *NSYNC album, “No Strings Attached.” Who didn’t try to copy these boys’ killer dance moves (yes, I saw a few of you boys trying to)? Unfortunately, the fab five stopped recording in 2002. I still wish Lance had gone into space.
“I Want It That Way” by Backstreet Boys: Thirteen years later, men and women alike still belt out the lyrics to this ballad when it comes on the radio from time to time. BSB still performs today, but sadly without Kevin Richardson (which still elicits grumbles from me).
“Say My Name” by Destiny’s Child: Who could forget that beginning soulful verse? This group launched Beyonce’s stardom, and many fans first heard her glorious voice when this hit came out in 2000.
“No Scrubs” by TLC: This hit taught young ladies to not date guys who were broke, lazy bums. “’Cause I’m lookin’ like class and he’s lookin’ like trash.” Self-explanatory.
Pop music today seems so … over-sexed. Not that sex is bad thing, but things like love, trust and confidence are important as well. Boy bands helped me see what real gentlemen could be like, and girl groups taught me how to stay strong and be myself no matter what other people thought. I’m pretty sure pop stars in the ’90s didn’t serve jail time, either.
I’m sure we didn’t take this music seriously when we were kids, but today these songs seem like works of art.
Finally, to the boys: If you ever find yourself mumbling the words to a Britney Spears song, it’s okay.
Posts in Gator Golf appear on Tuesdays.
