Eclectically Challenged

So, it’s official, brand new boyband The Wanted have had their debut single enter the charts at number 1!

I cannot say that I like their song All Time Low, but you have to admire the people behind them who recognise that the boyband is still a force to be reckoned with! Those of who grew up in the 90s especially, know that there was a time when you could not move for manufactured boybands – be it Take That, Boyzone or East 17 to name but a few. But the 2000s bought about a backlash against them when the manufacturing process was put before our eyes in the form of Popstars and it was no longer definate that a group of good-looking guys would succeed, and the decade was littered with boybands who fell by the wayside; then along came the reformed Take That and the brand new JLS and the rules have changed again!

I think there are a lot of people who question where The Wanted have appeared from, and it is hardly surprising when you consider that this is a band who have failed to make it on to the Radio 1 playlist, but more than coming from a team of incredibly clever businessmen, their success stems from a change of attitude to boybands. JLS’ appearance on the X Factor proved they still had power to entrance an audience in a way no other type of artist can (with the possible exception of Justin Bieber, but let’s not go there!). But JLS were different, they are manufactured in the sense that their success stemmed from a TV show, but they put themselves together, as opposed to being a disperate group of guys thrown together by a record label; The Wanted are exactly and unashamedly that. And it is only today, when they have leapt to the top of the charts, that personally, I have realised just how much power the boyband has regained. They literally whip teenage girls into a frenzy, and this has become cool in recent months in a way I remember it being so in the 90s. What worries me most is that today’s chart hails a new era of the boyband, in fact I am convinced of it. The Wanted cement this fact by being the first of the new breed to enjoy success without the backing of a TV show. I would go so far as to say that if 2009 was a year remembered for the emergence of UK Hip Hop as a challenge to the US, 2010 may yet be defined by the boyband’s return to power. And, depending on your view, what makes this such a bleak outlook is that it re-inforces the power of the big music companies who can use a fool-proof recipe to generate money and stars. No boyband can survive without the backing of a major record label simply because they need songwriters, stylists and so much more to be truly successful, and so few independent labels can afford or will be willing to supply this.

Being completely honest, I hope this not the case. I admit that when I was a teenager I was a Boyzone and a Westlife fan by turns and I know that boybands will always exist, they are a fact of music. But having spent a year working at independent labels, I think that a music industry in which a multitude of boybands can thrive is a bad thing. It steals the limelight from those working hard every year to achieve success, and who fail in the wake of those who are thrust into the public eye and granted immediate success because they look good. This is nothing against the bands themselves, they may have chosen to join, but ultimately it is management and record companies who are responsible, and who are purposefully perpetuating the circle of their success at the expense of so many others working hard to get the truly talented out there.

The boybands themselves are not the problem, it is the power they have regained over so many young and influential music fans looking for the next big thing.