Boy bands: How they rise and fall
The Jackson 5
The Motown greats scored their first hit in October 1969 with “I Want You Back,” starting a run of four straight chart-topping hits. The Top 10 hits kept coming through November 1971, before Jacksonmania died down with “Lookin’ Through the Windows” in 1972, and then really dropped off with 1973’s “Skywriter.” The brothers were displeased that Motown wouldn’t let them record the songs they were writing, and they weren’t thrilled with the material passed down to them. Meanwhile, Michael’s successful 1972 solo debut, “Got to Be There,” signaled a solo career that would take off in 1979 with “Off the Wall.” Jermaine had his own solo gig going as well. After seven years at Motown, they moved to Epic as The Jacksons, and had their biggest success with the “Victory” album and tour in 1984. That was the end of the line for Michael, although The Jacksons lingered for the ill-fated “2300 Jackson Street” in 1989.
new Edition
The group, formed at a Boston housing project in 1978, was discovered at a talent show by singer/producer Maurice Starr, and topped the R&B charts in 1983 with “Candy Girl,” followed by pop hits “Cool it Now” and “Mr. Telephone Man.” New Edition found itself in some epically bad business deals, though. Bobby Brown was voted out in 1985, but the group carried on with the addition of Johnny Gill. Seeing Mr. Brown break out as a successful artist in 1988, the remaining New Edition members pursued their own projects, with Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins and Ronnie DeVoe forming Bell Biv DeVoe, and Mr. Gill and Ralph Tresvant both doing solo albums. New Edition reunited in 1996 and has released two post-’80s albums along with a 30th anniversary tour in 2011.
new kids on The Block
In 1984, Mr. Starr created what was considered to be the “white version” of New Edition. The Boston group broke out with its second record, “Hangin’ Tough,” in 1988 after getting radio play from a station in Florida. They charted nine Top 10 hits between 1988 and 1990, three of them No. 1’s. With a record-breaking pay-per-view event, a Saturday morning cartoon, lunchboxes, etc., they topped the Forbes list of highest-grossing entertainers in 1991. Then came grunge and gangsta rap, and allegations of lip-syncing, all cutting into NKOTB’s popularity. Jonathan Knight left the group during the Face the Music tour in 1994 , suffering from panic attacks, although the group said he fell off a horse. They chose to disband that year. They reunited in 2008 and have remained arena headliners.
Boyz ii Men
The quartet rose out of Philadelphia in 1990 specializing in slow jams and new jack swing, and became the fourth most successful music group of the ’90s, according to Billboard, scoring such hits as “I’ll Make Love to You,” “One Sweet Day” and “Motown Philly.” Here’s the interesting twist with Boyz II Men: Although the Boyz saw their popularity crest in the late ’90s — their last Top 40 hit was 16 years ago in 1999 — they never called it quits.
Backstreet Boys
The Backstreet Boys, formed by Lou Pearlman (a cousin of Art Garfunkel), debuted at SeaWorld Orlando in 1993, broke first in Europe where they recorded their 1995 debut single with hitmaker Max Martin. They broke in the U.S. in 1997, when they did their first major arena tour. In 2001, Backstreet’s “Black & Blue” tour was halted for two months while A.J. McLean entered rehab. After two years away from the spotlight — Nick Carter launched a solo career that did not take off — the band reunited on “Oprah” in late 2003. After charting a final Top 40 hit in 2005 with “Incomplete,” Kevin Richardson left the group in 2006 to pursue other interests, making Backstreet a foursome. He formally rejoined them in 2012 during the NKOTBSB Tour with the New Kids on the Block. BSB just wrapped up a three-year 20th anniversary tour.
’n sync
’N Sync might still be going if Justin Timberlake hadn’t become a superstar. The group, which included Clarion’s Chris Kirkpatrick, was also formed in Orlando by Lou Pearlman and recorded with Max Martin, releasing its debut single, “I Want You Back,” in Germany in late 1996, and the States in early 1998. ’N Sync’s self-titled debut was a slow grower, but the follow-up, “No Strings Attached,” preceded by the single “Bye Bye Bye,” was massive: The first album in the Nielsen SoundScan era to crack 2 million sales in the first week (2.42) and with 11.3 million in sales was the second-best selling album of the decade behind the Beatles’ “1” (11.5 million). Sports fans here might still cringe at the thought that ’N Sync played the last concert at Three Rivers Stadium (July 16, 2000) and the first one at Heinz Field (Aug. 18, 2001). Although there was never a breakup announcement, Mr. Timberlake’s solo record, “Justified,” in November 2002, spelled the end of ’N Sync, which has done a few one-off reunions, most recently at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2013.