Boybands Suck! (part 2)

Sorry. I just love that title so much I had to use it again.

This sudden nostalgia for boybands of years gone by is no thanks to my pal Lee Ann. It has been our tradition to greet each other during birthdays of our favorite boyband members. Two weekends ago happened to be Steo's (formerly of Irish group Boyzone) birthday and I was so bushed that I'd forgotten all about it. And Lee had to remind me about the occasion through a text message--which got a smile from me. It's been a decade since boyband madness and we're still at it, even if our taste in music has evolved (thankfully) over the years.

It took me quite sometime to come up with a list of boybands I've known in the past, just to see if I could come up with one and prolly think back of the songs that made them in one small way or another--or not. LOL! I actually came up with several of them.

CDB--I know they were Aussies and they did covers of "Let Us Groove" and "Get Down On It." I can't remember their names but I know that CDB stood for Create, Dream, and Believe.

World's Apart--I can't remember their faces and never knew their names. But I do remember their single "Baby, Come Back" and its music video set on a beach with four (or was it five?) young men in it.

Take 5--I didn't know their names, can't remember their faces--and it's no wonder since I prolly just saw the video of their remake of "The Tide Is High" less than five times.

Bed and Breakfast--I drew a blank on this group. But I remember their single "If you Were Mine" 'cause Lee had their record and we used to listen to listen to it a million and a half years ago in high school.

OTT--It meant Over the Top--just like how I don't remember them at all. I had to trust Lee when she said they did a cover of "All Out Of Love." Aight.

CITA--Or Caught In The Act. Just like the others, there are no names or faces that come to mind--but I do remember hearing one of the members became a boyfriend of another boygroup member. And I liked their single "Let This Love Begin."

No Mercy--There were three Latino guys in this group and I still like their songs "When I Die" and My Promise To You" up until now.

3T--MJ's nephews. I loved "Anything" (thank God for YouTube) and I happen to remember their faces, just not all their names.

911--Three British guys and the lead vocalist was named Lee. I remember the butterflies in their "The Day We Found Love" vid.

Plus One--An American fivesome that started out as a gospel group. I can recall their faces but never bothered to know their names (I was just about done with boybands when they came out, that's why) although I do know most of the lyrics to "Last Flight Out."

Point Break--I really liked their last single "You" but I also remember having the most irritating time checking the Web about this group--the search results keep on giving me Point Break the movie. (Hmm, come to think of it. It might have been pre-Google era.)

Damage--They were five British guys but I only remember Jade 'cause he's hot (and the on-again, off-again beau of Baby Spice--and now the father of her child, too). They did one of my all-time faves, "Forever."

A1--A British foursome that released a lot of singles. I loved their single "One more Try"

Human Nature--The Aussie foursome who sang in the Sydney Olympics. I think. I liked the Hugh Dancy-lookalike in the group and I loved "Wishes," "Don't Say Goodbye" and "Eternal Flame."

And then there were those who lasted more than their first single.

5ive--A British group that burst into the scene with the upbeat "Slam Dunk The Funk" but my favorite work by them are two ballads: "Until The Time Is Through" and "Closer To Me."

98 Degrees--I prolly wouldn't have liked this group if I didn't hear "Invisible Man"--totally love that song. But totally hated the video for it--too much of a rip-off of Take That's "Back For Good." You can't convince me that it wasn't.

East Seventeen (E17)--An old British group foursome that I came to know when they released their greatest hits album. Their music was disco pop--which was prolly wouldn't sell in mainstream music today. But I still love listening to that record because it was so reminiscent of the '90s. "Stay Another Day" is still a personal hit.

Code Red--For singing "This Is Our Song," I'll always like this group. They did release some other singles but they all paled in comparison to their debut effort.

Westlife--The first reason why I really liked this group was that Ronan Keating co-managed them when they were still starting out. Then they became this huge pop phenomena (except in the US, as usual) and I got tired of them. Although I did enjoy the war of words between their fans and A1's. Funny that.

Blue--This group was a victim of my boyband withdrawal. It took quite some time before I really started listening to their music. I loved their uptempo ballads and they were hot, hot, hot! So, why not?

N'Sync--I was already in love with a number of groups when I heard of them. Had that not been the case, it would have been so easy to become a true blue N'Sync fan. But that doesn't mean I didn't go gaga about them or their songs or their dance routines, not to mention those wonderful live production numbers.

Backstreet Boys--One memory that stands out in my mind was not being able to sleep the night before I bought their first album. That just proved how crazy I was about this group. I used to tune in to MTV just to wait for their vids to come on. AJ, Howie, Kevin, Brian, Nick. That about summed it all.

Boyzone--I still don't get it why I was so freakingly gaga about these five Irish lads. But there it was (is?). From their debut album to their greatest hits album to their post-group ballad collection--I could sing all of their songs, word for word, at one time in the past. I'd probably stumble through some parts in some songs these days but I'd still be okay. BZ for me was the best boygroup after the bestest group there was, Take That.

So, you see, boybands suck big time. They made us fall in love with them (in my case, at least) and the next moment, they just go poof! And some members turn out to be gay. Bad. But I don't give a damn. They're something to keep in my mental archive that's for sure and I'm not ashamed to say that I was once a boyband groupie.

How about ya? Have you ever been terminally crazy about a specific group? Can you recall some groups that came and went in the boyband caravan?