History Main / BoyBand

* In Hot Chip's video for "I Feel Better", directed by [[Series/ThePeterSerafinowiczShow Peter Serafinowicz]], a bunch of UncannyValley [[PrettyBoy pretty boys]] called [[XtremeKoolLetterz Kyng, Mar'Vaine]], Octavian and Popeye are attacked by a floating man as well as a ScaryBlackMan with EyeBeams.

To some extent, boybands [[UnbuiltTrope were preceeded]] in the late 50s and early 60s by 4-man bands singing harmonic and acapella/Doo-wop tunes like The Four Freshmen, the Drifters, or Jay and the Americans

* [[Music/{{Five}} 5ive]]: Another late 90s boy band, but [[JustForFun/RecycledInSpace British]]. Known for being slightly edgier than a standard boy band with funk, rap and rock influences in their music. Mostly remembered by being considered the most successful British boy band in the United States until 2012 [[note]]Although Take That's "Back for Good" was a much bigger hit than 5ive's [[OneHitWonder one hit]] "When the Lights Go Out", 5ive had the Disney Channel backing them in the United States, which boosted their album sales significantly.[[/note]] and for releasing a cover of [[{{Music/Queen}} Queen's]] "We will Rock You" which was succesful in the charts but draws very polarizing opinions to this day. Attempted to reunite twice, once in 2006 which failed, and again in 2014 with far more success. Two members have left the band, one in 2012 and another in 2014. The band has performed as a trio since.

* Wrestling/{{AAA}} had "Los Spice Boys" Jimmy Boy, Billy Boy and Vangelis, though they later dropped the boy band gimmick when Vangelis left the group and was replaced by Decnis in what became Los Warriors(The now [[GratuitousNazis Nazi]]'s Vangelis's group) vs. Los Barrio Boys(Decnis's group) feud.

-->'''Dave Holmes''', ''The Boy Band Con: The Lou Pearlman Story''

[[quoteright:350:[[Music/{{NSYNC}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nsyncreunion.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:{{All girls want|BadBoys}} band boys.]]

** The gang form the band [=FingerBang=] in the episode "Something You Can Do With Your Finger". [[LampshadeHanging Lampshades]] the FiveManBand aspect (they hold auditions for their 5th member with ''[[TheChick Wendy]]'' being selected and later [[spoiler:Randy]] after Kenny's usual episodic death and archetypes).

* A Music/{{Vocaloid}} producer made [[https://www.youtube.com/user/gensoairly "Gensou Airly"]], sort of Boy Band consisting of four male Vocaloids, Kaito, [[AdorablyPrecociousChild Len Kagamine]], [[{{Samurai}} Gakupo Camui]] and [[HotTeacher Kiyoteru Hiyama]].

* [=LFO=] -- A PowerTrio who acquired the all-important [[Music/NewKidsOnTheBlock Joey McIntyre]] Elder Boy Band Statesman Seal of Approval; he had them as openers for some of his solo shows. LFO stood for "Lyte Funkee Ones", and they had to use that full name [[MarketBasedTitle in the UK]] due to the existence of a popular pre-existing techno group also called LFO. Unlike most other American boy bands, LFO wrote almost all of their songs themselves, but they are mostly well-known today for their debut hit "Summer Girls", which has [[WordSaladLyrics some of the most random lyrics in music history]]. Tragically, they would remain a TwoHitWonder ("Girl On TV" was their second most known song) as lead singer Rich Cronin died of leukemia at the age of 36 in 2010, and Devin Lima passed from adrenal cancer in 2018 at age 41.

You definitely were in a Boy Band if, years and years after the fact, your fandom looks back on your early albums as an [[OldShame embarrassing phase]], GuiltyPleasure, SoBadItsGood, or (if it's old enough) {{Camp}}. Songs from said groups often qualify as SillyLoveSongs, many of them trying to convey warm and fuzzy feelings.

* Music/{{Busted}} were a British trio from the early 2000s that tried to fit in with the pop-punk fad of the time by playing (or "playing") instruments on stage and having the odd noisy guitar riff, but were still essentially a boy band. Shortly before the band broke up, their leading member Charlie Simpson formed Fightstar, a [[GenreShift hardcore punk band]]. That band actually became quite successful and acclaimed, and as a result, Simpson tended to [[OldShame downplay his involvement with Busted for some time]], before saying "you know what? I had great fun in that band and I don't care who knows it" and joining the original lineup reunion in 2016.

* {{McFly}}: (named after the character from ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture''), an early 2000 band, largely fitted the mold. They were considered a "brother"-group to Busted that also played instruments on stage and were inspired by [[PowerPop pop rock/power pop]] music. That the band members played their own instruments, did their own songwriting, and mentioned having contemporary rock n roll influences has brought many fans to [[InsistentTerminology strongly insist that they're not quite a 'boy band']] (many fans just don't care either way). In the 2010s, the members of [=McFly=] and the two members of Busted who weren't Charlie Simpson reformed jointly as a five-piece called [[PortmanteauCoupleName McBusted]].

* Unsurprisingly, ProfessionalWrestling got in on the act. Wrestling/{{WCW}} faction Three Count, consisting of Wrestling/ShannonMoore, [[Wrestling/GregoryHelms Shane Helms]] and Evan Karagias, were a parody boy band. They even had a variation of the large, intimidating boss in enforcer/#1 fan Tank Abbot. And just like several real boy bands, they had a BreakupBreakout. After Wrestling/{{WWE}] bought WCW in 2001, they picked up Helms' and Moore's contracts, though Moore was sent to the developmental promotion Heartland Wrestling Association in Ohio. Helms was repackaged as the wrestling {{Superhero}} The Hurricane.

* Music/VoicesInPublic : One of few notable Canadian "boy bands," VIP was also a quartet. According to Wiki/TheOtherWiki, the group began as a trio consisting of Marty Beecroft, Glenn Coulson, and Joe Heslip, high school friends from Barrie, Ontario. They later added Peter Luciano. They performed live around the province, primarily at universities, while attending school themselves, and completed two cross-country tours before they disbanded. Their best known single, "Just My Luck" received heavy airplay on MuchMusic. They received a Genie Award for "One Thing To Say," which appeared on the soundtrack to Film/JacobTwoTwoMeetsTheHoodedFang. Glenn was "the cute one."

* '''The Cute One:''' A second heartthrob. Less sexually threatening than the Sweet One, and often meant as a {{Foil}} to the Bad Boy.

* [[Creator/BrianDavidGilbert Brian David Gilbert]] is [[PlayingTheirOwnTwin playing his own twin]]...squared as 2winz
in their real-time, autobiographical expulsion of the band's [[OnlySaneMan Only Sane Man]] in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdVgPCM5wEk "Just One Day"]].

* In Hot Chip's video for "I Feel Better", directed by [[Series/ThePeterSerafinowiczShow Peter Serafinowicz]], a bunch of UncannyValley [[PrettyBoy pretty boys]] called [[XtremeKoolLetterz Kyng, Mar'Vaine]], [[AwesomeMcCoolname Octavian and Popeye]] are attacked by a floating man as well as a ScaryBlackMan with EyeBeams.

* [[Music/{{Five}} 5ive]]: Another late 90s boy band, but [[RecycledInSpace British]]. Known for being slightly edgier than a standard boy band with funk, rap and rock influences in their music. Mostly remembered by being considered the most successful British boy band in the United States until 2012 [[note]]Although Take That's "Back for Good" was a much bigger hit than 5ive's [[OneHitWonder one hit]] "When the Lights Go Out", 5ive had the Disney Channel backing them in the United States, which boosted their album sales significantly.[[/note]] and for releasing a cover of [[{{Music/Queen}} Queen's]] "We will Rock You" which was succesful in the charts but draws very polarizing opinions to this day. Attempted to reunite twice, once in 2006 which failed, and again in 2014 with far more success. Two members have left the band, one in 2012 and another in 2014. The band has performed as a trio since.

* The ''Film/JosieAndThePussycats'' [[TheMovie movie]] featured a boy band called [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ica0S13BTh4&feature=related Dujour.]] To make fun of the effeminate nature of many boy bands, their hit single was called "[[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything Backdoor Lover]]". When they find out that their record label is putting SubliminalAdvertising into their music, their manager (who isn't a big burly dude, but is instead an evil Alan Cumming) tries to have them killed by causing their plane to crash. [[spoiler:They survive, having managed to safely land the plane on their own... only to find that they had landed in the parking lot of an arena hosting a Music/{{Metallica}} concert and subsequently get the everloving crap beaten out of them (sans Les, who only comments "I thank god every day I know the lyrics to 'Enter Sandman'!").]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': Party Posse featured the well-known heart-throbs Bart Simpson, Millhouse Van Houten, Nelson Muntz, and Ralph Wiggum.

To some extent, BoyBands [[UnbuiltTrope were preceeded]] in the late 50s and early 60s by 4-man bands singing harmonic and acapella/Doo-wop tunes like The Four Freshmen, the Drifters, or Jay and the Americans

You definitely were in a Boy Band if, years and years after the fact, your fandom looks back on your early albums as an [[OldShame embarrassing phase]], GuiltyPleasure, SoBadItsGood, or (if it's old enough) {{Camp}}. Songs from said groups often qualify as SillyLoveSongs, many of them trying to convey warm and fuzzy feelings (that sometimes [[TastesLikeDiabetes goes too far]]).

* '''The Heartthrob / Sweet One:''' The unofficial FaceOfTheBand, and the one who was put there to draw the {{Squee}} of millions of adoring teenage girls (at least, the most {{Squee}}). Most likely a former model and the MrFanservice of the group, often appearing shirtless in posters and photo shoots. He is also the one most likely to have a successful solo career once the group disbands. If the band gets a movie, count on him to be TheHero.

* '''The Older Brother:''' A cool, reassuring figure that the girls can relate to. He might be TheHeart or TheLancer but can be [[TheLeader an actual leader of some bands]] too.
* '''The Shy One:''' Nerdier than the rest of the band, usually TheQuietOne. He's cast because NerdsAreSexy. May come off as wondering what the hell he's doing in the band in the first place.

Most Boy Bands follow a particular Five-Man Band archetype, established by Music/NewEdition and Music/NewKidsOnTheBlock, that differs from the traditional one used on this wiki. It is as follows:

* '''The Heartthrob / Sweet One:''' The unofficial FaceOfTheBand, and the one who was put there to draw the {{Squee}} of millions of adoring teenage girls (at least, the most {{Squee}}). Most likely a former model and the MrFanservice of the group, often appearing shirtless in posters and photo shoots. He is also the one most likely to have a successful solo career once the group disbands. If the band gets a movie, count on him to be the protagonist.
* '''The Bad Boy / Rebel:''' The one with a rougher edge to him. He's the one wearing the black shirt and jeans or leather jacket in those videos where they're not all wearing matching clothes. If he's ''really'' edgy, he may also have a tattoo. Put in to cater to those [[AllGirlsWantBadBoys girls who want bad boys]].
* '''The Cute One:''' A second heartthrob. Less sexually threatening than the Sweet One, and often meant as a foil to the Bad Boy.
* '''The Older Brother:''' A cool, reassuring figure that the girls can relate to.

* MTV's MadeForTVMovie ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKktTRdkHW4 2ge+ her]]'' was an AffectionateParody of Boy Bands and their formation. It later spawned a TV show and album, and several of their songs got played on TRL. The main clue-in that the group was a joke (aside from their goofy lyrics) was that one of the members was Creator/ChrisFarley's brother Kevin, who was over 30, fat and balding. Sadly, the show was quickly canceled after the death of member Michael Cuccione at the age of 16 from lymphoma, which caused many a FunnyAneurysmMoment as his [[RealLifeWritesThePlot disease was written into the story]] -- [[DudeNotFunny as a gag]].

* Early in 2021, Del Taco introduced the Crys P Boys, who were used to promote the company’s Honey Mango Crispy Chicken Tacos and Jumbo Shrimp Tacos in commercials filmed to resemble music videos. The fictional band was a style shift for advertising character Crys P, who had been the lead singer of the also-fictional hair metal band Crys P Tiger. The Crys P Boys disbanded by the spring of that year, with Crys P going solo and “going country” for another Del Taco ad campaign.
* Advertising/JackInTheBox once featured the Meaty Cheesy Boys, made up of five performers known only by their initials (EJ, TJ, RJ, JT, and the other EJ), singing the praises of Jack's Ultimate Cheeseburger. It's a campaign-within-a-campaign in which Jack is exasperated with the clueless advertising executive who presents the MCB's ad for his approval.

-->'''Clueless ad exec:''' ''[dancing awkwardly]'' What's a target?

* ''WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers'' brought us [=Boyz4Now=], a group whose concert Tina dragged the entirely uninterested Louise to only for Louise to entirely fall for the Cute member of the group, Boo-Boo. This becomes HilariousInHindsight as, Creator/KristenSchaal, who voices Louise, also was involved in the next example (she also voices Mabel in ''Gravity Falls''), essentially playing two young girls going crazy for a throwback boy band almost back to back.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'' (which takes place in 2002, when boy bands were still popular in North America), Mei and her friends are huge fans of a boy band called 4*Town, and a major conflict is how Mei's mother Ming won't allow her to go to their upcoming concert. While the film mostly plays the boy band angle completely straight, [[AllThereInTheManual supplementary materials]] state that Jesse is a bit too old to be in the band ([[OlderThanTheyLook despite his youthful looks]]) and Robaire is likely the only one who will have a successful solo career when the band dissolves.