McFadden, who recently changed his name into Brian instead of Bryan, walked out on Westlife last year. It is no secret that boybands are not the most talented musicians. Usually you can find one outstanding figure in a band who sings most (and McFadden was not that one), but that is all. To be honest he used to be my favorite among those Irish lads, but his action of stepping out of the group and dissed it on his solo record was a sign of immaturity. It was simply another pattern of Robbie Williams' case. He had taken the advantage from Westlife making him popular. After he could get nothing else, he had enough of it and thought that solo rock record would perhaps fit more into his personality: an attempt which was failed by ones like Mark Owen and Nick Carter. No doubt Williams is a success and there is nothing wrong if McFadden wanted to reach something better than he was holding.
Westlife, on the other hand, is possibly the biggest group left in the legacy, apart from the fact that I have met these guys twice over press conference before their concerts in Jakarta and I did not find them nice. Fifty percent of their songs are cover versions of other artists and the rest are written by other people. Yet, they can sing well (not dance though). By singing mostly ballads, the band is practically the representation of a pure boyband. They broke their own record on Guinness Book of Records by scoring six consecutive number 1 hits on the UK chart. We will still have to wait whether McFadden can make it alone, but honestly his first single "Real to Me" does not sound too. Decent may be the right word, but I would not use the term impressive.
Talking about loyalty to boyband world, Jordan Knight is a perfect example. Listen to his New Kinds on the Block: The Remix Album. I know some people would force me to get back to 2005 for suggesting this stuff. But as I say before, New Kids are harmless. It might sound a little awkward to hear a 35 year old man to sing: "Step by step, ooh baby you're always on my mind, step by step ooh girl I really think it's just a matter of time…" But hey, I think the new arrangement is not so bad. Download the free sample from here and I would like to hear what you think. In my opinion it is as good as the real version, if not even better.
Article comments
1 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
great stuff, Ayu, i too feel these ensembles are deserving of a bit of attention, if only on account of how unavoidable they are.
And let the duke be the first to admit, Take That were amazing a lot of the time. Back For Good? That shit was phenomenal.
2 - Ayu
Thanks Aaron. So you're from Ireland? I was a little bit worried that no one here knew whom I was talking about..you know, stuff like Boyzone, Westlife, Blue and Take That. Back then, Gary Barlow is a very talented musician...not quite the best dancer, but his song writing skill is brilliant. I think he can match Sir Elton John one day.
3 - Marty Dodge
Gary Barlow is still writing music for lots of different people. While he is not in the public eye as much as fellow Take That mate Williams, he is still in the business and doing rather well for himself. It could be argued he had the best voice in TT too.
4 - Ayu
That is what I tried to explain on the last part of my post, Marty. And I agree with you, Gary Barlow was the soul of Take That, as well as perhaps Jordan Knight in NKOTB or Ronan Keating in Boyzone. But hey, boyband is a collective project. One can't succeed without the support from the others. I still hope Gary will start singing again one day though.
5 - Marty Dodge
It will be interesting to see what the next stage of the boy-band thing is...what with Busted! ending and Charlie's new project bombing.
Freefaller seem to be the next in the can play instruments/write own music style of manufactured young male groups.
6 - Ayu
Apart from the rumors I heard about the return of Backstreet Boys and *NSync (Ummm...aren't they too old for a BOYband?), I think groups like Busted! or Freefaller are more acceptable nowadays. Perhaps I am now too old to go crazy over them, but the single Do This, Do That is quite catchy.
7 - Marty Dodge
Yes it is Ayu and they have got other stuff which is as good. My attitude is that if its any good who cares if its done by a bunch of pretty boys some record company is pushing? I don't look at em' just listen to em'.
8 - Ayu
Too bad I haven't gotten their album yet. I see you have posted a review on it...I hope it doesn't sound too "Blink 182" though.
9 - Marty Dodge
Yes, the album won't be out for a while. A few more singles, then an album.
10 - kaneshiro
i love british boy bands more than those american ones. i feel there's more soul in the songs done by british groups, i means they're better to listen to and has depth. i surely miss the time when there were still code red, worlds apart, and bed & breakfast
11 - Janet Summers
I appreciate your info in this article. I have 3 sons, 12 y/o twins and 14 who have been in a rock band in the Louisville area for the last 2 years. They played out with a 4th younger person (started ages 10 and 11, with 8 y/o singer)at popular spots all over Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. They took a performance sabbatical for 7 mos after leaving the 4th band member last fall, to become an all-brothers band and take their musicianship to the next level. They are now THE SUMMERS and are a strong teen band playing current rock, and a post-punk flavor of some alternative. Also play some classic rock depending on the venue. These guys have strong moral values and are entertaining, good looking, talented and fun! They have been told they have the "it" factor and are being looked at by some strong influences in the industry, looking to break out when the timing is right. No sex or drugs, these brothers communicate effectively with one another and are a great inspiration to other teens.
12 - el toro bumingo
I love the songs of Code Red, Plus One, Boyzone, Westlife, BSB, N*SYNC, 98 Degrees, 911, A1, 5ive, Caught In The Act, Take 5, Human Nature and all those boybands from the 90s. I'm a huge boybands fan :)