First off, I should probably say something about who I am. With both of my parents having trained as professional musicians, it means I have grown up with an appreciation for music of all genres. However, of all the great music that is out there, I chose to love boybands (among others of course). I love the cheese and I love the dance routines and when I’m in that mood (which I have to confess, is surprisingly often); nothing beats a good poppy love song.
Pavarotti didn’t write the operas and songs he sang; yet no one accused him of being talentless
The Oxford Dictionary defines “boyband” as “a pop group composed of attractive young men, whose music and image are designed to appeal to a young teenage audience”. Urban Dictionary on the other hand, described them as “a group of sissy boys who don’t play musical instruments and sing crappy love songs that they didn’t even write themselves”. Naturally, I agree with Oxford Dictionary’s definition more, although the definition from Urban Dictionary is an opinion many people share. When asking around as to who liked boybands, most (males in particular), were almost horrified that I would even ask them such a question, as though I’d asked them if they agree with slaughtering puppies. From this research, I collected a list of reasons why people said that they disliked boybands:
- They have no talent, and don’t write their own songs.
- The music they sing is not ~real music~.
- They are bad role models to their fan-bases (who are usually tweens/teenagers).
Well, foremost: the music they produce is great music for its purpose, which is to be catchy and easy-to-remember for their target audience, which are mostly (pre-)teens. I do agree that a lot of the time the members don’t write their own music, however, this is true for many solo artists too. Does this really mean they are then not worthy of creating music? Pavarotti didn’t write the operas and songs he sang; yet no one accused him of being talentless. Even though Pavarotti’s performances were only meant for a two-hour opera, the rationale behind them were the same as most boyband songs, to capture your emotions and give you the #feels.
THE SAME COULD BE SAID FOR RAP MUSIC, AS THOUGH 2 CHAINZ TALKING ABOUT A WOMAN’S LARGE BEHIND HAS SOME SORT OF SOUL.
Saying that they don’t produce ~real music~, seems a bit pretentious in my opinion. Who decides what music is real or not? People connect to it; whether they connect to the people who are singing it or they actually connect to the lyrics, is that not what music is all about? Most people also think that what they sing about is very shallow, and hasn’t got the ‘soul’ or ‘true emotion’ that constitutes ‘real music’. The same could theoretically be said for some rap music, as though 2 Chainz talking about a woman’s large behind has some sort of soul. There is no difference. How is it that rap doesn’t have the same negative connotation when someone says they are a rap fan? (Disclaimer: I also happened to love rap). Moreover, no one seems to have a problem with calling him or herself a Beatles fan, yet they were arguably the first manufactured boyband out there.
I’m just suggesting we give them a break. We’re all human after all
I’m not blinded by my love for boybands; I understand that some of their music can seem soulless, I’m not suggesting that every word One Direction sings comes from the deepest places in their hearts. My point is… so what if it doesn’t? Like it or not, boybands are needed in the pop industry for their popularity and the mega-bucks they bring into it, (it’s called the music business for a reason). Which brings me onto the point about the members of boybands being bad role models. I understand that by being in a boyband, it attracts an audience who are mostly at an impressionable age, however what most people fail to realise is that the members of these boybands are also at a similar age when they start their careers (when formed, the Backstreet Boys were aged 15-22). None of them are forced into a career as a member of a boyband, but as teenagers can we really expect them to be the perfect role models? I’m not saying I agree with some things that they do, experimenting with drugs, and using racist and homophobic slurs for example, (*cough* One Direction *cough*), but I’m just suggesting we give them a break. We’re all human after all.
In conclusion, music is music. Fair enough if you don’t like it, but why hate? I’m not particularly a big fan of heavy metal music but I don’t automatically judge people who tell me they do like it, so why should it be different for boyband fans? Liking this music doesn’t make you a certain type of person, and each band shouldn’t be painted with the same brush. So hey, let’s all give boybands and their fans a break for once, and go pick on people your own age.