Timeline : Boy Bands
The Monkees TV show makes its debut, with four actors chosen to portray a pop band based on The Beatles. While The Monkees are a fictional band, they become very real and eventually play on their own recordings instead of studio musicians.More
Auditioned to a sheen by their father Joe, The Jackson 5 join Motown Records, signing a one-year contract. They move from their home in Gary, Indiana, to Los Angeles, where they became huge stars, hitting #1 in the US with their first four singles.
The Osmonds' "One Bad Apple" hits #1 in America for the first of five weeks.
"Candy Girl" by New Edition goes to #1 in the UK, becoming the first song with a rap to top the chart in that territory.
Menudo, the Puerto Rican boy band with the ever-changing lineup, release their 16th studio album, Evolucion. The album introduces their new 12-year-old singer, Ricky Martin.
MCA Records issues landmark albums by two of their hottest young R&B acts: Bobby Brown's Don't Be Cruel and New Edition's Heart Break.More
New Kids On The Block release their breakout album, Hangin' Tough. The LP goes to #1 in America and spawns five hit singles, including the chart-topping title track and the #3 entry "You've Got It (The Right Stuff)."
The boy band Take That forms when Robbie Williams, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Howard Donald are chosen at auditions in Manchester, England, to join Gary Barlow.
"End Of The Road" by Boyz II Men ties Elvis Presley's "Don't Be Cruel"/"Hound Dog" as the longest-running #1 single when it reaches its 11th week at the top. It spends two more weeks at #1, but loses the record three months later when Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" stays for 14 weeks.More
Looking to mimic the success of New Kids on the Block, entrepreneur Lou Pearlman sets out to create his own boy band. After auditioning hundreds of performers, he chooses five unknowns to be his Backstreet Boys.
Boyz II Men make it 14 weeks at #1 with "I'll Make Love To You," tying Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" for the longest-running #1 in Hot 100 history. The previous record was also held by Boyz II Men, with "End Of The Road" at #1 for 13 weeks.
The British boy band Take That release their most successful single, "Back For Good," which lands at #1 on several charts around the world and secures the #7 spot in America.
After three albums and seven UK #1 singles, the boy band Take That announce their breakup. They return to action in 2005.
Backstreet Boys release their self-titled debut album to international markets, aiming to tap into Europe's fascination with boy bands. A US release comes the following year.
With the release of their debut single, "I Want You Back," *NSYNC emerges as a rival to Backstreet Boys, who are taking America by storm.
11-year-old Zac Hanson becomes the youngest songwriter ever nominated for a Grammy when Hanson's debut hit, "MMMbop," is considered for Record of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
'N Sync get a big boost in America when their "In Concert" special airs on the Disney Channel. They got the gig when their boy band rivals Backstreet Boys backed out.
98 Degrees release their breakout album, 98 Degrees and Rising, featuring the hit singles "Because Of You" and "The Hardest Thing," as well as "True To Your Heart," a duet with Stevie Wonder from the Disney movie Mulan.
Backstreet Boys' album Millennium sells 1.13 million units in its first week, establishing a new SoundScan-era record for sales in a single week.
98 Degrees melds music and commerce in a novel way when the teen act performs several of its songs and sells some exclusive band merchandise on the Home Shopping Network.
MTV debuts the reality series Making the Band, with the first season spawning the boy band O-Town. Lou Pearlman, the creator of Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC, manages the group.
With the release of their third album, No Strings Attached, 'N Sync smashes the Backstreet Boys' record for first-week sales with 2.4 million copies sold - almost double the amount BSB garnered with their 1999 album, Millennium. 'N Sync's record holds for 15 years until Adele pushes more than 3 million units of 25.More
Backstreet Boys release their fourth album, Black & Blue. Catering to the screaming teenage girl demographic, they promote it with an appearance on MTV's Total Request Live. The album is one of biggest debuts in history, with initial shipments of about 6 million.More
Lou Pearlman, manager of Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync, is sentenced to 25 years in prison on four federal charges: two counts of conspiracy, money laundering and using false statements in a bankruptcy proceeding.
The Jonas Brothers' A Little Bit Longer, featuring the hit single "Burning Up," debuts at #1 in America.More
Backstreet Boys join New Kids on the Block at NKOTB's show in Radio City Music Hall. The response is so great that the re-formed bands begin touring together... as NKOTBSB.
On Season 7 of The X Factor (UK), One Direction perform as a group for the first time, singing a cover of "Torn" for judge Simon Cowell at his villa in Marbella, Spain. The guys had been eliminated as soloists and tried their luck as a group. They finish the competition in third place.
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