Boy Band - General Discussion

[Meredith Quill]

Your Judges Topic!

[Meredith Quill]

Discuss The Boys Here!

[Meredith Quill]

Your Groups Topic!

[bluwater]

My faves so far from the auditions:

 

Jon Klaasen

Chance Perez

Andrew Bloom

 

Looking forward to hearing more from them.

 

Wondering if JHype can learn to sing better, because his beatboxing is awesome.

[bluwater]

I'm alllllll about harmonies, so if the boys can harmonize, I'm happy!

 

As a group, Reverb may hold the strongest voices.

[mtlchick]

The only reason I'm watching is hoping that a Backstreet Boys/Spice Girls tour finally happens.   

[Lyinfait]

Emma kept flipping her hair and acting flirtatious...I thought it was awkward considering how barely/not even legal all of the guys were. Aside from that, I appreciated that the adjudicators  (what did they call them?) didn't pretend that every voice was the best ever. To my surprise, I rather enjoyed this. And I had had no interest in watching when I saw the previews. I'm looking forward to the next performance.

[mtlchick]

Because the hair styling determines how dreamy you are.

 

I am bummed out that Jon didn't make the cut but I do think Timbaland is right in saying he has a future in music, just not as part of a boy band.  

[Lyinfait]

I'm bummed about Jon too. Not at all sure who I would cut instead though. Someone from the other groups. Putting all of the stronger vocalists in one group was an odd choice. What is the plan anyhow? Last 6 standing from the three groups is the band? Did I hear they would be mixing up the bands? Is that in the live performances? This takes me back to Making the Band (O-town)and Popstar (Eden's Crush)...then that find the next pussycat doll show. I'm such a sucker for these shows. 

[Cinephile54]

I don't see Chance Perez as marketable as a member of a boy band since he has a child.  Young girls ages 9-13 are usually fans of boy bands and a dad might turn them off.

[Spencer Hastings]

Reverb definitely has the strongest voices.  Tonight's performance was really good, it was hard to figure out who would be cut.  All of those guys were solid.

[Spencer Hastings]

The "architects" seem to be finding their niche as judges.  It seems like Nick is trying to be the Simon, playing devil's advocate where he can.  Timbaland gives good feedback.  I agree about Emma flirting with the boys.  They weren't even born when Spice Girls hit it big and then disappeared.

[Spencer Hastings]

Chance and Andrew are definitely my favorites.  I'm surprised that they're even mentioning Chance's child.  Girlfriends were a huge no no when I was into boybands.  I think a few boy band members had to have kids with how old some of their kids are now but they definitely weren't talking about it.

[wonald]

It was obvious that Jon and Andrew were the 2 weakest links in Reverb so not surprised that Jon is gone. He really disappeared in the performance, altho I wonder if part of it was that he didn't seem to have any vocal solos. He was basically the background pianist.

[vibeology]

I don't think the child is going to be a big problem for Chance's, well, chances. He's very clearly not with the mother anymore so he's still "available" to his fans. In the clips they've shown with him and his daughter, he's caring and sweet and it gives him a hook in the mass of guys competing for a spot. I also don't think the expectations are the same for boy bands as they were in the 90s. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Nick Carter talks about Boy Band on Build:

[Lyinfait]

Architects, thank you. They are not annoying me with their feedback and that it's still actual attempts at feedback not merely over effusive praise is a plus. 

[CaughtOnTape]

I can't stand Nick Carter but he's at least giving decent feedback.  BSB over and above every other boy band has been through some shit in their career, both self-inflicted and from outside forces and they are still out there doing their thing and filling arenas.  So his feedback rings true.  BSB weren't a band that couldn't sing (i.e. NKOTB).  All five harmonize their asses off even with Brian's vocal issues lately.  They are still around because their talent can't be denied.

These boys would do well to listen to him.

Emma is annoying me with her constant "you have to find your personality" bullshit she keeps spewing.  Look, that may have worked for your band but it didn't for any other one.  The whole "There has to be a nice one, a hot one, a soulful one, a dangerous one and a musical one." thing is ridiculous and was a major reason for why AJ McLean and Nick ended up having issues.  She needs to stop.

[CaughtOnTape]

On 6/30/2017 at 11:54 AM, Cinephile54 said:

I don't see Chance Perez as marketable as a member of a boy band since he has a child.  Young girls ages 9-13 are usually fans of boy bands and a dad might turn them off.

Tell that to One Direction who now has two dad's in the band.

And Brian Littrell who got married and had a kid while BSB was still in their hey day.

This kind of thinking is antiquated.

[CaughtOnTape]

Sitting him at the piano was a strike against him.  I know he thought it would show more of his musicality but it ended up making him look like part of the backing band.

[wonald]

If there is one kid who I would bet money on. it's Chance. He has the most screen time by FAR of anyone; he was the first to be introduced. He has that single father sob story that will generate sympathy. Also, very cute looking and has a mediocre weak voice that is suitable for a boy band. 

The other one that I think is a sure thing is the 15 yr old opera singer. Has the cherubic, blonde, lead singer pretty boy look down pat.

 

And I didn't know that Liam has a kid with Cheryl Cole. WTF!!! I watched 1D's beginning on XF in real time and that's kinda gross.

[chocolatine]

OK, so I watched an episode of this silly show on demand while folding laundry, and now I'm hooked, dammit!

13 hours ago, wonald said:

He has that single father sob story that will generate sympathy. Also, very cute looking and has a mediocre weak voice that is suitable for a boy band.

This 100%. He's going to be the designated "heartthrob" while a few of the other boys will do the vocal heavy lifting. He reminds me a bit of Kevin Richardson (BSB) in looks.

I can't really put the faces to names of the rest of boys yet - aren't there like four Andrews? Is the cherubic opera singer one of the Andrews? He's like a more bashful and talented version of a young Justin Timberlake.

[chocolatine]

Aw, I wanted Jon to last until the makeovers - surely there have to be makeovers! Cute guy, but I wanted to reach through the TV with scissors and fix his hair. Now I hope at least poor man's Harry Styles (the one who insists on wearing a headband) makes it to makeovers.

I don't know if anyone here's familiar with Take That - they were massively successful in Europe in the early and mid-90s, and when they disbanded there were suicide prevention hotlines for all the devastated teen girls. Anyhoo, their lead singer Gary Barlow often sang while playing the piano (he also wrote most of the band's songs), and I was hoping Jon would be able to pull off the same thing. He probably would have with more practice and getting used to working with his bandmates, but it was too much to put on him for the first performance.

[Lyinfait]

Now that you mention makeovers, I'm hoping there will be some! There must be right? Part of the boy band package is the image. Maybe with the live performances? 

[Spencer Hastings]

They should have eliminated two guys from tonight's band and kept all of the guys in Reverb.  They're clearly the strongest and they mesh well together.  I don't like that they're shaking the bands up because I really like that group and can't be bothered with learning any names besides Andrew Bloom and Chance Perez.

Edited July 7, 2017 by Spencer Hastings

[wonald]

8 hours ago, chocolatine said:

 

This 100%. He's going to be the designated "heartthrob" while a few of the other boys will do the vocal heavy lifting. He reminds me a bit of Kevin Richardson (BSB) in looks.

 

In looks, he reminds me of JC Chavez. 

 

 

8 hours ago, chocolatine said:

 

I can't really put the faces to names of the rest of boys yet - aren't there like four Andrews? Is the cherubic opera singer one of the Andrews? He's like a more bashful and talented version of a young Justin Timberlake.

Ok, I looked it up bc it was buggin me. The opera singer is Brady. Knew it started with a B. He is the only B name in the whole initial 30. 

And there are only 2 Andrews. One is the buff MMA fighter. The other is the puffy (by 16 yr old twinks standard) country boy.

[wonald]

Like last week, the weakest was obvious. I bet that Gavin is happy to be back with his 300K fans on YT anyway.

I know that I am being manipulated by the "Bad Boy Miles" narrative but he came across as extra fake with all the hugging while constantly mugging for the cameras.

Most of the final band members are kinda obvious. They are 1) Chance, 2) Brady, 3) Michael Conor. The final 2 are a little more up in the air but I think they are Devin (I heard that he has 100K followers on Twitter alone) and Sergio. I think the 3 cute black boys (Cam, Marcus, and Dorian) cancel each other out since it's hard to tell them apart. My personal preference would be Jaden (the gospel singer), Sergio, Brady, Michael, and whomever but I aint the target demographic.

[CaughtOnTape]

1 hour ago, wonald said:

IJC Chavez. 

 

*JC Chasez

[vibeology]

I never want to hear that girls are drama queens ever again after watching that. Those boys were some of the most dramatic, emotional disasters I have ever seen. I know the group last week had a good cry, but I get how that happened in that situation since they were asked to think about sad moments in their life. This was just petty jealousy and feeling like they weren't getting their moment. I enjoyed it as an episode because drama can be entertaining, but most of these guys don't belong in a group.

And vocally I like Miles, but the whole "bad boy" thing is such bs. What exactly makes him a bad boy? Because I saw a soft, doughy kid who couldn't win at a fight and certainly lacked the mental toughness to be considered bad.

[TrixieBelden]

Not sad that Gavin went home.  Way too winky.

Miles the angsty drama queen can't go home soon enough for me.  Get over yourself, Miles.  Also, tattoos do not a 'bad boy' make.

[waving feather]

My favorites so far are the boys who are quietly confident in their talent: Michael Connor, Andrew Butcher, Jaden, Brady and Chance.

Miles is a mess; it must be hard for his fragile ego that he's not the star of his group. Sorry, dude, go the solo route then. He's such a try-hard and it's a pity because his voice is not bad.

[janeer3]

Same as you.

[mtlchick]

Quote

BSB weren't a band that couldn't sing (i.e. NKOTB). 

As for someone who just saw NKOTB at Fenway Park this weekend...you are not wrong (but I love them anyway because Donnie still owns me even though I want to strangle him sometimes.  I digress.)  I thought Nick was one of the better celeb judges on Dancing With The Stars, because while he's not a dance expert, he learned a lot from his run on the show to give some back and it made sense.  Giving feedback when he's still part of the biggest boy band of all time with another world tour set for 2018?

If these boys won't listen to his advice with all the nonsense he's been through, then I give up. 

[bernette2]

Sounds interesting.

[adhoc]

I finally got around to seeing some of the first episode. So let me get this straight: Miles was living in L.A., homeless at one point, but he managed to find money for a rather complex looking tattoo? Okkaayyy....

Also, that hair band he sports does not scream "cool" to me. It does suggest "goofy" or maybe "too lazy to take care of my hair," however.

[Ohwell]

I haven't watched much of this, I don't even know names, but I caught the last five minutes or so and I knew that the cuter kid would be saved.  

[adhoc]

So, does it work like this?

• Once the three groups perform, the judges privately decide who is the weakest link in each group, in terms of being right for a boy band. 
• Of these three contestants, the judges determine which two are the very weakest links.  Those two contestants will be put on the chopping block for America to consider. That means the remaining boy's band must by default be deemed "safe," even if it did not as a whole perform as well as one of the other two bands.

I suggest this because I thought Elements performed the best and Tr5ble was a hot mess, yet Tr5ble was "safe". Of course, this is all just my opinion and speculation. YMMV.  

[mtlchick]

AJ and Nick sang part of I Want It That Way.  DONE AND DONE.  I will fight you to the death in saying that's one of the greatest pop songs ever. 

Nothing says hilarity like moms taking a good look at the lyrics and realizing what they are singing.  

Nothing says "Who hates you?!" like being assigned to an Adele song.  I guess they were saved because of the song. 

I missed it last week, but now that I know who Miles is, I won't miss him. 

[ms gilly]

The audio quality when the boys are singing is horrendous--that or the background vocals and instrumentals are way too loud. I could barely hear the individual singers.  I have no idea who actually has a good voice.  In prior episodes I couldn't understand what Rita Ora was saying either, but I couldn't care less.

Sergio, Jaden and Chance have great stage presence and can dance.  Jaden is my fave.  I'm a huge sucker for this kind of show, since Popstars (US).  I'll be here till the end.

[adhoc]

Yeah, if Jaden comes out of this with more recognition and recording opportunities (whether in a band or solo), I'm good. He's already the whole package, IMHO. 

Also, I hope Brady does not make the band. Too young and (it seems) charmingly innocent.  I cannot help but think that being in this boy band would be a corrupting influence on him that he (and his mother) would later regret. Better he should go a different route if he wants a music career.

[Ohwell]

12 hours ago, mtlchick said:

AJ and Nick sang part of I Want It That Way.  DONE AND DONE.  I will fight you to the death in saying that's one of the greatest pop songs ever. 

Agreed.

[Lyinfait]

11 hours ago, ms gilly said:

The audio quality when the boys are singing is horrendous--that or the background vocals and instrumentals are way too loud. I could barely hear the individual singers.  I have no idea who actually has a good voice.  In prior episodes I couldn't understand what Rita Ora was saying either, but I couldn't care less.

Sergio, Jaden and Chance have great stage presence and can dance.  Jaden is my fave.  I'm a huge sucker for this kind of show, since Popstars (US).  I'll be here till the end.

Agree about audio quality. I could barely hear the vocals and the mix wasn't great or well balanced. I was listening for blend and harmonies and couldn't get a good grasp of either. Overall I didn't love these performances as much as previous ones  and I think the sound quality had a lot to do with it. For all that boy bands are about an image, I'm too old for these boys and will need some actual vocals to keep me properly entertained, please and thank you. 

[chocolatine]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought the audio quality was a mess. I'm glad diva Miles (a.k.a. poor man's Harry Styles) is gone; he really should have gone last week for his bad attitude.

How old is Chris Kirkpatrick now? Wasn't he already in his late 20s when NSYNC started? I don't even remember him as a "boy".

[Lyinfait]

Not going to miss Miles either. He was not the bad boy he hoped to be. I noticed the boys all looked made over but he still rocked the bandana. 

 

Yes! My memory says he was in his late 20s which may or may not be true* but Chris was definitely in his 20s when the group started. 

 

*Wikipedia suggests that he was late 20s by the time Nsync hit it big.

Edited July 14, 2017 by Lyinfait

[TroopinFairy]

I actually liked Miles and I think that he has a lot of talent. I knew that Mikey was the one being saved though. I also think that the architects sort of pushed him into being the "bad boy" because of the tats and the bandanas and he just seemed to go along with it.

[waving feather]

Where did Drew come from? I hadn't noticed him at all in the previous episode but he stood out to me during their group performance. He has a nice, easy stage presence. Same as Marcus. The last group that performed was so bad. Brady is the only good part.

Edited July 16, 2017 by waving feather

[waving feather]

This panel of judges is surprisingly good, especially Nick and Emma who are quite relevant to the boy/girl band scene. I also like that all 3 judges don't spew just positive feedback like the coaches do on the Voice. I felt they are really trying to help the young boys. Emma, in particular, has the unique skill of delivering constructive criticism in the most palatable manner. 

[wonald]

Drew was one of the last 3 boys to make it into the Top 18 according to the War Room session in E1. This week was the first time I noticed him using his falsetto tho. He should do it more often.

AfterbuzzTV had Tim, the voice coach, on the show and he is even more creepy and assholish than he seems on the show.

[mtlchick]

Will need to watch the West Coast feed (which means I'm starting to CARE for this?! WHAT?!) as I missed the first 40 minutes but Sergio and Drew are miles ahead of everyone else. Plus Drew reminds me of Howie of BSB who is my favourite so I'm officially a cougar. 

 

A bit surprised J Hype stayed but I don't think Dorian was mentally ready for this.  And the poor kid can't even get a good bye in! 

[adhoc]

Weird, I feel like I'm watching a different show sometimes. In the first band, I thought Michael Connor was awful (light blue denim jacket?). Did not connect with the audience. But one of the judges thought he was amazing. So much praise was lavished on band members who I thought were so-so.

I have to say I agree that Sergio and Drew were indeed the standouts in their band. I did not remember Drew from previous eps, TBH, but he was quite charming tonight, as well as having a nice voice.  Perhaps soft pop/easy listening is his wheelhouse?

Too bad this week was not the double elimination--they could have gotten rid of both J-Hype (gah, stupid presumptuous name) and Dorian, softening the blow for Dorian while getting rid of the two weakest links. 

Jaden is still my favorite. Chance is pretty but I could do without him, in favor of someone with a better voice. 

Rita Ora. Not really familiar with her work (though I've heard of her), but she does not impress me. Cat Deeley, she ain't. 

Tonight, Nick Carter was channeling Bruno Tonioli from DWTS.