Top 10 Forgotten Boy Bands

Even the spelling of this band reeks of the 90s. While Color Me Badd formed in 1985, 1991 was their biggest year, as that was when they scored their first top five hit, “I Wanna Sex You Up”. Their following singles, “I Adore Mi Amor” and “All 4 Love”, reached #1 on the Hot 100, and the accompanying album, C.M.B., went triple platinum. However, their successes proved short-lived, as their following three albums all failed to reach the top fifty. That said, if you’re still interested, two of the original members – Bryan Abrams and Mark Calderon – are still touring, although Abrams was once arrested after pushing the Calderon onstage, so things aren’t looking good...

soulDecision was a rare Canadian contribution to the boy band craze, emerging right at the peak of the era. Their debut album, No One Does It Better, was a success in their native country, selling over one million copies and reaching #7 on the Canadian albums chart. The album’s lead single, “Faded”, is easily their most popular song, reaching #1 in Canada and being nominated for a Juno award. Their follow-up single also reached #10, although that was about it for this boy band. They released a few more singles between 2000 and 2004, but none of them matched the success of “Faded”, and soulDecision quickly … faded... into obscurity.

Next up on our list is... Next, a boy band formed in the state of Minnesota in the early '90s. Unlike the other bands so far seen on this list, Next had two, that's right, two successful albums. Their first, Rated Next, went double platinum in the United States and contained the single “Too Close”, which reached #1 on the Hot 100. Their follow-up album, Welcome II Nextasy, reached #12 and went gold, and its lead single, “Wifey”, reached #7 on the Hot 100. Following a few unsuccessful albums and singles, the group broke up over internal conflicts. However, they have since re-grouped and released a new single in called “Want It” in 2018.

Boyzone were an incredibly successful Irish boy band, particularly in the United Kingdom and surrounding areas. Boyzone dominated the '90s, scoring nine number one singles in their native country, including “No Matter What”, their most commercially successful single. On the UK charts, they scored six number one singles and four number one albums, their most successful being Where We Belong, which has been certified 5x platinum in the UK. Boyzone would cease operations in 2000, but by 2007 they had regrouped and went on to release four more albums before stating their intention to call it quits again in 2019.

American audiences may not know who BBMak are, but it may be a different story in Britain. BBMak formed in Liverpool in 1997. Two years later, their debut single, Back Here, reached #5 on the UK singles chart and #1 on the US Adult Contemporary chart. Unfortunately, they became yet another one hit wonder band. While their sophomore single, “Still on Your Side”, reached #8 on the UK charts, it failed to make an impact overseas, and the band split in 2003. However, there’s good news for the BBMak fans among us. In March 2018, Christian Burns announced that the band had reunited, and has plans to tour and release a new album, tentatively titled Powerstation.

O-Town formed in the first season of “Making the Band,” a long-forgotten talent and reality show that aired on ABC and MTV. And, like most stars from these types of shows, their light burned bright only for a moment. Their self-titled debut album reached #5 in the US and went platinum, scoring the top ten hits “All or Nothing” and “Liquid Dreams”, the latter of which was certified gold. However, their follow-up single failed to reach even the top 100, and that became the last most of us saw of O-Town. However, cut to 2013 and six original members opt to reunite, and eventually release a new EP in 2017.

Westlife was another Irish boy band that saw incredible success both in their native country and throughout Europe. Eight of their ten studio albums hit #1 on the Irish charts, and the other two peaked at #2. Overall, Westlife has sold over forty million studio albums, and their first three albums all went multi-platinum. They had equal success on the radio, scoring six consecutive number one singles in the UK and thirteen overall. Westlife went strong into and throughout the naughties, debanding in 2012. However, by 2018 they'd regrouped and in 2019 treated fans to a fresh new album entitled “Spectrum”, featuring contributions from James Bay and Ed Sheeran.

LFO, like most boy bands, peaked around the year 2000. Their self-titled debut album was released in 1999 and was certified platinum in the United States. This success was aided by two top ten singles, “Girl on TV” and “Summer Girls”, the latter of which peaked at #3. However, their sophomore album, Life Is Good, only reached #75 and failed to generate any significant singles, the best of which, being “Every Other Time”, peaked at #44. The group soon disbanded, then re-banded until 2010 when its chief songwriter, Rich Cronin, died at 36 after suffering a stroke caused by leukemia. However, the group reunited again in 2017, releasing new music that same year, but plugged the plug yet again in 2018.

All-4-One was THE group to watch in 1995. Their self-titled debut reached #7 in the United States and was eventually certified 4x platinum. This success was aided by the singles “So Much in Love” and “I Swear”. “I Swear” was particularly successful, reaching #1 in ten countries and scoring six platinum certifications. It even earned the band a Grammy Award, winning for Best Pop Performance. However, they failed to recapture this lightning in a bottle, and while the single “I Can Love You Like That” reached #5 in the US, it would be their last significant single. The group released Twenty+, an album celebrating their 20thanniversary, in 2015.



Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.



Blue



Another Level



Jagged Edge

5ive were quite a successful British band in the late '90s. Their three studio albums all peaked within the top five in the UK, with their debut reaching #1. The band scored three number one singles – “Keep on Movin’”, “We Will Rock You” (alongside Queen), and “Let’s Dance” – and six more peaked within the top five. Their final single, “Rock the Party”, was released in 2001, reaching #4. However, 5ive performed a comeback at the Hammersmith Apollo in 2013 and subsequently embarked on an arena tour. They also released a Best Of album in 2016... although it failed to generate any significant attention.