I was reading an entertainment blog (the perfect way to reduce stress, cynicism, and a post-Monday's blues. Highly recommended) and there was this news about Backstreet Boys's newly released album.Okay, so I'm going to make a confession; one you might laugh at, and most probably, mock. But what the hell. I love the Backstreet Boys. In fact, I'll go even further. My name is Tina and I'm a boyband lover.
Hi Tina.
Yeah, there. Now before you cast a harsh judgment on my taste of music, let me just say first, that my adoration for these boybands aren't all me. Shall I entertain you with a little theory I have?
Well, according to my, ehem, intellectual opinion, one's music preference is highly influenced by the kind of music one listened to while growing up. Not necessarily that one wouldn't like the other types of music, but teenagers are more prone and acceptable to the things that were exposed to them during this time.
I grew up in the 90s, the time when our tv screen was filled with pretty boys with no chest hair. I used to think the whole synchronization of wardrobe was quite endearing, and the more people in the band, the better, even though at least 60% of them provided zero function except to just stand there and look pretty.
I listened to Boyzone, Backstreet Boys, NSync, Human Nature, Savage Garden, Take That, and later to the kinds of Blue, BBMak, Trademark, Westlife, OTT, Hanson. Every imaginable combination of alphabets and numbers, we got 'em: 3T, 911, A1. These boys were so cute you wouldn't really care much about whether or not they could sing.
It was the era of cheesy pop songs, and it was awesome. I bought VCD concert of Boyzone in Wembley, which details I can still remember vividly: the order of the songs, the dance routine (if you can call it that), the dialogue they had, the exact moment Ronan smiled and Stephen looking cute. And I cried once because my sister mocked Brian from the Backstreet Boys (who was my favorite. His best-looking appearance? Easy. As Long As You Love Me) for having sunken cheeks and I cried in his defense.
My sister still uses that piece of information against me until now. "Remember when you cried because I made fun of the boyband guy?!! That's so hilariously funny, HA HA HA, I can't believe how lame you were!" I wanted to say "his name is Brian", but I think it's best to shut up. It's a lose-lose situation.
I'm sure I've grown out of that and I will never once again cry over a member of boyband (no matter how cute or hot or gorgeous or dreamy or sexy he is), but to say that I no longer love pop music or boybands isn't right either. In fact, I still do. And I don't think anyone can really grow out of that; out of that music they listened to when they had pimples outbreaks and bad skin problems.
My older sister and I share the same taste of music because we're just 2 years apart, and we grew up technically together. My younger sister is 5 years younger than me, and it was past the 90s by the time she got to secondary school. By then, it was all hiphop and RnB and 50 Cents and Missy Elliott and she made me listen repeatedly to Ludacris until I wanted to smack my head off. She grew up in a (already) totally different era.
I have no scientific explanation, really, except that music is proven to be an important influence on our memories. We associate songs with emotions, people, places, and experience we've had in the past. Maybe the memories we had during our adolescence are the most powerful.
Tell me if this sounds like bollocks. To me though, even though I love different types of music, (and these days Ludacris doesn't sound too ludicrous anymore) I think I will always have that knack for boybands and pop music. And precisely that makes me very excited about the prospect of Backstreet Boys' new album.