10 ‘Forgotten’ Boybands of the 90s and 2000s

During the height of the boyband fever in the late 90s and early 2000s, airwaves were dominated by the sounds of Backstreet Boys, ‘NSync and 98 Degrees. Occasionally, you would find other boybands creeping into the playlist, but they don’t often get to stay for long. That didn’t mean they weren’t good though—they were just caught in a very competitive battle.

How many of these ‘fallen’ stars of Boyband Town do you remember?

Blue

“All rise” for this English quartet, who was a pretty big deal in their home country and in Asia between 2001 to 2004. They peaked numerous charts, sang with Elton John and Stevie Wonder, and even got a bunch of Asian singers to collaborate on their “One Love” single. Then they went on a hiatus and never really found their way back to the top despite reforming in 2009.

BBMak

Named after the initials of their surnames—Burns, Barry and McNally—BBMak released two albums between 2000 and 2002. Known mostly for their romantic ballads, the band also tried to stand out from their competition by writing their own songs and playing instruments. Although the UK trio managed to break into the US market, the success didn’t last. They broke up in 2003 to pursue solo projects.

Natural

This American boyband of five made their music debut in 2000 with “Put Your Arms Around Me”. Struggling to impress their home crowd, they focused on Germany instead, where they enjoyed massive success. However, four years and two albums later, they disbanded. Future efforts to restructure the group didn’t work, sending Natural spiraling into oblivion.

C21

The presence of these Danes in pop was a short but sweet one. Their first single, “Stuck in My Heart”, was released in 2002 and widely received in South East Asia, especially Thailand. Follow-up singles fared okay, but not enough to catapult them to the top of the charts. In 2005, following one of the trio’s decision to walk away from C21, the remaining duo decided to follow suit.

Take 5

They came, they sang two singles and then they left. In 1998 and 1999, Take 5 played successful shows in Europe and Asia, before releasing a second album in the US. Unfortunately, despite being masterminded by Lou Pearlman—the man behind BSB and ‘NSync—the young lads didn’t do too well and broke up in 2001 due to an issue with their recording contract.

Point Break

One album and five singles—that’s about all Point Break could manage before their departure from pop stardom a year later. The three-piece outfit from Britain gave a good show while they were at it though. Their bad boy image and ‘rough’ sounds provided a change from the usual boy-next-door image often associated with boybands. They disappeared from mainstream music radar after 2000.

Plus One

It was the year 2000 when this American quintet first moved into the Christian pop music scene. Malaysian fans will remember them for their third single, “Last Flight Out”, which received frequent air time. However, multiple media coverage, a couple of tours and three albums later, two members left, leaving the remaining three to proceed with album number four. Plus One officially parted ways in 2004.

a1

Boyband fame came a-knocking for these four lads in 1999, particularly in the UK, South East Asia and Japan. Eight out of nine of their singles released between 1999 and 2002 secured top 10 spots on the UK Singles chart. Following a member’s departure in 2002 and a long break, a1—now a trio—reformed in 2009 and continues to make music today, albeit without the massive global fanfare they used to enjoy.

The Boyz

Making their debut in boybandhood with “Round and Round” in 1997, the popularity of this five-man band was mostly confined to Germany and Switzerland. They would go on to release several more singles (with “One Minute” being their best-performing one) and two albums before calling it quits in 1999.

Code Red

These four guys from Britain won the hearts of European and Asian fan girls in the mid- and late-90s. Their career launched with a cover of Tevin Campbell’s “Can We Talk” before following up with karaoke-worthy hits such as “What Good is a Heart”, “What Would You Do If” and “This is Our Song”. After lending their vocals to three albums, they went their separate ways in 2001.