Boybands which fit into the pop genre such as NSYNC, One Direction and BTS have been known to be underappreciated and underestimated when it comes to awards due to their primary female teenage fanbase. The narrative around teenage girls being “obsessive”, “hormonal” or “hysterical” generates a false image surrounding the solemnity of the bands. The larger the fanbase grows, the lesser the band’s efforts are recognized professionally. However, if the same group of men were to produce different music and have a primary male fanbase, they would be considered “real” artists.

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To begin with, The Beatles were well-respected artists despite technically being a boyband. Their primary fanbase consisted of young men and they were considered a group which would go down in history, after breaking multiple records. On the other hand, One Direction were known as world-wide teen heartthrobs and were not respected as serious artists because of their portrayal by the mass media. The contrast in their songs and messages themselves show their intentions and desired outcome. The Beatles were known to more have instrumental and more soulful music in the genres of rock, pop rock and country. These genres are traditionally seen as more “serious” as compared to “generic pop” artists such as NSYNC and One Direction.

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If we compare the number of Grammy Awards received by boybands in the pop genre to others, we can see that even the numbers show a trend. No pop boyband has ever received a Grammy. Even though the Backstreet Boys were nominated 8 times, they never won any of the awards despite being extremely popular. One Direction was a global sensation for years; however, they never won a single Grammy nor were they nominated simply because they weren’t taken seriously by the music industry. This differentiation between genres that are recognized for a group of men and ones which are considered “childish” or “shallow” has historically created an unfair rift in appreciation for record-breaking musicians.

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The 7 current world-wide sensations who sparked an appreciation for K-Pop globally are no strangers to this stereotype. BTS, a group who stole the hearts of millions around the world, are known for breaking records and spreading Korean culture around the world through their music. Recently, in the 2021 Grammy Awards, BTS were nominated for ‘Best Pop Duo or Group Performance’ but lost to Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga. Their global ‘army’ (a term for their fanbase) was enraged and claimed the Grammy’s were simply using them for views. It is yet but another example of how the music industry does not take into account the hard work of boybands simply because of their “mainstream music which is appreciated primarily by teenage girls.

 

Overall, the historical underappreciation of boybands stems from the notion that teen girls aren’t capable of liking ‘serious’ artists and their viewpoints aren’t worth noticing and understanding. The belief that only certain genres are worthy of praise while others are not despite record-breaking sales and chart-topping albums shows that as a society we still undervalue the ideas of women and untraditional genres for ‘men’.

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Written by: Vidhi Channa

Edited By: Ishani Patil

Designed by: sidhvik Puri

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