Dream Street and Jesse McCartney

Dream Street and Jesse McCartney by Nicole Ruikka

I think almost every girl in our generation would recognize the song "It Happens Every Time" or as my roommate called it 'the Dream Street' song.

"It Happens Every Time" - Dream Street

 Dream Street was a band that, as girls, we remember and love because it had the cute boys our age, and lyrics that really made us feel special. When the producers were picking members for Dream Street "a primary qualification for Dream Street was that you had to be a real boy" (White). The producers wanted a band that girls could fall in love with and therefore have a possibility of gaining the popularity of Backstreet Boys or *NSYNC (White). Girls really did go crazy for the band, but in 2002 "Dream Street broke up in the wake of a legal battle between the boys' parents and the band's producers" (White). Almost all the boy bands during our childhood broke up and many of the members went off to have solo careers. One of the members of Dream Street, Jesse McCartney went on to influence the girl population of this generation with song that were also targeted at capturing the hearts of teenage girls.

Since we heard and loved him in the '90s, when Jesse McCartney came out with his first album in 2004, girls were crazy for it. The lyrics in his songs make girls feel beautiful and wanted, his song "Because You Live," makes girls fantasize about how they one-day hope to have someone feel that way about them. As children and young women, listening to songs about love shape our perception of how it is supposed to be and feel.

"Because You Live" - Jesse McCartney

The Suite Life of Zack & Cody

"Beautiful Soul" - Jesse McCartney

The clip above of Jesse McCartney singing "Beautiful Soul" on the children's show The Suite Life of Zack & Cody shows how crazy fan girls can be in order to see and listen to him sing. Shows and clips like this, make it seem like it is okay to be an obsessed fan girl. When girls you look up to in shows and media act a certain way, you want to be just like them, so you are more likely to go listen to the artist they are obsessing over, which makes the artist even more popular with the people. 

One of Jesse's other songs "Why Don't You Kiss Her" was on the children's show Kim Possible. This song talks about how the boy is in love with his best friend and so he should tell her how he feels. I know when I heard that song, especially as I watched that show (yes, I did watch it), that my heart was in it and I wanted Ron and Kim to be together. I really believe that the music, especially background music for shows, effects how we view the situation that is happening on screen. 

Kim Possible

"Why Don't You Kiss Her" - Jesse McCartney

Dream Street, Jesse McCartney, and other boy bands have all affected the way we look at love and the way we respond to it. Research shows that "music and song lyrics have the ability to influence people’s behaviour" (Guéguen). Whether that means being an obsessed fan girl because you love the music so much, or fantasizing about what your future man will be like, I think that is the way that most of these boy bands have influenced us, by capturing our hearts and minds.

Guéguen, Nicolas, Céline Jacob, and Lubomir Lamy. "'Love Is in the Air': Effects of Songs with Romantic Lyrics on Compliance with a Courtship Request." Psychology of Music. Sage Journals, n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2012. <http://pom.sagepub.com/content/38/3/303.short>.

White, Emily. "THE WAY WE LIVE NOW: 12-8-02: KIDS; After They Were Stars."The New York Times. The New York Times, 08 Dec. 2002. Web. 20 Nov. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/08/magazine/the-way-we-live-now-12-8-02-kids-after-they-were-stars.html?pagewanted=all>.

Britney Spears

    

     Britney Spears was born to parents, Lynne and Parnell Spears on December 2, 1981 in Mississippi. She grew up with a typical childhood, except for the fact she had a desire to be in the public eye. As a child, she did little acting jobs here and there, but the major turning point in her career was when she put out “Baby One More Time.” 

     Britney took the 90’s generations by storm. She made pop music fun for the young girls growing up in the 90’s. Some said that she was "a negative role models for girls" because of what her songs were about. (1) The fact was that, she was still a young girl when her career took off. Britney was growing up herself, which makes her very relatable to her fans. The many things she sang about in her songs, both she and her fans were going through it.

     It wasn’t all easy going for Britney though. Some thought that Britney had everything going her way, but that’s just when it all started to fall apart. To say she hit a rough patch in her career would be a bit of an understatement. She went from being the best selling artist to getting a divorce, shaving her head, going to rehab, hitting someone with her car, going threw a custody battle, to going to jail for being intoxicated in public. With this all going on in a two year time period, it showed society the dangers of extreme fame.

     With all the awful things that she has been through, Britney wouldn’t be who she is today with out each and every one of them. She came back from these terrible events in her life with the help of putting out another number one song, Circus. Just when people thought she was done, Britney proved all of them wrong with doing what she does best. 

     She is pop icon of a generation and is branching into the generations to come. She is now a "pop ingunue, model mother, semibald soprana and divorce-court protagonist-- ia a woman of a thousand [looks.]" (2) Britney is continually coming out with songs that are even better than her last. She has influenced many female artists such as Lady GaGa, Lana DelRay, Miley Cyrus, Nicki Minaj and many others.

By. Kaitlin Dunphey

(1) Kuther, Tara L. "Early Adolescents' Experiences with, and views of, Barb

           Web. 13 November 2012.

http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=4815f370-8480-467a-aad2-9651b1ca7ed0%40sessionmgr12&vid=1&hid=8&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=s3h&AN=13335639

(2)"Many Hats, Not Many Pants." Web. 12 November 2012

            http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-195150296.html

Westlife For Life

Not everyone remembers Westlife as well as they might remember some of the other boy-bands of the 90s and 2000s, unless of course if they were a die-hard boy-bands fan like most teenagers were back then and even still are today. Boy bands are the types of groups that have truly left a lasting impression on the youth of today. This is because we listened to this type of music day in and day out on our walkmans, and continue to do so today on our iPods.

The Irish band formed back in the late 1990s, with young members, Nicky Byrne, Shane Filan, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily and Bryan McFadden (Cju). The pop sensation then found their first hit with "Swear It Again", which reached number 2 on the UK charts (Cju). 

Some other places where this boy-band phenomenon caught on were "the Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan" (Paine). Not to mention the group also enjoyed "seven multiplatinum albums in its eight-year career" and had an especially good run when "You Raise Me Up" became an Australian hit in 2005 (Paine).

Although this Irish band of heart throbs had much success elsewhere, such as the UK, their "squeaky-clean look and ballad-driven charms" just didn't catch on as well in the United States (Cju). However, the group did manage to snag some "moderate success" in the U.S. whenever their "1999 song 'Flying Without Wings' hit No. 2 on The Billboard Hot 100 for Ruben Studdard" (Paine). Regardless of the "small success" in the U.S., the group still remains one of the most influential boy-bands of all time,with 13 UK No. 1 singles to their name (Paine). 

While the band did try to stay together, they eventually disbanded recently in 2012, according to news headlines. Thank goodness for youtube and iTunes, so that their memory will live on forever through the ages. Maybe boy bands will make a comeback in the future, but for now, Westlife, along with many other bands, remains a lasting legend, not to be overshadowed by recent groups such as One Direction. It isn't that One Direction doesn't have a lot of potential, they just have some very large shoes to fill.

These are some of Westlife's most popular songs:

"Swear It Again"

"If I Let You Go" (A personal favorite that really takes me back)

"Flying Without Wings"

Works Cited:

1. Paine, Andre. "WESTLIFE." Academic Search Complete. EBSCO, 20 Oct. 2006. Web. 20 Nov. 2012.

2.  Cju, Jeff. "Go West, Young Men." Academic Search Complete. EBSCO, 16 Apr. 2001. Web. 20 Nov. 2012.

Aaron Carter: Then and Now

I’m not sure when the 90’s revival began, or what prompted it, but today, nostalgia for our childhood runs rampant. We pity those born after the millennium change because nothing could be as perfect as the Good Ole Days. The insistence that today’s children cannot possibly have a fulfilled, happy, or even successful childhood of their own without a gigantic collection of Beanie Babies, a mental timeline of Topanga and Cory’s relationship, and Lisa Frank school supplies makes me wonder: has the role of the 90’s really been THAT instrumental in shaping our generation?

To examine this further, let’s narrow down our topic to the music of the 90’s. Artists took the world by storm as they (or their manager more than likely) began to learn better ways to market themselves for fame and riches. It became not a matter of talent, but of likeability. Fans of older bands such as the Beatles and Elvis Presley had nothing on the popularity of the bands of the 90’s and their rabid followers. Soon, younger and younger children rose to the top of the industry and the public’s eye (mainly preteen girls) because they were perceived as likeable. Girls not only joked about marrying Justin Timberlake: we truly believed that the corny lyrics this beautiful boy was singing were directed to us and no one else. Success of these bands contributed to the surge of adorable boys with semi-decent voices flocking to croon one sweet love song after another. And they kept getting younger and younger.

One such child star was Aaron Carter, younger brother of Nick Carter (The Backstreet Boys) who began his music career as the lead singer of the band Dead End, but made the decision – at age seven – to go solo. By 1997 at the age of eleven, Aaron released his first single, “Crush On You”. With all the makings of a great 90’s singer, Aaron’s video would launch him to stardom.

Talented and cute, young fans flocked to his music, and in 2000, Aaron’s second CD “Aaron’s Party (Come and Get It)” was released to massive herds of fangirls. I confess that I myself replayed his songs on my Hit Clips, the grandfather of the iPod (If you did not have the pleasure of growing up in the 90’s, click here).There was a dance to “I Want Candy” involved.

Aaron’s success as a child star, unfortunately, stayed trapped in that magical land of the 90’s and early 2000’s once he lost his babyish appeal and his dedicated fans began growing up, much like most of his fellow child stars. There was a love triangle with Hilary Duff and Lindsey Lohan, a falling out with his manager, Has-Been status, and finally, the culmination of it all, an arrest for speeding and marijuana possession. And where did he go?

It’s easy to blame Aaron and Lindsey (Lohan) and Britney (Spears) and other child stars for what has become of them, and while it is their fault, a little can be said for the effects of fame. Fame takes its toll on a young star. It’s a lot of pressure when you become the family’s breadwinner. It upsets family dynamics. It causes trouble and reveals the tiniest faults and exploits them. Within the Carter family, Nick and Aaron were referred to as the “cash cows” by their three bitter sisters when their mother showed more interest in the boys (or was it the money?). A rags to riches story of a family torn apart by separation, lies, cheating, and depression. In January of this year, Leslie Carter, Aaron’s sister, was found dead after an overdose of prescription drugs. Desperate to pick up where Nick and Aaron left off but spurned by showbiz, Leslie suffered from depression and bipolar disorder. Aaron has expressed that he believes he was pushed to fame at too young of an age.

Since falling out of public favor, Aaron has tried to reinvent himself through multiple reality shows such as House of Carter and Dancing with the Stars, but unfortunately Nick and Aaron could not rally their former coalition of preteen fans back into action. Now, Aaron hopes to revive himself after Dancing with the Stars and will be releasing a new album, his first since the 2002 album “Another Earthquake”. He has also acted in the Broadway musical “The Fantasticks” as the lead role.

And fans flock once again.

Such is the power of the 90’s and Aaron’s spiky blonde hair. The 90’s has had  major role in shaping today’s young adult generation, and we can see this by the success of such 90’s comeback artists and even aspiring "90’s bands" (One Direction, Justin Beiber) who won't admit it, but totally want to follow in the footsteps of Aaron, Nick, Justin and even the Hanson Brothers. No matter what, what’s old will always have a dear place in our hearts as we grow nostalgic for days past. Aaron Carter is one of us 90’s kids, and we stick together.

Barnes, Corey. Backstreet Brother: Aaron Carter. New York: Random House, 1999. Print.

Kraemer, Katie. Aaron Carter. Bear, DE: Mitchell Lane, 2003. Print.

Stephopoulos, George. "Fame Comes at a Cost for Nick and Aaron Carter." ABC News. ABC News     Network, 29 Apr. 2005. Web. 19 Nov. 2012. <http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Entertainment/story?id=709830>.

Boys II Men Blog

By: Brianna Martin

 

Shoulder pads, grotesque patterns, and Keds. If your mind works the way mine does, the horrible fashion fads of the 90s might be stemming a stomach ache. Though the fashion choices in this decade weren’t the most sensible, their taste in music was. It isn’t any secret that boy bands dominated before the turn of the century. Their music was playing in every house, street, and corner store that housed a female. Among many groups, Boys II Men were one of the stand out artists. They were the best of both worlds, a good looking group of young boys, but they had a soulful R&B sound that set them apart from the “normal” boy band.

Boys II Men formed in 1998 and was comprised of 4 young men; Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman, and Michael McCary. They were an instant hit, winning a Grammy and nominated best new artist within three years of their beginnings. “They surpassed everyone’s expectations, one of them shattering the record that Elvis Presley set in 1956, by keeping their single, “End of the Road” #1 on billboards for a whopping thirteen weeks”(Levy, 26). This didn’t happen by chance, in an era dominated by lip syncing, the world couldn’t get enough of their raw talent. Boys II Men continued releasing hit after hit throughout the 90’s, and well into the 2000’s. Boys II Men may not be topping the charts anymore, but their charisma, charm, and talent are a legacy that will never be forgotten by those who were apart of that decade.

Boys II Men are still influencing R&B to this very day. They are commonly referred to the group that “spearheaded the renaissance of the R&B genre”( Watrous).Many R&B songs today contain the layered harmonies that this group delved out. But not only did they influence R&B forever, they provided a link to the past. With styles resembling Bell Biv DeVoe’s, they put their own spin on it, exposing younger generations to their musical ancestry. But, Boys II Men’s influence went much farther than their music. Their dress style was much cleaner and presentable than those of other R&B artists of the time. They were suitable role models for children, by keeping their image classy.

Boys II Men are still the most successful R&B group that ever existed, and to me they always will be.

 

                                                                   "End Of the Road"

 

                                                                   "On a Bended Knee"

                                                                                     

                                                                   "A Song For Mama"

 

 

 

 

 

Levy, Frederick. “The Ultimate Boy Band Book”. New York: Pocket Publishing, 2000. Print.

 

Watrous, Peter. “POP REVIEW; Boyz II Men, the Gentlemen Lovers for the 90's”. New York Times: The New York Times Company. Web. 2012 Nov. 19.

*NSYNC

     *NSYNC or Backstreet Boys? Four words make up a question that almost everyone in our generation have heard almost as much as "What's your major?" Fans of both are adamant about which band has made more of an impact, but the truth is both bands have made a significant impact on this generation, though in this I will focus on *NSYNC. One thing that always struck me about *NSYNC was simply their ability to truly sing somewhat on key when singing acapella, as demonstrated in the following video:

This started a trend in interest in singing in my generation, as "singing has been initiated into the inner circle of 'cool'" (Wiggington). Wiggington attributes this increase in interest to the ability of many popular music artists, including *NSYNC, to sing properly or at least decently.
     Of course, this isn't the only influence *NSYNC has had. Take for example, this clip from the popular children's television show, The Fairly Odd Parents:
The character singing this song, Chip Skylark, is voiced by former *NSYNC member Chris Kirkpatrick. Other members of the band have had similar success in modern day popular culture, most notably Justin Timberlake. After leaving *NSYNC and their slipping sales, Timberlake "scored a triple-platinum hit with "Justified," and later hooked up with both Cameron Diaz and Jessica Biel" (Guzman) in what Guzman claims to be the second greatest career move of all time. Timberlake continues to permeate throughout popular culture with songs such as "Sexy Back" and appearances in movies such as The Social Network. Timberlake clearly represents a large portion of *NSYNC's contributions to the current generation as he continues to effect the current generation, but I still haven't finished with all *NSYNC's accomplishments.
      One of the most notable things about our generation is the general openness towards alternative lifestyles, specifically the increasing acceptability of homosexuality. While not everyone accepts different sexualities, it is accepted that different sexualities are becoming more and more common and society tends to discriminate less against them overall. One possible explanation of this phenomenon is the increase in number of celebrities that have come out of the closet, notably Lance Bass of *NSYNC. Upon coming out, Bass was quoted as saying "I'm more liberated and happy than I've been my whole life" ("Perspectives"). Therefore, some would claim that one of the effects *NSYNC has had on this generation is causing them to be more open-minded.

By Cindi Kepic 
 

Guzman, Isaac. "The 10 Greatest Career Moves of all Time." Best Life 2008: 46-7.
      GenderWatch; OxResearch; ProQuest Central; ProQuest European Business;
     ProQuest Health Management; ProQuest Pharma Collection; ProQuest
     Psychology Journals; Sun Sentinel. Web.19 Nov. 2012 .
"Perspectives." Newsweek Aug 07 2006: 21-. OxResearch; ProQuest Central; 
     ProQuest European Business; ProQuest Health Management; ProQuest 
     Psychology Journals; Sun Sentinel. Web. 20 Nov. 2012 . 
Wigginton, James R. "Popular Song and Music Theater - when "Proper" is Dead
     Wrong Hot Traditional Methods Fail Aspiring Artists." Journal of Singing - The
     Official Journal of the National Association of Teachers of Singing 66.4 a (2010):
     447-9.International Index to Music Periodicals Full Text. Web. 19 Nov. 2012.

The Backstreet Boys

As a young teenage girl, your first love is always the music heartthrob of the time. For me, it was The Backstreet Boys. Like many other girls, I listened to them nonstop. All my school supplies and room were decked out in The Backstreet Boys. When you went to any grocery store or the mall, there would be pictures of them everywhere. The Backstreet Boys were “acknowledged leaders” and “sweep[ed] popularity of teen pop” (Lamb). Let’s just say, they were kind of a big deal.

The Backstreet Boys started as a trio with Nick Carter, A.J. McLean, and Howie Dorough. Later after meeting Kevin Richardson in Orlando, they added him and his cousin Brian Littrell to make a quintet. They got their name from an Orlando flea market.  Their first major concert was performed at Orlando’s Sea World and everything got better from there. 

The Backstreet Boys weren’t famous overnight here in America. They actually were extremely famous in Europe and Canada first. Singles that topped the charts overseas barely made a dent on the US charts. They “combined their international singles with new tracks” to make an American version of their music that “proved to be popular singles” (Starpulse). 

The group definitely had their setbacks though. In 1998, Littrell went through surgery to fix a congenital heart defect. Also that year, they got entangled in a lawsuit with Louis Pearlman and the rest of their management. They fired everyone, but Pearlman remained their manager. They then proceeded to “work on their follow-up album” (Starpulse). Millennium came out in 1999 and went straight to number one. The Backstreet Boys were becoming more popular than ever. They kept the popularity going when they released Black & Blue in 2000. After seven years of recording and touring though, the group decided they needed a break. Four years later, they reformed and created three new albums; Never Gone, Unbreakable, and lastly This Is Us in 2009.
             Their success and cuteness drove teenage girls crazy. Young girls would “stake out their hotels and chase their tour bus[es]”. Girls believed every little word The Backstreet Boys sang; that boys are “sensitive, sweet, and romantic” (Weisel). Teenage girls would go to their computer and find everything they could about The Backstreet Boys. In 1998, The Backstreet Boys were more frequently searched on the Internet than any other musical act besides the Spice Girls. They had girls head over heels in love with them and their music. With being such a huge part in every young girl’s life, boy bands of our childhood influenced us greatly. The music we listened to scoped us into who we are today. Any problems we had in our lives, we looked to music to help us get through it. The Backstreet Boys helped girls with heartbreak and falling in love. 

Here are some of their most famous songs in order of release date: 

            

By: Randi Self

Works Cited:

Lamb, Bill. "Top 10 Boy Bands of All Time." Top 40/Pop. About.com. Web. 19 Nov 2012. <http://top40.about.com/od/top10lists/tp/boyband10.htm>.

"Starpulse." Starpulse. n. page. Web. 19 Nov. 2012. <http://www.starpulse.com/Music/Backstreet_Boys/Biography/>.

Weisel, Al. "Spice Boys." US magazine. 1998: n. page. Web. 19 Nov. 2012. <http://www.backstreet.net/www.cgi?x=show&d=news&i=981002-0823-01&c=1>.