As we’ve written before, there seems to be a lot of confusion in the media as to who is a boy band and who’s not.  We prefer to use boy band in the original sense of the word, like the originals New Edition and New Kids on the Block. You can even consult the dictionary: a boy band is a group of young men who sing in harmonies and DANCE!   Here are some of our favorites!

1. Big Time Rush – “Boyfriend”
Big Time Rush doesn’t get enough credit for bringing boy bands back into fashion. Before their show premiered in2009 we had all been living in a sad boy band less world for years. True BSB have been going strong for over 20 years, but we hadn’t seen any NEW boy bands since the golden era in the early 2000s, when a new band seemed to emerge every week.   BTR has the moves, looks and harmonies of a classic boy band. Now that they are in the “I’m just going into space / I’m just going to record this solo project, probably no one will hear it” phase of their band, we are hoping that they reunite for at least one more tour.  They keep saying it ain’t over!  We love their mashup of Justin Bieber’s “Boyfriend,” with their song of the same name.  Complete with a hat dance!

2. Titanium – “Unarmed”
AKA New Zealand’s first boy band!  The deprived nation held a rigorous competition, which included a boy band boot camp, to find the 6 members of the band.  They’ve even written songs with BTR members Kendall Schmidt and Logan Henderson. There were rumors of a joint Big Time Rush & Titanium tour  for a while, and we’d just like to put in a formal request to make that happen.

3. Midnight Red – “Hell Yeah”
They call themselves America’s boy band, and with good reason.   They have harmonies that melt you, and have done solid covers like “Diamonds” by Rihanna and even NKOTB’s “Step by Step!”  They got the ultimate boy band seal of approval when NKOTBSB recruited them to open for their tour, making Midnight Red officially a part of the boy band posse.   And we’re sure they wouldn’t back down to a dance off with BSB! (Can we have this? Thanks!)

4. Phase V – “Not a Bad Thing”
One of the newest boy bands on the block, is the self described Urban-Pop boy band. They’ve posted covers of “Not a Band Thing” by Justin Timberlake, which we’ve always said was meant for a 5 part harmony, and “Drop It” by Trevor Jackson.  We hear they’re working on an *NSYNC cover as we speak and we can’t wait!   We love that these guys dance and stay true to the boy band genre and are looking forward to hearing more from them!

5. To Be One – “Please Don’t Go Girl”
The Jordan Knight approved boy band sampled NKOTB’s hit “Please Don’t Go Girl” in their original song of the same name.   Jordan said it best when he told MTV “finally a boy band that dances!  And the hook is darn good too!”