Boy band

A boy band (or boyband) is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation, singing love songs marketed towards young women. Being vocal groups, most boy band members do not play musical instruments, either in recording sessions or on stage, making the term something of a misnomer. However, exceptions do exist. Many boy bands dance as well as sing, usually giving highly choreographed performances. Some such bands form on their own. They can evolve out of church choral or gospel music groups, but are often created by talent managers or record producers who hold auditions. Due to this and their general commercial orientation towards a female audience of preteens, teenyboppers, or teens, the term may be used with negative connotations in music journalism. Boy bands are similar in concept to their counterparts, girl groups. Boy bands' popularity peaked four times: in the 1960s (e.g., The Jackson 5), in the 1990s and early 2000s when acts such as the Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, A1 and Westlife, among others, dominated the top of the Billboard and pop charts, in the early 2010s with the emergence of new boy bands such as JLS, Big Time Rush and One Direction, and in the late 2010s with pop groups such as BTS.