The Utterly Predictable Fate Of Boy Bands And Girl Groups

The fate of music groups is almost entirely predictable: Come on the scene, get by with a string of mammoth hits,partake in the newly-found (and rapidly skyrocketing fame). Then comes the dark side of things: A member’s ego grows just as huge as the dominance,in-fighting ensues,and the inevitable befalls the group; it disbands and every member goes their separate ways, at times disguised as an ‘indefinite hiatus.’

Almost every music group has had that fate befall it. With the most recent disbanded groups being Fifth Harmony and One Direction,it begs for one-million dollar question: Why exactly do groups not see the light of day after a couple of years? There’s a myriad factors that can be attributed to this. From management wrangles,to matters creative control (or lack thereof),to obviously the most overlying factor being enormous egos.

The Pussycat Dolls

The group could as well have been named Nicole Scherzinger,given her overtly emphasized position as the group’s face. As if that was not enough, she was the highest paid and basically sang all the lines. She was all over your face in their videos,while the other girls got seconds long snippets. Their smash hits like Buttons and Don’t Cha couldn’t have saved them from their rollercoaster ride that culminated in Nicole going solo, and while her solo career is not exactly tantamount to Beyonce’s, she has somehow still been the one in the limelight with movie cameos,playing on Broadway and a handful of judging jobs on shows like The X Factor and The Masked Singer. The rest of the damsels faded into oblivion.

One Direction

They were the biggest boy band to come out of this decade. Formed on the UK version of the X Factor, they were poised to become a standout act in an era where boy bands are not as innumerable. And they sure did. A gazillion hits under their belt,sold out tours and overall global stardom. Enter Zayn Malik. In the middle of tour in 2015,Zayn up and left,citing plans to pursue a solo career and detach from a label he felt was inhibiting his creativity. And voila! He was gone,all while Harry,Louis,Liam and Niall were smack in the middle of tour. Then came the huge hit that was Pillowtalk peaking at #1 on the Hot 100,catapulting his debut album atop the Billboard 200. His career has not been the same since. The other 4 band members have had successful careers too.

Fifth Harmony

Their aesthetic has an uncanny semblance to that of One Direction. Both were formed on The X Factor, both emerged number 3 on the show. Even more bizarre,both have a member who left at the height of their career. The latter in this case would have to be Camila Cabello,whose 2016 unceremonious exit hit the headlines. Havana ensued, and with a number debut album to boot. Not so long after,Normani caught the world’s attention with the success of her debut single Love Lies,and a performance that brought the Billboard Music Awards to a standstill. Fast forward to 2019,and her debut album’s lead single Motivation is proof she is coming for blood. The video had the world abuzz,as was her first performance of the song at the VMAs.

If such is anything to go by,girl groups and boy bands are not built to last. They could also be career launching pads for one or two,or if lucky enough,all of the bandmates.