Why aren't boy and girl groups as popular in the U.S. as they are in the UK?

[SuperMillionaire]

In the U.S., the only boy group that is popular these days is One Direction, and the only girl group that is popular is Fifth Harmony. It seems as though boy and girl groups are not as popular here in the United States as they are in the United Kingdom and in Europe. In the UK, boy and girl groups are very popular, there are tons of them. Another British girl group I know of is Little Mix, who, like One Direction, came from the UK version of The X Factor. Speaking of The X Factor, it may also seems that Americans like solo singers better than groups, seeming that the U.S. version of The X Factor, which does groups in addition to solo singers, is off the air, whereas The Voice, which looks for only a single voice, one voice, and does only solo singers, is still on the air. I didn't watch either show, but I like boy and girl groups. I like One Direction, Fifth Harmony, and Little Mix, and I'd like to know: Why aren't boy and girl groups as popular in the U.S. as they are in the UK?

[Tyson]

I think it's more just a sign of the times rather then geography. The days of Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, Spice Girls, Human Nature etc... are past.

I've heard of One Direction, never heard of the female group you mentioned tho.

[Mirage]

Because europe moved on.

[Night Fury]

There are The Vamps and 5 Seconds to Summer as well as 1D! They're growing more popular. I'm not a boyband fan but I love me some Little Mix.

[Colonel Angus]

The Spice Girls, over a decade ago, were probably the last Girl Group that was popular in the US. Boy Groups seem to do better.

Pre-teens, teens & even horny old ladies like to have crushes on these guys.

However, for solo pop, female artists always seem more popular.

I can't explain it.

[DMKA]

The Spice Girls, over a decade ago, were probably the last Girl Group that was popular in the US.
Destiny's Child was very popular from about 1998 until 2005 or so. The Pussycat Dolls were also very popular for a very brief time in 2008.

Boy bands were always more successful though. No girl group, except perhaps the Spice Girls, ever came close to reaching the sheer magnitude of fame that Nsync or Backstreet Boys reached in the late 90s/early 2000s.

That time passed for us. Around the mid 2000s America's love affair with the boyband seemingly died. It does seem to be experiencing a minor resurgence right now though. One Direction, Five Seconds of Summer, and The Vamps are all pretty popular here right now.

Solo women have pretty much dominated the American music landscape for the last six years or so though. A couple years ago, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Nicki Minaj, Ke$ha, Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus, and more recently, Demi Lovato, Megan Trainor, Fifth Harmony, and Ellie Goulding absolutely dominated the waves here.

Right at the moment it seems to be a pretty random mix though.

[Colonel Angus]

The Spice Girls, over a decade ago, were probably the last Girl Group that was popular in the US.
Destiny's Child was very popular from about 1998 until 2005 or so. The Pussycat Dolls were also very popular for a very brief time in 2008.

Boy bands were always more successful though. No girl group, except perhaps the Spice Girls, ever came close to reaching the sheer magnitude of fame that Nsync or Backstreet Boys reached in the late 90s/early 2000s.

That time passed for us. Around the mid 2000s America's love affair with the boyband seemingly died. It does seem to be experiencing a minor resurgence right now though. One Direction, Five Seconds of Summer, and The Vamps are all pretty popular here right now.

Solo women have pretty much dominated the American music landscape for the last six years or so though. A couple years ago, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Nicki Minaj, Ke$ha, Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus, and more recently, Demi Lovato, Megan Trainor, Fifth Harmony, and Ellie Goulding absolutely dominated the waves here.

Right at the moment it seems to be a pretty random mix though.
I forgot about Beyonce & Friends (Bey's suggested name for the group). Didn't the Pussycat Dolls just have one hit?

Even before those on your list came around, solo females were chart toppers, like Britney Spears, Xtina Aguilera, Mandy Moore, & Pink.

[Pant Leg Eater from the Bad World]

Because they all suck.

[escobert]

Because they all suck.

[Formalhaut]

If I have to be honest, I don't really follow ____ bands at all. I'm more of a solo artist type person. I find boybands too One Dimensional (get it? Get it?) and cliche, while girl bands can be just as bad.

I'm fairly ambivalent, truth be told.

[starlet]

Groups come in waves here. They were bigger in the 90's and early 2000's. It seems that the 90's are somewhat making a comeback so who knows, maybe we'll see some more soon. Not that I care, I'm not a fan of pop anyway :P. Also I hear 1D could be breaking up, or just taking a break. You could say....

that they're going in......

multiple directions :cool:


Bad jokes aside...

[Bubba]

I really don't think that boy and girl groups are that popular in the UK either. Yes there are a few but I could count them all on one hand. And that's a hand that was missing a thumb.

[Freya]

The Spice Girls, over a decade ago, were probably the last Girl Group that was popular in the US.
Destiny's Child was very popular from about 1998 until 2005 or so. The Pussycat Dolls were also very popular for a very brief time in 2008.

Boy bands were always more successful though. No girl group, except perhaps the Spice Girls, ever came close to reaching the sheer magnitude of fame that Nsync or Backstreet Boys reached in the late 90s/early 2000s.

That time passed for us. Around the mid 2000s America's love affair with the boyband seemingly died. It does seem to be experiencing a minor resurgence right now though. One Direction, Five Seconds of Summer, and The Vamps are all pretty popular here right now.

Solo women have pretty much dominated the American music landscape for the last six years or so though. A couple years ago, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Nicki Minaj, Ke$ha, Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus, and more recently, Demi Lovato, Megan Trainor, Fifth Harmony, and Ellie Goulding absolutely dominated the waves here.

Right at the moment it seems to be a pretty random mix though.

Fifth Harmony is actually a Girl group!

They still exist. They just aren't top of the charts, they're on the charts, just not top. Solo artists or a duet type thing seem to do better now.

[Shiny]

Because europe moved on.
Did you even read the post? He is stating that in the U.S. boy and girl bands aren't that popular.

I know you love to bash on U.S. Every chance you get but at least read and know what you're talking about.

Anyway I dont think they're popular anywhere, but South Korea and maybe some other pockets of Asia.

[Loony BoB]

If the music is good, I don't mind who sings it. However, I will say that I find Little Mix stuff to be notably better than the vast majority of the boy stuff.

I can dislike an artist while still enjoying their music. In fact, I'll start a topic on that.

[SuperMillionaire]

I have to point out that Simon Cowell is going to become a new judge on America's Got Talent next season. I hope they bring back X Factor in a few more years, though, or invent a new show that does groups in addition to solo singers, because The Voice only does solo singers.

And I also noticed that sometimes, when going solo, their material is sometimes more explicit than when they're in a group. For example, Justin Timberlake's solo material is more explicit than his material with N*Sync, and Nick Jonas' solo material is more explicit than his material with the Jonas Brothers. However, there are exceptions: British pop singer Ellie Goulding is a solo singer who does not sing explicit lyrics, whereas Swedish pop duo Icona Pop and American pop duo Krewella sing explicit lyrics. Overall, though, when singers are in a group, they're usually more modest than when they go solo.

[Freya]

I don't think it's really group vs solo on modesty and more of what that group/solo person likes to sing about. No trend there. Just people being people.

[Colonel Angus]

I think that has something to do w/ age. Jonas & JT weren't little boys in a band anymore when they flew solo.

[SuperMillionaire]

I think that has something to do w/ age. Jonas & JT weren't little boys in a band anymore when they flew solo.

I know, but still, they basically went from the rough equivalent of G or PG-rated to R-rated. At least be the rough equivalent of PG-13.

[Shaibana]

its not really a british thing.
the boy/girl group trend is more a japanese/korean (and more asian countries) thing that is slowly growing west..
perhaps it'll grow in the States once Europe is completely infected.

[SuperMillionaire]

I have to point out that Simon Cowell is going to become a new judge on America's Got Talent next season. I hope they bring back X Factor in a few more years, though, or invent a new show that does groups in addition to solo singers, because The Voice only does solo singers.

And I also noticed that sometimes, when going solo, their material is sometimes more explicit than when they're in a group. For example, Justin Timberlake's solo material is more explicit than his material with N*Sync, and Nick Jonas' solo material is more explicit than his material with the Jonas Brothers. However, there are exceptions: British pop singer Ellie Goulding is a solo singer who does not sing explicit lyrics, whereas Swedish pop duo Icona Pop and American pop duo Krewella sing explicit lyrics. Overall, though, when singers are in a group, they're usually more modest than when they go solo.

I have to admit: I spoke too soon and was wrong on Ellie Goulding; her previous albums did not contain a PA sticker, but her newest one does. I went to the mall and into an entertainment store, and found her newest album, which was just released this year, and it contains profanities and a PA sticker on it. Maybe I should have used Taylor Swift in my example instead.

It in fact does seem that, in most cases, singers are more modest in groups than when they go solo.

[Night Fury]

Well a song on Little Mix's newest album is called A.D.I.D.A.S (all day I dream about sex) so I guess you're going to have to steer clear of the wee whores now then. Totes explicit.

[NorthernChaosGod]

Well a song on Little Mix's newest album is called A.D.I.D.A.S (all day I dream about sex) so I guess you're going to have to steer clear of the wee whores now then. Totes explicit.

That's already a Korn song. :colbert:

[Freya]

Yes they re-did it. I like their version, it's fun.

[SuperMillionaire]

Well a song on Little Mix's newest album is called A.D.I.D.A.S (all day I dream about sex) so I guess you're going to have to steer clear of the wee whores now then. Totes explicit.

I didn't see a PA sticker on their album, so...