Ah, JLS. So much promise, so much talent, so much success. Well, in the UK, anyway. While the buzz for their next single “The Club Is Alive” continues to grow over in England, the boys are in the US working on tracks for their second CD along with promoting their current single “Everybody In Love”. Now, “current” is an interesting word to pick, because the song has already peaked in the past two weeks at Top 40 radio, getting as high as #37. That’s got to be a disappointment, given all of the folks that seem to have their back, including Jay-Z. In fact, that’s right about where V Factory peaked last summer with “Love Struck”.
Based on both of these failures, I have been wondering what it would take for a boyband to break out here in the US. V Factory fits one of the boyband prototypes, with white boys of varying looks, while JLS falls into the Boyz II Men model with tight harmonies and handsome guys. Neither song is bad, and there’s also a variety between ballad and jam. So what’s missing? Do we really need to go in the direction of vocoder production? One of the tenets of boybands is that, even though they may not be Pavarotti, they still have to have tight harmonies and at least one member that can knock the vocal out of the park (see: New Kids on the Block).
So what if we create a supergroup built out of pieces that are successful in one form or another? Would that work? Here’s what I’m thinking:
– Jason DeRulo – Dude’s got a hit formula going for singles, but it isn’t translating into album sales. Maybe that has something to do with Beluga Heights being tagged on almost every track on his CD, or that there isn’t as much diversity sonically in his music to sustain the listener’s attention for 10 tracks. He’s got the songwriting skills, and we know he can tear it up live (as he proved on Idol back in March). Maybe giving him a chance to shine surrounded by a couple of other like-minded and talented guys would help push it over the edge.
– Jay Sean – Jay will always hold a special place in my heart because it was he who knocked the Black Eyed Peas out of the #1 spot last summer with “Down”, but his efforts to replicate that success only got him a brief Top 10 with “Do You Remember”, and the album fared even worse than DeRulo’s, only getting to #37 in the US. Would Jay even consider this concept? Probably not…he’s done quite well for himself, even releasing independently before getting signed by Cash Money for distribution in the US, where he promptly blew up. He’s currently on the charts again with Kevin Rudolph on “I Made It”, but I don’t think they have even announced a third single to be released. Does that mean he’s already done? Hopefully not, but if that’s a case, maybe being part of a songwriting powerhouse with Jason would be one way to take these first steps and capitalize on them.
Travis Garland – I’m probably going to catch some flak on this one, but here goes…you can take the boy out of the boyband, but it’s rare that you can take the boyband out of the boy. Such may be the case with Travis Garland, who has shown some serious promise since the dissolution of NLT in 2009. Perez Hilton has even gone so far as to say that Travis’s version of “Dead and Gone” is better than Justin Timberlake’s. Good luck selling that, but then again, I have a serious bias against Mr. Hilton. So I watched Travis perform “Believe” on Idol, and while the song is good, the production was a mess, and I fear that Travis is losing his window because a rookie like Perez Hilton is at the wheel. So what if we free him from that business model and put him in with a seriously talented crew of singers and songwriters? Could it work?
– Alex Gardner – Plenty of folks have already talked about Alex and his over before it starts attempt at hitting the pop charts in the UK. To me, it seems that working with Xenomania has now become the kiss of death (as the ladies of Mini Viva can now attest to). So what’s a talented young guy with a great voice and pin-up looks to do? Perhaps he joins forces with three other talented vocalists and attempts to conquer the music charts in that form. I don’t know if it would work, but my brain goes in odd directions at times. It’s safe to say that he’s going to need a back-up gig if his next single isn’t an out-of-the-box smash.
Stumble It!
Pop Music Notes 
The Club Is Alive is basically crap. I have nothing further to comment about JLS.
I’m kinda bummed that Alex Gardner didn’t blew up the UK scene with I’m Not Mad because it’s ridiculously brilliant. That voice should sell that song alone. Where’s the fan girl when you need them the most? :S
I’ve thought that about “Club” all along, but enough people have disagreed that I thought I might be off a bit. And I never really got into “I’m Not Mad”. Not sure why, but I guess the UK public didn’t really get it, either.
I think there are egos here that are too big to work together in the boy band dynamic.
I am starting to wonder about Xenomania too, but you called it! Kiss of death it is!
Trust me, I know this isn’t feasible, but it’s fun to play around with the idea. Maybe it’s time for Xeno to change things up a bit.
You probably could have guessed I’d comment on this sooner or later. 😉
Have you heard about One Call? They are managed by Johnny Wright and are being marketed a “boy band with experience”, as two of the members were part of the Menudo TV revamp, another is a former NLT-er and the fourth is a young gun newbie. The majority of their cuts are being produced by Darkchild as far as I’ve heard.
With that said — if that boy band ever reared it’s head, I’d probably die of fangirliness and sell my apartment to follow them on the mall/summer radio show circuit.
I figured you would come around. The lineup is just a lark, but right now, unless something of Bieber-like status came along, I don’t see a boyband making it any time soon.