Whether or not the US is in the midst of a boyband infatuation (the media would lead you to believe this), it’s interesting that the charge is lead exclusively by UK acts One Direction and The Wanted. They aren’t the first UK pop vocal groups to make a run at the top of the US charts, but in the past many of those efforts have enjoyed some initial success before fizzling out. Here are three of the more notable examples:
Westlife “Swear It Again”
Westlife really should have been bigger in the US than they ended up being. They hit the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2000 with “Swear It Again”, coming on the heels of Backstreet Boys’ and ‘NSync’s success. After that, they recorded a duet (“Against All Odds”) with Mariah Carey that helped her achieve one of her biggest hits in the UK up to that point. However, after “Swear It Again” peaked at number 20 and ended 2000 as the 75th biggest song of the year, they…disappeared. At least in the US they did: plans for their second album Coast to Coast being released in America were scrapped, and their duet with Mariah Carey was released pretty much everywhere except the US. Given the difficulty of an already-established group internationally to break the US market, it isn’t hard to imagine that the group decided to capitalize on their superstar status elsewhere.
Take That “Back For Good”
If Westlife seemed like a no-brainer to make it in America, the same might not have been said for Take That, who were a little older than the typical US boy band by the time they broke through in 1996 with “Back For Good.” In fact, they broke through in a big way, climbing all the way to number seven on the Hot 100. Unfortunately, the band started falling apart as “Good” climbed the chart, beginning with the ouster of Robbie Williams due to stress caused by his drug use and partying. I can only find a trace of one other US release (“How Deep is Your Love”) that never charted, and their sole album Nobody Else peaked at number 69 on the Billboard 200 album chart. When they reformed in 2005, it made sense that they only focused on markets where they had already been established, leaving America on the sidelines as they pursued a successful and lucrative comeback, even luring Williams back into the fold in 2010.
S Club 7 “Never Had a Dream Come True”
It seems strange to say that S Club 7 was the biggest of the three in the United States. Between two albums charting on the Billboard 200 chart and their TV show airing on Fox Family, they were not a flash in the pan, even if their fans were mostly kids. In 2001, S Club 7 released their 2000 UK charity single “Never Had a Dream Come True” in the US, becoming their biggest chart success. “Dream” reached number 10 on the Hot 100 and number two on the US singles sales chart. The band (renamed S Club after Paul Cattermole left the fold) was not able to capitalize on that success despite releasing a US-specific compilation in 2002 entitled Don’t Stop Movin’, and they broke up the following year. Even though there have been several rounds of rumors over the past few years that a reunion was inevitable, S Club has not fully reformed.
Didn’t we just get a video post a few days ago? Yeah…the rollercoaster that is my life continues to roll on, whether or not I’m strapped in and ready to go. I may be off the radar for another day or so, but in the meantime, courtesy of Bill Lamb of About.com, here’s one of my favorite videos of the year so far. Granted, it’s the song that grabs your attention, but I really like the look and feel of the video as well. [Apologies in advance: the only video available for embedding is not that great quality. For better quality, check it out here.]
I’ve got to say that it doesn’t surprise me at all that Gary Barlow and his mates decided on this Gary as an opening act for their upcoming “The Circus” tour. Besides probably getting him dirt cheap, Gary B’s probably kicking himself that he didn’t write “Wonderful” himself, because this is a classic Barlow composition. I can’t find any mention of a U.S. release, but you can find his song “Honest” on the 2007 soundtrack for the movie “Song of Songs”.
– In an attempt to capitalize on the surging popularity of Jason Mraz’s International hit “I’m Yours”, a Expanded Edition of “We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things” is being released on November 18th. Besides the original disc, there will be a second audio disc that contains the songs from the three EPs released prior to “We Sing”. Disc three includes a concert recorded at the Highline Ballroom this year, a documentary, and a preview of Jason’s photo book “A Thousand Things”. You can pre-order the set from Amazon.com.
– Speaking of Amazon, today’s MP3 Deal of the Day is the newly-released soundtrack to the movie “Twilight”. The disc features tracks from Paramore, Linkin Park, Muse, and Collective Soul, among others. Does $3.99 sound like a deal to you? Then head on over and pick it up! And while you’re over there, check out some of the free tracks they’ve got available, including the brand-new track from Travis entitled “J. Smith“. (Their new full-length “Ode to J. Smith” is out today) You’ll also find free tracks from the likes of the Weepies, Liam Finn, and PMN favorite Toby Lightman.
– While we’ve got buying on the brain, here’s a little tip for all of you Staters who covet the music of the Motherland. The exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and U.K. pound has moderated greatly in the past few weeks. One dollar = .625 pound today, after having been as low as .50 just a couple of months ago. So get your musical purchases on for the holidays. [PMN would LOVE a Limited Edition “The Circus” CD with a Hardback Book included. Or the new Rhydian disc. I’m just sayin’…]
– Other new releases this week include Hinder, Brad Paisley, Sarah Brightman, Andrea Boccelli, Q-Tip, the domestic release of The Script (on both Amazon and iTunes for $7.99), and well beyond 15 minutes Eamon (it’s even on a major label…go figure!).
– One last note…it’s almost impossible to ignore, but today is the most important election of my lifetime here in teh U.S. of A. We have a chance to really make a difference, not only in our own cities and states, but in the world as we know it. At this point, the result is out of our hands, but here’s hoping a lot of positive energy and prayers and wishes go a long way. I don’t normally go for the hokey anthem, but I truly love the John Legend track “If You’re Out There”, written for a day like today. The whole CD is outstanding, but this is truly a high point.
Whether or not the US is in the midst of a boyband infatuation (the media would lead you to believe this), it’s interesting that the charge is lead exclusively by UK acts One Direction and The Wanted. They aren’t the first UK pop vocal groups to make a run at the top of the US charts, but in the past many of those efforts have enjoyed some initial success before fizzling out. Here are three of the more notable examples:
Stumble It!
Pop Music Notes 