My obsession started from a young age, beginning with the N*SYNC and Backstreet Boys CDs I was given for my birthday one year. I thought that the members of both groups were ridiculously cute, and I jammed out to the music on my super cool, portable Walkman. From there, I moved onto the Jonas Brothers, who claimed a good four years of my life. After them, my tastes ranged from Big Time Rush to One Direction to 5 Seconds of Summer. Even though each band performed varying types of music, they all had one thing in common--they made me feel happy.
Throughout most of middle and high school, I always felt like no one understood what I was going through. I realized now that everybody feels that way during those awkward years. But in those moments, I felt alone. The music of those bands gave me a chance to escape my humdrum everyday life. Because I was the same age as a lot of these guys, I found that they were dealing with the same sorts of sticky situations I was: heartbreaking crushes, friend drama, and trying to figure out growing up. I felt extremely close to them, as though they were my best buds. Their music made my pain feel acknowledged, and all I wanted was to know them and be a part of their world.
When I had the opportunity to go to my first Jonas Brothers concert it was like nothing I'd ever experienced before. They absolutely came alive onstage, and everything they did just looked like so much fun. I'd been to concerts previously, but these guys were running around, acting crazy, and just having a great time, and it was obvious that they loved what they were doing. I wanted nothing more than to be on that stage performing with them. I think that part of me has never really gone away--to this day I still wish I could be up in front of the crowd, performing along with my favorite group.
But from that point on I couldn't get enough. I didn't care that I was progressively getting older while the majority of each fanbase stayed young preteens. It didn't matter to me that I was one of the few who could actually drive myself to these concerts and didn't have to be accompanied by my mom. I loved the high energy and positive message that these bands put out, and I loved that listening to just one song by any of these groups instantly put me in a better mood. A lot of people claim that the music is overly-produced and superficial, but you can't deny the success of boy bands throughout the years. They have hundreds of thousands of screaming fans for a reason, and I'm thankful that I am one of the lucky few who understand and appreciate that reason.
Yes, it's true. I am a grown woman who still screams and runs to the television when my favorite group appears on an awards show, and who aches to buy the expensive tickets when I see that a band I love is coming to town. I spend far too much of my hard-earned money on merchandise, and I'm proud to announce it to the world when I've discovered a new ensemble long before they became famous. I hope that I never lose that part of me, the part that loves the good that bands full of talented, attractive boys bring. I am an adult, I love boy bands, and I will always be proud of that fact.
