O Boy Band Romeo, Wherefore Art Thou?

By Laura Ferreiro Posted Nov 6th 2009 05:00PM

Those synchronized dance moves, color-coordinated outfits, four-part harmonies and emotive solos -- who does them better than boy bands? With the Backstreet Boys (photo, left) in the midst of a "comeback" tour and Robbie Williams' recent announcement that he plans to perform again with Take That (photo, right), we thought it only fitting to find out what their contemporary boy bands have been up to lately, starting with ...

98 Degrees: 1997-2002

'The Hardest Thing' | Watch 98 Videos

We all know that certain members of the group haven't strayed too far from the spotlight. Brothers Nick and Drew Lachey's starred in reality TV and Nick was involved in a high-profile marriage and subsequent split with Jessica Simpson. But what ever happened to Justin Jeffre? The pop singer has turned political, running for mayor of Cincinnati in 2005. Although his bid was unsuccessful, it didn't stop him from seeking a seat on the City Council (again without glory) or campaigning for Ralph Nader in last year's presidential election. Not one to be deterred by defeat, he's now he's tackling a column for the political blog, 'The Cincinnati Beacon.'

98 Degrees' founding member Jeff Timmons launched a solo career and landed a Top 20 spot on the, ahem, Adult Contemporary Chart with the tune 'Whisper That Way.' He also appeared on the VH1 reality series 'Mission: Man Band', which saw him attempting to form a "man band" made up of fellow former boybanders Bryan Abrams of Color Me Badd, Rich Cronin of LFO and Chris Kirkpatric of *NSYNC. On a heavier note, he was arrested for alleged drunk driving in 2006 and sentenced to a year of probation after pleading no contest to reckless driving charges.

O-Town: 2000-2003

'All or Nothing' | Watch O-Town Videos

Then there's O-Town, the group borne out of the MTV reality series "Making The Band' in 2000. Of all the quintet's members, Ashley Parker Angel has found himself back in the spotlight most frequently. His attempt to launch a solo career was documented on yet another MTV reality series in 2006, which resulted in the surprisingly lauded album, 'Soundtrack to Your Life.' Meanwhile, the singer did a successful turn on Broadway, playing the role of teen heartthrob Link Larkin in the musical 'Hairspray.' He's also appeared as the voice of the main character in the video game 'Lunar: The Silver Star.' Most recently, Angel signed on for the part of Sam Lombardo (originally played by Matt Dillon) in an upcoming remake of the film 'Wild Things.'

*NSYNC: 1995-2005

'Bye Bye Bye' | Watch *NSYNC Videos

While *NSYNC's Justin Timberlake has gone on to achieve uber-stardom and his bandmates Joey Fatone and Lance Bass had their own star turns on 'Dancing with the Stars,' what happened to the remaining members of the famed five-piece?

Chris Kirkpatrick offered up his Orlando home for the aforementioned reality show 'Mission: Man Band', which chronicled his unsuccessful attempt to create a "man band" with members of other boy bands (they were booed off the stage when they performed during an Orlando Magic half-time show). He also starred in CMT's show 'Gone Country,' competing to become a country crooner alongside Jermaine Jackson and the show's ultimate winner, heavy metal singer Sebastian Bach. He can now be heard on the Orlando radio show, "Johnny and Jayde," which airs Friday mornings.

Meanwhile, JC Chasez went on to release a solo album, 'Schizophrenic,' in 2004, and has found himself writing and producing for artists including Girls Aloud, Basement Jaxx and David Archuleta. He currently serves as a judge on the MTV show 'America's Best Dance Crew.'

BBMak: 1999-2003

'Out of My Heart' | Watch BBMak Videos

BBMak, known as England's answer to the Backstreet Boys, racked up six Top 10 singles and sold millions of albums worldwide during their four-year heyday ending in 2003. Since then, they've all pursued solo careers with varying degrees of success.

Christian Burns churned out a couple of solo albums, collaborated with famed trance DJ Tiesto and is currently fronting the band The Bleach Works. Meanwhile, Stephen McNally went the way of many an ex-boybander and did the reality show thing, auditioning for Simon Cowell and Sharon Osbourne on Britain's answer to 'American Idol,' 'The X Factor.' He got as far as the boot camp round, and now sings lead for the band 10 Reasons to Live. Not much is known about Mark Barry, aside from the fact that he has racked up a few bag-piping champ titles in England.

Tags: 98 degrees, 98Degrees, Backstreet Boys, BackstreetBoys, BbMak, boy bands, BoyBands, drew lachey, DrewLachey, jc chasez, JcChasez, nick lachey, NickLachey, NSync, o-town, Take That, TakeThat

Comments

(25)

Saturday 07 November

By jadiz

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ummm..*NSYNC is like the most successful boy band even if they're not yet ready to reunite altogether just check out the record sales that they've beaten and they have the record of the fastest selling record album in history that is "No Strings Attached" that sold 1.1 million copies in one day and 2.4 million copies in one week, giving it the highest first week album sales ever in US and #5 worldwide

By DC

WESTLIFE!
Still going strong after 10 years and a new album out later this month.

By nffgs

sooooo they're from the 90s. Lets talk about the Beatles and Monkees! :)

By shan

Ditto on what PP said...NKOTB...the most successful boy band in our time (other than the Beatles) was not mentioned???? Lame.

Wednesday 02 December

By Colleen

I grew up with all of these bands, listened to a song or bought several albums by them. Occasionally, I listen to an old 'NSYNC or BSB song, but I pray each night that boybands don't return. I am deathly afraid that Justin Bieber will bring back that trend.

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