This throwdown was truly difficult! AND not as close as I expected!

I have to be honest, I was pretty devastated when my personal favorite in this group fell behind the competition – by a LOT. I mean WHO CAME UP WITH THESE METRICS ANYWAY??!!

I was VERY tempted to throw the results to have one particular band (any guesses based on the picture??) come out victorious…but I didn’t! Because, let’s face it, if I don’t have credibility in this boy band throwdown, WHAT DO I HAVE??

ICYMI the throwdown was between East 17, Take That, Westlife and Five – and we have the 90s British boy band WINNER!

East-17	Take That	West Life	Five
39 points	73 points	64 points	43 points

Below is the breakdown of points (that I did not in any way modify to have my favorite win….sigh.)

East 17

I was a HUGE fan of East 17 in the early 90s – mainly because they were the bad-boy band my mom did NOT want me to listen to! They had tattoos, piercings and were a lot grittier than other bands of the same era, with the majority of their songs more hip hop influenced than generic pop – along with some seriously naughty lyrics if you got the uncensored versions! See more about my favorite East 17 tunes in my previous 90s boy band post.

How did East-17 stack up?

Criteria	Details	Points
Longevity (core years)	Formed in 1991 the group stayed together until 1999	9
Number of albums	5	5
UK Top 100 hits (Total )	18 top 100 singles with Stay Another Day topping the charts at #1 in 1994	18
Choreo-ability (1-10)	While East 17 definitely had some dance moves individually (check out the It’s Alright video for some serious 90s moves!), they weren’t know for their choreographed routines.	3
Swoon/Scream-ability (1-5)	They definitely had SWAG – and the bad boy factor going for them as I mentioned above!	2
Trendy-ness (1-5)	Overalls, large hats, tattoos and piercing were the trends East-17 helped make mainstream in the early 90s.	2
Total		39

Take That

Between the sweet melodies of Gary Barlow, and the bad boy antics of Robbie Williams, this band was one to watch – and still is with reunion after reunion in the 2010s! While their break up was pretty cringy to watch unfold in the British tabloids (have you seen the James Corden, Gary Barlow special that discusses in detail?), I know we all cheered when the full band (including Robbie) got back together in 2011.

How does Take That stack up?

Criteria	Details	Points
Longevity (core years)	1990-1996 +2005-2020	21
Number of albums	8	8
UK Top 100 hits (Total )	35 top 100 UK hits with 12 number 1 hits, including Pray, Back for Good and Never Forget.	35
Choreo-ability (1-10)	Take That did the occasional choreographed moves on stage and in live concerts – but most of their videos are more about sensitive crooning – which I’m not mad about!!	4
Swoon/Scream-ability (1-5)	Take That put out so many love songs, and so many epic music videos in the rain, they definitely had people all across the globe swooning!	3
Trendy-ness (1-5)	In my opinion, Take That didn’t really have a huge impact on fashion or trends….and I’m just glad the Do What You Like fashion didn’t catch on….	2
Total		73

Westlife

Westlife came along a bit later – after East 17 and Take That had vacated the boy band scene in the late 90s. Five great looking Irish boys, singing a combination of original love songs and catchy covers – they were an instant hit! The band continued long after many of their fellow boy bands broke up (without Brian who left in 2004) – and have recently made another comeback and put out another album!

But how does Westlife stack up?

Criteria	Details	Points
Longevity (core years)	1998 – 2012	14
Number of albums	11	11
UK Top 100 hits (Total)	30 UK top 100 singles with 14 number 1 hits including World of Our Own, Fool Again and Swear it Again	30
Choreo-ability (1-10)	Westlife may have had some group choreography on top of the pops, but otherwise, mainly walk around on stage and in videos looking amazing.	4
Swoon/Scream-ability (1-5)	This band was definitely swoon and scream worthy! Similar to Take That, LOTS of love songs, and fewer upbeat dance anthems. which contribute to scream-ability, but not to group choreo (see above score) .	3
Trendy-ness (1-5)	Similar to Take That, there wasn’t a particular trend that I can point back to Westlife. They are clean cut guys that didn’t really have outfits or a style that would make you say “that is so Westlife”	2
Total		64

Five (or 5ive)

Five (5ive) came around in the late 90s – similar to Westlife – but were the bad boy version of the boy band for that era. They were together for a short time, but in that time put out a huge number of hits, created fashion trends, widely replicated dance moves and had a fair amount of tabloid drama to keep fans interested. While I enjoy all boy bands, Five remains one of my top favorites because of the number of catchy, upbeat dance songs they put out. I know I (like all other Fivers) am waiting and holding my breath for a reunion of all five of the original members. Fingers crossed for 2021!!

But how does Five stack up?

Criteria	Details	Points
Longevity (core years)	1997 – 2001 + 2007-2008	5
Number of albums	3	3
UK Top 100 hits (Total + 5 extra points per #1)	12 UK top 100 singles with 3 number 1 hits – Keep on Movin’, We Will Rock You and Let’s Dance	12
Choreo-ability (1-10)	Out of all these bands, 5ive had the most choreography, and were known for their on stage dance presence and ability to really get down! I know I still do the Everybody Get Up Dance every time the song comes on!	8
Swoon/Scream-ability (1-5)	Out of all these bands, I personally scream the loudest for this one. Whether dressed all in pleather, or wearing basketball gear, or just counting in their songs, their tunes are so catchy, upbeat, and dance-able. And they throw in the occasional love song to keep you swooning!	5
Trendy-ness (1-5)	If you didn’t know how to count to 5, this band taught you! And they made pleather, giant pants and extremely spiked hair really stylish!	5
Popular Vote (extra 5 points)	Five won the vote – on twitter and in the previous post!	5
Total		43

So, while I am SUPER sad that Five didn’t win this throwdown, I am still ok with the results as I am a true fan of all these bands. But Five will always win in my heart!

Let me know what you though of this throwdown in the comments below.

Next up – 90s/early 2000s North American Boy Bands!