The 2010s – a time when boy bands stopped wearing matching outfits, stopped the choreographed dance routines and even picked up their own instruments (in my opinion, not a good look for boy bands). This has definitely been an evolution of boy band culture, but out of this we got some very, very successful boy bands including the three in this throwdown – The Jonas Brothers, One Direction and 5 Seconds of Summer!
This was a TIGHT race…read below for full details!
| Jonas Brothers | One Direction | 5 Seconds of Summer |
|---|---|---|
| 51 | 52 | 32 |
The Jonas Brothers
Kevin, Joe and Nick Jonas. A band of only three members (and obviously brothers), this group got their start thanks to one of my other favorite things – Disney! While I wasn’t really fan of the original Jonas brothers circa mid-2000s and their Disney pop style, I am definitely a fan of the new, more grown up Jonas brothers especially their songs Cool and Sucker.
How do the Jonas Brothers stack up?
| Criteria | Details | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Longevity (core years) | Formed in 2005 the group stayed together until 2010. They returned recently with their best album to date and if it weren’t for COVID, we would all be seeing them in concert! | 6 |
| Number of albums | 5 | 5 |
| Billboard Top 100 (Total + 5 points for #1 ) | 23 top 100 singles with 3 top 10 hits. Sucker peaked at number #1 in early 2019, proving what I already believe – that their latest album is their best! | 28 |
| Choreo-ability (1-10) | The Jonas Brothers don’t really have choreographed dance moves – they sometimes try, but not in comparison to BSB, NSYNC or Five. | 2 |
| Swoon/Scream-ability (1-5) | I know there are a lot of hardcore Jonas fans out there – shown by how many Jonas Brothers fans votes for them to win the popular vote in this throwdown! | 3 |
| Trendy-ness (1-5) | I know Jonas Brothers may have set some trend in their early days – especially with Camp Rock and all of their Disney channel endeavors. Not sure their in to setting trends these days, but are more occupied with making solid music. | 2 |
| Popular Vote (extra 5 points) | People love Jonas Brothers and they won the popular vote this round! | 5 |
| Total | 51 |
One Direction
I loved One Direction from the moment I first saw the glimmer in Simon Cowells eye on the X Factor back in 2010. Even though they didn’t win, their following made them something BIG from the very start. And then Harry, Niall, Liam, Louis and Zayn put out their first album filled with catchy pop songs and I was hooked! Its pretty hard for me to pick my top One Direction tracks, but if I HAVE to pick, Fireproof and Where do Broken Hearts Go are my favorite.
But how does One Direction stack up?
| Criteria | Details | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Longevity (core years) | Sadly, we didn’t have more years with this group – they ended in 2015 after only five years. | 5 |
| Number of albums | 4 | 4 |
| Billboard Top 100 (Total + 5 points for #1 ) | 1D had 29 songs on the Billboard Top 100 and 6 in the top 10. But surprisingly, no number 1s! All the more reason for them to reunite and put out more albums! | 29 |
| Choreo-ability (1-10) | One Direction has absolutely NO choregraphed ability. And they know it. I think there was an elbow dance in One Thing, and an arm pump dance in Best Song Ever, but that’s about it. | 4 |
| Swoon/Scream-ability (1-5) | 1D fans are HARDCORE. And I count myself among them! Fans of this band rival some of the most excited, supportive and loud fans of any boy band I’ve ever seen. I guess it’s because the the 1D boys have that One Thing….hahaha! | 5 |
| Trendy-ness (1-5) | 1D set the tone for the 2010 bands. And they set trends, not only with fashion and hair (Harry’s hair was a trending every time he changed it!), but even though they’ve been broken up for almost 5 years now, they regularly trend on twitter. Earlier this year #10yearsofonedirection was trending on what would have been the bands 10 year anniversary. | 5 |
| Total | 52 |
5 Seconds of Summer
Strangely enough I only recently started listening to 5 Seconds of Summer. And I’m so glad I did! 5SOS are an Australian band formed in late 2011. Luke, Michael, Calum and Ashton Irwin originally started as YouTube celebrities but really hit it big while touring with One Direction on their Take Me Home Tour. Each member of the band is quite musical, playing their own instruments as more of a boy band/rock band hybrid, but for this throwdown we will consider them a boy band! My favorite 5SOS song is Youngblood (me and the rest of the world!)
But how does 5 Seconds of Summer stack up?
| Criteria | Details | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Longevity (core years) | The band really debuted in 2012 and are still going strong today. | 8 |
| Number of albums | 4 so far… | 4 |
| Billboard Top 100 (Total + 5 points for #1 )) | 5SOS has 14 Billboard Top 100 hits with Youngblood peaking at number 7. | 14 |
| Choreo-ability (1-10) | These boys prefer to play instruments than to dance. So no choreography at all here. | 1 |
| Swoon/Scream-ability (1-5) | Medium screamability for this band. They have a strong following, but their fans range from rock to pop since this band does a great job of walking the fine line between rock and boy band. So there are probably less high pitched screams at their shows and more cool rock vibes. | 2.5 |
| Trendy-ness (1-5) | 5SOS have set trends for sure – colored hair, vintage shirts, and bringing back flannel and leather. | 2.5 |
| Total | 32 |
Let me know what you though of this throwdown in the comments below.
Next up, some of my recent favorites – K-POP Boy Bands!
The Chatty Enthusiast 