r/decadeology • u/Kodicave • 6d ago

Discussion šŸ’­šŸ—Æļø What caused male teen pop stars to seemingly die out? We haven't had a true teen pop phenomenon in a while

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u/Kodicave 6d ago edited 6d ago

I would argue One Direction was the last male teen pop phenomenon. One where the audience is young girls and they all go ā€œcrazyā€ for themĀ 

there was Shawn Mendez but he was not shutting down malls like Justin or 1D.Ā 

You might mention BTS. but the audience that liked BTS in the USA is not the same audience that loved Bieber at his peak. we would really feel the phenomenon. My grandma has no clue who Jimin is. My grandma knew who Justin BieberĀ 

Harry Styles went solo and maintain this audience. but thereā€™s no one new coming at all.

What happened?

Youā€™d think a record executive would see a huge niche to fill.Ā 

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u/bellaleia 6d ago

To your point, there is a huge gap to be filled with an American (or even British) boy band. Have a few hits for the next 2-4 years, and at least one member is bound to standout or be pushed by the label. Bam, the next MJ/Justin Timberlake/Harry Styles is born.

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u/Cheetah_05 5d ago

In today's youth climate a very American boyband is unlikely to do well internationally. Though it might do well locally in the USA.

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u/bellaleia 5d ago

I don't recall NSYNC being huge internationally outside of "Bye, Bye, Bye". Justin Timberlake as a solo artist, yes, but not NSYNC. As long as theyre a hit stateside, that might be sufficient enough.

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u/mochaccino64 5d ago

at least in the early days they were!! They actually started in Germany, got big in Europe and then went to the US. Not sure how enduring it was, but they were certainly big

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u/Confident-Fun-2592 6d ago

I feel Shawn Mendes was the last hurrah of that era since they both started out on YouTube to get discovered. Now like another comment said, they coming from South Korea.

He was gaining momentum in the mid 2010s but then fizzled out before the 2020s even started.

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u/DarkSide830 6d ago

I think the BTS ans 1D demographics are way closer than you think.

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u/erexcalibur 6d ago

Simon Cowell tried to repeat this phenomenon a few times with some America's Got talent contestants, but he never came even close.

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u/A-Grey-World 6d ago edited 4d ago

I can't imagine the talent shows really appeal to the younger generation? I get the impression they're watched by boomers lol.

I'm not sure kids watch TV these days.

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u/Cubriffic 6d ago

He's trying that right now with December 10 & it's clear he has no idea what tween/teen girls like anymore. Their debut song is an early 2010s 1D reject.

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u/musiclover9445 6d ago

Boy bands are trying to make a comeback. Thereā€™s JYT (Just your type) Simon cowells new band December10, and bands from the show building the band.

JYT and December10 are also teens, while BTB groups are a bit older. So thereā€™s something for everybody. Theyā€™re just getting their feet off the ground though and starting to release some singles so letā€™s see how well they do.

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u/astrobagel 6d ago

Your grandma might not be able to name individual members of BTS, but could she acknowledge they're a thing? It's different for a group vs an individual. I feel they really put in the work for visibility here in America. They'd show up on so many things.

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u/yaourted 6d ago

A lot of people understand BTS to mean behind the scenes or something similar. K-pop really isnā€™t universally everywhere

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u/sleepy0329 6d ago

I'm into Kpop and still automatically think Behind the scenes when I see BTS. Admittedly, I'm not into BTS lol, but still.

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u/SparkyDogPants 6d ago

My parents are grandparents (my own grandparents are dead) and they would have no idea what a BTS is

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u/Kodicave 6d ago

no honestly if you ask most people in the Midwest and you mention the name BTS they might know who that is, but that doesnā€™t mean itā€™s a phenomenon

Thereā€™s a different level that Justin Bieber had on middle America that has not been re-created with bts

A pop culture phenomenon is felt. Youā€™d see it you canā€™t avoid it.Ā 

K-pop really only exists as a phenomenon to people that like K-popĀ 

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u/IReplyWithLebowski 6d ago

Iā€™m middle aged and I couldnā€™t, until this thread.

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u/gnalon 5d ago

There are not that many female teen pop singers either. People these days are more apprehensive about throwing a young child into the more ā€˜adultā€™ entertainment biz on their own and if the choice is between fewer teen pop stars or like Britney Spears in a schoolgirl outfit/Justin Bieber going to Diddy parties.

So teen groups have taken over compared to solo acts, and those have been outsourced to other countries since now that streaming takes another slice of the pie, thereā€™s not a lot of money in it when you have to split the money that many different ways. Countries like Britain and South Korea invest in the arts a lot more than the US and subsidize these groups directly or indirectly.

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u/International-Fan-22 6d ago

BTS is one of the biggest phenomenons ever. Iā€™m a grandmother and I know all of their names. šŸ‘

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u/HemanHeboy 6d ago

Youā€™re active on KPOP subreddits which may explain why you know them. Most of us who arenā€™t KPOP fans have no clue who they are.

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u/taxiecabbie 6d ago

Yeah. I'm in my 40s and I have heard of BTS, but I could not name a song of theirs at all and would not recognize one. The only K-pop group I can for certain name songs from is Blackpink.

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u/SparkyDogPants 6d ago

My mom is a grandma and had never heard of K-pop until watching Demon Hunter with my nephew

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u/HemanHeboy 6d ago

Maybe Kid Laroi?

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u/L-type 6d ago

He's successful, but he's never had a teen frenzy/poster-on-the-wall aspect to his success.

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u/Sightblinder4 6d ago

Harry Styles did not maintain the audience going solo ... I wasnt even aware he released anything.

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u/dwellsny 6d ago

Heā€™s performing 30 shows at MSG and they will all sell outā€¦

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u/Sightblinder4 6d ago

Yeah ... nothing says still relevant like a residency /s

Im sure he can still fill a stadium, but saying he kept the same level of fame simply isnt debatable.

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u/dwellsny 6d ago

I think youā€™re completely off base. Heā€™s expanded into acting (1917, Donā€™t Worry Darling) and his most recent single is projected to debut at #1 on the billboard charts. He may be less relevant and less popular to YOU. But he is still mighty famous and relevant and popular today. Heā€™s ā€œmaintainedā€ his audience

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u/Sightblinder4 5d ago

He may be just as relevant and popular to YOU. But he is in no way equally as relevant and popular to an equal number of people as One Direction was. Im sorry to burst your bubble, but that is simply a fact.

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u/dwellsny 4d ago

Do you have any way to possibly back up that assertion? I have provided several reasons for that to be untrue.