First off I am tired of Backstreet Boys fans (not all of them, but the ones who are highly immature) who degrade 'N SYNC fans. Is that totally necessary? Does it really matter who is #1 on a show as trivial to life as TRL? Is it necessary to rub the MTV Viewer's Choice Award in the face of 'N SYNC fans when any logical person knows it is impossible to make up 30% in 3 hours (I have a theory but we'll discuss that later).
Now I it's not that I have particular issues with the members of the group itself (I rather like Kevin and Brian. And I hear AJ is just a really nice guy) but I do have problems with the obvious resentment they hold toward 'N SYNC.
TRL FACTOR
I sometimes wonder if I am the only person who realizes that in the grand scheme of things this show means nothing. It merely serves as an afterschool special. I don't think any artist releases a song and says "screw the Billboard charts... I want to be #1 on TRL."
First off, the show is rigged. I'm sorry if I dropped a huge bomb on you by saying that. They keep the same 10 videos up at the top for weeks at a time. There is no possible way that people think that those are the top 10 videos for consecutive days. Any show that ranks Britney Spears higher than Limp Bizkit can't be right. Anyone who has ears knows who *in actuality* is better.
THE VMA FACTOR
RIGGED! Oh... didn't think so? The Viewers Choice Awards was a ridiculous display of favoritism on the part of the MTV on the Backstreet Boys behalf. Is it a coincidence that the Backstreet Boys go home with a moonman when 'N Sync went home empty handed? Is it a coincidence that the Backstreet Boys made up nearly 35% of votes in HOURS? Is it a coincidence that MTV was one of the sponsors the the Backstreet Boys Millennium Tour? Think about it.
WHO CAME FIRST?
It doesn't matter who came first. People same to make a big deal about that. So? The Backstreet Boys were out first. They want to stake claim to a boyband phenomenon that they didn't even start. There were boybands before the BSB... and well 'N SYNC has proven that there are boybands after them too.
In the United States the strong economy of capitalism creates competition everywhere. There are some places, however, where I could get along without it. The music industry is a prime example. The newest addition to pop culture has come with the advent of vocal singing groups identified with the hackneyed expression, "boybands". The Backstreet Boys (or BSB) and 'N Sync have floated above the battle for fans, and have moved in to their respective number one and number two positions. MTV has discovered this phenomenon, and have sided with the Backstreet Boys. The number one boyband in America has caused myself and millions of 'N Sync fans everywhere endless trauma that we would happily live without.
The reason why Backstreet is preferred is surprisingly not because of their talent, but merely because they came first. This fact has haunted my fellow 'N Sync fans and I since the beginning. Backstreet would like to think of themselves as pioneers, but that doesn't make up for where they are lacking. It is not fathomable that the singing talent of the Backstreet Boys is the secret to the band's success. On many occasions of live televised performances, the poor musical abilities of BSB has been exhibited, whereas 'N Sync has shown that they sound better in concert than in the studio.
The Backstreet Boys may not be on the level of 'N Sync's vocals, but they are unbelievably recognizable. For the first few months before 'N Sync exploded in popularity, there was only one such group. BSB's early exposure causes anybody who doesn't follow the pop music circuit to nine times out of ten identify any group as Backstreet. The inability to tell these bands apart is at the heart of any negative criticism towards 'N Sync. The invaluable first impression has been formed, and will perhaps never be shaken.
As the Backstreet following grew, MTV saw an opportunity, and took full advantage of it. Any marketing involving both 'N Sync and Backstreet immediately pitted one group of fans against the other. The two bands are on the same types of shows and are up for the same awards. BSB always seems to pull ahead, through absolutely no fault of their own. A mere four hours before the MTV Video Music Awards Viewers' Choice Award winner was announced, 'N Sync had fifty-four percent of the votes. Then, miraculously, Backstreet won. There are more than a few 'N Sync fans that feel the vote was rigged.
Another prime example of BSB domination is on the popular television show Total Request Live (or TRL). On the show, MTV plays the top ten videos for the day according to the viewers' votes. TRL is my favorite program. Everyday I vote for 'N Sync in hopes that they will be number one. Yet day after day, the Backstreet Boys claim the top. This fact alone is not enough to infuriate me. The problem is that MTV is so cavalier about it all. I find myself endlessly hearing, "Once again BSB is number one...to absolutely no one's surprise BSB is at the top...and who could be in the number one position? None other than the Backstreet Boys." The tediousness of it all is so aggravating. MTV clearly does not realize, or does not care, how many viewers they have alienated.
The question I ask myself, the problem I've been brooding over ever since the competition became obvious is "How could anyone like the Backstreet
Boys?" Their music is absolutely detestable and their shameless promotion is nauseating. I will have to stomach on this heart-wrenching wrongdoing until
it is righted. When Backstreet is gone and 'N Sync claims the throne they deserve, I will show what it means to get along without the Backstreet Boys.
