Pop Potential: Tell your mom you joined a boy band...

Boy bands eh? I've adored them ever since I was little and will probably continue to adore them when i've long since been in my cold cold grave (because by then modern technology will enable me to live on cyber-style as an iPad or amazon kindle or on twitter or something). Yet - much like any other pop genre - success can be a tricky thing for them to attain. For every Westlife, Take That, JLS or The Wanted, there is a Digital, Billiam, V, Vigo and Avenue. Most of whome I've effused about on these pages at one point or another. crikey! Anyway, time to have a look at some of the current stock out there and what they are currently up to (and most importantly how hunky they are)...

THE ALTERNATIVE SELECTION:

• The Overtones ~ what with Glee shining a spotlight on innovative vocal harmony, the time is right for a group of fellas to come along and woo England with their doo-wop stylings. The Overtones are 5 everyday chaps who come from a painting and decorating background. Obviously singing on the job has paid off as they now have a record deal and their first album is out in October. Amazes. They have produced a mix of original songs and 50s/60s cover versions. Their debut single "Gambling Man" is a self penned effort that effervesces with charm - it's a solid, finger clicking 3 minutes of jazz tinged cool that is heavy on melody and weaves their voices intrinsically with each other without overpowering the music. I also like that it's a bit cheeky and while is imbued with their musical influences also manages to feel entirely at ease in today's pop landscape. This is reflected in their clothing choices too - vintage "Mad Men" styling with a hint of modern geek chic about them. I'm tres excited about their debut album Good Ol' Fashioned Love and sense that they may be a new obsession of mine. Hurrah! Oh and they are quite dishy too :P
• Straight No Chaser ~ I've enjoyed the Christmassy albums of SNC for a couple of years now. This vocal harmony group manages to outdo Glee with their latest album full of a variety of cover versions that manage to twist and invert what you know about the song and bring something new to the table. Take their latest single - Tainted Love. Sure everyone has heard this tune in Soft Cell format, but in the hands of SNC they turn it into an effortlessly cool, wonderfully harmonised effort where their voices replace the instruments and still make it sound layered and lush all at the same time. The video (click here - embedding disabled which is of course hideous) seems like a riff on The Hangover movie as the boys get up to all sorts of shenanighans in Las Vegas. Oh that's my type of party...

THE TRADITIONAL ROUTE:

• Boy Banned ~ busy preparing their debut UK single are the quartet known as Boy Banned. Possibly a play on the Girls Aloud name (and of course boy band, i'm not totally thick you know :P) they are busy building quite the following on twitter and facebook and engaging with their fans at every opportunity. A clip of their first single proper Street Light shows them leading with an engaging tune that builds on a strong, resonant vocal with minimal instrumental (that's vaguely reminiscent of the brilliant Living In A Box song Room In Your Heart that some boy band absolutely must cover or I will explode!) before launching into a luscious, mid-tempo ballad with an engaging beat and memorable refrain. It builds on all the successful tenents of previous boybands and bodes well for the full length version and video which is apparently coming soon. Oh, and while all the boys seem very charming, I must confess that it's Ethan's pop star hair and innocent face that has me most entranced ;)
• Big Time Rush ~ how on earth have I missed the monumental Nick tv show about a boy band?! This is ridiculous! Why did nobody tell me? They not only have some madcap adventures on tv, but they are prepping their debut album for release in October. If it is like their lead off single Til I Forget About You, it promises to be a power pop extravaganza the likes of which haven't been seen since the glory days of The Click Five (are they still going?!) Season 2 has just started on Nick, so I'm busy playing catch up so I can keep up with the tween phenomenon!

Other established boy band goodness coming your way this "fall"... new take that! new A1! new Westlife! new McFly! new JLS! More Wanted! And they say boy bands are over... Who else should I be checking out?