My Favourite Songs From Boy Bands I Listen To

Hey guys! How’re you all doing? I don’t know if it’s a thing in other parts of the country but we celebrated the new yam festival here. I’ll give more details at the end of the post.

So, I know I share my playlists with you guys at the end of the week but I didn’t keep log on Tuesday – Wednesday, sorry. I had to run errands for my mom. But fret not, today’s post is solely about music but on boy bands. Ah, boy bands, why are we so crazy about them? Why am I so crazy about them? Is it their music? Their voices? Their faces? The lyrics? Or is it because they’re men and I’m hetero? Well, I don’t know what the answer is but I’m sure it’s not because I’m het or because they’re men. Nope.

I’ve been listening to boy bands since I was in my mother’s womb. Yep. That woman had (and still does) a whole collection of them. Man, she was obsessed. She had Westlife, Boyz II Men, Backstreet Boys, MLTR (Michael Learns To Rock), NSYNC and Linkin Park . Maybe she’s got plenty more and I didn’t get to listen to them. These ones I listed though, all influenced my taste in music pretty much. Okay not entirely but yeah, you get the idea. I love boy bands and it’s definitely not because they’re boys, I’m serious. I’m only seeing the faces of most of the ones I’m going to mention for the first time today actually. See? I totally don’t like them for their faces, just for their music. So, I wanna thank my mom, for being an OG boy bands lover and influencing this part of my life. Thanks a lot mom. I listen to a whole lot of them more than you ever did.

I’d only be sharing the ones I’m very committed to, bands whose songs are on my phone and not the ones I happen to listen to by chance or on YouTube when I’m surfing. Before writing this, I want to let you know that I have no idea what genre most of them were into until I did my research. I’ve only been listening to them because I love their music.

The 1975

I first listened to The 1975 when I was 15, thanks to YouTube. I think I was on a boy bands marathon that night and happened to land on one of their lyric videos. I fell in love instantly. That first song of theirs was Chocolate, while it’s supposed to be my favorite from them because it made me love them, my favorite would be I Always Wanna Die (Sometimes) from their 2018 Album (A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships). They’re an English pop rock band from Cheshire and have been active since 2002 (thanks wiki). According to google, their songs revolve around these genres: Pop rock, Synth-pop, Indie pop, Electropop, Alternative rock and Funk Rock. Do my ears agree? Yes, very much.

The Neighbourhood

I discovered The Neighbourhood by dumb luck, I’m not going to call it an accident because I actually enjoyed discovering them. I was looking for a certain song, Paradise by Bazzi and stumbled on theirs instead. Was it worth it? Certainly. Is it my favourite song from them? Hehe, not really. I love Paradise but my favourite one from them is Afraid from their 2013 Album (I Love You). What a name for a song. Certainly speaks to me. According to google, their genres are Alternative Rock and Indie Rock and they’ve been active since 2011.

5 Seconds of Summer

You may not be familiar with the two of above but you would be with this one I’m sure. I was 13 when I first heard 5SOS. The song I’d heard back then was Amnesia and I listened to it on YouTube, it was a recommendation, I think. I can’t remember but I know I enjoyed it and seven years later, I’m still a loyal fan. My favourite song from them is YoungBlood from their 2018 Album (YoungBlood). Bro, I jammed to this song for most of my first year in university. That’s how much I loved it. Their genre revolves around Pop Rock, Power Pop, New Wave, Pop Punk, Pop Music and they’ve been active since 2011.

Cigarettes After Sex

I don’t know if many of you were here when I’d written a post on my Favourite YouTubers. If you haven’t checked it out and want to, check it out here, you’re gonna love one of them, I promise. So, moving on, in that post, I mentioned a YouTube channel (I’m Cyborg But That’s Okay) as one of my favourites and one of my go-to channels for new songs. Cyborg uploads aesthetic videos on old movies mashed up with sometimes, indie music or dreamy music.

So, in one of her videos, I found Cigarettes After Sex and have been listening to them ever since. Apocalypse was their first song I’d listened to on Cyborg’s channel and so happens to be my favourite from their 2017 Album (Cigarettes After Sex). I was going through some rough emotional crisis at the time when I first heard the song and it kinda reminds me of that time because it was on repeat and kept me calm but I’m better now and still adore the song. I love love love it. Their genres are Indie pop, Dream pop, Ambient pop, Slowcore and Shoegazing (huh?). They’ve been active since 2008, so cool.

Coldplay

I didn’t know Coldplay when I was 10 years old but I know I was obsessed with a song from the radio, that had the lines “youuuu ahhh”and when I could finally use the internet, I found out it was from a band called Coldplay. It was all love from there. While I was majorly obsessed with Clocks as a kid, my all time favourite from them would be Magic from their 2014 Album (Bravo Hits 85). It’s been nearly six years since it came out yes, but I’m still very much in love with it. Their genres include Alternative Rock, Pop Rock, Post-Britpop, Pop Music and they’ve been active since 1996? Um, wow. Yeah, keep going boys.

Imagine Dragons

So, was anybody Wattpad obsessed around 2014-2016? No one? Okay, I WAS Wattpad obsessed in those years and they were amazingg. Apart from devouring cliche books I had no shame in reading, except the ones that were promoting sexual assault (ew), I also discovered great artists (actors and singers) on the app. Imagine Dragons happens to be one of the artists or should I say band, I found there and you won’t guess the book I found them on. It was After. Ugh, as much as I hated reading the book sometimes, at least I left with this wonderful band. Their song I’d listened to from After, was Demons and I loved it, I still very much do. But, it isn’t my favourite, my favourite from them is Hear Me from their 2013 Album (Night Visions). Their genre includes Indie Rock, Pop Rock, Alternative Rock and they’ve been active since 2008.

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These are not the only bands I listen to, I’ve got about 15 of them including One Direction (bless their souls). I’d probably do another post on the others. These bands listed are the ones that come to my mind when I’m asked to list my favourites. Westlife, Backstreet Boys, MLTR and all the others my mom (and I) listened to, should also be on this list as well but I don’t listen to them as much as I listen to these ones. So, I thought it wasn’t necessary to write them and also, I wanted to make the post short, haha. This is the first post on boy bands I listen to, I don’t know when I’d be sharing the others. Do you like this list?

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Do you like boy bands? Why? Do you know any of the bands I’ve mentioned? If so, what are your favourite songs from them? I’d love to know. Also, if you’ve got any boy bands you love, I’d be happy if you recommended them, I don’t care what genre they are into. Please share them with me.

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About the new yam festival. Here in Nigeria, it’s largely celebrated within the Igbo community. Few years ago, in my Igbo class, we were told that the festival was a celebration of life and culture and new beginnings. I don’t know why yams are an important part of the celebration to be honest but I’ve sort of been going with it because of my family. We don’t throw parties or anything. We just cook yam (in whatever way) that has been recently harvested and eat together, so I guess it’s a lot like thanksgiving?

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Thanks for reading.

Stay safe.