WHY ARE THERE NO SOUTH AFRICAN BOY BANDS

Remember 4our (where you were the fourth member), Ghetto Lingo, even Big Nuz in all there Durban glory. We don't see boy bands anymore

Internationally, heartthrobs are a tried and tested method to make money within the music industry. Why does it not work? When did South Africa deviate from the idea that the main market is tweenage girls?

The simple answer is money. Creating a teen hearththrob takes significant investment that it seems companies are no longer willing to go through. With the advent of tiktok and other musicians organically building their fanbases through social media, it seems companies are more comfortable signing an artist that has developed their own fanbase than investing money in discovering and training the next Justin Beiber, One direction or Austin Mahone (If anyone remembers him). The main audience for these types of artists were seen as “tweenage girls”. The ones that would convince their parents to spend an obscene amount of money in supporting their favourite artists, whether by buying their albums and merchandise, or attending each of the concerts they had within their region.

Similarly, here at home, building a heartthrob takes investment. Putting together a group of them requires resources that, in an ever-shrinking economy, is a big risk. A major difference is that here in South Africa, our tweenage girls aren’t as easily swooned out of emptying their wallets like other countries. So there is much less guaranteed return on investment as opposed to, say. BTS who could drop an album full of empty songs and they would still sell-out within minutes just using their local audience.

But besides a lagging economy, what’s caused this lack of return. Seemingly, it’s because culture has become much less homogonoues. Gone are the days where the same few radio stations, tv shows and award ceremonies told us what we were listening to and consuming as a culture. With the internet and social media, I can consume exclusively Korean cooking content if I so please. We’re all part of different sub-communities and cultures. Stan culture has become so deeply ingrained that I’ve become obsessed with a group of nine women I have likely never even been on the same continent as. So in all honesty, their might still be teen stars that millions of people obsess over, but being the 26 year old adult that I am, I may just not engage in those spaces (Thank God).

Those same few culture gatekeepers can no longer determine who the next or current big stars are anymore. I can stan a niche group of 3 people that only receive 2000 listeners on Spotify and be completely oblivious to anyone or anything else. And you know what, that’s okay. I don’t think we need another rebellious phase from a celebrity that got famous way to early. Minors shouldn’t debut.