“BIG TIME RUSH IS GOING BACK ON TOUR!” I texted my sister in all caps. “WE HAVE TO GO!”
I hadn’t expected them to jump back into making music together, nor did I expect them to perform so close to my house. In an instant, my day was made and I received a bounty of texts from my sister, each one more enthusiastic than the last.
To this day, I will honestly admit that I cannot remember the last time I listened to a Big Time Rush song. They were an elementary school pastime and I look back fondly at the moments I spent watching their television show after a long day of agonizing over multiplication.
Even so, the lyrics of the theme song are easily accessible anytime I need them. I can almost see the montage play through my head as I hum the tune.
With one text message, I fell prey to the very strategy Big Time Rush was actively utilizing. I fed into the plan that will ensure their comeback’s success.
As with many shows and movies in modern media, nostalgia is being capitalized upon to the max. The idea of “going back to the good ole days” is something so valuable artists have decided to put a price on it. However, it is difficult to succeed in this endeavor due to the idea that the sequel can never be as good as the original. This is where boy bands have decided to be a bit more intelligent.
Instead of attempting to replicate the original aesthetic of their old music, boybands like Big Time Rush and the Jonas Brothers have chosen to create a newer sound with similar sentiments taken from old music. The Jonas Brothers wrote their song “Rollercoaster” to pay tribute to their younger days. The song itself focuses on growing up together, but the tune and harmonies are a newer style that fans aren’t used to. Likewise, other bands of the same caliber are developing new style ideas that they pair with the familiar image of being back together as a whole band again.
These new music styles tend to follow the “clean pop” formula, repeating catchy melodies and using quick tempos to rope fans back in. So far this has been highly successful for the Jonas Brothers. We are now seeing Big Time Rush begin to form a similar pattern.
Big Time Rush released a single on Feb. 6, 2023. The song, titled “Can’t Get Enough,” didn’t have the same deliberate pop-rock beats that their old music did. However, fans were over the moon to hear catchy music that symbolized how the band has reunited and is now spending significant time together, like they would have while filming their show in 2009.
It’s been proven that fans of nearly anything in 2023 are suckers for a good dose of nostalgia. This idea can sail without being contested. Instead, it is interesting to ask: why do artists choose to revive their old practices?
While money could be a primary motivator, many of these artists have been far too successful to rely solely on nostalgia factor to propel their careers. There must be another reason behind this.
Looking specifically at Big Time Rush, their comeback appears to be just as much for them as it is for the fans. Their inspiration for coming back together and making music appears to be that each of the band members is leaving their twenties and a few are getting married and beginning to have kids. After going their separate ways for a while, it seems the guys have grown enough in their individual music and acting journeys and now want to go back to collaborating on their own terms.
Likewise, each of the Jonas Brothers had time apart to explore their own sounds and passions. All three are now married and have begun to start their own families. This stage of life is a shift from independence to having others depend on them. Naturally, having more responsibilities can make people desire carefree days that have passed.
For the Jonas Brothers and Big Time Rush, it makes sense why they are reaching toward nostalgia. For their own experience, trying to recreate a support system they had as teenagers could be a way to get back in touch with family and connect with the formative experiences of their young adulthood.
If this is true, One Direction’s failure to make a comeback is reasonable. They are still exploring their own sounds and haven’t begun marrying and settling down. While a few members have children of their own, they haven’t put an emphasis on the “family” idea since many of them are still quite prevalent in the music industry. Harry Styles is one to consider in how he is routinely releasing new music and touring consistently.
At the core of the boy band revival idea, there is the unshakable truth that people are comforted by what they know. Fans enjoy hearing the harmonies of artists they thought would never reunite. Artists are realizing the love in going back to their roots and producing new music with old friends. Both the fan and artist find familiarity in each other and the music.
While the concept of these reunions toes the line of falling into the modern nostalgia agenda, it seems a bit more genuine than that. Perhaps it’s simply just our favorite bands that have grown up and are saying “thanks for the good times.”
