Manufactured (Music Themed 5-Minute Freewrite Challenge)

On my past freewrites, I discussed about how some boybands are faring in the markets, particularly in the US pond by which many are struggling, but some are able to do so.

There are issues and criticisms regarding boybands that they are manufactured, or "puppets". They listen to what they are told to do, and the kinds of music they will perform. Creative inputs from the members may be set aside with the pursuit of managements and record labels just to sell them. As we noticed, boybands has always been short-lived because of their target audience who matures as years pass by.

There are patterns set towards boybands. As we saw from Backstreet Boys and NSYNC, they sing and dance. The same goes with New Kids on the Block (NKOTB). So if a group sings and dances, there's a huge possibility that they will work on their target audience. South Korean boybands (K-Pop) are eye candies for their beautiful and intense choreography.

Some boybands focus on singing ballads. Boyzone and Westlife (from Ireland) may come to you mind. Of course, they dance in some of their concerts, but they sing mostly love songs, usually ballads, and they worked well in their respective markets.

It's a surprise that One Direction worked well despite the lack of choreographed dance, singing mostly power pop and pop rock songs. We know One Direction members are not natural dancers, and that those dance steps they'd shown in concerts and music videos can be done by anyone. Meanwhile, it's not that easy to be part of a boyband. The lack of creative independence, the stigma, and live accordingly to what's being told even affected the mental health of those once members of such musical groups.

Here is my music themed entry for the freewrite prompt "Manufactured" which was created through the app squibler.io.

_{This was also posted on Peakd}