Every girl from every generation has her favorite boy band crush -- mine was Joey McIntyre from NKOTB -- yes, you can make fun of me now.
But the emerging 'tween and teen set need no longer save all their squeals for Justin Bieber -- boy bands are back.
And we're not just talking cute, manufactured American teen dreams -- we've got some transatlantic teeny-boppers on our hands.
Did you see
SNL this weekend? British boy band import One Direction was the featured musical act -- and for better, or for worse -- SNL still seems to cement an emerging artist into pop culture prominence (can we say
Lana del Ray?)
And, it seems the super group has a bit of competition in fellow British/Irish sensation The Wanted.
I've been watching these groups emerge on the late night talk show circuits, and I'm sure all the appropriately aged girls are giddy for these preppy mussy-haired boys.
For those who felt confused on Saturday, here's the deal on these emerging super boy bands:
One Direction: This group came in third place on British
The X Factor. They auditioned for solo slots, but after guest judge and Pussycat Dolls lead singer Nicole Scherzinger suggested they sing together, they formed a super group.
Soon after, they toured for the TV show in Europe, released their debut album,
Up All Night, and are making girls all across the Atlantic go collectively bananas.
Now, it's time for their American invasion.
The Wanted: Much like American boy band 'N Sync, this group is a manufactured masterpiece. British and Irish singers auditioned and won slots to be in this boy band in 2010. They released their debut album
The Wanted, last year.
And now, they are also eliciting squeals on both sides of the ocean.
So, now you can sound cool the next time your daughter, or her friends, are bopping around to new pop songs.
Bieber is soooo 2011.
Here's the performance from One Direction on
SNL:
