uHollywood

In America, the 90’s teen pop scene had its beginnings in early 1997. Even though I was just out of college and had recently gotten married, and was really just outside the target market, I was still exposed to the music because I was following the pop charts on a rather regular basis.

It’s undeniable that the American teen pop scene of the 1990’s had its beginnings when the Spice Girls stormed onto the American pop charts with “Wannabe.” The Spice Girls presented a sound and image that was completelydifferent from the darker, alternative rock that had dominated the American music scene in the mid-1990’s. The Spice Girls had a look and image that just resonated with pre-teen and teen girls at the time. This was a time when the American pop scene was definitely trying to find a new direction to move in, and the Spice Girls hit at just the right time.

With the success of the Spice Girls, it helped a trio of teen/pre-teen brothers named Hanson receive airplay for their single, “MMMBop.” Like the Spice Girls, the trio shot up the charts and achieved phenomenal success with the single. That spring, the success for teen pop continued with the Backstreet Boys. Technically, they’d had a very minor top 40 hit in 1995 with, “We’ve Got it Goin’ On”; however, they didn’t achieve major success in the United States until the spring of 1997, when “Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)” became a hit. That same spring, Robyn (another artist with a teen pop sound) emerged, and had a massive hit with “Do You Know (What it Takes).”

Near the end of 1997, another boy band broke into the American pop charts, when *NSYNC’s “I Want You Back” became a hit. In 1998, Britney Spears made her mark on the pop charts with the song, “… Baby One More Time.” This was followed about six months later with Christina Aguilera making her debut with the song, “Genie in a Bottle.” Near the end of 1999, Jessica Simpson released her first single, “I Wanna Love You Forever,” and Mandy Moore released her debut single, “Candy.”

By the time the clock struck midnight on January 1, 2000, the only players in the 90’s teen pop scene to remain standing were the Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, Britney Spears, and Christina Aguilera. Technically, Jessica Simpson and Mandy Moore also carried into 2000, but these two ladies barely snuck into the 1990’s pop scene; more of their success came in the early 2000’s.

The teen pop sound of the late 1990’s did survive for about a couple of years in the 2000’s. However, as this decade has progressed, many of the artists and groups of the 90’s teen pop scene evolved their sound from teen pop to some other sound. *NSYNC’s Justin Timberlake went solo during the 2000’s; while the group has never officially announced that they have split up, all the members have spent several years pursuing various solo endeavors. Many of the artists and bands from the 90’s teen pop scene seemed to evolve into more of a rhythmic/R&B direction, but a few seem to be trying to move toward a more “adult contemporary” career. Mandy Moore and Jessica Simpson have been dabbling in acting, and it’s been reported that Jessica Simpson wants to record a country album.