Backstreet Boys were, in many ways, a contradictory band. Comprised entirely of white, middle-class Americans, the group sang a hybrid of new jack balladry, hip-hop, R&B, and dance club pop that originally found its greatest success in Canada and Europe, with their 1996 debut album charting in the Top Ten in nearly every country on the... [+] Read More

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More than any other single artist, Britney Spears was the driving force behind the return of teen pop in the late '90s. The blockbuster success of the Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys certainly paved the way for her own commercial breakthrough, but Spears didn't just become a star -- she was a bona fide pop phenomenon. Not only did she sell... [+] Read More

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Like the Backstreet Boys before them, the teenage male vocal group *NSYNC emerged from Orlando, FL; though formed in 1996, their roots trace back much earlier to singers JC Chasez and Justin Timberlake, who together previously co-starred on the Disney Channel's The Mickey Mouse Club before later relocating to Nashville, where they worked on solo... [+] Read More

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The sweet urban soul quartet 98° was formed in Los Angeles by four former Ohio residents: brothers Nick and Drew Lachey plus Jeff Timmons and Justin Jeffre. Timmons was trying to make it in the music industry, so he called Jeffre and Nick Lachey -- both former classmates at the Cincinnati School for Creative and Performing Artists -- and formed... [+] Read More

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In the five years that they've been together, Boyzone has risen to the top echelon of Ireland's pop music. Dubbed "most promising band of the year" by British magazine, Smash Hits in 1995, the group more than fulfilled predictions. Their first twelve singles reached the top five and they became the first Irish act to have four number one hits in... [+] Read More

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North London-based trio Busted first appeared in early 2002 with an audacious blend of BBMak and Boyzone called "What I Go to School For." The single's sugar high of saccharine pop-punk progressions, processed harmonies, and cheeky curse words ("I fought my way to the front of class/To get the best view of her ass") was a big hit with the kids,... [+] Read More

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After Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera was the most popular female singer of the late-'90s teen pop revival. Unlike many of her contemporaries, Aguilera was a technically skilled singer with a genuinely powerful voice, belting out her uptempo dance numbers and ballads with a diva's panache. Born Christina Maria Aguilera on December 18, 1980,... [+] Read More

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Prefab British dance-pop quintet Steps was assembled in 1997 from the thousands of applicants who responded to an advertisement placed in the magazine The Stage; in the wake of extensive auditions, singers Lisa Scott-Lee, Ian "H" Watkins, Claire Richards, Lee Latchford-Evans and Faye Tozer all made the final cut. Steps' debut single "5-6-7-8"... [+] Read More

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As the most popular teen pop sensation in Britain since the '60s, Take That ruled the U.K. charts during the first half of the '90s. In strict commercial terms, the band sold more records than any English act since the Beatles, though the cultural and musical importance was significantly less substantial. Conceived as a British answer to New... [+] Read More

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TLC were one of the biggest-selling female R&B groups of all time, riding a blend of pop, hip-hop, and urban soul to superstardom during the '90s. Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, rapper Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, and Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas managed to appeal equally to pop and R&B audiences, blending catchy hooks and bouncy funk with a sassy, sexy attitude.... [+] Read More

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