:: scribbles ::

I am a "boyband" lover. I am not ashamed to admit it. I was a teenager in the late 90’s when boybands topped the charts and I will not deny that I love their songs while they lasted. Most of them don’t play instruments so they’re not really a "band" per se. But they can dance, sometimes sing and smile and that is enough to melt girls’ hearts, including mine. Don’t get me wrong, I love other artists since my taste for music is varied. There are just a few "boybands" that I really liked. Aside from the Backstreet Boys, I was introduced to a variety of British groups due to a pop magazine called Smash Hits!* before. My sis and I used to collect the issues and drool at those British cuties with their sappy love songs. We braved the far venues and the crowd of screaming fan girls just to see 911 (yes, there was a group called 911), Blue, Kavana (solo singer) and of course, my fave boyband of all, the Irish lads, Westlife. I used to know all bits of biographical info about each member. To think I read "Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom and "Angela’s Ashes" by Frank McCourt because they were fave books of Kian and Mark respectively. I knew we were crazy to "stalk" Westlife in the hotels they stayed when they were here but it was fun and I never regretted passing through that phase.

Now that we’re older, that genre faded away and was replaced by other artists and real bands. I only remember them when I see their videos, usually in music channels with programs showing "old" videos, listen to my old albums or see a message or two in my fanlistings. I still have two photo albums filled with Westlife pictures when we watched their first 2 concerts. There were no digital cameras available for the common people yet at that time. Most of the members of these boybands stopped being in the limelight and had their own families. Some of them went solo and maintained their popularity (like Robbie Williams of Take That, Justin Timberlake of N’Sync and Nick Lachey of 98 Degrees) Some of them came out of the closet and admitted they’re gay (like Lance Bass of N’Sync and Mark Feehily of Westlife- you broke my heart, Mark! Huhu!). Some of them still perform as a group (BSB, Westlife) but it’s not the same anymore. Their music is more mature now and of course, their audience is too. There are still loyal fans who would want to see them and scream for them and I will do anything to experience that again.

Tonight, Westlife will perform (again) here on Manila soil. It’s their 3rd concert. It was a short notice for me and I don’t even have a budget for the tickets. Due to inflation, the tickets are twice the price of that during their last concert a few years ago. I never thought I’d get to watch them. I joined in promos just to snag a free ticket but to no avail. Yes, it burned holes in my pocket but as they say, when there’s a will, there’s a way. The ticket I bought was one of the cheapest. I know I’ll not be able to see them up close again but I still enjoy their music (I’m even listening to their latest album now and I’m loving the songs) and that’s what matters now. My sister will not accompany me this time. Priorities change and she is busy with school work. Yes, I’m gonna watch it alone but I don’t care.

It makes me nostalgic just thinking about it now… but I’m still looking forward to tonight.

*from Wikipedia:
Smash Hits was a pop-music based children’s magazine, originally published in the United Kingdom. It ran from 1978 to 2006 and was issued fortnightly for most of that time. Spin off digital television, digital radio, and website services have survived the demise of the printed magazine.