While ’serious’ music fans pray for the day when boy bands and their female counterparts combust, the music industry throws the naysayers another curve ball. Despite the prediction that the careers of the Backstreet Boys, N Sync and 98 Degrees have peaked, along comes a group of singing and dancing TV babes who put things back in focus.

?Popstars? and ?Popstars 2? are the names given to the reality-based TV shows where a crop of young wannabes compete for the chance to become…well…popstars. A European phenomenon for years now, the shows had become ratings grabbers when the U.S and Canada each launched their own versions in 2001.

EDEN’S CRUSH: Before you could say, ‘cross-promotion’, The WB handpicked 5 young female hopefuls who became Eden’s Crush last year. They had a moderately successful CD and a top-selling debut single with ‘Get Over Yourself’. It seems as if the public may have done just that, as far as their loyalty to the group is concerned. Despite a publicity campaign that kicked into overdrive with the launch of their careers, things seemed to have cooled off since then. While we watched them gyrate and shimmy through the video for that song, the lack of another hit may have put them into the ‘one hit wonder’ category. A visit to their official website,(www.edenscrush.com), does little to shed light on the future of the group. But their message board may help add fuel to the fire. When I attempt to access it…it comes up with the words, ‘No longer available.’ Could this be a comment on the group as well?

SUGAR JONES: Not to be outdone, Canada launched Sugar Jones that same year. The group has had success with two hit singles and a Juno nomination, but 2002 saw them losing a member. Maiko quietly left the group in favor of going on tour as a back-up singer for her husband Remy Shand. No official statement has come from the group about this recent change, and there is no telling how it will affect their future. There may be trouble in paradise when a member of a year-old group leaves such an enviable position so soon after their inception. Could their sugar have turned sour?

SCENE 23: With the success of ?Popstars,? why not launch another version in 2002? This time around it was a unisex group of hopefuls for Popstars 2. The U.S gave us Scene 23, a multi-racial group of under-25’s who seemed poised to make a splash on the music scene. But after the launch of the TV show, something happened: Nothing. It may just have been a lack of interest from the public or a marketing campaign that went south, but the groups CD and single failed to chart on Billboard. Ironically enough, their website message board has suffered the same fate as that of Eden’s Crush. The words, ‘No longer available’, is all that shows up. Could the fate of Scene 23 be ‘exit stage left’ in the near future?

VELVET EMPIRE: Dubbed, ‘Boy Meets Girl’, by the people behind the group, this newly formed Canadian 5-some have a lot of hype on their side. Their debut single, ‘Frontin’ On Me’, has gotten a lot of radio play and the group is currently on a cross-Canada promotional tour. It is too soon to predict what their future holds, but check back with me the same time next year.

Had enough? Catch your breath for a moment because this genre doesn’t seem to be a dying breed. The U.S will soon be launching their search for a solo popstar and Canada will soon follow later in the year. ?Popstars 1? and ?Popstars 2? have the added bonus that those current boy bands, (minus O-Town), and girls don’t have: their life laid out for public consumption on a weekly TV series. Merging music with real life drama has, in some cases, gone successfully hand in hand, but it is anyone’s guess how long it will continue to flourish.






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