A manufactured boyband has two objectives. In the short term, it is to sell as much āproductā ā from albums to dolls ā as possible. The longer-term aim is to achieve the kind of fame where the wider public can put names to the membersā faces, thus smoothing the way for post-band careers.
The Wanted, a British-Irish quintet who had helped revive the stagnant boyband sector in the early 2010s, did not quite reach that point. Despite having two UK No 1 singles with All Time Low and
Glad You Came, and
their own dolls, they were overshadowed by the juggernaut of One Direction and in 2014 announced a hiatus.
In the singer Tom Parkerās judgment, their time at the top had been ālike Beatlemaniaā, but that was an overestimate. When the hiatus turned out to be permanent, each of the band was left to find his own solo path, without much in the way of mass support.
www.theguardian.com
