So Hometown are doing pretty well aren’t they!?
Louis Walsh’s latest project – six young fellas mostly from the countryside (one is from Tallaght) – have been making waves on the music scene since they made their Late Late Show debut last year and have nabbed a couple of number 1 hits since.
Are they the next big thing? We decided to look back on the hottest boyfriends to come from Irish soil…whether they were MEGA famous or a flash in the pan.
Boyzone
Ronan Keating & co, similar to Hometown, made their debut on Ireland’s biggest chat show – but with definitively cringier results. Back in ’93, the new group pranced about like lunatics wearing shirtless dungarees and questionable hats in front of a VERY bemused audience – the clip probably still haunts the lads today. Despite this they went onto huge success, selling millions of records and recently reuniting (without the sadly deceased Stephen Gately) to release new music and go on tour.
Westlife
We don’t know about you, but when we think boyband, the mind automatically wanders to the slick bubblegum pop that was Westlife. The group formed in 1998 and created a diehard fanbase – in total they sold over 50 million records worldwide. They disbanded in June 2012, but hopes for a reunion remained– until Kian quashed them recently by saying “not a chicken’s chance in Thailand’ would it happen. Boo!
D-Side
Launched in 2001, this fivesome became a threesome pretty quickly when two members left for ‘personal reasons’. D-Side had three Top 10 singles in the UK, and supported huge bands like Blue and Westlife during their short time together. Their real success came from Japan though, where they got their only number 1 single – they even released a greatest hits compilation album over there!
Mytown
You might just recognise two of the members of this RnB group from the late 90s/early 2000s – it’s none other than The Script’s Danny O’Donoghue & Mark Sheehan! Back in 2000, Mytown were described as Ireland’s answer to Backstreet Boys and ‘N Sync….errr, not quite. They did enjoy some moderate success though, but yeah, The Script are probably faring a tad bit better.
OTT
Do you remember Adam, Alan, Niall and Glen, with their amazing nineties haircuts!?
The band were signed to Sony Music and had a number of chart hits in Ireland and the UK, but were again, mostly popular in Asia….what’s that all about!? You might remember such gems like ‘Let Me In’, which featured a music video involving the standard awkward dance moves, open shirts and bare chests. A true classic.