I grew up during the peak of the boy band era. You know the one I’m talking about . . . the one where it was either *Nsync OR Backstreet Boys. The one where we had posters plastered to our walls like wallpaper and attempted dance moves in our living rooms. The one where we watched ‘Making the Band’ when O-Town was put together.
You know what New Kids On the Block, *Nsync, Backstreet Boys, O-Town, New Edition, 98 Degrees, etc. didn’t have?? A 14-year-old beatboxer who SLAYS.
Personally, I was an *Nsync girl because . . . Justin Timberlake, but I decided to check out an episode of ABC’s Boy Band just to see how the judging was handled even though Nick Carter was one of the architects (you can take the girl out of the boy band era, but you can’t take the boy band era out of the girl). My niece, who is 13 decided to watch it with me and that was a wrap. We both got sucked back into boy band land. Let me also state, for the record, that even the One Direction boys didn’t have the greatest auditions on X-Factor (at all), but Simon Cowell saw something in them that he thought would work as a boy band. Clearly, he was onto something because they grew into their voices and have all managed to put out great solo singles and records.
I want to start out by saying that I’ve always been a fan of hearing people beatbox because it’s just not something that everyone can do. We saw JHype’s audition for Boy Band, where Timbaland even went up on stage to join him and it was incredible. I’m not just saying that because he’s my niece’s favorite either. Here’s the audition:
Now, I can’t sit here and say that JHype ever had the best vocals on the show, but he had something that no one else had (aside from Michael Conor)–originality. My issue is that he knew he didn’t come into the competition as a singer and worked extra hard to improve, but even through all of his hard work and growth, Nick still knocked him down each week. No constructive criticism that he could take in and try to perfect, no recognition for the hard work he was putting in, nothing. The only person who gave him credit was Timbaland.
What should’ve been taken into consideration is that he was SO good at beatboxing and improving with vocals. Some of the guys only had vocals and even those weren’t consistently good over the past few weeks.
One comment that stands out in particular was when Nick said he was concerned that JHype didn’t have the tools they need to go deep into the competition. Are you kidding me?? Take a poll, sir! I don’t want another cookie-cutter boy band like all the ones we’ve had in the past. I think adding a rapper (Michael Conor) and JHype would be so interesting and different! I just didn’t appreciate that it sounded like Nick had it out for Jay from the very beginning. Stop telling him he has room for growth because they all do! I still do and I’m 33! Plus, let’s be real . . . Nick isn’t the best singer in BSB either, but they’re still relevant as a band! Now we can also add a lack of vision to that list.
With that being said, here is my ideal Top Five:
Chance, Drew, Marcus, Michael Conor and JHype
With JHype being gone now, here is my current Top Five:
Chance, Drew, Marcus, Michael Conor and Mikey
I know what you’re thinking . . . where’s Jaden?? I think Jaden is more of a soloist (and a bad-ass one at that), so I’d like to see him do his own thing. Hey, maybe he could collab with JHype & Miles!
It’s no secret that Jay will do big things now that his name is on the map and he has a strong fan base to keep that going. He would’ve been a GREAT addition, but I’m excited to see where he goes from here. Here’s to hoping that Timbaland and Justin Timberlake reach out and mentor him even further! The future is bright for him without a doubt. I can’t wait to see him prove Nick wrong!
On that note, here’s my favorite JHype performance on the show:
You can find JHype on social media here:
And while you’re at it, you can follow my niece on social media here:
According to Kristin 