You guys!!! For the past 10 weeks, we’ve had the chance to watch a group of young boys work their butts off as they competed for a spot in the newest boy band, which has now been revealed as IN REAL LIFE.
I started watching the show because I’m fascinated by the inner workings of these types of shows, and also because I grew up in the boy band era and simply can’t forget my roots! There was really no intention to continue watching past the first episode, but I got reeled in alongside my thirteen-year-old niece, Briana. I never would’ve imagined that I would become so invested in another boy band experiment, but this one was different to me.
All of the boys on the show ranged in age from 14-19 (after some 20-somethings had been eliminated) and had such a positivity about them that was infectious. These boys showed love to their families, they showed love and affection towards each other and aside from the MILD drama here and there behind the scenes, it was so refreshing to get caught up in something with some positivity. I can say that, personally, it’s brought a bonding between my niece, my mom & I that I appreciate so much. My niece was able to witness a group of people around her age that were working hard for something they really wanted to accomplish and never faltered in their love and respect for themselves or for others. A message I hope she retains for her own future.
I can’t say that the final band was my top 5 throughout the season though. Initially, our top 5 was JHype, Michael Conor, Chance, Drew and Mikey. When JHype (wrongfully) got eliminated, his spot on our list went to Marcus. However, that’s not to say that I’m upset about the final band either. I think any of the final 8 would have been a great addition. Jaden Gray has one of THE best voices I’ve ever heard and I truly hope he continues pursuing a career in music because it would be tragic if he didn’t. Marcus also has that star quality that I’m sure will drive his already budding solo career forward. We’re mostly sad for Mikey because I really think he fought for his spot in the band. After being in the bottom two (WRONGFULLY) twice, he still managed to win America over in the voting process and made it to the final 8. I was really hoping that they would add a 6th member to the band, but I’m just hoping he doesn’t give up on music because he’s such a personable and lovable kid with talent and the motivation to succeed. He definitely won us over, and we’ll continue to support anything he does after this.
With that being said…the final band is:
Chance Perez, Michael Conor, Drew Ramos, Brady Tutton and Sergio Calderon!!
You can watch their first performance of ‘Eyes Closed’ below. Keep in mind that they didn’t know who was in the band until right before this performance, so as each person was announced throughout the hour episode, they were given specific parts of the song that belonged to them on the final recording. Each person had to learn every part of the song in preparation for the final decision. I give them A TON of credit for knocking out this performance with so little mistakes! I can’t wait to see where this takes them, and here’s to hoping for a tour that reunites the boys with past contestants (:::cough cough::: JHype, Jaden, Mikey and Marcus)!! Here’s to also hoping that Timbaland and Justin Timberlake reach out to JHype too! lol.
Make sure to download the actual recording on whichever platform you use for downloading or streaming music too! Let’s get these boys some exposure!
According to Kristin 