For the past half century, music groups consisting of young males known as “boy bands” have become a worldwide phenomenon. Though the term didn’t exist until the 1980’s, many consider The Beatles from the 1960’s were the first boy band. Following groups like The Monkees, Jackson 5, and Osmonds, the first modern boy band was New Kids On The Block. This led to a major surge of boy bands in the 1990’s, including Take That, The Backstreet Boys, and NSYNC. Unfortunately, their popularity started to fade into the early 2000’s, but soon reemerged as is with most trends. Soon, boy bands like The Jonas Brothers and One Direction gained popularity, with more soon to come. Many of these groups had ravenous fans, mostly young girls, that’re often ridiculed and judged for their musical taste. However, I Used to Be Normal: A Boyband Fangirl Story presents an alternate and open outlook.
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I Used to Be Normal: A Boyband Fangirl Story follows the lives of four women and their boyband obsessions. First, there’s Elif, a Turkish girl whose love of One Direction led to her being a viral hit on YouTube. Next, we follow Sadia, a Pakistani 20-something journalist who’s been obsessed with The Backstreet Boys since childhood and still today. We also meet Dara, an Australian woman fascinated by the band Take That, particularly with lead singer Gary Barlow. Finally, there’s the eldest of the four, Susan, a Melbourne-born TV producer with a life-long love of The Beatles. They each share stories of how these boybands have affected their lives, both the highs and the lows. In addition, they discuss how these boybands influenced major life-changing decisions, like Elif wanting to be a professional musician. Through everything in their lives, their love of boy bands is constant.
Growing up as a young man, I was definitely one of those who would ridicule boybands and their fans. I remember my sister was obsessed with The Jonas Brothers, even putting up posters of them all over her room. Even to this day, she’s still a huge fan, but thankfully she’s not as obsessed as she used to be. Having seen I Used to Be Normal: A Boyband Fangirl Story, I now have a better understanding of the fandom. Even if you’re not into boy bands, this documentary can apply to any ravenous fanbase of any medium. It’s honestly fascinating seeing how these boybands had such an impact on these women, even into their adulthood. There’s one part where Dara explains what she calls the “Boyband Theory”, which perfectly breaks down what makes a boyband. It’s probably the most intelligent discussion someone’s ever had about boybands.
While I Used to Be Normal: A Boyband Fangirl Story is endearing, there are some things I wish were covered. For one, the documentary doesn’t really touch on how many of these boybands are almost designed by committee. They somewhat hint at this with the “Boyband Theory”, but the film never goes any further than discussing similar traits. Also, the film glosses over many of the darker aspects of these boybands, whether it’s poor management, substance abuse, etc. Some of these issues are touched upon, like band break-ups and members being admitted to rehab, but not much else. Granted, the focus of this is more showing the impact these bands have had, and in that aspect, it works. At the end of the day, this is still an intimate, thoughtful, and non-judgmental look at boyband fandom. Overall, I Used to Be Normal: A Boyband Fangirl Story is a worthwhile watch.
The film will be available to watch on September 17th on the following:
- Amazon
- inDemand
- DirecTV
- Hoopla
- Vimeo on Demand
- AT&T
- FlixFing
- Vudu
- FANDANGO
- Sling/Dish
