Nowadays the charts may be dominated by solo artists, from the "pop girlies" to rap and country superstars, but for a long time, pop groups reigned supreme on the radio. K-pop idols have filled that void, as did the U.K.'s One Direction for a period in the 2010s, but at least stateside, girl groups and boy bands haven't nearly been as popular in recent years as they were in the '80s, '90s, and '00s.
The gaggles of gorgeous, young entertainers had incredible musical and dancing abilities—bonus points for coordinating outfits. With a personality for each member (there was always a Bad Girl, like Aubrey O’Day, or a Pretty Boy, like Justin Timberlake, to speak of), some had a good long run at the top of the charts, while others boasted just one absolute bop of a jam before fading into obscurity as the best pop group you may have forgotten about.
As it turns out, however, there's nothing more fun than revisiting the hits they gifted us throughout the ‘80s, ‘90s, and early aughts that you didn't even realize you still knew all the words to. Get ready to create a new Spotify playlist stat because these will take you back. Below, walk down memory lane and revisit the best pop groups you may not remember.
Nowadays, you probably know Nick Lachey from reality shows like Perfect Match and The Ultimatum, but his band 98 Degrees, which Lachey’s brother Drew was also a member of, preceded it all. For all their efforts, (remember when they recorded a song for the Mulan soundtrack?) though, they never quite achieved the same level as their contemporaries, like *NSYNC or the Backstreet Boys.
Fact: If you’re not still blasting 702's extremely dope 1999 friendship jam "Where My Girls At" on the reg, you’re missing out. Named for the Las Vegas area code, which is where this trio is from, 702 was a flash in the pan, to be sure—we can’t name a single song they sing apart from their signature track. The gals made the most of their 15 minutes, though, appearing on iconic Black TV sitcoms like Sister, Sister and Moesha before breaking up in 2005.
Technically, this one shouldn't count, since 2gether wasn’t even a real band, but a parody group put together for a made-for-MTV movie that satirized the entire nature of the boy band machine. But their single "U + Me = Us (Calculus)" was so damn relentlessly catchy, it rivaled some of the era’s actual greats. Tragically, Michael Cuccione who played “QT” McKnight (a.k.a. “the cute one”), died of cancer in 2001 eight days after his 16th birthday.
Adrienne Bailon-Houghton is a brand unto herself. A co-host of The Real, she was also a recurring face on the early seasons of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, thanks to her relationship with Rob. But her road to fame began back in 1999 with a girl group called 3LW. Together with Kiely Williams and Naturi Naughton, she was responsible for the extremely catchy hit "No More (Baby I'ma Do Right)." (It’s all coming back to us now.)
Considering that the A*Teens are from Sweden, it’s no surprise they started as an ABBA cover band. Things progressed from there, with the group landing an original hit in "Upside Down" and contributing a poppy cover of "Can't Help Falling in Love" to the Lilo and Stitch soundtrack, but that's about as far as they got.
Not since ABBA has a Swedish pop group had such a collective chokehold on America. Siblings Jonas, Malin “Linn” and Jenny Berggren teamed up with Ulf Ekberg in 1987 to become an absolute supergroup that would worm its way into our brains for years to come with such ear candy as “The Sign,” “Don’t Turn Around” and “All That She Wants.” Though they went their separate ways in the end, with the group changing members several times, we’re holding out hope for an OG reunion—particularly since AOB was inducted into the Swedish Music Hall of Fame in September 2024.
Though their lewk is very Tim & Eric, All-4-One's slow jam "I Swear" will perennially be a top request on wedding playlists the country over. It wasn’t the group’s only romantic dirge, either: "I Can Love You Like That?" Come on! More recently, All-4-One released a perfectly respectable album in 2015 called Twenty+. Fitting.
Not to be confused with the European clothing label of the same name, British girl group All Saints had some killer harmonies and a cheekily melodramatic sensibility, as demonstrated by their partially spoken word hit, "Never Ever.” And just when you thought they were destined for one-hit wonder territory, they released the most popular song of their career, “Pure Shores,” for Leonardo DiCaprio’s The Beach.
Allure put their harmonizing talents to good use in their heyday, collaborating with some of the biggest names in the biz courtesy of their label, Mariah Carey’s Crave. Their debut, “Head Over Heels,” was with rap royalty NAS, while their second song, “No Question,” featured none other than LL Cool J. “All Cried Out" with 112 was the New York–based R&B group's biggest success, though they also had a soundtrack credit with 50 Cent. However, when Crave went the way of the cassette, so did Allure’s days at the top of the charts.
Sisters Aly & AJ Michalka were just 15 and 13-years-old when their debut album Into the Rush was released. They initially had a little help navigating the pop scene from Disney (their single “No One” was featured in Ice Princess), but it was the earworm “Potential Breakup Song” from their third studio album that made them legit. The teen stars also acted on Disney Channel hits and movies—though music has remained their focus. The duo has dropped some of their most impressive work in recent years (2023's With Love From is a fan-favorite), frequently headlines their own club tours, and opens for A-listers, like Kelsea Ballerini.
Call them a one-hit wonder, but one hit was all that this Europop band needed to cement their place in musical history. Yes, friends, we’re talking about Aqua and their mega-smash “Barbie Girl,” the undisputed theme song of 1997. (And more recently, in 2023, thanks to it being sampled on Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice's track “Barbie World” off the Barbie soundtrack). Who needs staying power when you’ve got everyone and their brother singing NSFW lyrics about America’s favorite doll? (A true moment, folks.)
Sure, Atomic Kitten may have Blondie to thank for their crossover smash: Their catchy cover of "The Tide Is High (Get the Feeling)" even made it into The Lizzie McGuire Movie. They had plenty of their own material to carry them through the next two decades, however (even if we don't exactly remember most of it): Founding member Natasha Hamilton only just left the group after 26 years in October 2024.
B2K, or Boys of the New Millennium, debuted in 2000. The group was known for fusing the boy band pop craze with genres like hip hop and R&B. They broke up in 2004, but not before releasing a hit called "Bump, Bump, Bump" in 2002.
By far the most Irish of our forgotten pop bands, B*Witched, which had a good run from 1997 to 2002, landed itself a massive hit with "C'est La Vie," the video for which involved —you guessed it!—step-dancing. Though most of us have forgotten about the group and the rest of its catalog until this very moment, fans of Hulu’s comedy series Pen15 got a fun little reminder.
Long before Taylor Swift sold out stadiums with her track “Cruel Summer,” Bananarama was performing a song of the same name for their adoring fans in the U.K. It wasn’t their only hit track: As of 2022, the group, which has been going strong since the ‘80s, reportedly earned a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for most-ever chart entries by an all-female group. (They also smashed the record for the world’s highest-ever performed gig with Go West while flying 43,000 feet in the air on a Boeing 767, but that’s neither here nor there.)
Imagine being so captivating, that you inspire Prince to write a song. And not just any song: "Manic Monday." Thus is the story of The Bangles, a.k.a. one of the 1980’s biggest gifts to music. Even if you’ve forgotten just how good their other singles, like “Hazy Shade of Winter” and “Eternal Flame” were, you’re bound to remember the goofy dance craze they had seemingly everyone in New York doing for their 1986 music video for “Walk Like an Egyptian.”
British group BBMAK sold millions of albums, largely on the basis of their hits "Back Here," “Still on Your Side” and “Ghost of You and Me," between 1999 and 2003. They also had a role in Even Stevens. Though they didn’t have dance moves like BSB, with those harmonies, they didn’t need to.
Blaque was everywhere in the late ‘90s and early aughts. If their hits “Bring It All to Me” and “808” weren’t blasting from your speakers, you were watching them star as cheerleaders on Isis's (Gabrielle Union) squad in the iconic '90s movie Bring It On. The group disbanded in 2008, and though there were plans for a reunion, it was ultimately cut short when member Natina Reed tragically passed away in a 2012 car crash.
Full disclosure? We mostly know Blue as the band competing with Bill Nighy's Billy Mack character for the number one holiday album in Love Actually. Nevertheless, Blue's (real) songs "All Rise" and "Best In Me" make for some of the best boy band pop of the early aughts.
There wasn’t a middle school dance in the country that wasn’t blasting one of Boyz II Men’s many bangers between 1991, when the group’s debut album Cooleyhighharmony first dropped, and 1996, when they were battling Whitney Houston for the top of the charts. The trio may no longer be at the forefront of our memories, but you better believe we can still belt out “On Bended Knee" on command.
Boyzone was another boy band that was much bigger in Europe than in the U.S. Put together by Louis Walsh (the same man behind Westlife), this under-the-radar band had a longer run than most, with seven studio albums under their belt. Member Ronan Keating fared even better: He’s still a celeb across the pond for his music and philanthropy. (And also, we assume, his designation as a stone-cold fox.)
We’re going to let you in on a dirty little secret: The Jonas Brothers stole “Year 3000” from these British lads from across the pond—and their cover isn’t nearly as good. (We said what we said.) In addition to spoon-feeding hits to the JoBros, this three-piece, which sounds like a cross between BBMAK and blink-182, is known for its ultra-catchy bops with ultra-goofy lyrics. (See: “Crashed The Wedding.”)
In 2002, Disney put together a girl group for its original movie The Cheetah Girls featuring 3LW alums Adrienne Bailon-Houghton and Kiely Williams, plus Sabrina Bryan and That's So Raven alum Raven-Symoné. The movie was a hit and spawned multiple sequels—leading to three successful albums, a YA book series, and a clothing line. There were even dolls! (You know you’ve made it when you’ve got a plastic mini-me.)
Thanks to the Queen of Pop Madonna herself, who signed this group to her own Maverick records, "Cleopatra's Theme" ("Cleopatra/Comin' atcha!") not only became the soundtrack to the aptly named show Comin’ Atcha!, but to our entire lives in 1999. Needless to say, the U.K. trio rose fast, hitting the U.S. Billboard charts and TRL (remember TRL?!). They even had their own Disney Channel concert special, "Cleopatra in Concert." Their star fell just as fast, though, and by the 2000s, they were donezo.
The Clique Girlz had their moment of pop fame before they were even teenagers with the release of their only studio album, Incredible. The group featured two sisters—Destinee and Paris Monroe—and their friend Ariel Moore. Though they were poised to hit it big with their song "Then I Woke Up,” opening up for the likes of The Backstreet Boys and the Jonas Brothers, their success was short-lived: Moore left the group in 2009, and Destinee and Paris went on to do their own thing—namely, a pop duo called Destinee & Paris.
At the height of their popularity in 1992, Color Me Badd was featured on an episode of 90210—the original, not even the reboot—which was a huge deal back then. Formed in the '80s, their first hit didn’t come for roughly a decade with the subtly named classic “I Wanna Sex You Up,” but they scored a few more chart-toppers after, including “All4 Love” and “I Adore Mi Amor.”
Five years after O-Town made its mark on the pop scene, Making the Band struck gold again in 2005 with American girl group Danity Kane. The girls’ debut album featured the somewhat forgettable songs "Show Stopper" and "Ride for You," but it did bring us reality TV star Aubrey O’Day, which is really all that matters.
Okay, sure, we all remember the three-member version of Destiny's Child, but what about the original quartet? The group's founding members consisted of Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, LeToya Luckett, and LaTavia Roberson, but Luckett and Roberson left for greener pastures just before the group hit it big with “Say My Name.” (We know—we're gasping, too.)
You might not even remember Dream’s name, but we bet you remember the hook of the band’s extremely iconic 2001 hit "He Loves U Not.” Not for no good reason, either: Back then, you couldn't throw a rock at a Limited Too without hearing it. Alas, OG members Holly Blake-Arnstein, Melissa Schuman, Ashley Poole, and Alex Chester eventually split up, and while they briefly reunited in 2015, not much came of it.
Dream Street was late to the boy band hype, but got a substantial boost from kids' channels like Disney and Nickelodeon for songs like "It Happens Every Time." Now, it’s best known for launching the career of Jesse McCartney, whose "Beautiful Soul" is still just an absolute jam. Thanks, Dream Street!
This girl group formed before our eyes on the 2000 WB singing competition Popstars. Though they enjoyed moderate success with their hit song "Get Over Yourself,” things went downhill for the group when standout singer Nicole Scherzinger left the band after two years to front the Pussycat Dolls.
The R&B/pop girl group is better known than most: They were one of the biggest groups of the ‘90 thanks to their empowerment anthems like “Free Your Mind” and “Never Gonna Get It.” The song "My Lovin" from their second album, Funky Divas, reached No. 2 on the Billboard Chart, and they were nominated for a whopping seven Grammys. Don't worry if none of this rings a bell: En Vogue re-released their debut album for their 30th anniversary, allowing for a new generation of fans.
The British boy band Five came up in the Peak Boy Band period of the late ‘90s. Though they were much bigger in England, which seemed more susceptible to Boy Band Fever than the U.S., their stateside hits included the still-catchy "It’s the Things You Do" and "When The Lights Go Out."
The definition of guilty pleasure, this frothy lineup was created in 2002 from contestants on the ITV show Popstars: The Rivals. The winners, which included future X Factor judge and singer Cheryl (formerly Cole), produced hits in the U.K. with “Sound of the Underground,” “The Promise,” and “Love Machine." They also garnered such fans as U2’s Bono and Coldplay’s Chris Martin (yes, really). Though they’re lesser known in the States, there’s still plenty of time to become a fan—their last tour was in summer 2024.
The Go-Go's were like the Spice Girls of their era. They had five girls, killer style, and a cool girl Victoria Beckham type (Belinda Carlisle) whose star shone too bright not to strike out on her own. Still, it was a whole lot of fun while it lasted (mainly from 1981 to 1983), and tracks like “We Got the Beat,” “Vacation,” and “Our Lips Are Sealed” still live in our heads rent-free all day after coming on the radio.
We’d be remiss not to remind you of when three brothers named Isaac, Taylor, and Zac took over the world with a little ditty called “MMMBop”—all before age 20. Their debut music video, filmed when the boys were just 16, 14, and 11, took the music industry by storm, reportedly selling 10 million copies worldwide. However, their subsequent singles never saw the same success, and they were relegated to the Disney special circuit.
No one could fault you for forgetting Immature’s name—the band has nixed it from their lexicon, opting to go by IMx instead. Regardless of what you call them, though, Immature had some serious swagger, as seen in their incredible All That performance in the Kel Mitchell sketch, "The Okrah Show." Who would’ve guessed that Roger from Sister, Sister, a.k.a. the group’s own Marques Houston, had those pipes?
LFO's two monster hits—"Summer Girls" and "Girl on TV"—were so pervasive in the summer of 1999 that even Jennifer Love Hewitt took note, starring in the music video for the latter. (Her then-boyfriend Rich Cronin did write it about her, after all.) Sadly, two of the Lyte Funkie One’s original three members, including Cronin and Devin Lima, have died since the group's inception. But their music, with its references to throwbacks like Abercrombie & Fitch and Fun Dip, lives on, serving as a time capsule for the handful of listeners (us) who can't seem to forget it.
Liberty X, a British co-ed group that was like a sexed-up S Club 7, landed in the U.K. and pretty much stayed there. Still, their hit "Just a Little" might ring a bell if you went for breadth instead of depth with your pop music exploration circa 2001.
Childhood friends Marit Larsen and Marion Raven, better known as Norwegian pop duo M2M, were fixtures on Disney Channel original movie soundtracks courtesy of tunes such as "Don't Say You Love Me," "Pretty Boy," and "The Day You Went Away." Their union didn't last—they disbanded in 2002 after just two studio albums—but their musical inclinations remained intact: Both Larsen and Raven have had solid solo careers in Norway since.
The Moffatts were kind of like the Canadian Hanson. Their lineup even included a set of triplets in brothers Bob, Clint, and Dave. The similarities end there, however, as these brothers never quite hit the same stride as their American counterparts. Still, the siblings, who started making music together around 6 or 7, enjoyed a modest wave of triumph in the 1990s after reportedly becoming the youngest band to ever land a major record deal. They've since gone to do their own thing, but they’ll always have “Miss You Like Crazy”—and so will we.
Bobby Brown started New Edition in the late 1970s, but the group remained relevant throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s, too. Their synchronized moves and matching 'fits provided a blueprint for other R&B acts, like Boyz II Men, 112, and Jagged Edge, and boy bands in general. (New Edition’s producer, Maurice Starr, went on to form New Kids on the Block after parting ways with NE.) At the height of its fame, New Edition even had Madonna (!) opening up for them. If you’ll excuse us, we’ll just be over here, humming "Cool It Now."
Listen up, youngins: New Kids On The Block flew so the Backstreet Boys (and *NSYNC. And 98 Degrees. And One Direction) could soar. The forefathers of boy bands, Jonathan and Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and Donnie Wood had the merch, the moves (“You Got It" (The Right Stuff)” dance deserves its own Wikipedia entry), and the fan base to put any modern-day lineup to shame. More importantly, they had the bops: Between “Hangin’ Tough,” “Step by Step,” and “I’ll Be Loving You,” teenage girls in the ‘80s never stood a chance. (Cue the swoons.)
Musical groups launched by TV shows may be old hat now thanks to American Idol and The Voice, but when Making the Band first launched the career of O-Town in 2000, it felt like lightning in a bottle—particularly when the band began to experience real post-series success. Even more surprising? The lyrical content behind their big hit, "Liquid Dreams,” which is essentially about nocturnal emissions. We’re going to chalk this one's success up to that Ashley Parker Angel charm.
If Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake's matching denim outfits at the 2001 American Music Awards were transmuted to a singing group, it would be Play. Hailing from Sweden (the country was basically mass-producing pop groups in the early aughts), Play was a late-era girl group that nevertheless raged. The proof? Their single "Us Against The World" was on the Lizzie McGuire soundtrack, so you know it was legit.
This group, which reigned supreme on the airwaves from 2005 to 2009, was what you call a triple threat. They could act (several of the group’s members appeared in Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle alongside Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Lucy Liu), dance (they started as a burlesque dance troupe, after all), and, thanks to the addition of Nicole Scherzinger in 2003, they could also most definitely sing. Fun fact? Carmen Electra and Christina Applegate—yes, we’re talking Kelly Bundy, people—performed with the group before singles like “Buttons,” “Stickwitu,” and “Dont Cha” were blowing up the charts.
Roxette was the driving force behind the belt-worthy "It Must Have Been Love," which plays softly in the background as Julia Roberts’ car pulls away from the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in the iconic rom-com Pretty Woman. It wasn't their only jam, either. This pop duo consisting of Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle dominated the airwaves in the late ‘80s with its irresistible hooks ("The Look ?" "Listen to Your Heart?") and we do mean dominated—they’re considered the second best-selling Swedish music act of all time, right behind ABBA.
S Club (formerly known as S Club 7) was a manufactured pop group in the vein of many others circa 1999 to 2003. However, every member was compelling—especially on the fictionalized show about the group, in which they all played themselves—that they're better remembered than the others. (Though still forgotten enough to make our list). "Bring It All Back" is the one you may have recognized on the band’s 2015 reunion tour, which was named after the track.
Okay, so Australian duo Savage Garden is probably too popular to be on this list (one of them may have even actually played an instrument or two), but in case you had somehow gotten a moment of reprieve from that “Chica Cherry Cola” line from their song "I Want You," we’re here to restart the cycle. And it doesn’t matter that the twosome disbanded in 2001, ‘cause we’ll be ugly crying to “Truly Madly Deeply” until the end of time.
The aural equivalent of bleached tips, SoulDecision put us through the wringer with "Faded." Once you heard it, the lyrics seemingly downloaded themselves into your brain. Though we never exactly listened to this song on purpose, somehow, some way, it just became a part of our communal DNA. Might as well embrace the madness and make it our next karaoke anthem…
British dance group Steps was around from 1997 to 2001. In case you're not familiar, they were behind the hilarious line-dancing anthem "5, 6, 7, 8,” the chorus of which includes the phrase "my boot-scootin' baby." It's deeply annoying, and yet you won't be able to unhear it. It seems at least partially inspired by the perennial Rednex dance hit "Cotton Eye Joe," which is a really sad sentence to type.
England pop fans were a bit more taken with Sugababes’ 2000 debut than the U.S., which is a shame because these songs hold up. Their catchy track "Overload" still feels relevant, and 2005's "Push The Button" is a certifiable bop. Sadly, following the systematic departures of the original members over several years, the group eventually called it quits in 2011.
If ever you’ve hummed along to the song “Weak” (“I get so weak in the knees I can hardly breathe,”), you have SWV to thank. Short for Sisters With Voices, the trio of Coko, Taj, and Lelee is a vocal trio that’s been at it since the early ‘90s. After a brief hiatus in 1998, they got back together in 2005 and have been recording ever since, but have never managed to match the hit-making status they wielded in 1992.
Take That never really stopped recording excellent pop jams, even after the success of their third studio smash, 1995’s Nobody Else, which spawned the classic boy band tune "Back For Good.” Even the departure of band-member-turned soloist extraordinaire Robbie Williams couldn’t stop them—rather, they even lured Williams back in for a solid stretch in the mid-aughts.
Oh, t.A.T.u. Though they had a pretty big hit with the goth-y "All the Things You Said," this Russian duo is mostly remembered for faking a lesbian relationship to gain publicity. The girls later admitted to the scam in a 2003 documentary, and their career as pop stars went the way of their relationship—a.k.a. kablooey.
Honestly, if you don’t know about the glory that was TLC in the ‘90s, we’re not sure you’re from this planet. Between “Waterfalls,” “No Scrubs,” and “Diggin’ on You” (to name a few), this three-piece was a bonafide hit factory, becoming the second best-selling girl group in history. But after Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes tragically died in a 2002 car accident, their star dimmed just enough that you might just need a tiny reminder of their sheer greatness. (Hint: This is it.)
This Irish boy band had a surprising amount of staying power across the pond—even if they were more of a blip in the U.S. Their first album, 1999's Westlife, which included the ultra-catchy single "Swear It Again," put them on the map, where they stayed around until 2012. At that point, member Brian McFadden departed for a solo career. Apparently, they're still kicking without him, though! (Good for Westlife!)
Before she was Fergie Ferg, she was better known as Stacy “Fergie” Ferguson, one-third of the milquetoast girl group Wild Orchid. Their single “Talk to Me” got some radio play, but the band seemingly got more of a push for hosting Great Pretenders, the hilarious lip-syncing competition reality TV show that, come to think of it, is probably owed royalties by RuPaul's Drag Race.
The limelight found its way to Wilson Phillips before the trio ever sang a note: Sisters Carnie and Wendy are the daughters of Beach Boys legend Brian Wilson, while bandmate Chynna Phillips is the daughter of rock royalty Michelle Williams and John Phillips of The Mamas and the Papas. Nepo babies, these were not, however. Absolute bangers like ”Hold On” and “You’re in Love” were more than enough to carry them through the decade (and into the 2010s, thanks to a hilarious cameo in Bridesmaids).
On the heels of BSB and *NSYNC, Youngstown formed in 1998 and ultimately padded the soundtracks of our favorite 2000s movies, from The Princess Diaries to Inspector Gadget. The group's biggest hit, "I'll Be Your Everything," came off their album Let's Roll, but failed to make them international megastars.
