Duana and I don’t agree on much when it comes to fangirling. She’s Ray Romano and I’m Timothee Chalamet. She’s Spring Awakening and I’m BTS. But we do intersect somewhere and his name is Harry Styles. This surprised me. I’m more likely to get down with Harry than she is but there’s something about Harry for Duana and on this episode of Show Your Work, we break down how Harry’s been able to transition from One Direction to a successful solo career without alienating fans of the band while picking up new fans along the way. Spoiler: it has to do with the fact that he has no shame about his career origins. And that too is part of the conversation – because too often, the WORK that goes into being a teen idol is discounted.
For sure, there are major issues with young stardom and we’re not minimising them, but at the same time, that kind of environment can, when properly and responsibly managed, be the foundation for future work wins. So, really, talking about Harry just gave us an excuse to talk about boy bands past and present and analyse how the industry has changed and where Harry fits in to the pantheon.
Which means New Kids On The Block comes up. And Backstreet Boys. And *NSYNC. And … Take That! And more.
But let’s not forget about the women and girls. Because all of this applies to girl groups too, from the Spice Girls to Fifth Harmony. And speaking of Fifth Harmony, we end on Normani who finally commented on Camila Cabello in the new issue of Rolling Stone and Duana and I cannot say enough about what an excellent example of excellent work this was.
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