Insomnia + Boyband Videos on YouTube = Nostalgia

A few nights ago, I couldn't sleep for no apparent reason. Giving up my lame attempt to get some sleep, I had this sudden urge to watch music videos of boybands from the 90's. I'm a 90's kid and I love boybands so I had a kick out of watching because every video brings back the bittersweet memories of my childhood, early adolescence and mid adolescence. Before I start pointing out the appropriate developmental task by Erik Erikson per stage, let me share my top five favorite videos I watched the other night:

 5. Code Red - What Good Is A Heart

Well, what can I say? One pretty boy, CHECK. That random guy who never gets to sing the lead, CHECK. Cheesy dance moves, CHECK. This video comes in complete in the boyband requirement even if they have four members only (standard is 5 members). It's nostalgic because as a high school freshman transferee at that time, coming from a very strict school, I don't get to see something as golden as high school senior dudes dancing to this in the exact choreography of this song.

 4. 911- How Do You Want Me To Love You

This song comes off from the band's second album. I liked their first album so I have high hopes for their second shot and I wasn't disappointed. This was nostalgic to me because I dance to this whenever I clean up my stuff in the room that my sister, Cha and I share. The cleaning part is so rare but the dancing comes in more often. Whatever, it makes me feel good despite the fact that I dance like a crippled dog.

3. LFO - Girl On TV

LFO, which stands for Lyte Funkie Ones, became my favorite boyband during the late 90's because of this song. This song is my most favorite among all of their songs and it's the reason why I bought their first album...in cassette format, which I still have up to this day. I remember at that time, Jennifer Love Hewitt's career was flying off the hook so I wasn't surprised that she was chosen to be the lead in this video. The reason why this song is memorable because the popularity of this song among my male classmates and my possession of the LFO album helped me to become as "one of the boys". It was an achievement for a socially awkward female transfer student during the formative years of adolescence, in which talking to strange boys could kill in an instant. LOL.

2. Boyzone - Isn't It A Wonder

The cool thing about boybands is that they can get away with matchy-matchy outfits and each member can still stand out in it. Take this example from the Irish boyband, Boyzone, who wore white tops with casual bottoms while cruising the dirt road to some town in a far off place. Ang gagwapo nilang lahat dito. Plus points for Keith Duffy for the motorcycle. But what the heck, I was in love with Ronan Keating. Hahaha. This is nostalgic to me because I was playing this song on the same day I heard the news that Stephen Gately died. </3


1. Backstreet Boys - Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)

Who could forget this video wherein the abs of your favorite Backstreet Boy (with the exception of Brian and Nick) are displayed for all the world to see? For the wholesome generation that we came from, this video is justthisclose to being scandalous. We're like: BACKSTREET BOYS, WHAT ARE YOU DOIN'? BACKSTREET BOYS, STAAAAHHHP! But we still watch it anyway...all for the love of BSB. My favorite memory of this video is that my sisters and I were checking out Nick Carter's boobs and crotch to confirm that he's not transgender nor a transvestite, as any 90's rumor would have it on pretty guys like poor Nick.

Runners-up are the following:

1. N'Sync - Bye Bye Bye

They've been touted as the "next Backstreet Boys" but personally, they have a different vibe from BSB so I thought that it was unfair to label N'Sync as such. Their music is more danceable than that of BSB so that's why it was the poster boyband for my schoolmates who loved to dance. Oh, and by the way, JT's macaroni hair comes in for the win!

2. 98 Degrees - I Do (Cherish You) --> Wedding song of the period
3. E-17 - Each Time --> ...I can't take all these goodbyes. LOL.
4. Damage - Forever  --> Nakaka-damage ng eardrums. READ: Overplayed ng mga nag-eemote kong schoolmate.
5. Caught In the Act - Let This Love Begin --> gyrating guys for the win!

There you go, these are my top five favorite boyband videos from the 90's. Care to share yours? Come on, don't be shy, we all have these jologs moments from our childhood. :)