The Big Reunion Returns Pop Stars to the Limelight

So, I’m kinda burnt out right now. I’ve been binge-consuming media, and that always leaves me feeling empty. Over the weekend, I binge-read the Vertigo series Scalped, and I’ll probably do an Adventures West Coast post on it one of these days. After that, it turned out my work computer had a virus on it, leaving me with 2 days and an iPad to do nothing. While researching the reunion of UK pop group Steps, I learned that the UK has been on quite the pop reunion kick as of late. It turns out that there was a show earlier this year, called The Big Reunion, which reunited 6 pop groups from the ’90s and ’00s, including 5ive, Atomic Kitten, The Honeyz, Liberty X, 911, and B*Witched. If you were a casual pop fan, or just anyone with a radio in 1999, then you at least know 5ive and B*Witched. The others never really made it across the pond, but I knew about them. Anyway, I had 8 hrs and nothing to do, so I binge-watched the entire The Big Reunion season on YouTube. On the show, the members had to confront the issues they’d had since breaking up, then they had to train with choreographers and a vocal coach for what was supposed to be one big reunion concert (which later turned into an arena tour). Anyway, now I’ve got pop on the brain, and I figured I’d do some thinking out loud, and bring you along for the ride.

5ive

5ive were basically *NSYNC with accents. They were a little more rough around the edges, but had the same songwriters and producers. Their biggest hit in the US was “When The Lights Go Out:

On the show, only 4 of the guys agreed to come back. They tried to audition other people to fill that fifth spot, but they end up just staying a 4-piece. Or, 4our, if you will. Like most boybands, most of them suffered from substance abuse and/or depression, but most of them are all happy family men at this point.

Atomic Kitten

These girls never made it to these shores, but think of the Spice Girls as a trio, without the whole “spice” gimmick. That’s Atomic Kitten. Their big breakout hit was “Right Now”:

Who can guess which one was my favorite? This group’s important to me because group member Kerry Katona married Brian McFadden of Westlife – my favorite group in the world. Then he cheated on her with a stripper or something…On the show, AK didn’t have much drama to deal with as they didn’t have an acrimonious breakup. Kerry had actually left the group before it exploded, but she’d gone on to being a reality show fixture. They replaced her and became megastars. Still, Kerry didn’t seem bitter, and they got along like no time had passed.

The Honeyz

This group never really went anywhere, as their lineup wouldn’t stick long enough for them to accomplish anything. Their biggest hit was “Finally Found” – which doesn’t even exist on YouTube. That’s how obscure they are. They were meant to be the UK’s answer to Destiny’s Child, but they just couldn’t pull it off. I only liked them because at one time, Mariama Goodman was a member of the group, and she’d formerly been in a little known pop group I loved called Solid HarmoniE. Anyway, let’s skip to the next group.

Liberty X

Before American Idol, there was Pop Idol. And there was also Popstars (which we eventually got, only hosted by David Foster. Anyone remember Eden’s Crush?). The five contestants who were eliminated from the top 10 decided to form their own group. Of course, no one took them seriously, and dubbed them “the Flopstars”. It wasn’t until their hit “Just A Little” that they started getting the respect they deserved:

On the show, we find out that they never really broke up, but rather fizzled out. They took a break, and the public forgot about them. They didn’t have any drama to overcome as a group, but resident bad girl Michelle was about to undergo a double mastectomy weeks before the reunion, so we’re with her as she deals with that.

911

911 made a tiny little dent in the US, via a direct to video movie called Casper: A Spirited Beginning. As a prequel to the Casper movie, the soundtrack included the song “Love Sensation” by 911. I remember Fox Kids used to show the video, and I fell in love with the 30 second snippet they used to play. Across the pond, however, 911 was a huge deal in the late 90s, as a sort of successor to Take That (“Back For Good”). Their breakout hit in the UK was “Bodyshakin'”:

They had the typical drugs/depression story, but there was another angle here: lead singer Lee Brennan had been in a 10 year relationship (6 of those years married) to Lindsay Armaou – the cutest member of B*Witched. They had actually split up a year before The Big Reunion, so let’s just say that things were awk-ward! I felt really bad for Lee, ’cause he kept saying they’d mutually decided to split, but he said he’d take her back if she said that’s what she wanted. She, on the other hand, maintained that they were *just friends*. Not only had cute Lindsay grown into a gorgeous Lacey Chabert clone, but I REALLY want them to get back together. I don’t think I’ve ever shipped anyone as hard as I ship those two. They need to be together. I’m actually losing sleep over this!

B*Witched

Well, we’ve already covered Lindsay, but she and the rest of B*Witched were known for being perky lasses with a penchant for denim. Their big hit over here was C’est La Vie:

These girls had a TON of drama, as they all felt they’d been steamrolled by lead vocalist Edele. They all wanted a shot at singing lead, but the label had decided that Edele would basically be the leader of the group. So, they’ve resented her for that for all these years. Oh, and her twin sister had a nervous breakdown.

So, those were the groups, and everyone was ready to put the past behind them and forge ahead to the future. Until, in reality show fashion, a twist was thrown into things: two weeks before the show, another group was added to the mix.

Blue

Blue were a HUGE boyband in the UK in the middle of the 00’s. Their debut was right around the time the 5ive announced their breakup, so it’s like they inherited a ready-made fan base. They were poised to hit the US, and were actually in NYC on the morning of 9/11. Once they got back home, all anyone wanted to ask them was about 9/11 and eventually member Lee Ryan issued a statement which was misconstrued into “Who gives a fuck about NYC when the whales are being killed?” Yeah, that killed their US record deal. Anyway, Blue’s big debut song was “All Rise”:

The addition of Blue to the lineup upset a lot of the other groups because Blue had technically already reunited. Last year, they got back together to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest (which I need to write about one of these days), representing England. Since then, they’d been performing gigs together, so the other groups didn’t think it was fair that their rust would be compared to Blue’s polished set. As for Blue, one member had come to terms with his bisexuality, while another had gone bankrupt trying to live the high life.

Each episode of the show gave a little background on each group, as to where they’ve been and where they are now. Then, the rest of the show focused on them getting ready for the big show. At the end of the day, it all went off without a hitch, and you can see a pseudo-pixelated version of the big concert here:

Word on the street is that there’ll be another season in 2014, and I can only hope that S Club 7 is one of the groups they try to reunite. I also think they could go after All Saints, Cleopatra, and BBMak. I guess only time will tell…

This got me thinking, though. Which US groups could use the Big Reunion treatment? In the UK, when groups are done, there’s a press conference and an announcement. “This will be our final tour, etc, etc”. Nobody quits in the US. Usually, they just fade away or go on indefinite hiatus. NKOTBSB are a great example of a group that could’ve benefited from The Big Reunion. Sure, Backstreet Boys never went anywhere, but New Kids on the Block disappeared for a good 15 years. Which pop acts would YOU like to see reunited? Let me know in the comments!