The 1990s proved to be a good year for boy bands like the Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, 98 Degrees and O'Town, but after what seemed to be a promising start, the ever-changing music trends and tastes took their toll on the boy band industry, eventually burning it out and sending young artists into obscurity.  However, a new reality series from VH1, Mission: Man Band, is bringing the spotlight back on the defeated industry by featuring four former boy band members as they attempt to find their way back into stardom.

Initially, the producers of the show wanted to make the reality series fun and upbeat, but along the way, they decided to take Mission: Man Band in a different direction.

"We thought it would be a bit goofier at first," Jim Ackerman, VH1's senior vice president of development, producing and programming, told the Orlando Sentinel.  "Our thinking changed.  What if we try to make something happen for them?  Wouldn't it be more powerful than a kitschy show?"

The stars of VH1's Mission: Man Band are Chris Kirkpatrick from *NSYNC, Jeff Timmons from 98 Degrees, Rich Cronin from LFO and Bryan Abrams from Color Me Badd.  For the series, all four lived under the same roof for one month, developed fresh music and a dynamic stage show, and performed as a new pop group.

Kirkpatrick, 35, said that working on the series re-energized his spirits.

"I gained a lot of weight [after *NSYNC disbanded].  I was doing this excessive partying.  I had to do something about my bad habits. [Mission: Man Band] made me stop hiding in my studio like a hermit,” Chris Kirkpatrick said.

The series also helped Abrams, who has been battling an addiction to alcohol.

"Right after the show, I did check myself into a long-term treatment facility in Nashville," Abrams said.  "It went awesome."

Abrams' alcoholism, coupled with Cronin's bout with leukemia and Timmons' stage fright, contributes to the heavy drama viewers can expect from Mission: Man Band, which is set to premiere tonight, August 6 at 10pm on VH1.

"They wanted this light-hearted look: Where are they? How fat are they?" Chris Kirkpatrick said.  "They wanted The Surreal Life with boy bands.  But they got some real compelling stuff that you go, 'Wow!' I think people will see that we're normal guys who had crazy stuff happen to us."


-Lisa Claustro, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: Orlando Sentinel, VH1
(Image Courtesy of VH1)