The Magic of BTS — and the History of Boy Bands

The new episode of Rolling Stone Music Now examines the unprecedented, boundary-smashing success of South Korean superstars BTS, digging into their new album, Map of the Soul: 7, their history, and their under-examined sociopolitical messages. From there, the episode delves into the long, colorful history of boy bands, all the way back to Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers and on to the Bay City Rollers, Menudo, New Edition, New Kids on the Block, the Backstreet Boys, ‘NSync, and One Direction. Jezebel senior writer Maria Sherman, author of the upcoming book Larger Than Life: A History of Boy Bands from NKOTB to BTS, joins Brittany Spanos, Rob Sheffield (who wrote a four-star review of Map of the Soul), and host Brian Hiatt for the discussion.

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Download and subscribe to our weekly podcast, Rolling Stone Music Now, hosted by Brian Hiatt, on iTunes or Spotify (or wherever you get your podcasts), and check out two years worth of episodes in the archive, including in-depth, career-spanning interviews with Bruce Springsteen, Halsey, Ice Cube, Neil Young, the National, Questlove, Julian Casablancas, Sheryl Crow, Johnny Marr, Scott Weiland, Alice Cooper, Fleetwood Mac, Elvis Costello, Donald Fagen, Phil Collins, Alicia Keys, Stephen Malkmus, Sebastian Bach, Tom Petty, Kelly Clarkson, Pete Townshend, Bob Seger, the Zombies, Gary Clark Jr. and many more – plus dozens of episodes featuring genre-spanning discussions, debates and explainers with Rolling Stone’s critics and reporters. Tune in every Friday at 1 p.m. ET to hear Rolling Stone Music Now broadcast live from SiriusXM’s studios on Volume, channel 106.

Featured via: Rollingstone