It’s happened to every boy band and bubblegum pop group. Ask NSync, the Backstreet Boys, the Partridge Family, the Osmonds. In 11 days, Justin Bieber will see if it happens to him. Your generation of fans ages out. They grow up, move on, and put away childish things.
Maybe Zayn Malik saw the writing on the wall when he quit One Direction a few weeks ago.
Now One Direction, the top teen band, is having trouble getting played on the radio. They dropped “Drag Me Down” as a surprise on July 31st. It went right to the top of the iTunes chart. There were well over 300,000 downloads right away.
But now two weeks have passed. “Drag Me Down” is stalled. On MediaAccess’s radio monitor, “Drag Me Down” registers just on the Top 40 chart, and at number 21. Granted, it did move up from number 26. But it’s not speeding upward. It’s more like floundering around.
On iTunes, sales have dropped off. “Drag Me Down” is stuck at number 12. Of course, fans are waiting for a new album, their first since “Four” in 2014. In the teen market, you can’t wait around too long between releases. When your fan isn’t paying attention, an older sibling may hand them a Beatles, Stones, or Bowie record. They may hear Hendrix. And then the party is over.
Here’s “Drag Me Down.” Like a lot of pop music these days it sounds a little like a Police record. One Direction needn’t worry. Like Bieber, and Britney Spears, they’ll be a live attraction longer than a chart machine. That’s the way it usually goes.
