It's a pretty risky move, putting out an album of parody boy-band songs by a fake boy band that's featured in a mockumentary that hasn't even aired yet -- but hey, the folks at MTV seem to think they're up for the challenge. More challenging still, however, is the proven fact that a lot of folks are dead serious about the groups they love. Then there are the folks who turn their noses up at the mere thought of five hot, harmonizing guys and probably wouldn't be caught dead with this disc in their hand. Then there are those of us who love boy bands and have a decent sense of humor, and its 2Us that 2Gether is meant 2Appeal.
Whether it's the group's coordinated glitter/"street" outfits, their pointed-finger poses to the guys' fake
names (Jerry! Mickey! Brad! (it's actually Chad) Doug! Q.T.!), or their extremely varied degrees of cuteness, the joke has plenty of potential. (Actually, Jerry is pretty hot... oops, sorry, got caught up in the web of deception there.)
Unfortunately, those of us willing to laugh at the concept won't be 2impressed by 2Gether's cheap-joke lyrics. Sure, the prefab group sounds boy-band perfect -- from the (surprisingly accomplished) vocals to the Max Martin-esque arrangements of the tunes -- but immature humor is in heavy-handed supply, with titles such as "Say It (Don't Spray It)" and lines such as "Just put your hand in mine/I will slap your sweet behind" on "You're My Baby Girl." Then there's the almost-straightfaced tender love ballad "Before We Say Goodbye," which puts all its chips on the line "But in case we break up/Can I still have sex with you?" Oh, ha ha. And don't even get us started on the track "Rub One Out," by Whoa! (great name, you have to admit), which is all about... oh, man, we can't even say it. (Though we will say the rather unpoetic word "crotch" comes up a lot.)
The bottom line? These "hot boys" are really just juvenile. (Oh, bad jokes... they're contagious!)
