 The Backstreet Boys is the biggest boy band from America in the modern era. One direction, the biggest boy band from the UK in the modern era, and BTS the biggest boy band and the biggest artist of all time from South Korea. But of these three groups, which one was the biggest? To figure out who is the biggest, we'll be looking at three things. First is commercial success, basically how successful they were in sales and concert tours. Second is critical acclaim, awards or any special recognition they've received. And last is worldwide popularity. How popular were they overall? Not just in their home country, but the whole world. It was an era of Saturday morning cartoons, fresh prints, power rangers, and saved by the bell. We had rollerblades, walkmans and push pops. Michael Jordan was flying across the screen with the coolest sneakers around. The 90s was an unforgettable decade. It was also the decade that we saw an explosion of boy bands in America. Nsync, 98 degrees, new kids on the block, but there was no group quite like the Backstreet Boys. The Backstreet Boys original run before Hades was only six years and they did absolutely phenomenal in that time period. Their most popular album Millennium is one of the greatest selling albums of all time with 24 million copies worldwide. If we take total sales of all formats from their whole career, it's estimated to be at 100 million records. Through their 11 concert tours, the Backstreet Boys have performed amazingly, grossing an insurmountable $800 million. The Backstreet Boys have received two American Music Awards, five Billboard Music Awards, four MTV Europe Music Awards, and two MTV Video Music Awards. As for the most prestigious award in music, the Backstreet Boys have been nominated for total eight Grammy nominations, including album of the year and record of the year. They basically established themselves as the boy band of the 90s. Their biggest tour into the Millennium sold out faster than any other tour during that time. And one of their shows at the Georgia Dome was the third highest attended concert ever in the United States. And who could forget their most popular song, I Wanted That Way, which in 1999 set a record at Billboard for the most weeks on number one. In 2012, the Rolling Stones magazine's Readers poll voted the Backstreet Boys as the number one boy band of all time and Billboard put them at number two all time. The Backstreet Boys were so popular that the world couldn't get enough of them. I mean it's been 27 years and they're still touring. So help me God. Congratulations Mr. Prez. They got their start from the hit reality talent competition X Factor. I'm Harry Styles. Although they were eliminated at third place, they were signed to Simon Cowell's label Psycho Records. The group found immediate success. They were the fastest growing boy band of all time. They quickly became a household name, not only in the UK, but all over the world. They grew to become the biggest British boy band in the modern era. Four years, that is it. One Direction released their first album up all night in November 2011. Then only four years later, November 2015, they released their last album made in the AM. Right from the start, the group had instant success. Their album Up All Night sold 4.5 million albums and went two times platinum in the US and three times platinum in the UK, with total physical album sales reaching 17.3 million. But if we take total sales of all formats, it's estimated that One Direction has sold 35 to 50 million total records. Looking at total concert revenue, One Direction had a very successful four world tours, with their 2014 tour grossing 313.4 million. All tours combined, they've grossed $668 million in total. Being one of the most successful boy bands of all time, One Direction has had a great share of awards. One Direction has won seven American Music Awards, six Billboard Music Awards, five Billboard Touring Awards and four MTV Video Music Awards. But what is most impressive is that One Direction has won 28 Teen Choice Awards out of 31 nominations. They hold the record for the most Teen Choice Award wins out of any artist in history. The Brit Awards, or just the Brits, are the highest level of musical achievement in the UK. The UK equivalent to the Grammys or the BBMAs. In regards to these awards, One Direction has received seven of them. One Direction was on the artist's 100 chart for 105 weeks, even peaking at number two in December of 2014. They have 17.2 million followers on Instagram and 30.4 million followers on Twitter. One Direction was known for having some of the craziest fans. One fan even held a whole wedding with just One Direction stand-ups. One fan had a water ball framed that Harry styles throughout her. And some fans even held a vigil for Zane when he left. So your family is rich? We're comfortable. That is exactly what a super rich person would say. Thousand Orbeez. Artist of the Year. Getting their start in 2013, BTS wasn't an explosive or monster rookie group by any means, with their first couple of singles either quickly falling off the charts or not charting at all. However, their single Blood, Sweat and Tears became a turning point in BTS's career. They then quickly became the global phenomenon we know today. They are the most successful Korean artist of all time. BTS has had 38 releases over their seven-year career. They debuted with Too Cool for School and most recently released Map of the Soul 7, selling 4.1 million, making them the most successful artist of 2020 so far. In total, they've sold 23.8 million albums. Sales of every format is estimated that BTS sold between 40 to 50 million. In regard to total concert revenue, BTS has had five concert tours, but really only blew up in their last tour, the Love Yourself World Tour, in total, grossing 200 million. BTS is by far the most decorated Korean artist in history. No other artist even comes close. They've won 24 Mnet Asian Music Awards, 23 Mellon Music Awards, 20 Golden Disc Awards, 14 Soul Music Awards, 13 Gallon Chart Music Awards, 4 Billboard Music Awards, 4 Korean Music Awards, 4 American Music Awards, and 2 MTV Video Music Awards. Additionally, they have 82 Music Showbins, which are music awards given on a weekly basis. Of these awards, they've won 40 Taesongs, which literally translates to grand prize. This would be the most prestigious award at a Korean awards show, like the MAMA's or the Golden Disc Awards, which would make them the group with the most Taesongs in history. The other two groups on this list, because of the advent of social media, we can accurately place current numbers to determine the popularity. On Instagram, they have 24.2 million followers. And on Twitter, they have an equally impressive combined total of 44.5 million followers. And that's not even counting the dozens of individual fan Instagram accounts. Big Hit Labels is also the 30th biggest channel of all time on YouTube, with 34.7 million subscribers. But not all of their fans are on social media. You can be a fan of a group without following them on social media. Now, a number that I've seen thrown around is 300 million fans in total. This figure comes from the 2017 BBMA's fan votes, in which BTS received 300 million votes, which was almost 10 times higher than Justin Bieber at second place, with a rough estimate of 35 million votes. Shawn Mendes came in third with roughly 7 million votes. BTS is the biggest and most popular act ever to come out of South Korea, breaking virtually every single Korean record to ever exist. They had the highest selling album of 2019, and they have the highest selling album of 2020 so far. Now, these three groups have been incredibly successful. They're all legends from their respective generations, and in some ways, it might be useless to compare all three groups. But just how well did these three groups stack against each other? Now, obviously all three groups have been incredibly successful, each group selling millions upon millions of sales, along with that are hundreds of sold-out concerts. But the clear edge would have to be The Bastry Boys, with 100 million sales and 800 million dollars at the box office. They've had one of the most successful careers of all time of any artist, pop group or not. Moving on to critical acclaim, and what we mean is recognition by means of awards, or any other distinction. Now, this is a little difficult to compare. The Bastry Boys in one direction do have a little bit of overlap, so it is easy to pick the winner from between them two, but BTS makes it difficult. Specifically because the West does not have any equivalent to Taesongs, which BTS has had 40, or music show wins, to which BTS has had 82 of these. However, there is one significant outlier, the Grammys. The Grammys are the biggest award in music, even being nominated is an honor, to which The Bastry Boys have been nominated 8 times. So for this round, we'd have to give the win to The Bastry Boys, and BTS would have to come in second, just due to the insane sheer number of awards they have. I mean, did you see their bag? It's hella trophies and it's hella thick. Worldwide popularity. Now, this was by far the hardest to judge. How do you accurately measure three groups that performed in three different decades, while using a completely different set of mediums for each group? But after much deliberation, we have to go with BTS. Now, don't get me wrong, The Bastry Boys dominated the 90s, and almost every teenage girl in the 2010s was in love with One Direction, and both of them had a very strong foothold in the West. The US is a country with 330 million. The whole continent of Europe is 740 million, but if we were judging popularity by sheer quantity of numbers, not sales or revenue, just pure quantity. BTS has pretty much become a household name in every Asian country, a continent with 4.4 billion people. Now, BTS doesn't even have close to 4.4 billion fans, but it gives you an idea of their potential audience. Because of the advent of social media, streaming, and globalization, everyone on the planet has access to BTS' music videos and music. It's never been easier than today to become a fan of any group. BTS has taken advantage of this worldwide globalization. Their reach on the internet is becoming increasingly evident. They were the most popular artist of 2019 on YouTube, with 12.5 billion total career views. They also hold the Guinness World Record for the most engagements on Twitter, with 330,000 engagements per tweet, with second place being half that. BTS is truly a force to be reckoned with. The Bashree Boys were truly a special boy band, and the market for boy bands over all was bigger in the 90s. And the Bashree Boys were the pinnacle of that boy band era. So keep in mind that BTS is arguably the biggest artist in the world right now, and are still growing. They have so much potential, and are just getting started. They could very well be number one on this list in the future. But even the larger-than-life Bashree Boys fall short to one other boy band. The Beatles is a group that hardly requires any introduction. You've heard of them, your parents have heard of them, your grandparents probably saw them live, John, Paul, George, and Ringo. The legendary boy band from Liverpool made their start in 1960 and are generally regarded as the greatest artist of all time. Imagine this. It's 1964, and you're an American who has heard of the Beatles for the first time, and you hear they're coming to visit the US. This was the case for millions of Americans who quickly fell in love with the teen idols. During their nine-day visit, Americans had bought more than two million Beatles records, and more than 2.5 million US dollars worth of merchandise. The Beatles have six Diamond albums, 20 multi-platinum albums, 16 platinum albums, and six gold albums. They're estimated to have made more than 600 million sales, which is more than Michael Jackson, more than Madonna, more than Rihanna, more than Queen, and that's because they are literally the best-selling artists in the world. There's hardly a week that goes by that the Beatles aren't in the Billboard 200 or Artist 100 list. Oh, check it out. I dare you. In 1964, 12 of Billboard's Hot 100 spots were Beatles songs. This included the number 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 spots. Now, the Beatles are something else. They're the stuff of legend. They have been nominated for 26 Grammys and have won a total of nine, which doesn't include a Lifetime Achievement Award, a trustee award, six albums, and nine songs inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 1988, the Beatles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and then each member was subsequently individually inducted for their solo career, John Lennon in 94, Paul McCartney in 99, George Harrison in 04, and Ringo Starr in 2015. Each member of the Beatles has earned the most excellent Order of the British Empire, which is one of the highest honors a non-royal citizen can earn in Great Britain. And get this, two of them are knights. While there's no way to accurately measure the popularity of the Beatles at their peak, the same way we can by looking at social media for say, BTS or One Direction, we do know that the Beatles were insanely popular. I mean, they didn't call it Beatomania for nothing. While they were already big in the UK, their international success can be traced back to their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, which set a record at the time for most few television programs ever. This 50-minute segment of the Ed Sullivan Show had 73 million viewers or two-fifths of the US population. When they visited Australia in 1964, half the city of Adelaide, 300,000 people greeted them in the streets, double the amount that greeted the Queen a year prior. The crowd was so big that 50 people were literally hospitalized and cars were destroyed during this gathering. In 1965, the crowds got so big that they had to use New York's Shea Baseball Stadium to fit their audience of 55,000. While this seems normal now, this was the first time in history a sports stadium had to be converted to a concert venue. It's no wonder that in 1966, John Lennon jokingly said that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus. He may have been right. They did this all without modern television, the internet, or social media. It's been 60 years since their debut, but the remaining Beatles and their fans are still going strong. There's no doubt that the Beatles are the biggest musical act of all time. Whether it comes to pop, rock, heavy metal, hip-hop, whatever, the Beatles top them off. However, BTS still has more room to grow and more success to come. They could very well be the biggest boy group of all time. We'll just have to wait and see. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr technically are still active, but it's clear that their glory days are far behind them, as well as a few other boy bands we've known and loved. And while boy bands seem to have become a thing in the past in the West, they're thriving in South Korea and to a lesser extent Japan. The question is why? And that's something we'll cover in our next video, the history of boy bands.