I went to a boy band concert (so you don’t have to) and so many questions followed

So...I went to a boy band concert, and y’all won’t believe the time I had. 

Now let me just set the record straight: I’ve never been into boy bands (the Jonas Brothers excluded, because I don’t consider them a boy band since they play instruments and Kevin doesn’t really sing). I was never involved in the One Direction craze, and the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC were before my time. 

But I feel like there’s been a revival of the boy band. K-pop has taken over the globe thanks to groups like BTS. PRETTYMUCH and In Real Life have started to make some waves. And, really, Brockhampton is a boy band, too. 

But the boy band whose concert I attended was none other than Why Don’t We. 

Now, I have been to dozens of concerts in my life, but nothing quite compares to the experience I had at the Why Don’t We show. This was by far the loudest show I have ever seen, and I’ve been to arena shows of almost 20,000 people. It was wild. 

The crowd was comprised of teens and twenty-somethings (including me), as well as young girls and their parents. I saw maybe five guys in total in the audience. 

The energy was high the entire night. I’m talking non-stop screaming. I could hardly hear the performance over the sheer volume of the girls around me. And you can forget trying to hear the boys when they try to talk to the audience. So. Much. Screaming. 

And what amazed me most was that any time the boys did any sort of dance move or had a cool vocal moment, the screaming seemed to get louder. I truly didn’t know how it was humanly possible. 

And all of this was fine and the songs were good and I had a fun time. 

But I just don’t get it. 

Don’t get me wrong, Why Don’t We has some top-notch pop songs, and I’m not afraid to admit that I think “Trust Fund Baby” slaps. But I just don’t understand 

And again, let me clarify that I am not bashing Why Don’t We or any other boy band for that matter. They’re very talented dudes. They deserve to have successful careers. I’m glad that they have such dedicated fans and that those fans have great concert experiences. 

I’m really just asking a question. How are boy bands able to elicit that kind of response in comparison to rock bands? Is it because they’re cute? Is it because they’re more talented? Is it the lack of instruments? What do they know that I don’t understand? What is the secret to boy band stardom? 

I just want to know. 

But, honestly, if you like a boy band, go see the boy band. Just be prepared for some permanent hearing damage afterwards.