BOYS World: How to Debut a Girl Group During a Pandemic
During the second decade of the 21st century, there were two main girl groups who dominated the music industry: Fifth Harmony and Little Mix. Both of them were put together by industry mogul Simon Cowell in his popular singing show X Factor. However, after Fifth Harmony split up in 2018, and Little Mix slowly became too mature for their target audience (girls in their teens and early twenties), as well as Jesy Nelson’s recent departure from the band, it seems like there’s a gap in the market again. But it might just have been filled by these girls:
BOYS World is actually a clever acronym for Best of Your Self World — which they describe as a space where everyone feels welcome. The group has five members: Queenie, Elana, Lillian, Makhyli, and Olivia, all born between 2001 and 2003 and all from the United States, although from very different ethnicities and backgrounds. They were scouted on social media and put together in a group by KYN Entertainment — a joint venture between Live Nation and Sonny Takhar, former President of Syco Music (Simon Cowell’s label, which has developed and launched some of the most successful groups over the last decade: One Direction, Fifth Harmony, and Little Mix). There’s no doubt that if someone knows how to put together the next it-group — it’s him.
The girls moved into a house in L.A. last year and started preparing for their official release. The band was first introduced on TikTok in January 2020 via a video with a mysterious caption: Best friends, a new girl group, or both? Simultaneously, they opened up social media accounts and a YouTube channel, where they posted covers and daily vlogs. Even though they temporarily moved back with their families due to the pandemic, they haven’t stopped their activity on social media. Their debut single Girlfriends was released on the 23rd of October 2020. Two months later, the song has 800,000 views on YouTube and over 1 million streams on Spotify.
What’s the key to BOYS World’s success? Having a professional team and some substantial cash investment certainly helped, but are not the only drivers. The group has been conceptualized very strategically. Their branding ticks off all of the boxes when it comes to what’s relevant for the youth at the moment. Let’s dive deeper:
- Diversity and inclusion — All members have different racial backgrounds and a unique style: sporty, e-girl/alternative, feminine, and so on. This representation massively increases their reach and creates a sense of relatability for young women across all racial and socioethnic backgrounds across the globe.
- Female empowerment — Their first single Girlfriends is an anthem of female friendship, giving a powerful and uplifting message to young females around the world.
- Authenticity — Fans constantly get sneak peeks of the band’s daily life, getting to know all the members and their different personalities, talents, and interests. There’s no doubt that they are incredible singers and dancers. They are also very transparent about their company, stating the importance of group decision making. Each member’s opinions are always taken into consideration. Moreover, there’s no sense of rivalry between them nor favoritism from their company — this is indicated by an equal verse distribution and screen time in the video.
- Being outspoken about social issues — The girls are very vocal about important matters such as the 2020 presidential election, the Black Lives Matter movement or mental health. They even partner with relevant organizations (i.e. their last Instagram partnership with Love is Louder where they shared their tips about self-care).
- Aesthetics — Their visual content, fashion, and sound very much reflect the ongoing back to the 90’s trend: it’s mostly casual, phone-taken pictures and videos rather than high-quality shots from professional photographers; Their debut single Girlfriends is also heavily inspired by the 90’s R&B sound. The music video and its different elements such as the set design, choreography, and camera angles also pay homage to this era.
The different marketing activities planned around the rollout of Girlfriends were also extremely successful, especially taking into account that it happened in the middle of the second wave of COVID-19. In the 10 months it took from their first introduction on social media to the release of their first single, BOYS World focused on building their audience by posting covers, vlogs, and TikToks. Even before Girlfriends was released in October, they had over 100,000 followers on TikTok and 25,000 subscribers on YouTube. The release was announced 3 weeks before via livestream and a 45-second teaser titled please hold, which was also available to stream on Spotify. Thanks to that, their Spotify profile already had around 6,000 followers before the full song came out. The teaser was a very clever introduction to all of the members as well as The Girlfriends Hotline concept, which was later used in the music video. Post-release activities included choreography tutorials taught by the members, behind-the-scenes videos and another livestream following the hotline concept, where their fans would phone in and talk to the girls directly.
Unsurprisingly, BOYS World have also managed to grab the attention of k-pop fans, who are known as a very powerful example of fandom. This hints at a growing adoption of eastern music marketing techniques in the west. I see similarities in the way k-pop acts are marketed and the way BOYS World were (generating pre-release hype, a scripted YouTube show called Girlfriends: The Show, choreography tutorials, fandom name) integrated with Western music marketing standards, such as authenticity, direct relationships with fans, as well as amplification through TikTok. BOYS World also keep up with the high standards of singing and dancing set by k-pop — or at least are very close — which is what, in my opinion, previous groups failed to achieve.
Campaign results (as of today):
- Over a million streams of Girlfriends on Spotify
- Over 180,000 monthly listeners
- Placement on editorial Spotify playlists such as Pop Sauce and RADAR US: Artists to Watch 2021
- Over 700,000 music video views
- An article in People magazine
My personal take: as a primary example of the bands’ target audience, I can easily call myself a fan of BOYS World. Firstly, the song is a certified bop and I listened to it on repeat for three days after discovering it. Secondly, the girls are very entertaining and I enjoy watching their content. And of course, I have a favorite member (but shh). In all seriousness, it will be interesting to follow their next steps and see how they develop in the future!
