Yeah those silly preteen girls somehow have a lot of disposable income to support these boy bands. What's weird is the prevalence of ugly guys in these pretty boy bands. I wonder if we should hate them twice as much as the real pretty boys, or like them more because they're not pretty. In the US I can understand the "variety" necessary to appeal to the broad cultural backgrounds of the fans, but in Japan I can't see how that would have to be a consideration. It's a dilemma to be sure.

I have no idea about the current music scene in the US, though I don't think there are any active boy bands there, which is a good sign.