Thursday, January 25, 2007

A Closet Fan?

Does anybody remember the band Hanson? Three brothers who skyrocketed to international fame when they came out with the song "Mmmbop" in 1997... I have always REALLY liked that song, although I've never admitted that to anyone else, and I certainly can't claim to know anything else they've ever sung. So, I'm an Mmmbop fan, but not a Hanson fan. I, and I assume most other people in the world, thought these kids were just a one-hit wonder.

However, last night I was watching Deal or No Deal (I'm not ashamed to admit I'm a fan of that show!), and the girl who was playing said that her favorite band was Hanson, and she was so obsessed with them that she carried with her at all times a guitar pick she had caught at one of their concerts. As a special treat to her, they actually came to the show and cheered her on as she won $82,000. When they came out, though, it was these guys:

I said, Oh, that must be a different band named Hanson. The ones that sang Mmmbop were not-so-cute little kids, but these are nice-looking young men. But then later the contestant asked them to sing Mmmbop to bring luck to one of her case choices. They did so and it sounded great. What?! Are you kidding me? Yes, little Hanson is all grown up (now ages 21, 23, & 26 - I know because she picked those cases because of their ages) and apparently singing things other than Mmmbop. So I'm a little sad that it really has been 10 years since Mmmbop came out, makes me feel kinda old that the first picture has turned into the second one. But good for the Hansons, they still have fans after all this time. Sorry, guys, but I don't plan on becoming one of them.

P.S. Google finally made me switch my blog over. Curse you, Google monopoly! We'll see if I like it better... :)

15 comments:

Shelly said...

Wow! They have really changed. What a coincidence that you would write about Hanson today, because as I was driving from one campus to another yesterday I heard the song Mmmbop on the radio. I couldn't believe it. I haven't heard that song since I was a senior in high school! (made me feel kinda old)

d blake said...

i will unashamedly say i love the MMMBop song. I will even admit that I had the CD... there was one song on there that sounded dead-on a Third Day song (really!). I haven't heard them since. One of the reasons why I liked them (aka little-known Hanson trivia): they're MK's. Part of their childhood was spent on the mission field, though I forget where (?South America?).

Nicki W. said...

oddly enough, and i don't know why, so don't ask, brent and i sometimes call our dog, Emmitt, Em-bop in honor of the song. makes no sense, but we apparently like the song too!

Joni said...

here's something really great about blogging: you learn things about your friends that you otherwise never would've known. i posted this yesterday afternoon, then last night i got a phone call from a friend, who asked me to withhold her identity when relaying this to the public. when i picked up the phone, the first thing she said was "you like hanson too?!" she hadn't bothered to read the full post, she just saw the title and content of the blog and then called me. apparently, she's been a closet hanson fan for years and has never told a soul. she said "i have their Christmas cd, and it's GREAT! i'll burn you a copy because i know you'll like it too." i say bring it on, i'm always glad for more Christmas music. and you never know, maybe i will become a fan after all. :)

d blake said...

so, justin tells me you want to come up with a want ad for me based only on what you know of me from my blog. i'm interested to see what you come up with. :)

lmac said...

I used to LOVE Hanson when I was a kid.Last year,I had a huge crave to hear MMMBop so I downloaded the song and realized they still were making music, so I decided to give them a chance and listen to their new stuff.It's amazing!I would never think of myself as a Hanson fan ever again,but wow,they're awesome and now my favorite band.They were just named the number 1 best indie artist,so they have a lot of dedicated fans since 1997.

Anonymous said...

Hey there!

I don't know you and you don't know me, but let me say "THANK YOU" for this entry.

Yes I am a Hanson fan =D and very proud of them.

You should go to my blog "To My Guitar Lulla" and check out the video "Great Divide" & Also download the free podcasts on Itunes (direct link under the video) about Taking The Walk (teasers) and their full doc "Strong Enough to Break".

Kudos to you! Mmmbop is a great song :)

Anonymous said...

hey

here are the pictures from the show... it's interesting to see their real image nowadays...

http://blogs.nbcuni.com/AHBlog/2007/01/hansons_deal_or_no_deal_1.php

=)

it's interesting to see that them singing mmmbop in that show made you realize it was *that* hanson and not other... i'm saying this cause a lot of people has been discussing wether it was good or bad for their image, to sing such an old thing... i thought they should have gone for newer stuff, I mean, it was an opportunity to show it to people that might never otherwise hear it .... but at the same time, singing new stuff, you maybe would have thought it was some other hanson! maybe it was still good for them to sing that...

(though, who would want to have the same name as a band whose members were mistaken for girls back in 97? lol)

Anonymous said...

THANK YOU for this blog!!

I'm really pleased for Hanson that surprising Jackie on Deal or No Deal seems to have brought them back into the public eye!

They HAVE changed a lot... I liked mmmbop, but became a major fan after hearing their 2004 single, Penny & Me, and album Underneath. I was so surprised at how much they'd changed - the band I liked as a little girl had become a band I would grow to love as an adult. The rest, as they say, is history.

You should definitely listen to their Christmas CD, Snowed In, like your friend recommended, but just remember that that was also recorded ten years ago! Also, look out for their upcoming album The Walk, out in the US in May I believe (I'm from the UK :-P )

And, like Tulsa Girl At Heart said, definitely check out Great Divide! Not only is it an amazing song, featuring a childrens' choir the guys recorded with in South Africa, but all proceeds go to the Perinatal HIV Unit at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto, South Africa. So, it's a great song for a great cause!

Thanks again!!

Kristy said...

You have to be kidding me! I am amazed that this many people have responded to Hansen! I'm having a baby for heavens sake and i think i have like 5 comments on mine!! You are so popular! You know how I love the celebrity gossip though - here's a little for you. Two (maybe all three) of them are married and have children. You may not believe me but you can google it if you want! See you on Monday for some tuna!

Anonymous said...

I'm one of those fans that has followed Hanson for the past 10 years. There has actually been alot that has happened to them in that length of time. But it's nice to see your reaction from seeing Hanson on Deal or No deal the other night. Like others have mentioned you should really take a little time and check out all the music they have made since back then. There an amazing band now just as they were back 1997.

(Actually they are all married and Taylor is the one with three kids.)

Unknown said...

Thanks Joni- now I'm going to have that song stuck in my head all day at work today! I admit to liking the catchy jingle even though it took no talent to write it. I should make up my own song and be a washed up, one hit wonder too...

Anonymous said...

I love MMMBOP.. I have it on my mp3 player.. IT ROCKS... Saw your husband today.. wish you were with him!!

JTapp said...

Congrats on all your comments, babe! Way to go!

Anonymous said...

@Jackie: perhaps the chorus of the song did take "no talent" to write, but the song lyrics in that song over-all - fairly deep for 10, 12 and 15 year-old kids to write.

Here's the first verse from HansonSongs.com

You have so many relationships in this life
Only one or two will last
You're going through all this pain and strife
Then you turn your back and they're gone so fast
And they're gone so fast
So hold on the ones who really care
In the end they'll be the only ones there
When you get old and start losing your hair
Can you tell me who will still care

And it's not like that's their only good song. As a matter of fact, most fans wouldn't even consider it one of their better songs. They've released hundreds of songs, and there are hundreds of others that are still unreleased - they simply live their lives writing, recording and playing music.

"The Music Lives" - a Hanson motto.