Photo via Hanson - Facebook
Hanson
Hanson
When everything is aligned in the pop music universe just so, an “Mmm Bop” can happen. And it can take the world by storm. That 1997 international pop chart-topper by brothers Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson thrust the siblings into the heart of the tween idol industrial complex, with the siblings’ faces plastered over a host of magazines and other merchandise.
But it took more than their blond good looks to make a hit. Beyond Hanson’s cuddliness, their game-changing anthem about the temporal nature of life came from a confluence of hip-hop production values, melodic hooks sticky as bubblegum, an oddly Afropop-styled guitar line and genuine lyrical poignance. The last quality was easy to miss amid all of the ear and eye candy. Hanson’s organic gifts for songwriting and arrangement regardless of studio accoutrements, often in a power pop style, gave the trio a run of top 20 hits lasting into the current century.
Even so, enough listeners aged with their music to ensure sales for their studio albums into the 2010s. Some of Hanson’s continued relevance may be attributed not only to the consistent quality of their artistry, but the technology they exploited at their commercial peak. The band hopped onto the internet bandwagon at the turn of the century, creating a paywalled website for followers and offering exclusive livestreams among other innovations of the time. The work ethic they developed when they were recording Jackson Five and Baha Men remakes served them well enough to make them a solid enough draw to play Summerfest’s second-biggest stage 27 years after their signature song.
