This take was pulled straight out of the sun’s core because it is piping hot and I’m well aware. Please note: I did not listen to either of these bands while they were originally active, other than watching some “Big Time Rush” if it came on in between “Spongebob” episodes. Therefore, my opinion doesn’t mean much other than music taste.
The most important part of a successful boy band, in my view, is recognition and publicity. Obviously, One Direction was incredibly popular and all the members made people swoon just over the mere mention of their names. But did they have a TV show?
Not just any TV show, mind you, but a good one at that. Is it cheesy? Incredibly, and it leans very heavily into cheap jokes and children’s humor. But that doesn’t mean it’s inherently bad. “Bluey” does the same thing sometimes and it is one of the most watched shows recently, as well as being one of my personal favorites.
The sign of a good show is the longevity of said show. “Big Time Rush” was renewed for a total of four seasons spanning from 2009 to 2013. This isn’t the best run, but it is solid, and it showed that the show was enjoyed by many for long enough to keep it going.
One Direction, on the other hand, had no such show and instead built their image with four world tours with an average attendance of about 50,000 people. These numbers are impressive, but not as much as Nickelodeon viewership.
In addition, Big Time Rush later went on tour as well. They even opened for 1D on part of their “Better With U” tour, which technically means that Big Time Rush had the same attendance numbers during these shows. That closes their audience gap, if only so slightly.
As with all good things, both of these bands broke up. BTR broke up in 2014, while 1D lasted until 2016. To demonstrate how much more they care about the fans, BTR actually came back and has begun making music and touring again as of 2021.
More proof of why they are a better band is the quality of collaborations they have with other artists. One Direction didn’t have too many collaborations while they were together and continued that trend as they pursued solo careers, though it has become more common.
Some of the more notable collaborations include Quavo and Liam Payne, Stevie Nicks and Harry Styles and a highly anticipated collaboration between Shawn Mendes and Niall Horan.
These are some major crossovers between major artists, but I feel like they don’t hit nearly as hard as Big Time Rush’s biggest collab: Snoop Dogg.
Getting a song with Snoop is hard enough, but they even got him to do a little acting in their show, which is very impressive. I felt like he did a pretty good job with it too, even matching their crazy energy in some instances.
Equally as impressive, the modern Big Time Rush made another major feature with a rapper, a short cameo in Lil Uzi Vert’s new song “The Rush.”
Some say that because they just talk for approximately 7 seconds at the start of the song, it doesn’t really count. But they’re credited, so that has to count. They are also the only feature on the album, another interesting achievement for the foursome.
I don’t have anything against One Direction, and like I said, I don’t know many details about either. I enjoy both bands’ music and think that they’re both very good. I just like Big Time Rush more, especially because of their goofy show.
DeGear can be reached at [email protected].
