Hanson 'Where's The Love'

Chart Peak: 4

YouTube

Tay, Zac and Isaac and a massive No. 4 hit with 'Where's The Love' in September '97 as the follow-up to the huge No. 1 'Mmmbop'... Their third his 'I Will Come To You' is due to hit the charts in November.

It's easy to overlook now how big Hanson were for a while, big enough to beat the Spice Girls to the honour of opening Now 37 indeed. Their Boyband/Christian Rock/Grunge/HipHop hybrid was surely not the most obvious tip for success, but the record company certainly invested plenty in their major-label debut, which is packed with top-notch producers and musicians; you can hear some of that quality on the finished work, which has aged surprisingly well. All though you expect a certain amount of teen hysteria (as seen in the video, filmed in London the day after 'Mmmbop' topped the chart) the wholesome sibling image made it impossible for anyone male or over 18 even to contemplate liking their music, let alone admitting it.
As it turned out, 'Mmmbop' was pretty awful anyway, but 'Where's The Love' (not to be confused with several songs called 'Where Is The Love?' nor with a risqué joke about nuns) is actually half-decent. It's no masterpiece and the insistence on letting them all have a go at singing is a bit annoying, but this is a solid pop song and you can't say that for everything on here.

Also appearing on: Now 37, 39
Available on: Now That's What I Call 1997