Hello. My name is Sarah and I'm addicted to boy bands. I guess it all started when I was 7 years old and spied Joey McIntyre's baby blues on either a TV set or a cover of a Tiger Beat or something. Actually, maybe it wasn't his eyes that hooked me, but instead his strangely smooth prepubescent crooning of Please Don't Go Girl. But ever since then, I've been dreamily addicted to the overly processed sounds of pop music. Currently, I'm listening to I Lay My love on You, by Westlife. I doubt that many of you know who they are because they didn't have many hits in the US, but they were essentially England's version of the Backstreet Boys. I know them, because as I said, I'm addicted to boy bands.

I guess, I've been in denial for a while now. I've openly confessed my love for the New Kids on this blog. I used my powers to even tie them in to a few blogs on Alot More Than Just Promos, claiming that it was legitimate because I was talking about their marketing efforts using promotional pins and all the other memorbilia that they'd merchandised over the years. I've determined if I can throw in professional words like "merchandising" "target audience" and "ROI" I can make my secret obsession seem like not an obsession, but instead a legitimate review of their business and marketing practices. And in my defense, they are merchandising moguls and geniuses for coming back in a recession. (Note: Quit Playing Games with my Heart just came on. No, I'm not turning ot off)

It's been these past few days that the true expanse of my addiction has truly been brought to my attention. When a 98 Degrees song came on, I reminisced on the time when myself and my friend Mae, still in our school uniforms headed to Roosevelt Field mall to meet them at Sam Goody (back when it wasn't a hair salon). And as I sit here listening to Brian Littrell croon in my ears, I'm reminded of losing my voice at a Radio City Music Hall concert for the BSB back in 98. They tried to make a comeback a few years ago and did a concert at Radio City...and yes, I was there.

But I think the final straw came the other day, when I sat at my kitchen table in my own apartment, paying bills like a grown up. Sandwiched between my car insurance and my rent check was a bill for about $93. Yes, that's how much my ticket to the NKOTB show at Radio City cost. For the amount of money that I've spent on my obsession with boy bands over the years, I have little to show for it. I've got some promotional pins, I have my promotional t-shirts, and they serve as my memories. And now working in the promotional products industry, I try to tell myself that concert merchandise is over priced for what it is. But the minute I stand in front of a merchandise stand, I can't stop my hand for reaching for my wallet to shell out a ridiculous amount for a tote bag and I need people to tell me that $75 is far too much to spend on a track jacket. These are things I know and these are things that I pride myself on knowing and believing. But man...when it comes to boy bands...