Why Haven’t The Vamps Broken Through Stateside?

Today, your boy (well actually a late twentysomething but who’s keeping score) will answer a truly burning question. That question was clearly and concisely stated in the title, posed for the entire world to see – or at least the few folks that visit brentmusicreviews.com ever so often! For those who somehow missed it, here it is reiterated for your convenience: Why haven’t The Vamps broken through stateside?

First of all, folks probably need another question answered – who the f$%! are The Vamps? Well, The Vamps are a four-piece British boy band that was discovered via YouTube, or so Rich Wilson’s All Music Guide bio tells it. Their debut album, Meet The Vamps didn’t arrive until April 2014, or three (nearly four) albums into One Direction’s career – more on that later. The album didn’t gain traction, debuting unimpressively at #40 on the Billboard 200. Now, in 2015, The Vamps drop album numero dos, Wake Up. So with all that cleared up, back to the original question: Why haven’t the Vamps broken through stateside?

Here’s the answer. One Direction. Yes, the states have already chosen its schmaltzy, corny-as-albeit boy band to embrace and that is clearly One Direction. Face it folks – Directioners dominate the boy-band fandom without question. The Wanted tried to break through around the same time as One Direction and while they gain a following thanks to innuendo-laden single “Glad U Came” and “Chasing The Sun,” they never achieved the success of their more popular contemporaries. There simply isn’t space for more than one boy band in people’s eyes, let alone two imports.

Need another answer? 5 Seconds of Summer. Are the acts different? Yes, but are The Vamps necessarily better than 5SOS? No. And even if it’s a matter of being better or not, 5SOS were able to “break through,” even if not to the extent of One Direction. Opening up another door is a stretch, and frankly, The Vamps don’t have an awesome song with a line about American Apparel underwear to plead their case. Oh, and BTW, said song has over 160 million views on YouTube…

The other problem for The Vamps is simply that they don’t distinguish themselves from anybody. There’s nothing wrong with them vocally, BUT in regards to the material, there’s just no separation. In order for The Vamps to make a name for themselves, it’ll actually take more than generically catchy songs and their youthful, handsome looks to propel them to the next level. So why haven’t The Vamps broken through stateside? They have plenty of ground to make up.

Photo Credit: Island