From One Direction to Take That, who was the best boyband of 2014? 

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2014 has been the year of the boyband. From new bands popping up, to old ones making a comeback, superbands being formed and members being lost. It was all about the boyband.

Between the four bands who seriously caught our attention this year – One Direction, 5SOS, Take That and McBusted – there were number ones, there were naked selfies, and there were some pretty awesome choons to boot.

Our writers have been put to task to champion each one to decide who should win the title of the best boyband of 2014.

But do you think they’re right? Read more, then vote in our poll.

Their album was the most pre-ordered ever on Amazon, they went straight in at number one with These Days, and their arena tour has completely sold out. And they didn’t even bat an eyelid at losing a long-standing member.

‘As the anticipation for their album III built up, it wasn’t long before Take That were re-writing the record books. Before its 1 December release, their first album as a trio became the most pre-ordered album ever on Amazon and was their third entry into the top ten, knocking Pink Floyd off the top perch.

Not a bad effort for a group that many had thought would’ve been put out to graze.’

2014 has been the year of McBusted, with a new album, two new songs, and having to add loads more dates to their arena tour. Not to mention the giant boobs that featured on their tour, Matt Willis dying his hair pink leopard print and all of their amazingly ridiculous social media updates.

‘Few could have expected that demand would have been so high that the Frankenband known as McBusted would be forced to extend their number of arena dates from 11 to a highly impressive 34 – a figure which far exceeds the length of their respective bands’ previous biggest tours.

McBusted may be the elder statesmen when it comes to boy-bands-with-guitars. But not only have they proved this year that they can give the new generation a run for their money, they’ve also shown signs that they might just outlast them too.’

Key words about 1D’s brilliant year: drug scandal, Ian McKellen, Zayn’s curl, Harry’s vomit.

‘First of all, the boys embarked on their biggest ever tour, taking their Where We Are shows into stadiums across the world.

That wasn’t the end of the Where We Are tour though…the boys also used it to their advantage by releasing another movie!

The album immediately shot to the top of the charts in many countries across the world and also saw them break a record previously held by The Beatles in the US.’

5SOS seemingly came out of nowhere and shook up the boyband music scene. Not least because of their nude selfies that kept cropping up. They also had a huge world tour, won a whole string of awards, and somehow found time to write a book.

‘It was a great start to the year for Michael, Calum, Luke and Ashton as their debut single She Looks So Perfect topped the charts in five countries, including the UK and their home country Australia, where it was also certified TRIPLE platinum. Now, if this wouldn’t have had One Direction quaking in their boots, then we don’t know what would.

They followed this up with three more UK top 20 singles, Don’t Stop, Amnesia and Good Girls. These singles all came from their chart-topping self-titled debut album which peaked at number one in 13 countries worldwide.’

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