Years before Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys entered my life, there was another group that owned my heart. They were also the reason, alongside JTT and Devon Sawa, that I started getting teen magazines in the first place, although not as much as when Nick Carter and Co. synchronized danced into the picture. They were a group of brothers who sang the sweetest country pop songs known as The Moffatts.
A set of triplets and their older brother, Scott, made up The Moffatts, and they were quite the obsession for me and my friend at the time when we were in the first half of elementary school. So innocent little crushes that pushed up to write letters to whatever address ‘Bop’ provided. My friend swore she got a letter back, but to this day, never seen it. Nevertheless, letters were written, and pinups from magazines were admired. Oh, and I think I read the “articles,” too. “Articles” because were these teen stars really sitting down and giving in-depth interviews?
The truth behind these articles really didn’t matter, though, because we all know what did – the pictures. And man, oh man, I coveted every single one of The Moffatts. Looking back, I’m not even sure why their ‘90s country mullets and color-coordinated ensembles made my heart flutter, but it all did, especially Scott. Perhaps it was because he wasn’t one of the triplets, so it was easier to single him out, or because he presented himself as the lead. Whatever it was, Scott forever sits alongside the likes of JTT and Sawa as one of those initial crushes that set me down the fangirl path. They were like the guys who give you the brochures, and then BSB took over and drove the jeep through the Fangirl Safari.
But how I initially got introduced to The Moffatts escapes me. I know for sure they were not on TV. MTV was not giving a prepubescent country group any of their time, nor was Vh1. So it was either via a teen magazine or this music kiosk at Kmart. Now, for anyone born within the past two decades, a music kiosk was a stand-in-the-store that had at least a dozen musical options to play. So imagine 12 albums ready to go, but they didn’t play whole songs. You got snippets as to sort of sample before you bought, and I remember the one at our local Kmart having The Moffatts in theirs at one point.
Whichever one it was, I’m grateful because as cheesy as some of their music was – it was still a delight for my elementary school behind. “Don’t Judge a Book” made my eight-year-old ass feel intellectual, “I Think She Likes Me” was what fangirls are made of, and “Caterpillar Crawl” was just pure, ridiculous fun. I haven’t tried, but I’m pretty sure I still know about 85% of all of those songs, 100% of “I Think She Likes Me,” because I have listened to that recently. It still delivers.
Teen magazines don’t feel as appreciated as they once did when I was a kid, but in talking with the ladies behind ‘Today We Laughed and Learned,’ the times have just changed. Kids can just head to whatever social media app their favorite celebrities are on, and that’s their teen magazine. Seems like a shame to people like me and this week’s guest, though, Mallory Kiersten. We both grew up with those magazines in hand, and that’s why she came through to talk about her own Tiger Beat crush. Who is it? You shall find out soon, but until then, just know if not for the cute faces in those magazines like The Moffatts, I’m not sure what I’d be like today.
Crushgasm 