Any ’90s kids in the house? Get ready for a nostalgia trip hearing Hanson rock their 1997 smash hit “MMMBop” 26 years later! The Hanson brothers are now in the 30s and 40s (where did all those years go?), and they still cut a gorgeous vocal trio at their performance at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. The brothers’ hometown performance in Tulsa, Oklahoma, featured some sensational lead vocals from Taylor Hanson, while Isaac and Zac provided some on-point harmonies.
It’s not easy to deliver such a complex vocal arrangement live, but the brothers were all over it, while also holding it down on keyboard, guitar and drums. “MMMBop” was the 12th biggest song of 1997 thanks to all those sugary hooks. Any The Music Man readers who were around back in the ’90s probably sang along to the song a million times – I know I did – and it’s still just as fun to sing those rhymes now.
Fan channel Hansonized uploaded the Tulsa performance to YouTube on December 26, 2023, and it has since gained one million views. Fans came together to celebrate the classic pop tune, adding comments such as “We sang it at the top of our lungs as preteeens and teens. But the lyrics hit different now. An expression about fine wine comes to mind.” and “I was 27 when this song came out and I just loved it. It’s the kind of song that would lift your spirit no matter what mood you were in, a great feel-good song.”
If you think watching 2023 performance was nostalgic, get ready for a real big throwback to Hanson’s 1997 Italian television performance of “MMMBop” for Festivalbar. Fourteen-year-old Taylor’s voice is just as heavenly – the song was bound to be a hit with that kind of talent behind the mic. The performance again highlights the group’s talent as a vocal group, and also musicians. Even young Zac at just 12 years old crushes it behind the drum kit.
Hanson released “MMMBop” on April 15, 1997, as the lead single from their debut studio album Middle of Nowhere. The song was written by Isaac, Taylor, and Zac Hanson, while the Dust Brothers and Stephen Lironi handled production. Zac spoke to Songfacts in 2004 about the inspiration behind the song, saying, “If anything, ‘MMMBop’ was inspired by The Beach Boys and vocal groups of that era – using your voice as almost a doo-wop kind of thing. It was something we almost stumbled upon.”
