I will admit it, without (much) shame. I was a fan of Hanson. I sang along with “MMMBop,” I had a crush on “the oldest one” (Issac), and I couldn’t get enough of that really goofy video. There are worse things you can do at 15.

Guess what? The guys are still cuties. And they’re working for a better world. The trio is now making their rounds on their Walk Around the World Tour, where they will promote their album The Walk as well fight poverty in Africa by raising money for healthcare, education and supplies.

The tour actually began last year, with a revolutionary concept: asking fans to walk a mile with them, barefoot, before each show, to represent the daily life of an African child. That’s pretty amazing.

But the event was put on hold when Issac had life-saving surgery for a pulmonary embolism. It’s officially back on this year, and from now until November 16 they’ll be continuing what they started.

The brothers have been AIDS and poverty activists for a while now, with various concerts dedicated solely to research and prevention as well as a partnership with TOMS shoes, where they company donated a pair of shoes to a child in Africa for every pair of shoes sold.

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When they released “MMMBop” in 1997, Hanson became an instant pop phenomenon, and Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson still are delivering smartly crafted pop on their latest disc, “The Walk.” See Hanson at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 19 on the Toyota Stage at the Oklahoma State Fair. For more information, go online to www.okstatefair.com.

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3.Hanson, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 19. Tulsa’s Taylor, Isaac and Zac Hanson kicked off the ’90s teen-pop trend with their inescapable 1997 summer hit, “MMMBop,” and its follow-ups, “Where’s the Love” and “Weird.” The brothers have since grown up, and their music has evolved, but Hanson still generates excitement with their effervescent stage show.

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When they emerged with the 1997 hit album, Middle of Nowhere, it wasn’t unfair to lump Hanson into the same category as other boy bands.

They had all the gooey harmonies of bands such as N’Sync, they were undeniably in the realm of harmless school girl-friendly pop and, unlike some of their peers, they were actually boys.

Never mind being old enough to vote or even drive a car. At age 11, singer/drummer Zac Hanson would have just barely finished passing under the, “you must be this tall to go on this ride” cut-outs at the local fair.

A DIFFERENT WORLD

Today, it’s a different world and boy bands don’t command the charts the way they once did.

Playing the Edmonton Event Centre tomorrow night, Hanson seems poised to outlive them all, with more than a decade and a lot of lessons learned.

“If we have any longevity at this point, I think it’s because we followed our own gut and never catered inappropriately to other people,” says Isaac Hanson. For Isaac, writing their own songs and playing their own instruments has allowed the band to form a more honest connection to their music.

“That doesn’t mean that there aren’t incredible artists who take others’ songs and make them their own,” says Isaac. “Look at Aretha Franklin, for example.”

LEARNING THE HARD WAY

It also doesn’t mean there aren’t potential pitfalls to sticking to your own material, too. Hanson learned this the hard way when the band’s label, Island/Def Jam, began rejecting dozens of songs meant for the group’s sophomore major-label effort, This Time Around.

“We had a very negative situation,” says Isaac. “It was the whole hip-hop label, pop rock band thing and it didn’t work out too well.”

Or did it?

The experience forced the brothers to start an independent label, 3CG, home to Hanson’s latest record The Walk. Today they are in a good place.

Sure, the band’s playing the EEC in West Edmonton Mall instead of Rexall Place, but Isaac says they’d rather have a fulfilling career than launch hit-or-miss attempts at platinum record status every time they exit the studio.

And if The Walk is any indicator, the benefits of that kind of freedom may reach beyond Hanson’s own bank accounts.

Not requiring an iota of buy-in from anyone else to do so, Hanson returned from a trip from Africa with the sudden urge to create Great Divide, an aid-generating song – in the smooth pop style you’d expect – that utilized a recording of African school children.

From there, they just ran with it.

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From Portland Life:

On Sunday, Sept. 7, 250 people gathered outside the Aladdin Theater singing, chanting and holding signs as they walked one mile. But this wasn’t a picket line, it was a celebration — the band Hanson was in town.

“Everyone say, ‘I took the walk,’” lead singer Taylor Hanson yelled into a megaphone while walking down Southeast Milwaukie Avenue.

Portland marked the trio’s 69th mile walked alongside fans to raise money for clean water, education, shoes, AIDS treatment and healthcare in South Africa. The band, currently touring in support of their newest album, “The Walk,” has embraced the concept of using their fans and influence to stage one-mile walks before each show. The brothers — singer/keyboardist Taylor, 25; guitarist Isaac Hanson, 27 and drummer Zac Hanson, 22 — donate one dollar on behalf of each fan that walks this mile with them. And Hanson walks without shoes.

“You build up a tolerance,” Taylor said. “It’s not too bad. The reason we walk barefoot is to feel the needs of someone else.”

Hanson has teamed up with TOMS Shoes — a company that donates one pair of shoes for every pair that is purchased. With Hanson’s help they have already donated 50,000 pairs of shoes in South Africa.

“You see that one dollar is making a difference, or one pair of shoes. We want to encourage you guys,” Taylor said into his megaphone on the Portland walk. “We’re going to walk around the world.”

The band hopes to have fans walk a total of 24,902 miles — the distance around the world — for which they will donate money.

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