3 boy bands following in the footsteps of mega stars One Direction

One Direction might be entrenched on U.S. soil, but boy bands from across the pond are still storming these shores hoping to stake a claim on fans. One Direction has a back-to-school date Aug. 24 with AT&T Stadium. If you’d rather fight iTunes than traffic, try these three bands.

Rixton

This pop-R&B group first became famous for its YouTube covers, including one of R. Kelly’s “Ignition.” Scooter Braun, the go-to manager for YouTube all-stars such as Justin Bieber and Arlington’s Todrick Hall, soon signed Rixton to his SB Projects entertainment and media company. The four lads from Manchester, England, were nominated this year for four Teen Choice Awards, including Choice Music Group. It seems they need only to follow the course to become the next big deal, especially with songs such as “Wait on Me” and breakout hit “Me and My Broken Heart.” Jake Roche, Danny Wilkin, Charley Bagnall and Lewi Morgan are finishing up the Broken Heart Tour now. If the standing and swaying at the aforementioned awards show were any indicator, Rixton will probably be around for more than 15 minutes.

5 Seconds of Summer

Formed in 2011, 5 Seconds of Summer is the coveted opener for One Direction’s arena tour except in D-FW because it’s taking the day off to attend the MTV Video Music Awards. The Australian act, composed of Michael Clifford, Luke Hemmings, Calum Hood and Ashton Irwin, is riding the wave of singles “She Looks So Perfect” and the catchy “Good Girls.” Consider the outing with One Direction a test run for 5SOS. The band with the punk aesthetic is getting ready for its own tour in 2015: Rock Out With Your Socks Out, which will stop at Gexa Energy Pavilion next August.

The Vamps

This British quartet’s music was just released for the first time in the United States earlier this month. As organic as these things can be, James McVey, Brad Simpson, Connor Ball and Tristan Evans came together through social media in 2012. (This is quite unlike One Direction, which was created by Simon Cowell on the British X Factor.) It’s only two years later, and the Vamps already have a biopic called Story of the Vamps. Though band members say the group sounded terrible when they first got together, “Somebody to You” and its remixes, especially one featuring Demi Lovato, promise good things. That is, if it can get any better than opening for Selena Gomez, for Taylor Swift’s London shows, for the Wanted’s breakup tour earlier this year and this summer for dancing machine Austin Mahone. This is one band that knows how to hitch its ride to a star — and to wallets. The Vamps’ American EP is available at Claire’s and Justice stores
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