Anyone who was around in the 1990s is bound to remember Hanson, those three young brothers famed for their long blonde hair, pretty faces and sun-kissed harmonies. They started out all the way back in 1992 as The Hanson Brothers, but it wasn’t until 1997 that they hit the big time, courtesy of a certain song named MMMBop.
Released April 15th 1997, MMMBop was a catchy bubblegum pop tune which became one of the biggest hits of the decade. Selling 16 million copies, the track reached number one in a staggering 27 countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia and Mexico, and landed the hot new band with three Grammy nominations.
This would have been an impressive feat at any age, but it was all the more staggering given that the Hanson brothers (who also wrote the song themselves) were very young at the time: guitarist Isaac Hanson was 16, lead singer and keyboard player Taylor Hanson was 14 and drummer Zac Hanson was only 11.
MMMBop proved so ubiquitous that it’s easy to think Hanson were one-hit wonders, but this really wasn’t the case. Their debut album Middle of Nowhere sold 10 million copies, whilst their second album This Time Around shifted one million units. The band ultimately had eight top 40 hits in Britain alone, even though none of them had the same impact as their debut.
While Hanson have long since disappeared from the limelight, they never really went away. Now releasing music independently on their own label, the soulful siblings continue to perform and record new material, most recently releasing 14th album Red Green Blue in 2022.
Still, most fans who sang along to MMMBop back in the day probably haven’t seen the boys from Hanson in many a moon, so let’s catch up and see what they look like now.
Isaac Hanson
The eldest Hanson brother, Isaac Hanson was born November 17th, 1980. As well as being the band’s principal guitarist and back-up vocalist, Isaac also plays bass and piano on the band’s records.
In 2006, then then-25-year-old Isaac tied the knot with Nicole Dufresne, after spotting her in the audience at a 2003 gig. The couple have three children: sons Clarke and James, and daughter Nina.
Taylor Hanson
Keyboard player and lead vocalist Taylor Hanson was generally considered the band’s frontman, and he was certainly the band member most girls were crushing on at the time. Born March 14th 1983, he also plays guitar, harmonica and drums.
Taylor Hanson married Natalie Bryant all the way back in 2002, with whom he has fathered an eye-opening seven children.
Zac Hanson
The baby of the band, drummer, singer and pianist Zachary Hanson was born October 22nd 1985. Just six years old when the band first started out, he became the fourth youngest Grammy nominee of all time (aged 12 years and 126 days at the time).
Like his siblings, Zac is also a family man these days. He married Kate Tucker in 2006, and they have five children.