Even 20 years later, the band Hanson’s hit song “MMMbop” is still as infectiously catchy as ever. The three musically-gifted brothers came together to deliver an acoustic rendition of the 1997 single for a surprisingly emotional performance of the tune on ABC’s Greatest Hits.
The original, self-produced song went double platinum and earned a pair of Grammy nominations for the three brothers who are now completely grown up. Isaac, 35; Taylor, 33; and Zac, 30; sat down for an interview with Vulture in March to talk about the song. The boys claimed that most people who cover the song don’t typically get it quite right.
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“You know why? People can’t sing the chorus right,” Isaac stated. “Most of the time they syncopate it wrong.”While covers of the song may not match up, the acoustic version the trio performed on ABC’s Greatest Hits is just as upbeat and fun as the original song.
At the time the hit song was released in May of 1997, the group were long-haired youths with the youngest member Zac being only 11 years old. The group has since continued releasing music, but none of their later releases have experienced quite the commercial success of the first album. Their most recent album, Anthem, came out in June of 2013 and was able to land in the top 40 of the Billboard 200.
The trio has come a long way since this original video in 1997.
The episode of Greatest Hits on ABC was devoted to chart-toppers from the years 1995-2000. The show began by a performance by the Backstreet Boys’ “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)” as well as a rendition of “I Want It That Way” featuring “All About That Bass” singer Meghan Trainor.
Greatest Hits on ABC airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET.
