Boy Band Blues: One Direction, SMAP Reportedly Breaking Up

03:54

January 13, 2016

The four remaining members of the boy band One Direction are reportedly breaking up. (Cal Aurand/One Direction via Facebook)

Members of the Japanese boy band SMAP (from left) Masahiro Nakai, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, Shingo Katori, Goro Inagaki and Takuya Kimura, are pictured on December 30, 2015, in Tokyo. (JIJI Press/AFP/Getty Images)

Us Weekly is reporting the permanent break up of the U.K. boy band One Direction. The news comes after a five-month hiatus and the departure of beloved member Zayn Malik almost a year ago.

Beyond breaking fans' hearts, One-D also is a money making machine. Forbes ranks the group No. 1 on its list of the world's highest-paid celebrities under 30. The four band members pulled in $130 million in 2015.

But One Direction is not the only boy band rumored to be breaking up. The Japanese group SMAP, widely-known there as music and television stars, also appears to have parted ways. The break-up, if true, ends an almost three-decade reign of one of the most popular J-pop bands.

Here & Now's Robin Young gets the details on both groups from Jeff Benjamin, features editor at Fuse.tv and K-pop columnist at Billboard.

Songs In This Segment

"The Best Song Ever" by One Direction
"Story of My Life" by One Direction
"Lion Heart" by SMAP

Guest

Jeff Benjamin, features editor at Fuse.tv and K-pop columnist at Billboard. He tweets @Jeff__Benjamin.

This segment aired on January 13, 2016.