In the old MGM musicals, Mickey and Judy got together and put on a show. In a modern version, Mickey and Judy might get together and put out a press release.
Perception is all.
Ah yes, we've got to target those tweens, get that big tween market, get hold of those precious tweenie dollars before someone else does. It traffics ever so lightly in voyeuristic sadism as well. The idea was to create a band for television, somewhat the way the Monkees were created decades ago. Perhaps the fact that it was ABC's turn to televise the pageant had a wee something to do with it. It would appear that there are already more than enough sappy, syrupy boy bands in existence.