In the early 1990s, boy bands proliferated in Portugal, and one of the most notable was called Milénio. Five well-presented boys who took advantage of the wave launched by Excesso and rode it for a few years, taking advantage of the pre-teen audience’s eagerness for groups of the genre.
The Milénio appeared in 1998, they appeared to be much younger than the Excesso (and more gadelhudos), thus managing to appeal also to the pre-teen audience that might not be completely interested in the others. The five guys also seemed to avoid lip-synching, although this often happened, and tried to sell themselves with five completely different people to enhance the group more.
What I heard at the time was that the band was much friendlier and easier to get to know than the megahit Excesso, they appeared at fan group meetings, invited them to the music videos and played concerts from north to south of the country. Success appeared right from the start, with a danceable and lively hit with the name “My universe is you”, showing that they were here to stay.
Tiago, Ruca, Ricky, Gato and Diogo were the members of the group, the first was the boy with the sad eyes who always seemed alone and abandoned, Ruca had a naughty air, Ricky the cute boy, Gato the one with the strong and deep voice and Diogo with its great gall. As I said the band had constant appearances throughout the country and on television programs, but after some time elements of the group began to disappear, at first there were only four and in the end there were only three who were trying to support the boy band but already without much success.
Their second album in 2000 was a resounding success, with hits like “Estás Onde Não Estás” playing everywhere. “Tu fazes parte de mim” was another single that toured the national charts and high schools, a group that conquered this fringe of audience like no other band did. The elements gradually disappeared from the national scene, and Ricky even participated in a famous Big Brother where he teamed up with a Brazilian actress and returned to his anonymity.
They even played a concert at the Pavilhão Atlântico, which clearly shows the strength they had in those years and that they walked the stages of Portugal.
