Five Members Of 4*TOWN From Pixar’s Turning Red ( Photo Credit – Instagram )
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Before Saja Boys from Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters, Pixar’s 4*TOWN took over the internet as a fictional boy band. 4*TOWN was featured in Pixar’s film Turning Red, which was released in March 2022. This band became a viral sensation upon the movie’s release. The group was a hit because it presented a blend of nostalgia for early‑2000s pop with modern styles.
Pixar’s 4*TOWN: Real-life Inspiration, Music Charts, & Subsequent Success
Director Domee Shi described 4*TOWN as a tribute to the 2000s boy bands, such as *NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, O‑Town, and 98 Degrees, as per Marie Claire. The group also features a striking similarity to modern K‑pop groups like BTS and ATEEZ to add a flair of modern boy bands. Director Shi mentioned that the group started with four members, but they kept the name 4 Town even after a fifth member joined late.
4*TOWN has five members: Robaire (voiced by Jordan Fisher), Aaron Z. (voiced by Josh Levi), Aaron T. (voiced by Topher Ngo), Tae Young (voiced by Grayson Villanueva), and Jesse (voiced by Finneas O’Connell). Their three debut tracks—“Nobody Like U,” “1 True Love,” and “U Know What’s Up”—were written by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell. These songs hit viral status, with over 60 million combined streams.
Despite being a fictional boy band, 4*TOWN made real-world waves with its breakout track Nobody Like U. The song debuted at #50 and peaked at #49 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the first original Pixar track to enter the chart. It also ranked high on the Spotify Global Viral Songs chart and has since garnered over 170 million streams on the platform. The song was certified Platinum in the US, earned a Grammy nomination for Best Song Written for Visual Media, and even charted internationally in Canada, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand.
In Turning Red, the excitement around 4*TOWN is central to the film’s coming‑of‑age theme. The movie focuses on Meilin “Mei” Lee (voiced by Rosalie Chiang), a 13-year-old Chinese-Canadian student who turns into a giant red panda when she experiences any strong emotion. This transformation is a direct result of a hereditary curse passed from her mother’s side of the family.
Director Shi said it was vital to take teen fandom seriously. While there is comic relief in the movie, it does not poke insult at the tween girls’ obsession with boy bands. The team even launched an official website and digital content for “4*Townies” (the band’s fandom name). Official merch was also released, thus showing how deeply the band resonated with its young audience. The movie also features voiceovers by actors like Sandra Oh, Ava Morse, Hyein Park, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Orion Lee, Wai Ching Ho, Tristan Allerick Chen, and James Hong.
Watch the video of 4*TOWN’s song Nobody Like U here:
