Never giving Big Time Rush up

Neha Seenarine, Associate Arts & Life
March 1, 2022

I have a big time crush on Big Time Rush, and it’s one of my biggest dreams to meet the boy band. Photo by Lunchbox LP via Flickr / Photo Illustration by (Sarah Hardiman)

If I made a list of bad Big Time Rush songs, it would be blank. Its newest single, “Not Giving You Up” is no exception.

The boy band, consisting of Kendall Schmidt, Logan Henderson, James Maslow and Carlos PenaVega, released their new song,“Not Giving You Up” on Feb. 25. This song is its second-latest release following its 2013 hiatus after ending its sitcom on Nickelodeon.

“Not Giving You Up” feels like Big Time Rush has a massive crush on me, and I wouldn’t want it any other way. My initial listen was at midnight, and I was bobbing my head up and down to the song in my bed. My second listen was at 7 a.m. immediately after I called out of work because of the sleet. However, the song gave me the willpower to drive through Mario Kart’s Rainbow Road.

Their voices flow simultaneously together. Schmidt and Maslow captured my heart with “When it comes to you, girl / I’m prepared to do anything that it takes.” I remember Schmidt and Maslow having the lead vocals for the longest time, but Henderson and PenaVega carried the main verses. It was refreshing to hear their voices.

“Not Giving You Up” is three minutes long. I’ve heard the shortest songs are the ones we want more of like PARTYNEXTDOOR’s “Break from Toronto” which is only a minute and 39 seconds. The beauty of this is that listeners will smash the repeat button over and over. I’ve been waiting for new Big Time Rush music for years, so I’ll take what I can get.

As a longtime fan, I admired how their discography was mostly love songs. Despite the band being away for almost a decade, they still know how to swoon their audiences, or at least myself.

In recent years, we’ve seen boy bands like the Jonas Brothers and New Kids On The Block reunite. It’s not difficult to regroup a fan base because honestly, I listen to Big Time Rush’s “Any Kind of Guy” from 2010 every day. I yearned for more music from them. When you put out impressive work, the loyalty will stay unless someone from the band gets canceled on the internet.

Although Big Time Rush is under Nick Columbia records, they can’t promote their music as actively on Nickelodeon. The band’s songs would be incorporated in its show’s episodes and music videos would play in between commercials. I remember being stunned that Schmidt said “hell” in “Music Sounds Better With U” and the lyric got censored out. However, Nickelodeon’s social media accounts share the band’s latest projects, and it’s wholesome to see they haven’t cut ties.

The promotion for “Not Giving You Up” was genius. On Valentine’s Day, the band tweeted out a hotline number for fans to call while promoting their upcoming release. The hotline served as “Big Time Relationship Services” where you can hear love advice from the four members. It’s almost like they knew their fan base is primarily single. It was an interactive way for fans to connect with their favorite Big Time Rush member.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get through with the hotline, but a few days later the band tweeted a number that fans could text. I texted that number in a heartbeat. The options were “Real Talk with Logan,” “Deep Thoughts with Kendall,” “ASMR with James,” “Positive Affirmations with Carlos” or to preview “Not Giving You Up.” When they teased their new song the only thing that registered in my brain was Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up.”

The visual execution of the “Not Giving You Up” video is amazing. They’re portrayed as love doctors helping a woman get over emotional damage. I haven’t seen a Big Time Rush music video in so long. I was astonished to see them back into whimsical characters and busting out their best boy band dance moves. Big Time Rush has never left my playlist since the fifth grade, and I don’t think it ever will.