Back in 1997, boy band Hanson struck pop gold with their song “MmmBop.”

The three lads from Tulsa, Okla., – Isaac, Taylor and Zac – are all grown up now and their sound has matured as well, as evident on their recently released fourth studio album, “The Walk.”

Before performing two sold-out shows in Chicago, Zac, 21, talked about the band’s current activities and about how difficult it has been to shed the “MmmBop” image.
 
“The Walk” is the second album you have released on your own label, 3CG Records. Did you form the label to give the band more creative control?

 The funny thing for us is, it wasn’t really about changing the creative process as much as it was about keeping it the same. We needed to put ourselves in a position of being able to change with the times, to embrace new opportunities.
 

I understand “The Walk” was in part inspired by the band’s recent trip to South Africa, and that the band decided to use children from a school in a choir.

There was kind of a beautiful simplicity to it. It wasn’t some highly trained group of professionals that were coming in to do a session on an album. When these kids started singing, it was about loving music and loving singing. It wasn’t anything besides that. It was something that really made me realize why I love making music in the first place. 

What does the album’s title mean?

“The Walk” is the walk of life. People make decisions to go for dreams, to do something difficult, or they decide to be part of the crowd that watches. You have to make those decisions by yourself.

You went to South Africa and Mozambique to learn more about the fight against HIV and AIDS. What can this country do?

I think this is something that will change the world whether we solve the problem or let it sit. It’s not enough to just be aware of it, but we also have to take action.
 

It’s been 10 years since “MmmBop” was released. Do you feel the song stereotyped the band?

I think there are a group of people that if they heard someone say Hanson, they would still think of me as an 11-year-old. But when we play that song live now, it doesn’t mean the same thing it once meant. I love to see the fans that have been coming to shows for 10 years, and are now married or starting college.