29 February 2008

US boy band the Backstreet Boys arrived at Hong Kong International Airport yesterday afternoon, ahead of their concert at the Asiaworld Arena this evening, forming the Hong Kong leg of their Unbreakable tour.

A press conference was held this afternoon, where the boys met local reporters. It has been ten years since the band was last in Hong Kong and they commented that the region is still continually maturing. They also told of how some fans had presented them with photographs from their last performance and they were very touched by the gesture.

The band have been together now for fifteen years, but band members Nick Carter and Brian Littrell have also had successful solo careers. The other two members, Howie Dorough and A.J. McLean, are also planning to release solo albums this year.

They were met by around 30 fans as they left the airport yesterday, but security was tight as they were bundled into their car. However, the men were very co-operative and friendly as they waved to their fans and exchanged autographs for gifts from their supporters. Brian spoke briefly to the reporters, saying that they had planned to do some shopping during their stay and laughed that the fans here were very crazy but this made him happy. He added that he does like Hong Kong a lot.

Fifteen years on, the Backstreet Boys have lost neither their talent nor appeal.

EVEN back in 1993 when the Backstreet Boys were formed, people were scoffing at the concept of boybands. Other than their pre-pubescent fan base, they were given little credit – members of boybands are apparently pretty boys who can’t sing, and dance to cheesy choreography.

Two nights ago, Malaysians at the Sunway Surf Beach at Sunway Lagoon Theme Park in Petaling Jaya were witness to the flaws in this argument. Fifteen years on, the Backstreet Boys are still pretty, can still dance and showed that they indeed can sing.

In fact, the four members – Brian Littrell, AJ McLean, Howie Dorough and Nick Carter – proved to be complete entertainers if the shrieks of approval from the 10,000-strong crowd were anything to go by. The crowd was diverse – with children as young as seven years old and adults in their 40s – bopping to the music.

Continue Reading »

PETALING JAYA: Even the possibility of a huge storm couldn’t stop the 10,000 strong crowd from showing up at Sunway Surf Beach at the Sunway Lagoon Theme Park last night to catch American boyband Backstreet Boys live.  

Barely an hour before the concert was due to start, thunder and rain threatened to dampen the atmosphere at the concert, the band’s first concert in Malaysia since the Force of Nature Tsunami Relief Concert in 2004. 

“The skies are clear, and we are here … Backstreet’s back!” shouted McLean as he thanked the crowd for showing up.  

The band members – Brian Littrell, AJ McLean, Nick Carter and Howie Dorough – had the crowd eating out of their hands throughout the one and a half hour concert, belting out almost 30 songs. 

Continue Reading »

Take 40 caught up with Brian and Howie from the Backstreet Boys recently while they were in the country for their tour, and found out a bit about ex-BSB Kevin Richardson’s buck’s night!

Even though Kevin has left the band, the boys say they still keep in touch. Howie even went along for his spur of the moment bachelor party recently!

“Poor guy…” Howie said. “We were on tour at the time, I think we were in Canada… and supposedly AJ told him he was going to set up this whole bachelor thing for him… and unfortunately he thought about himself at the last minute and ducked out… so the poor guy really didn’t truly have a major bachelor party…”

Continue Reading »

OK, so I have to admit I wasn’t exactly excited about going to see the Backstreet Boys in concert — even with the offer of a free ticket.

I didn’t even have time to warm to the idea of going to watch the boys perform because the promotion for the concert was … where? If it wasn’t for a billboard I spotted near Senayan on Sunday afternoon, I would have had no idea the former teen heart-throbs were coming to Jakarta.

The Backstreet Boys’ Unbreakable Tour kicked off Feb. 16 in Tokyo, Japan, with two shows, followed by three shows in Australia (Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne) then Jakarta.

It is the boy band’s first tour without Kevin Richardson, (36), who left the group in June 2006 to pursue a solo career. The now four-member group still includes original members Nick Carter (28), AJ McLean (30), Brian Littrell (33,) and Howie Dorough (34).

Their performance in Jakarta took place at Plenary Hall, in the Jakarta Convention Center, Senayan, on Feb. 25. The boys burst onto the stage at around 8 p.m. to begin their first set with the 1999 hit single “Larger Than Life” from their Millennium album, followed by songs from their Unbreakable album, which was released in October 2007.

Continue Reading »