Backstreet’s Back, alright! Or at least they’re about to be in just a few weeks time. The popular ’90s boy band, Backstreet Boys, announced today on Good Morning America that they will perform on the morning show’s Summer Concert Series on Aug. 31 — three months after member Kevin Richardson announced his return to the group. “We’re going to be coming to perform for you guys on August 31,” A.J. McLean said today during the live GMA interview. “The first time together, all five of us.”
As many dedicated BSB fans already know, A.J. McLean, Brian Littrell, Howie Dorough, and Nick Carter have spent the last few years touring with their heartthrob predecessors: New Kids on the Block, but much like the ingredients to your Grandmother’s famous pumpkin pie, it just isn’t the same without all the ingredients. Now that Kevin’s been added back into the mix, it’s a recipe for success (is anyone else now excited and hungry?)
The group also revealed their plans for a brand new album (set for release in spring 2013), along with announcing that they will soon be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles. Did you feel that? That’s the sound of former-teenybopper tourists collectively sighing in relief. Check out the video interview below:
So in honor of this (albeit temporary) BSB reunion, the writers of Hollywood.com took some time to recall our favorite memories of the prominent boy band and get back in touch with our teen-girl side (no judgements please).
Throughout middle school, I was pretty much an equal opportunity boy band lover. Whether it be BSB, NSYNC, 98 Degrees — you name it, they were posted somewhere on my wall. But the Backstreet Boys always held special significance thanks to a 7th grade dance competition where my friends and I got together and choreographed a spectacular dance routine (if I do say so myself) to their popular song “Larger Than Life.” Not only did I have the best time rehearsing, but we even came in second place (right behind a Spice Girls number). I may or may not still know the dance moves to this day. — KELLY SCHREMPH
I’ve documented time and time again my preference for 98 Degrees, but the Backstreet Boys have the distinction of being every 1990s teenage girl’s first. Because — despite the later popularity of *NSYNC, among others — Backstreet Boys was the first on the TRL scene, and the first to cause hormone-fueled insanity. Who wasn’t a Nick, Brian, Kevin, or AJ girl? (Sorry, Howie. No one was a Howie girl.) And who didn’t have at least one Backstreet Boy poster on their wall? I might have outgrown the Backstreet Boys halfway through listening to Black & Blue, but the five guys still manage to put a nostalgic smile on my face. After all, my go-to karaoke song is “I Want It That Way,” naturally. How can you not appreciate the key change that launched a million screams? — KATE WARD
One of my first concerts was a Backstreet Boy concert. I had Nick Carter’s pictures covering my walls, like any fan-obssessed crazy pre-teen. And then a few years back, I finally got the chance to interview Nick in real life. It was like 13-year-old Lindsey’s wildest dream finally came true. — LINDSEY DIMATTINA
My first BSB concert was when I was….26. Yes, I waited about a decade too late to see BSB in concert, but I couldn’t pass up the chance to see New Kids on the Block and BSB. No kidding, it was one of the best times I’ve ever had a concert. Unlike so many shows I attend, no one there acted like they were cooler than the performers on stage. Everyone was there to just dance and sing and relive their teen years. It was pretty magical, actually. — ALY SEMIGRAN
As an avid TRL watcher during my teen years, my friends and I used to absorb a ton of boy band history and trivia. Both good and bad, BSB definitely took the MTV audience on a journey with them. From the high points, with the debut and countdown domination of I Want It That Way (which my friend Colleen still argues is the best boyband song….ever), to their somber mid-TRL appearance to announce that AJ was going to rehab, (the latter featuring a tearful Nick Carter wearing a “Grabbabootie and Pinch” shirt.) They were the first to completely fill the streets outside the TRL studios with screaming and crying teenage girls, and who could forget Tiffany, the crazy rage-filled BSB fan who jokingly(?) threatened Carson’s life when she came in second in a TRL competition to find BSB’s biggest fan. They’re the boy band that just won’t die, and here’s hoping there’s many more catchy pop singles coming our way. — KELLY SCHREMPH
And to prove that even non-fans can still have BSB memories:
I know my favorite Backstreet memories are those times in which, as a stubborn *NSYNC fan, I would debate my cousin, friends, random girl on the bus about who was the better band. My go-to justifications included the fact that “I Want It That Way” reminded me of the Burger King slogan, Nick Carter was a poor man’s Devon Sawa, Brian Littrell looked like a baby dinosaur, and that Chris Kirkpatrick’s pineapple head was a better quirk than A.J. McLean’s collection of leopard print cowboy hats. All of which were pretty solid arguments, if you ask me. — KELSEA STAHLER
[Photo credit: Instagram]
More:
Which Backstreet Boy Is a Vampire? — VIDEO
98 Degrees’ Jeff Timmons Talks (On-Camera?) Reunion, ’90s Nostalgia, and More!
