Latest news with #Millennium2.0
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Backstreet Boys' horrifying security scare after confronted by bloodied fans
Backstreet Boys have a global fanbase, but singer Brian Littrell admits it can sometimes be scary the lengths they go to to see the iconic boyband Backstreet Boys are back and they are ready for a larger than life show in Las Vegas' The Sphere. The iconic group remains one of the biggest boybands in history with over 75 million album sales worldwide. And with their pull undeniable, that number will only rise with the epic re-release of their hit album Millennium. As the newly produced Millennium 2.0 hits the shelves, and band member Brian Littrell has shared his love of the group's global fanbase. However, he also admits it's not always plain sailing being so popular. Brian, who joined up with Nick Carter, AJ McLean, Kevin Richardson and Howie Dorough to create the group, confessed they are sometimes met with scary fan moments Despite loving the fact they have such loyal fans, singer Brian revealed a number of occasions have left him stunned. Speaking exclusively to the Mirror, Brian said: "One of the craziest was when we were in Germany and we showed up to our dressing room. "There's two girls sitting on the couch in our dressing room. I saw them, and I didn't say anything. So I just went into the bathroom and came back out. "I asked AJ 'Hey, do you know who these two girls are in our dressing room?' And he was like,'No, I thought they were like, press or something like that'. We came to find out they were two passionate fans. They ripped their jeans, and had blood on their shirt. "It was kind of crazy to find out they were fans. They broke into the venue and got into our dressing room somehow. And, yeah, it was pretty crazy." Opening up on another occasion, Brian said a similar situation occurred in the UK. "Another one was when some fans made up fake press passes," he went on. "They were backstage just walking around. I think it was in Manchester. And I was like, 'Who are these girls? Because we don't have press today'. We found out they were just chilling backstage, hanging out with us. We finally got them out of there." And he admitted "the stories go on and on". Despite the incident, Brian says the band loves the UK and claims they "never disappoint". He also admitted fans in Blighty are very similar to those stateside. "I find the UK and the US a lot alike," he said. "To pick a difference, you have to go down to South America. They are so passionate and so loving and also crazy in a good way. It's different down there. "When you go to Japan, they're much more reserved. They wait until you're finished singing, and then they clap. It's cool, because it's just different cultures. We love the UK. I have English descent and Welsh descent and all that stuff. So, you know, the fans are great." Speaking of why the band decided to re-release Millennium, Brian went on: "It's been 25 years. Well, it's actually 26 because it came out in '99. But this is a monumental moment. It was one of the biggest pop records in history around the world. And it's kind of the stamp of approval for us in the music business. "It set the benchmark, I think, for every pop group to come after us to be like 'wow, we've got to do something like that'. So, yeah, it's monumental for us to re-release the album and to have new versions and they're even going to be even more fantastic." And he added the decision to share that journey again also merged with their excitement to create history. "Why not share in that journey again, and build a show around it and be the first of our kind to do The Sphere? "The Backstreet Boys are carrying the pop torch into The Sphere!" The Backstreet Boys 'Into The Millennium' Sphere residency started July 11 with the album Millennium 2.0 also out now.
Daily Mirror
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Backstreet Boys promise 'oh my God' moment as iconic boyband set to make history
The Backstreet Boys are ready to show everyone they are still larger than life as they take over Las Vegas' epic new concert space The Sphere later this month to coincide with Millennium 2.0's release Backstreet's back, it's official! Yes, the Boys – Brian Littrell, Nick Carter, AJ McLean, Kevin Richardson and Howie Dorough – have returned 30 years after they first took the pop world by storm in 1995 with the single, We've Got It Goin' On. Before long, they won scores of devoted teenage fans around the world. Now, the five-piece are all set for a huge Las Vegas takeover this summer, and Brian – who was just 20 when the group skyrocketed to fame – says audiences are in for a real treat. The band are also releasing a reissue of their best-selling 1999 album Millennium, called Millennium 2.0, and will be kicking off a history-making residency that Brian promises will be 'like no other'. Here, OK! catches up exclusively with the now 50-year-old to talk about the wild ride the band's been on and why his son Baylee, 22, his only child with wife Leighanne, 55, is his biggest inspiration. Hi, Brian! It's been 30 years since the Backstreet Boys first found fame. How has your time in the band been? Wow, I mean, how do I put it into words? It's been a wonderful journey with a lot of ups and downs yet, at the same time, a whole lot of joy. We're blessed each and every day to work – if you call it work, and entertain. To still be doing this and for people to still want to hear our music and see our shows, it's amazing. What can people expect from your Las Vegas takeover at The Sphere? A lot of fun! Just because of the building alone, this show is so different. It's so immersive. The seats vibrate. It's like watching a giant movie, so it's going to be exciting and it's going to be something new for our fans as well as for us. But the experience is something like no other. We've got some tricks up our sleeve. We're going to be doing some things that nobody has ever done in The Sphere. But I have to be tight-lipped, so I can't share just yet. Come 11 July, when social media hits, you'll be like, 'Oh, my God!' Go on, give us a clue… It's hard to explain, but there's a show that's on the screen itself, like a movie. It's a journey. We're taking people through time and space. It's Millennium themed. You can get the gist of what it's going to be about if you know the Millennium record. We call it like two shows at once. We will literally be larger than life on screen, you know a good 40 or 50 feet tall. We're the first pop group to do it in The Sphere and we're going to be doing a lot of things that nobody has ever done before. We're still dancing and singing, so we've still got it going on. So, why now and why Millennium? It's been 25 years. Well, it's actually 26 because it came out in 1999. But this is a monumental moment. It was one of the biggest pop records in history around the world. And it's kind of the stamp of approval for us in the music business. It set the benchmark, I think, for every pop group to come after us to be like, 'Wow, we've got to do something like that.' So, it's monumental for us to re-release the album and to have new versions and they're going to be even more fantastic. So, why not share in that journey again, and build a show around it and be the first of our kind to do The Sphere? You must have one song from your catalogue that you never tire of singing? Man, that's hard. You know, we've got a lot of hits. I wrote Larger Than Life and The One. I put The Perfect Fan on that album and dedicated it to my mom. There's a song I love called Siberia – it's probably one of my favourites of all time. What's the secret ingredient to boyband success? Communication. You've got to have the love and passion for it. But, yeah, keeping an open line of communication will keep you together. Your son Baylee is also making a name for himself in the music industry, isn't he? Oh, man. Yeah, he's a singer-songwriter. He was on the last season of American Idol and just had his first single released, called Hey Jesus. He's so talented. I get a little emotional when I talk about my son. He's super gifted and he's taught me a lot about the journey and wanting to be better. He's become my inspiration more than I have been his, lately. The Backstreet Boys' Into The Millennium Sphere residency starts on 11 July and their album Millennium 2.0 is also out the same day
Forbes
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Backstreet Boys Dominate iTunes With Classic Boy Band Smashes
Next month, the Backstreet Boys will drop Millennium 2.0, an expanded edition of its groundbreaking, blockbuster album Millennium. The updated release includes previously unheard tunes and other goodies that superfans will enjoy. Listeners, however, can't seem to wait until July 11, when the project officially arrives. The pop icons are already dominating iTunes this Friday (June 6), as Americans once again rush to buy music by the Backstreet Boys en masse. On the current edition of the iTunes Top Songs list – which ranks the bestselling tracks on the U.S. version of the platform, and is often considered the most important when it comes to individual tune purchases in the country — the Backstreet Boys have put their continued popularity on full display. The group claims half a dozen top 10 hits at the moment. All of its smashes — "I Want It That Way," "Larger Than Life," "Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely," "Don't Want to Lose You Now," "The One," and "It's Gotta Be You" — appear in this lineup, one right after the other, starting at No. 3 with "I Want It That Way" and ending at No. 8 with "It's Gotta Be You." Further down the 200-spot roster comes a recently-released collaboration between the Backstreet Boys and Rascal Flatts, "What Hurts the Most." The updated take on the tune made famous by the country group years ago currently lives at No. 117. The track was released earlier this year and is benefiting at the moment as Rascal Flatts drops its new collaborative project, Life Is a Highway: Refueled Duets, which arrives this Friday and is nearing the top 10 on the iTunes Top Albums list. Speaking of the iTunes Top Albums tally, the Backstreet Boys nearly claim a No. 1 album in America, in addition to multiple bestselling top 10 smashes. Millennium bolts more than 150 spaces to settle in the runner-up spot, coming in behind only Tha Carter VI by Lil Wayne, which proves to be the biggest new release this week. Both of those titles push former recent champions Taylor Swift's Reputation and Morgan Wallen's I'm the Problem down several pegs, after they were ruling just a few hours ago.
Travel Weekly
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Travel Weekly
Backstreet Boys headlining Sphere in Las Vegas this summer
The Backstreet Boys will perform their greatest hits as well as tracks from their "Millennium" album at Sphere in Las Vegas this summer. The 21 shows, set for July 11 to Aug. 24, mark the first performances by a pop music act at Sphere. The group, with more than 130 million in worldwide sales since their debut, is releasing "Millennium 2.0" on July 11 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of its chart-topping, Grammy-nominated album. Live Nation is producing the shows, and Vibee is the official concert & VIP hotel experience package partner for the performances. Packages include a choice of general admission floor or reserved seating; a two-night stay at the Venetian Resort Las Vegas or Virgin Hotels Las Vegas; access to the Backstreet Boys Experience pop-up; and a collectible laminate and lanyard. The VIP edition of the packages provides perks such as premium reserved seating, priority entry and luxury motorcoach transportation to and from the airport. For the list of performance dates, showtimes and tickets, go to
Express Tribune
27-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Backstreet's back
Deep in the heart of every late 30s/early 40s-something woman is a secret she would be loath to admit. And no, it is not that we hide bodies in the back garden. (Not everyone can afford a garden.) Our secret, in fact, is this: once upon a time, circa late '90s, our hearts were in the sole care of that specimen of human male collectively identifying as the Backstreet Boys. And now in 2025, come July, the BSB are seeking to capitalise on some of the embers of the passion that once burned so brightly. Think the film industry lacks imagination when it inflicts upon you sequel after sequel? The BSB are going to do you one better by releasing a digitally remastered version of their Millennium album titled – you are going to want to sit down for this – Millennium 2.0. Please do not be alarmed if you despise change in your advanced age, because there is absolutely nothing new on offer in this digitally remastered situation other than the number 2. In the trusty words of People, the only new thing you will have to tolerate on Millennium 2.0 will be six unheard demos and six live recordings from the BSB Millennium tour. Every existing track that you once knew and loved – and still know the words to despite having not heard it in 20 years – will be digitally remastered. That is it. Boyband mission statement Like their boyband brethren, the BSB existed to teach us all about love. We had the baby of the group Nick Carter, who joined the band at 16 and had the most fabulous middle parting in his blond hair. Nick walked so Jack Dawson (of Titanic fame) could run. Then there was Brian Littrell, the avowed best friend of Nick, cousin of fellow bandmate Kevin Richardson, and the man who usually opened most of BSB tracks. Brian's favourite colour was blue. We former BSB fans may not remember to pick up milk when we do the groceries, but you will be pleased to note that we have retained this information for the day Earth gets overtaken by alien overlords and the only condition of release is to answer to their chief whether Brian prefers blue or yellow. AJ McLean was the obligatory whacky tattooed figure, and together with Nick and Brian, got the meatiest part of the songs (or at least as meaty as it could be after being split three ways.) Kevin, Brian's cousin, existed to stare moodily in the background and occasionally astonished us all with his lovely baritone. The final member of this crew was Howie Dorough, who, like Kevin, melted away in the background, but did inform us during the liner notes of the first Backstreet Boys album that his favourite book was John Grisham's The Firm, an admission that sparked a love affair with courtroom dramas with at least one bookish BSB fan. Speaking of liner notes, along with churning out ballads and looking pretty, our lovelorn hotshots also relied heavily on those little cassette booklets to lure fans into swearing allegiance to them. These liner notes were almost as important as whatever was actually on the album. In minuscule writing that would have you squinting today, these informative booklets would detail the lyrics of every track, include an array of photos of moody poses, and thoughtfully give us thank you letters from each band member that fans would pore over as if they were WW2 mathematicians and it was the enigma code. What a beautiful, simple time to be alive! Looking back at 'Millennium' Back in 1999, BSB fans, forever congratulating themselves on picking the right side of the Backstreet Boys-'N Sync battle were beside with joy with the third BSB album, Millennium, which included not just I Want It That Way, but an ego-affirming song dedicated to the fans (Larger Than Life), another dedicated to Brian's mother (The Perfect Fan) and one thoughtful contemplation on the subject of loneliness (Show Me The Meaning of Being Lonely). As a bonus, this last song contained the word 'crimson', which is not a feat any other boyband can boast of. Now that we are older and wiser, we sigh in despair at the numerous offerings of the K-pop industry, but back in 1999, we could have written a dissertation on why Millennium was the most important album ever produced, with a large section on why its biggest single, I Want It That Way was the most genius musical composition to have ever graced the earth. It wouldn't have been a very good dissertation, mind you, because most available brain cells were engaged in swooning over the album cover. To ensure maximum swoon-ability, our heroes out-dazzle the sun in blinding white outfits and shoes of the type favoured by detergent commercials. Standing against a blue backdrop, they stare soulfully at an indeterminate spot, lost in the type of philosophical contemplation not seen since the likes of Aristotle. Perhaps they are contemplating the meaning of life, or more likely, the meaning behind I Want It That Way, which relies almost exclusively on a meaningless variation of the words 'fire', ' desire' and 'I want it that way'. Just what it is that they desire and why they are so fixated on wanting it that way is a mystery that no one has ever successfully cracked, but such is the power of this hit track that, as Brooklyn Nine Nine reminded us, it can even ferret out murderers in a prisoner line-up. It is fitting, then, that to promote the new-but-not-really-new Millennium 2.0, our heroes of the days of yore performed their biggest hit during the recent SNL 50th anniversary show. We are not the only ones who have grown up. They have, too. For a start, they are all fathers now. Brian suffers from a medical condition causing him difficulty singing, not that that stops him from trying. Those who do not know will be shocked at his opening verse in the recent SNL performance, but with Nick – no longer the designated baby – swooping in to pick up his second verse and saving his friend, balance is restored. Is there any point in Millennium 2.0? Heavens no. But since we are getting it anyway, we may as well submit to nostalgia, revisit simpler times (digitally remastered though they may be) and try, once again, to solve the unfathomable riddle of I Want It That Way.
