Latest news with #BackstreetBoys
CTV News
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Macaulay Culkin and Brenda Song are officially major Backstreet Boys fans
Culkin posted a photo of him and his partner Song along with the Backstreet CNN Newsource Backstreet's back alright, and Macaulay Culkin and Brenda Song are thrilled about it. Culkin posted a joyous photo on Instagram of him and his longterm partner Song along with the Backstreet Boys at what appeared to be backstage at the boy band's Las Vegas 'Into the Millennium' residency at the Sphere earlier this week. The actor had some fun with the caption, starting it off with 'Mack Street's Back, ALRIGHT!!!' Culkin – who first shot to fame in 1990's 'Home Alone' – then asked his followers if they 'remember the '90s?,' going on to say how he and Song went to the concert where 'Brenda lost her sh*t. (She literally cried).' The Backstreet Boys, of course, first shot to global fame in the mid-'90s with their self-titled debut album. Culkin admitted that he 'was mildly skeptical about the show, but boy howdy did they tear the place down.' 'I was so very impressed. Five minutes into pilates I'm toast,' he wrote. 'I'm 45 but these men, who are my age, GO at it HARD for 90 minutes.' He then detailed how the boy band used everything at hand to put on the best possible show, praising them that 'they got it more than ever.' 'Even if you're not a fan you have to see this; it'll win you over… in the Brenda kind of way,' Culkin wrote before jokingly thanking them for making Song emotional. The pair have been a couple since 2017, got engaged in 2022 and are the parents of two young sons. The Backstreet Boys responded to Culkin's post via their Instagram stories writing, 'So glad you both enjoyed the show! We saw @brendasong tearin it up in the suite!! You go girl!' Safe to say Culkin won't be left 'Home Alone' for the next Backstreet Boys concert. By Lisa Respers France, CNN
CNN
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- CNN
Macaulay Culkin and Brenda Song are officially major Backstreet Boys fans
People in entertainment MusicFacebookTweetLink Follow Backstreet's back alright, and Macaulay Culkin and Brenda Song are thrilled about it. Culkin posted a joyous photo on Instagram of him and his longterm partner Song along with the Backstreet Boys at what appeared to be backstage at the boy band's Las Vegas 'Into the Millennium' residency at the Sphere earlier this week. The actor had some fun with the caption, starting it off with 'Mack Street's Back, ALRIGHT!!!' Culkin – who first shot to fame in 1990's 'Home Alone' – then asked his followers if they 'remember the '90s?,' going on to say how he and Song went to the concert where 'Brenda lost her sh*t. (She literally cried).' The Backstreet Boys, of course, first shot to global fame in the mid-'90s with their self-titled debut album. Culkin admitted that he 'was mildly skeptical about the show, but boy howdy did they tear the place down.' 'I was so very impressed. Five minutes into pilates I'm toast,' he wrote. 'I'm 45 but these men, who are my age, GO at it HARD for 90 minutes.' He then detailed how the boy band used everything at hand to put on the best possible show, praising them that 'they got it more than ever.' 'Even if you're not a fan you have to see this; it'll win you over… in the Brenda kind of way,' Culkin wrote before jokingly thanking them for making Song emotional. The pair have been a couple since 2017, got engaged in 2022 and are the parents of two young sons. The Backstreet Boys responded to Culkin's post via their Instagram stories writing, 'So glad you both enjoyed the show! We saw @brendasong tearin it up in the suite!! You go girl!' Safe to say Culkin won't be left 'Home Alone' for the next Backstreet Boys concert.
USA Today
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Kevin Richardson spills secrets behind Backstreet Boys' stunning Sphere concerts
Kevin Richardson knew one of the most difficult moments of the Backstreet Boys' Sphere show in Las Vegas had nothing to do with dance moves or high notes or a flying apparatus. Emotion would be his nemesis. 'I wasn't able to get through it in rehearsals, and I told the fellas, 'I'm going to look at you and if I lose it, you're going to come in and help me out,'' he said. The 'it' Richardson refers to is 'The Perfect Fan,' the tender ode to the quintet's mothers that closes their landmark 1999 'Millennium' album and is performed during an intimate segment of their glitzy Sphere production. Richardson, who talked to USA TODAY before the Backstreet Boys kicked off their 21-date residency at the revolutionary Las Vegas venue July 11, knows himself well. On opening night, as family photos blanketed the 160,000-square-foot interior screen, Richardson indeed choked up during the first lyrics, while group mate and cousin Brian Littrell, who cowrote the ballad, squeezed his eyes shut to suppress tears. The song is part of the 'minimalistic Millennium medley' as Richardson calls it, when he, Littrell and comrades Nick Carter, AJ McLean and Howie Dorough revisit swoony less-remembered tracks from the album. The segment allows the group to take a breather between the effervescent bounce of 'The One' and the home stretch that includes 'Quit Playing Games (With My Heart),' 'Shape of My Heart' and the extraordinary moment when they take flight (more on that later). But it also signifies how the Sphere can be molded to meet the moment. More: Backstreet Boys deliver stunning concert to devoted fans at Sphere in Las Vegas: Review Backstreet Boys looked to the Eagles for Sphere inspiration When the Backstreet Boys were initially in talks to ink a residency as the inaugural pop act to play the Sphere, they made a pilgrimage to Las Vegas (except for Carter, who lives there) to attend an Eagles concert at the venue. 'We watched the show and I was in awe,' Richardson recalls as he receives a vitamin IV for hydration during our interview. 'I'm a huge Eagles fan and this was like watching all of your favorite songs as a film but with your favorite artist performing them live. This is the venue of the future. You can take your audience anywhere you want to take them.' Richardson, the elder statesman of the group at 53, returned for two more Eagles shows and also witnessed the EDM spectacle Anyma 'The End Of Genesys' in January and Kenny Chesney's country maiden voyage this spring. All acts that have played the Sphere, from U2's jaw-dropping opener in September 2023 to Dead & Company's show-shifting setlist, have had to reconcile sharing equal billing with the venue itself. Richardson says he learned quickly through observation that 'there are two shows going on – the one on the screen and the one with the people on the floor.' Unlike their predecessors, Backstreet Boys outfitted their set with two ramps stretching into the crowd, allowing for more interaction with fans. Richardson exceeded the homework assignment and walked the nine levels of Sphere to 'see what the vibe was' and recognized that each level had its own ambiance. 'We were always self-scouting,' he says. 'What we're trying to do is like a film. Each song leads into the other in a through line, so you're going on a voyage, a journey.' More: Las Vegas Sphere concerts: All the bands that are playing and how to get tickets Fear of heights doesn't keep the Backstreet Boys from flying Tens of thousands of millennial fans have packed the venue since the Boys' July 11 debut – shows run through Aug. 24 – and experienced heaving bouts of nostalgia hearing 'TRL'-era hits including 'Larger Than Life,' 'Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely" and their 1995 debut single, 'We've Got It Goin' On.' But the undeniable highlight of the concert marks another Sphere first: a moving platform. Backstreet Boys buffs likely recall 'Get Down (You're the One for Me)' from the group's debut album, a worldwide smash that only rippled on the U.S. charts. The music video featured the fivesome floating on what Richardson described as 'a disco ball cut in half with fans dancing around us as we're on this big globe.' Cut to nearly 30 years later and the Backstreet Boys are airborne once again in a recreation of the video. Their rising platform, seemingly hovering in midair, reaches about 75 feet, parallel to the 200-level of the venue. Weeks before the residency kickoff, Richardson, McLean and Littrell, who is nervous about heights, tested the moving piece to ensure everyone's comfort. Onstage, the guys are strapped in for safety while Littrell also (wisely) holds onto a bar staked into the platform as they sing 'I Want it That Way' and 'Get Down' while surrounded by head-spinning video of hundreds of video squares, a massive mirror ball and hyperactive lasers. It's a fitting near-finale that embraces the cosmic theme of the show, which itself is a tribute to the Backstreet Boys' momentous 'Millennium' album. It was a period in their career when mania was a standard response to even the slightest movement. 'We couldn't go anywhere. We were basically the biggest thing on the planet at the time, kind of like how Taylor (Swift) is now, which is crazy,' Richardson says. 'That was the pinnacle of our careers. What a blessing. What a special thing. It was so surreal that you have bouts of imposter syndrome afterward.' Millions of Backstreet Boys devotees would surely disagree.
Scottish Sun
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Dark side of 90s pop from crack addiction to boozy brawls and sex for money revealed
One star ended up smoking crack in a skip with a homeless woman when the lights go out when the lights go out Dark side of 90s pop from crack addiction to boozy brawls and sex for money revealed THE 90s may have been the decade that brought us Brit pop, but it was also the time when pop music had a huge resurgence. After the Stock, Aitken and Waterman-led assault on the charts in the mid to late 80s, pop music fell to the wayside somewhat in the early part of the next decade. Advertisement 8 The 90s saw a resurgence of pop music Credit: Alamy 8 Boybands like Backstreet Boys reigned supreme Credit: EPA 8 911 had 10 top 10 hits during their career Credit: Andrew Barr - The Sun Glasgow But soon, the likes of Take That, Spice Girls, Steps and S Club 7 brought the genre back to life. While young fans adored the upbeat, smiling and colourful pop stars - many complete with dance routines they could copy - behind the facade, it was often a much darker story. While a number of female pop stars from that time have spoken about their struggles with eating disorders and body image at the height of their fame, for their male counterparts, their demons often presented themselves in substance abuse. Indeed, for every Reach for the Stars or Bodyshakin' hit, there's a dark story to be told. Advertisement Here are five male pop stars who have bravely spoken out over the years about the struggles they faced after finding fame. Jon Lee - S Club 7 8 S Club 7's Jon Lee had an addiction to crystal meth in the years after the band split Credit: Nic Serpell-Rand / Channel 4 S Club 7 burst onto the music scene in 1998 with their own TV series, Miami 7, followed by catchy debut single Bring It All Back. They went on to sell 10 million albums worldwide and win two Brit Awards. Advertisement However, Jon, 43, recently revealed he was blowing £250 a week on crystal meth and then trashing his flat with a hammer while out of it. In fact, his habit was so bad it nearly killed him and even saw him sectioned back in 2019. Speaking to the Daily Mail, Jon revealed that he got into crystal meth - a highly addictive 'party' drug that can cause psychosis, hallucination, paranoia and mania - when he was in his thirties - long after S Club had gone their separate ways. I was a Noughties popstar who couldn't go 20mins without a drink - now I'm sober with a new career He revealed: "I didn't even recognise myself at that time. Sometimes, in the midst of one of the psychotic episodes where I'd be smashing my flat up with a hammer, I'd catch sight of myself in the mirror and say: 'What the f***?'. Advertisement "I'd have a moment of lucidity, thinking: 'I was a successful young man, I had a brilliant career, incredible life. What am I doing?' "I'd be standing there, holes in the walls around me, cuts all over my knuckles, my eye swollen from where I'd been punching myself in the head. I'd shaved my hair too. I didn't look anything like Jon-from-S Club – or what people would expect Jon-from-S Club to look like." Kavana 8 Teen heartthrob Kavana has released a memoir detailing his drug and alcohol addiction Credit: Getty Kavana - real name Anthony Kavanagh - became a teen heartthrob in the late 90s aged 16. Advertisement The star had hits including I Can Make You Feel Good and Special Kind of Something, but his squeaky clean image was soon replaced by a drug and alcohol addiction that left him homeless. With an army of young, female fans, Anthony was forced to hide his sexuality and started to use alcohol "as a comfort". The singer has revealed all about his battles in a new memoir, Pop Scars, including how he ended up smoking crack in a skip in Hackney with a homeless woman he had just met. He also recounts a moment he woke up in another stranger's flat, having realised he had been paid for sex. Advertisement He told The Guardian: "Alcohol was the start and the end. I would never have taken drugs without alcohol. But yeah, I was like a loose cannon for some of those times, got myself into some situations.' AJ McLean - Backstreet Boys 8 AJ McLean battled addiction for 20 years before finally finding a way to stay sober Credit: The Mega Agency The Backstreet Boys became one of the biggest boybands worldwide in the 90s thanks to hit songs including I Want it That Way and Everybody (Backstreet's Back). The five piece - consisting of AJ, Nick Carter, Brian Littrell, Kevin Richardson and Howie Dorough - have sold over 130 million records worldwide. Advertisement But despite their huge success, AJ, 47, hid a dark secret from fans and his bandmates. AJ battled a drug and alcohol addiction for two decades, and revealed that when he was at rock bottom, he was "never sober, not for a second". But his bandmates staged an intervention and he went to rehab, but it wouldn't be the only time. Having previously described himself as a "chronic relapser", he told Fox News Digital. "I don't have another relapse in me. It will not end the lucky way it has ended in the past when I've dodged bullets and never went to jail, never got a DUI. Advertisement "I'm pretty sure the last time I did drugs, there was fentanyl in there. I'm still here talking to you. I've dodged more bullets than I'd like to." Jimmy Constable - 911 8 911's Jimmy Constable said being trapped in hotel rooms due to the band's fame lead to him raiding the mini bar as his alcohol addiction took hold Credit: BBC Another UK boyband that was big in the 90s was the trio 911, consisting of Jimmy, Lee Brennan and Spike Dawbarn. During their five-year career, they had 10 Top 10 hits including Bodyshakin', Party People and Night to Remember. Advertisement But last year - following the tragic death of One Direction star Liam Payne - Jimmy opened up about his addiction to pills and booze. He told The Sun: "The problem was, the best way to secure us was to lock us in our rooms, and what is in the room? A mini-bar. "So I had a party-for-one that seemed to carry on for years. It was wild but the only way you could get frustration out." Due to the constant pressures from their record company, Jimmy descended into alcoholism, infamously appearing drunk on SM:TV Live - the Saturday morning kids' show hosted by Ant and Dec and Cat Deeley. Advertisement After the band split in 2000, Jimmy sought solace in drink, downing 10-12 bottles of wine every day with his then-girlfriend. "I felt it was easy just to drink all day, and then when the drink didn't numb it anymore, I turned to the drugs.' Thankfully, Jimmy has overcome his demons and is now a paramedic. Ritchie Neville - 5ive 8 5ive's Ritchie Neville was arrested in Dublin after a fight and when the band split, he started to drink too much Credit: BBC Advertisement Known as the bad boys of pop, 5ive were signed by Simon Cowell in 1997. They had a meteoric rise to face and topped the charts with hits including If Ya Gettin' Down, Keep on Movin' and Everybody Get Up. But as with other boybands, the pressure of their hectic schedule, being swarmed by fans and press and still being so young was a melting pot of disaster waiting to happen. In 2000, Ritchie, 45, and bandmate J Brown, 49, were arrested in Dublin after getting into a fight with a man who had said Irish boyband Westlife were better than 5ive. Advertisement When the band imploded in the early Noughties, Ritchie spiralled. He told The Sun's TV Mag: "After the band, you know, I hit an epic low. "I just didn't know what I wanted to do. I was completely emotionally and spiritually lost. "So I did drink way more than I should for a few years there. I drank to forget." Advertisement
Forbes
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Backstreet Boys Album Soars Nearly 12,000% In Sales
The Backstreet Boys' Millennium album soars back onto the charts with a 11,800% sales jump, driven ... More by a deluxe reissue featuring unreleased material. SUNRISE, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 18: (L-R) Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, Nick Carter, AJ McLean and Kevin Richardson of the Backstreet Boys perform onstage at iHeartRadio Y100s Jingle Ball 2022 Presented by Capital One at FLA Live Arena on December 18, 2022 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by) More than a quarter-century ago, the Backstreet Boys made history by releasing Millennium. By that point, the boy band was already internationally beloved, but Millennium took the five singers to new heights and helped the superstars make history. Decades later, it remains one of the most successful projects ever released by a male vocal group all around the world. As it returns to the charts in America, it's clear that there's still a massive fanbase, not just for the Backstreet Boys, but for the album that arrived just before the new millennium. Millennium Returns to the Top 10 Millennium – which was labeled Millennium 2.0 in some instances, but not on the charts – reappears on a trio of Billboard rankings in the United States this week. The set manages to break back into the top 10 on two of the three tallies, which is impressive for a collection that originally dropped more than 25 years ago. Most notably, Millennium sits at No. 9 on the Vinyl Albums tally. It's been more than half a decade since the pop-focused set first became a vinyl bestseller, and this week, it reaches a new all-time high point on that format-specific ranking. Sales Skyrocket Nearly 12,000% The collection can also be found inside the highest tier on the Top Album Sales chart. The Backstreet Boys reenter that list at No. 5, as Millennium sold another 13,800 copies in the past tracking frame, according to Luminate. Before it was re-released, Millennium sold under 120 copies in America last week. That sum grows by 11,800% from one frame to the next. The Backstreet Boys album is currently soaring thanks to an anniversary reissue, one that comes complete with live recordings, remixes, demos, and even a tune fans hadn't already heard, titled "Hey.' Millennium Returns to the Billboard 200 Millennium also finds its way back to the Billboard 200, the all-encompassing ranking of the most consumed albums. The full-length moved 19,300 equivalent units in the past frame throughout the country, with most of those being pure purchases. The Backstreet Boys' album had not been seen on the tally for quite some time, and as it returns, it breaks back in at No. 29. One of the Largest Debuts of All Time In the past, Millennium debuted at No. 1 on the competitive list when it was brand new in mid-1999. The set still claims one of the largest debut weeks of all time for any album in America. The Backstreet Boys' full-length opened at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 1.134 million copies sold, as at the time, the tally only looked at pure purchases. The project produced smashes like "I Want It That Way," "Larger Than Life," "Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely," and "The One," which all still rank among the most famous Backstreet Boys tunes.
