Music | Backstreet Boys...Yes We Went!


Backstreet’s back! Last Saturday night witnessed the return of the beloved boy band to Allphones Arena for their ‘In A World Like This’ tour, marking their first trip back together and on our shores since Kevin left in 2006. Needless to say, even after 20 years they still had the allure and charm of the successful boy band we know and love.

The atmosphere and energy was fantastic - the crowds were singing, dancing, and swaying along to the hits. Lyrics that had been buried for 20 years in a brain that can’t remember what happened the previous day suddenly flowed back word-for-word. Over 20,000 tragic fans were screaming for the boys it was honestly surprising some of them didn’t pop. The boys were very engaging with the crowd, but perhaps too much at times demonstrated by their constant brotherly banter between songs. The decision to invite some sixty people to join them on stage also seemed a little awkward.

Can you just imagine how looooong took to get them all up and back down again? Exactly.

The Backstreet Boys took us down memory lane with their two-hour set list. Many undoubtedly experienced flashbacks of listening to them on our inflatable furniture with our tamagotchis and furbies during times of teenage angst. Their moves were still well choreographed and clearly hadn’t left the 90s. We were quickly sucked back to reality and made to feel old when their new song ‘Show ‘Em What You’re Made Of’ was written with their children in mind – yes they are daddies now. Eek!

You can’t blame the boys for wanting to write new songs, but ultimately we were only there for the hits we know and love. In saying that, I’d definitely suggest grabbing tickets to their next tour, which they promised wouldn’t be long, because when they are on form, the Backstreet Boys are larger than life.


By Amanda Rawstron