What’s old is new again
Backstreet Boys bring comeback tour to Grande Prairie’s Crystal Centre Nov. 15
The Backstreet Boys hope to come back from the musical wasteland with the help of the Unbreakable World Tour.
So far, with near sold-out shows in Europe, Asia and North America, the boys are faring pretty well. Concertgoers could almost close their eyes and pretend it was the 1990s again. Well almost.
Still, with gigs such as singing the national anthem at the 2008 World Series, it is not easy to ignore the fact the group has once more stepped into the spotlight.
Furthermore, if the Nov. 15 Grande Prairie concert lives up to Backstreet Boys’ Nick Carter’s fervent billing, attendees are in for a fantastic evening.
“We’re entertainers,” said Carter, speaking from his home in Los Angeles. “We enjoy being up on stage. If anybody who has ever been to a Backstreet Boys concert or hasn’t, maybe you should come out because you’re going to have a blast. It’s better than seeing any movie you could see now.”
This is the group’s first tour since its 2005 The Never Gone Tour, and the first without band member Kevin Richardson, who left the band in 2006 to start a family.
In 2007, the group released its sixth album, Unbreakable, and in February 2007 went on tour to promote it with dates in Japan. Right now, the boys are in the middle of the second leg of a North American tour.
“It’s going phenomenal,” said Carter. “We’ve been doing such a great job on the road and putting on such a great show. They keep wanting more.”
Carter, 28, the youngest in the group, added the Backstreet Boys have been selling out most venues they have played, working off an album that has received little radio air play.
“The fan base is extremely strong,” he said. “But we have a lot of older fans coming, younger faces and fans who are older and bringing their own families with them. It’s just a great environment.”
Carter said the group is tighter than ever and losing Richardson has made the group gel even further.
“We are a family and we are motivated, inspired and hungry as hell to get to the top,” said Carter. “And nothing is going to stop us. We are on a comeback trail. We know the response where we go and sing a national anthem in front of 60 million people at a major league baseball game. People are maybe shocked because they maybe didn’t think we sound the same or whatever it is. We’re going to do everything it takes to be the best we can be and to be better than we were before.”
Carter said attendees should expect to hear the old hits including I’ll Never Break Your Heart, Quit Playing Games and We’ve Got It Goin’ On, and the newer hits including Inconsolable and Helpless When She Smiles.
“What we did in the past was great, but this is a new era,” explained Carter. “This is a new group. We’re proud of the stuff we have done in the past and we will never forget it.”
Carter said the group has to move on and with that its sound has changed with time. After the tour, the boys will be back in the studio working on another album. Unbreakable, Carter said, is the beginning of a new phase or a rebirth for the group where they are going back to pop, R&B and dance.
“I feel like a lot of people aren’t on the train of the Backstreet Boys anymore,” he said, noting they have their dedicated fans. “We love them, but there are a lot of people who are like Backstreet Boys, whatever. That’s not current. That’s old. We’re going to paint another picture and put a new face on that group. And anybody who wants to be a part of it, now’s the time to get on the train.”
By Crystal Rhyno
November 06, 2008
Encore