By Joy Fang
Artists: Backstreet Boys
Venue: Suntec Convention Centre Halls 602 and 603
When: Sunday
Attendence: More than 5,000
IT MAY be nostalgia that draws fans to a Backstreet Boys concert, but the pop quartet, in their concert here on Sunday, proved that they have more to offer.
Brian Littrell, 34, Nick Carter, 30, A. J. McLean, 32, and Howie Dorough, 36 - who last played a show in Singapore at the F1 circuit last September - have sexed up their act, showing edgier dance moves that even see them gyrating on stage with four scantily clad dancers.
Carter whips the crowd into a frenzy once, as he strips off his hoodie to reveal a lean body underneath his black wifebeater.
To add a little funk to the mix, a DJ spins hip-hop tracks in the middle of the stage during costume changes.
But the most deafening screams for the Boys come when they belt out their beloved hits like Larger Than Life and I Want It That Way.
The band, which broke out in 1993, once found massive success among teenage girls with their brand of bubblegum pop songs and choreographed dance steps.
Those girls - and some guys - are all grown up now, but can't seem to get enough of their older hits. The crowd would leap to its feet to shake booty and to snap pictures of their idols as soon as the intros to songs like Shape Of My Heart began filtering in from the sound system.
Sadly, when the Boys sing new songs from their seventh studio album, This Is Us, released last October, many in the audience - made up of women in their 20s and 30s and even a few old uncles - sat back down on their seats.
The Boys don't seem to mind.
The Boys don't seem to mind.
Littrell, speaking to reporters with Carter during an interview at the Ritz Carlton Hotel on Sunday just hours before the concert, said that it's those very fans who have stuck with them from the beginning that keep them going.
And there's "no end in sight" for the group, who have stuck together for close to two decades now, and who have sold over 130 million records in their career together.
"If we ever wake up one day and think it's not fun anymore, then we probably won't do it... but there's a dedication we have to our fans out there. We feel like there's a sense of loyalty," he said.
One thing, though, that Litrell would like to clear up, is that the Boys have never been a boy band.
"We are singers, we are a vocal harmony group," he insisted. Whatever they are, they have proved they have staying power".
Their latest album, This Is Us, debuted at No. 9 on the Billboard 200, making them the first group to send all its first seven albums to the top 10 on that chart.
Entertainment Weekly said the new album, which marks the band's return to its teen-pop sound, is "surprisingly unembarrassing", considering the Boys' combined age.
However, should their fans give up on them, the Boys might be relegated to playing in small clubs and bars in the future, joked Carter.
However, should their fans give up on them, the Boys might be relegated to playing in small clubs and bars in the future, joked Carter.
"But they seem addicted to us as we are to them... It's a good relationship," he said.
He's right, judging by the 90-minute gig on Sunday night.
Their fans may be older, but they aren't ready to let go of their idols. Not when their evergreen songs take them to a place where they can feel young again.
Thanks to ✖BรB คn๏nyⓜ๏uร✖@ myspace
