Backstreet Boys' Brian Littrell promises 'oh my God' moment as iconic boyband to make history

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?

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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

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