Rest assured The Backstreet Boys’ concert tonight will be an excellent affair.
According to production manager Andrew Warren, the boys themselves had promised a fantastic show.

“Fans will not be short-changed, and definitely will not go home disappointed,” he told The Star.

In fact, the stage is said to be the biggest stage ever to be set up at the venue (Sunway Lagoon Surf Beach).

Measuring 60ft x 50ft, such a big stage is usually conceptualised for stadiums, said Warren.

“It is a huge production for Sunway itself, too,” he said. “This is definitely something very new and big, and the venue sponsor has definitely been very supportive and helpful.

“We have also drained out the surf pool for the audience. That will serve as the floor.”

There will be huge projection screens on stage showing images and playback videos of the boys.

Warren said the group, comprising Brian Littrell, Howie Dorough, A.J. McLean and Nick Carter, had prior to the show insisted on only world-class high-tech sound systems and lighting being used.

“The boys insisted and reminded us to use only the best lighting and sound equipment for the concert. We have constructed everything in accordance with their request and there is definitely very heavy lighting coupled with the best sounds,” he said.

Warren said production work started on Saturday evening involving some 50 crew members.

The concert tonight is part of The Backstreet Boys’ Unbreakable World Tour 2008.

[Source]

Posted: February 27th, 2008 under In The Press.
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Howie is currently in South East Asia, from where he posted a new blog on his MySpace… Go behind the cut to read it.

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Posted: February 27th, 2008 under Howie, News.
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Have you seen the Boys perform or met them during this tour? Great! If you feel like sharing your photos, please e-mail me at trackingbackstreetATgmailDOTcom. Thanks!

Posted: February 26th, 2008 under Site.
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AJ and Nick were interviewed on the Australian TV show Sunrise Weekend. The videofile is now available for download in our Video Archive. Check it out!

Posted: February 25th, 2008 under Video.
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Nick left a new video message on his MySpace, saying hello from Melbourne, Australia. You can now download this in our Video Archive.

Posted: February 25th, 2008 under Video.
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The highly-anticipated Backstreet Boys’ show is set to take place at the Sunway Lagoon Surf Beach on Feb 27.
The show, part of the American pop quartet’s Unbreakable World Tour 2008, follows the successful release of their sixth album Unbreakable, last October, which reviews had said to be of pure pop pleasure with a combination of older hits and newer guitar driven pop/rock sounds.

When contacted yesterday, organiser Artiste World executive director Arianna Teoh said the venue was the perfect site as it was in a theme park and The Backstreet Boys had earlier expressed their excitement over the venue.

“The boys love theme parks and they were excited when they learnt of performing at the surf beach as opposed to the conventional indoor stadiums,” she said.

“It will also provide a good atmosphere to the show…being a theme park and an open area. We expect a lot of dancing and moving around. I don’t think anyone is going to be standing still,” she added.

The venue, which is also strategically located within the vicinity of many colleges and universities, poses as an excellent spot for such young-audience based concerts.

“Because this is the Backstreet Boys, and because their music caters mostly to a younger audience, we anticipate loads of college kids and students,” she said, adding that the ticket price was also specifically determined to meet the affordability of the young school-going people.

Meanwhile, Sunway Lagoon Theme Park marketing manager Thilakavathy Munusamy said the venue was a good choice because it could cater to a large crowd of up to 50,000 people.

“It is a very versatile site. Depending on the expected number of people, if needed, we can even drain out the water in the surf beach and put a stage there or turn it into a dance floor. There is a lot that one can do with such a huge place,” she said.

“There is ample space and we have held a number of concerts and events here such as the Pussycat Dolls’ show, Leehom Promo Tour, the Asian X Games and rave parties,” she said, adding that because this was a standing concert, the open-door concept of the place would provide better and easier movements for the audience.

With the much-developed amenities around the theme park and in Sunway itself, people will not have difficulties in finding parking spaces.

Parking spots are available at the Sunway Pyramid shopping mall, Sunway Lagoon Resort and Spa Hotel, Pyramid Tower, and surrounding areas within the Sunway commercial centre.

“The mall itself can hold up to 5000 vehicles and coupled with the surrounding area of Sunway, some 10,000 vehicles can easily park,” Thilakavathy related.

The Backstreet Boys now comprises Brian Littrell, Howie Dorough, A.J McLean and Nick Carter.

The tour is the first without former bandmate Kevin Richardson, who left the band some two years ago to pursue other interests.

The album and the tour are said to be powerful comebacks for the group after a three-year hiatus. The fact is, all members are grown men now and the overly exaggerated reports on their demise from the industry were somewhat untrue. The boys never went away. They were preparing for a strong return and they have proven it, not only with the success of the album but also with the jam-packed concerts in other legs of this tour.

[Source]

Posted: February 24th, 2008 under In The Press.
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Jess A. kindly shared her wonderful pictures of the Boys’ concert in Brisbane. Go and check them out in our Gallery! Please credit her if you take them.

Posted: February 22nd, 2008 under Photos.
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The Backstreet Boys proved they can still pack a punch a decade after their initial success. The curtain fell and the four boys fought it out in a boxing ring opening with their hit song I Want It That Way.

The well-choreographed sparring routine was only interrupted when ladies’ favourite Nick Carter inconspicuously turned to do up his fly which had come undone midstep.

Fans of the Backstreet Boys now mostly in their 20s enjoyed the “trip down the memory lane”. Crowd favourites included Quit Playing Games With My Heart, As Long As You Love Me and All I Have To Give”

The boy band who first had success in 1997 now consists of four members - Kevin Richardson made an amicable split from the group in 2006.

They introduced songs off their new album as well as treating fans to solo performances.

Support act Brian McFadden warmed up the Acer Arena audience with a short set of songs from his upcoming album. McFadden is engaged to Australian songbird Delta Goodrem but acted coy. “I’m actually engaged to an Australian girl,” he said without naming names. “It’s (Australia) now my favourite place to be - sunshine, good-looking people, good sports.”

[Source]

Posted: February 22nd, 2008 under In The Press.
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Backstreet Boys return to these shores for a concert at Sunway Surf Beach next week.

Despite being down to a quartet, popular American pop-group Backstreet Boys is staying strong and promises nothing but a smashing concert this coming Feb 27 at Sunway Surf Beach, Sunway Lagoon Theme Park in Selangor, as part of its Unbreakable World Tour 2008.

The boys are definitely back in the scene following a three-year hiatus, which saw former band member Kevin Richardson leaving to pursue other interests.

Formed in 1993 in Orlando, Florida, the Backstreet Boys (or more popularly known as BSB) now comprises of members Brian Littrell, 32. Howie Dorough, 34, A.J. McLean, 30, and Nick Carter, 28.

The group last appeared in Malaysia in November 2005 for the all-star Force of Nature Concert for Tsunami Aid.

“There may be only four of us left in the group but we are determined to keep it going,” said Dorough, the oldest member, in a recent phone interview from Los Angeles, California.

“There has been some adjustments that we needed to sort out since we only have four vocalists now … but everything is all good and we definitely do not want our fans to miss out on anything,” he added, before explaining that one of them would be covering for Richardson’s parts in the coming show.

With hits stretching back to the mid 1990s, there is a lot of ground for this slimmed down edition of BSB to cover.

To date, the group has raked up more than 75 million albums worldwide. BSB’s first two releases sold more than 10 million in the US: Backstreet Boys in 1997 and quintessential Millennium in 1999, which reached No. 1 in 25 countries.

BSB’s legacy of hit singles is no small change. Top Five smashes such as – Quit Playing Games (with My Heart), As Long as You Love Me, Everybody (Backstreet’s Back) and All I Have to Give are the group’s signature tunes.

“One of us will do Kevin’s parts for the older hits and for the new numbers, it will just be us,” said Dorough.

The much-anticipated concert here follows the successful release of their sixth album Unbreakable last October.

The tour would be the first without Richardson and Dorough was quoted as saying: “We have not ruled out a possible return for Kevin and have no plans on replacing him.

“He is welcome to return should he wish to do so.”

That aside, the hunky Dorough, of Puerto Rican and Irish parentage, said the group had been rehearsing for the past couple of months and putting everything together for the world tour, which kicked off in Japan on Feb 16.

“It’s a huge comeback for us and it is a beginning to another exciting journey.”

The husky voiced bloke added that the latest album Unbreakable included new styles and more R&B-based tunes.

“Hopefully people will love it. It is a combination of our earlier mid-90s R&B sound with newer guitar driven pop rock numbers.”

As far as music trivia goes, Dorough also excitedly mentioned that Malaysia was one of the very first countries outside of the United States that the group had visited in its early days (a BMG/Jive marketing conference in Penang in 1995). The group’s first public performance here was at the concourse area at Sungei Wang Plaza in Kuala Lumpur in late 1996.

“We love the food, the people and the culture. I don’t remember specifically what I ate, but I definitely remember the food in Malaysia is simply awesome,” he related.

Before hanging up the phone, Dorough managed this line: “We look forward to meeting our Malaysian fans once more. It’s going to be great.”

[Source]

Posted: February 22nd, 2008 under In The Press.
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Nick has posted several new images on his MySpace. They all belong to different photo albums, so go behind the cut for the direct links to all of them… Enjoy!

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Posted: February 22nd, 2008 under Photos.
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