As Long As There Be Music, We’ll Be Coming Back again…
Those lyrics were a promise no fan expected their favorite boyband to keep.
But here we are…who would’ve guessed?
The Backstreet Boys officially came together in person twenty three years ago to the day. This was when Brian flew out here after getting the phone call that definitely changed his destiny from his cousin, Kevin Richardson. Since that day five boys went on a journey that not only changed their lives, but it changed the lives of countless fans around them. Ask any fan and they’ll be able to tell you all about the day they dived headfirst into this fandom.
This group and their music have been there for so many people, through their music. Through little things like DM messages from fans reaching out to them, or Skype chats, VIP sessions. Not every fandom is so lucky to have their favorite singers try to reach out right back to them. Ask around and you can find so many stories of the way a simple group has changed their life, even in little ways. It’s sort of incredible.
They are the last group standing from an era that spawned many boybands like them. NSYNC, Otown, 98 Degrees, 5ive, Westlife, are a few of the list that broke up and called it quits. And yet our Boys keep on at it. Every era, some media outlet says they “reuniting” or that they broke up. They get dismissed because of their pretty vocals and charming faces as fluff and undeserving of all they have accomplished.
Thing is, it’s so far from the truth.
We’ve seen them struggle. They’ve struggled to find their way in a music scene that no longer wants to love them the way their fans do. They’ve struggled against a mentor who sought to use them for everything he could. They struggled with their personal demons. They’ve struggled with each other. Throughout it all, they have survived. There’s so much that could’ve gone wrong. They could’ve ended up like NSYNC and no one would’ve blinked an eye. It was expected.
Yet here they are.
So thank you Nick, Kevin, AJ, Howie, and Brian. Thank you for the music. Thank you for everything that you do. Every tweet. Every event. Every concert. Thank you for the way you try to connect to your fans. Thank you for sticking around all these years. Thank you for the memories. It’s been twenty three years and the journey has been crazy. But we the fans, have been enjoying the ride right along with you.
Here’s to another twenty-three years.
The Dark Side 