12 Reasons Watching This Old Backstreet Boys Documentary Is The Next Best Thing To Seeing Them In Vegas

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You get to spot the good, the bad, and everything successful between.

From NKOTB to B2K, my emotion for lad bands has spanned my full life. I was a ‘90s kid, and adjacent a card-carrying subordinate of the MMC instrumentality club.

Real ones retrieve that you could wage $10 dues and the MMC squad would nonstop you a literal instrumentality nine paper and swag. 

Backstreet Boys' "Into the Millennium" representation  displayed connected  a ample  spherical operation   astatine  night, featuring the set  members

Kevin Carter / Getty Images

The throwback documentary, released successful 2015, finds the boys-turned-men astatine a crossroads successful their careers, arsenic they reunite for the archetypal clip since Kevin discontinue the set successful 2006. Here's the trailer:

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We get to spot the bully (the guys visiting their hometowns and aboriginal mentors) the atrocious (struggles with sobriety, vocal injuries, and swear-laced tensions wrong the band), and everything successful between.

Five men smiling successful  an bare  theater, dressed casually

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Here are immoderate of my learnings and take-aways from the documentary:

1. The set hated the video for their archetypal U.S. single, “Quit Playing Games (With My Heart).”

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“We looked similar a clump of beefcakes,” Kevin says successful the doc. “ We were bedewed and had our shirts unfastened and everything, and I’m like, I don’t know. Not, I don’t know... I know that’s not the archetypal content I privation to marque successful the U.S. But it worked out.” 

2. Growing up, Brian ne'er wanted to beryllium successful a lad band.

 plaid garment  and jeans

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Even though his pb vocals were a earthy acceptable for the euphony industry, singing wasn't Brian's archetypal love. Instead, his puerility extremity was to beryllium a assemblage hooper. “I didn’t privation to turn up and beryllium a Backstreet Boy," Brian shares. "I told my ma erstwhile I was a small lad that I was gonna turn up and play for the University of Kentucky hoops team.” 

3. AJ struggled with shedding his “bad boy” image.

AJ Mclean performing connected  signifier    holding a microphone stand, wearing a cap, sunglasses, and a t-shirt with disposable   tattoos and accessories

J. Vespa / Getty Images

In the doc, AJ opens up astir the “bad boy” stereotype helium was crammed into successful the ‘90s and aboriginal aughts. “AJ wanted to beryllium this atrocious lad truthful bad,” Howie says. “ I deliberation successful his ain mind, helium thought helium was stone and roll, not realizing helium was successful a lad band.” 

AJ's edgy antics deed a crescendo during the Black and Blue tour, wherever helium admitted to openly drinking onstage. “I deliberation it was rebelling against this facade that radical thought we were and thought we had to be,” AJ says. “ I mislaid show of myself, which is precise casual to bash erstwhile you’re successful a group. You suffer yourself, you suffer your identity.” 

4. At conscionable 11 years old, Nick decided to articulation BSB alternatively of joining the '90s "Mickey Mouse Club" iconic cast.

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Nick was the MMC kid prima that ne'er was. When fixed the prime of taking a $50,000 declaration with the deed Disney after-school amusement oregon joining the Backstreet Boys, Nick picked the boys. Even though helium went for aboriginal lad set stardom, helium inactive feels similar an honorary MMC subordinate on with alumni juggernauts Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Ryan Gosling, Justin Timberlake, and JC Chasez, among truthful galore others. 

5. BSB got booed portion performing astatine an interior metropolis precocious school, but won the kids implicit with their creaseless a cappella game.

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The recently formed set started disconnected doing precocious schoolhouse tours crossed the country, and that acquisition gave them heavy skin, and fast. At 1 schoolhouse gig, their PA strategy went out— conscionable arsenic they took the auditorium floor.  “I’ll ne'er hide determination was a radical of guys successful the acold back. They started booing us. ‘Get disconnected the stage, achromatic boys,' you know, throwing worldly astatine us,” Nick says. 

Despite "New Kids wannabees" chants from the restless crowd, the set started doing what they knew best: they sang a capella. And conscionable similar that, they got the assemblage connected their side. "We did each a cappella rendition of each opus that we knew," Kevin remembers. 

6. Howie resented not getting leads connected BSB’s hits.

Person singing connected  stage, wearing a achromatic  overgarment   and patterned pants. Another idiosyncratic   successful  the inheritance  plays guitar

Rich Polk / Getty Images

The quietest lad set members (the ones who get labeled “the saccharine ones” (a la Lance Bass) person the champion stories. 

“When the radical archetypal started, I was doing a batch much of the leads," Howie says. "And small by little, erstwhile we got with Max Martin, our dependable changed. So passim the years I truly had a hard time. I struggled with that." 

To marque this right, Howie lone decided to bash the 2015 circuit if he'd beryllium featured arsenic a pb connected immoderate of the caller songs. “In bid for maine to consciousness comfy being a portion of this, I truly request to beryllium capable to not beryllium successful the back," helium told his bandmates. "I request to beryllium up successful the beforehand with you guys.” 

In the Lord’s 2025, my bosom genuinely melted for Howie D.  This sweet, axenic psyche ne'er deserved to beryllium successful the background. 

7. We get to perceive BSB's delicious covers of R&B tracks.

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Boy bands from New Kids On The Block to *NSYNC person been precise unfastened astir their emulation of R&B bands of the '80s and '90s. And for R&B lovers, this documentary shows uncommon footage of BSB singing R&B classics successful their aboriginal days. 

In assorted scenes, we perceive BSB screen Boyz II Men's "It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday," Shai's "Baby, I'm Yours" and "If I Ever Fall In Love Again," "Toast To Our Love" by Classic Example, and "There'll Never Be," by Switch. And if you truly emotion BSB's R&B vigor arsenic overmuch arsenic I do, fto maine present you to their heavy cut, "If You Stay," disconnected the 1997 Booty Call soundtrack. Yes, BSB tin truly get down. 

9. Kevin discontinue the set successful 2006.

Kevin Richardson of The Backstreet Boys during Q100.5 Presents "Frosty The Showman" astatine  the Philips Arena successful  Atlanta - December 7, 2005 astatine  Philips Arena successful  Atlanta, Georgia, United States. (Photo by Rick Diamond/WireImage)

Rick Diamond / Getty Images

This is astir apt wide known by the Backstreet Boys fandom, but I had nary thought that Kevin discontinue the set successful 2006. “I wanted to conscionable beryllium a mean feline for awhile. I didn’t consciousness inspired arsenic overmuch arsenic I utilized to," helium says successful the doc. "I didn’t emotion it, I didn’t person the passionateness that I utilized to have, and truthful I left.”

Between 2006 and 2015, the set did execute arsenic a foursome, but they each admitted that the magic conscionable wasn't the aforesaid without Kevin. 

8. As a kid, Nick shared a archetypal buss with Howie’s niece.

Nick Carter (Backstreet Boys) connected  17.02.1996 successful  Karlsruhe / Carlsruhe. (Photo by Fryderyk Gabowicz/picture confederation  via Getty Images)

Picture Alliance / Getty Images

During a sojourn to Howie’s puerility home, Nick reveals that 1 of his archetypal kisses was Howie’s niece, Chelsea. “In the opening I was hanging retired a batch with Howie,” Nick shares. “I would travel implicit and enactment astatine his location here. Which is benignant of ironic, due to the fact that I liked his niece.” During these young and carefree days, Brian and Nick would besides bent retired astatine Howie’s puerility location and play basketball. 

10. Brian suffered a vocal wounded that threatened the guys’ reunion.

 Brian Littrell of The Backstreet Boys performs during the 2017 Festival d'ete de Quebec connected  July 9, 2017 successful  Quebec City, Canada. (Photo by C Flanigan/Getty Images)

C Flanigan / Getty Images

This is besides astir apt wide known by the BSB faithful, but I did not recognize that Brian suffered from vocal hostility dysphonia, which causes the vocal cords to tighten. In the documentary, he’s susceptible capable to person cameras seizure his vocal struggles successful the signaling booth, arsenic good arsenic his carnal therapy sessions. 

“My dependable is my life," helium said. "We instrumentality it for granted due to the fact that it’s conscionable thing that’s given. And for me, it’s not a fixed close now. It comes and goes.” Throughout the documentary, we spot the set conflict with signaling portion Brian faces vocal condition, but we besides witnesser his efforts to enactment hopeful and optimistic astir his recovery. He says, “I privation to person the carefree cognition that I had years ago.”

11. Brian and Nick truly get into it implicit pb vocal drama, past and present.

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In the documentary's astir contentious moment, Nick tears into Brian implicit his vocal wounded and immoderate precise existent past beef. Nick yells, "You don't privation it from me, baby. I'm not acrophobic of you anymore!" 

Surprised, Brian shouts, "You were acrophobic of me?!" Nick moves connected from that to absorption connected Brian's workplace league troubles, but the remark opens up a immense look down the curtain that fans were apt not meant to see. 

12. Kevin motivated AJ to spell to rehab.

Two performers connected  stage, each   successful  a suit, singing and playing a keyboard

Miikka Skaffari / Getty Images

We person Kevin to convey for a happier, healthier AJ. In 2001, the set was scheduled to bash the archetypal transportation and sing the nationalist anthem earlier a shot game, but AJ decided not to go. “I was what radical successful the cause satellite would telephone a coke coma," AJ reveals successful the documentary, "‘cause I’d conscionable been up for days connected end, I conscionable needed to sleep.”

Kevin had capable of dealing with AJ leaving the set hanging connected appearances; helium says helium was truthful aggravated that helium confronted AJ head-on. “He’s the 1 that made that intervention, he’s the 1 that broke down my edifice country doorway and exchanged the words we exchanged that we were not nice," AJ admits. "I’ll ne'er hide him saying the words you are dormant to me. And that was it.”  

Have you seen Backstreet Boys: Show ‘Em What You’re Made Of, oregon did you drawback them successful Vegas this year? Tell maine astir it the comments below. (Or permission your favourite BSB song! I'll spell first: Show Me The Meaning Of Being Lonely.)

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