New Kids on the Block, Backstreet Boys get screaming love from 7,000 women fans at Van Andel Arena

GRAND RAPIDS -- Somebody get a hose, because the 7,000-plus women gathered at the Van Andel Arena Thursday night were hot and bothered at the sight and sound of New Kids on the Block and The Backstreet Boys.

With an average age of about 35, the fans were clearly coming back in droves to see the boy bands whose faces they had plastered in their lockers and whose voices crooned to them at school dances and roller skating parties.

The screaming was like none other, a wall of sound that just intensified depending what was happening onstage, or who happened to be singing at that moment. Actor Donnie Wahlberg (“Blue Bloods”) of TV and movie fame seemed to get the most sugar out of the NKOTB; when he tugged off his tank top the whole place just about went up in flames. Joey McIntyre also fared well in the shrieking department, and fans dissolved when Jordan Knight showed off his still-supple falsetto on “Valentine Girl.”

NKOTBSB Tour Spoilers! The Setlist! Surprises! Yay!!!

All you people, can't you see, can't you see… NKOTBSB!!!

Last night, the biggest explosion of boy band fandom took off in Chicago as the New Kids On The Block and the Backstreet Boys kicked off their summer tour. (We wonder if they could hear the screaming down at the Chicago Theatre!)

Those who were lucky enough to attend were also kind enough to share some SPOILERS from the show that will leave fans still waiting for the boys to hit their town heaving with joy.

First, we'll tell you that the stage, which the fellas have dubbed "the penis stage" is set up to give everyone a perfect view. However, from what we're hearing, the Backstreet Boys seem to base camp at the "head", while the NKOTB mostly perform on the "shaft." LOLZ.

Then, during "Tonight" and "Shape Of My Heart," the boys take to the AUDIENCE and perform amongst their adoring fans. Oh, and if you're on the floor, don't think you are getting all the love. We hear most of the guys traveled up to the higher levels to say hello their fans! Such gentlemen!


And now, for the moment you've all been waiting for, we present to you… THE SETLIST!

Man of the Moment: Nick Carter

We realize boy band members can come in for some mockery. But the man in this picture isn’t just the seller of 130-plus million albums worldwide. He’s a re-engineered guy who in the past few years has hit the gym, dropped 65 pounds, and beaten Justin Timberlake in an arm-wrestling match. (He also dates a fit chick.) So the week his new solo album, I’m Taking Off, drops on iTunes, we talked with the 31-year-old about video games, hair care and how guys are suckers. Dude’s got some surprisingly good advice.

NKOTBSB Set List

Viva La Vida
Single
The One (mash up)
Summertime
The Call
Dirty Dancing
Bye Bye Love
Right Stuff
Larger Than Life
Didn’t I Blow Your Mind
Valentine Girl
If You Go Away Girl
Please Don't Go Girl
Show Me the Meaning
10,000 Promises
I’ll Never Break Your Heart
Inconsolable
Drowning
Incomplete
Step by Step
My Kind of Girl
Favorite Girl
Cover Girl
No More Games
Click Click Click
Tonight
Shape of My Heart
As Long As You Love Me
All I Have To Give
If You Stay
Quit Playing Games
I’ll Be Loving You Forever
I Want It That Way
Don't Turn Off The Lights
Mashup-- We Will Rock You, Everybody, Hangin Tough

MusicMatrix.com Announces First Donation With Backstreet Boys' Howie D to Help Benefit Relief Efforts in Japan

NEW YORK, NY -- (Marketwire) -- 05/25/11 -- MusicMatrix.com, born from the genius of parent companies Encounter Technologies, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: ENTID) and Pegasus Tel, Inc. (OTCBB: PTEL), is pleased to announce today its first donation to Music for Relief to help the relief efforts in Japan. In March, MusicMatrix announced it would contribute 10% of the membership revenues generated from every "Howie D" VIP sign up on its site to help support Music for Relief efforts in Japan. "It gives me great self satisfaction knowing we can help the disaster efforts in Japan," stated Anthony DiBiase, CEO of Encounter and Pegasus. "We can't wait to announce the final donation totals at the end of the Howie D contests with Howie and Music for Relief."

"We are excited to be the beneficiary of this ongoing campaign," commented Whitney Showler, Music for Relief. "It is great to see our industry colleagues, MusicMatrix.com and Howie D, working together to help those in need."

AJ McLean of the Backstreet Boys wants you to know: ‘We are true artists’

In their heyday, they made millions off a song that rhymed “fire” with “desire.” Today they’re an ironic pick at karaoke bars and a nostalgia trip for women in their 20s and 30s. The Backstreet Boys are slightly washed-up singers dealing with receding hairlines, children and rehab. They’ve never done a reunion tour because they never stopped making music (yup, they released four albums after 1999’s Millennium). This summer, the group teams up with New Kids on the Block to tour as NKOTBSB. The superboyband’s album (a compilation of classics and two new recordings) hits stores on Tuesday.

While preparing for the tour in Los Angeles, Backstreet Boys member AJ McLean spoke to The Globe and Mail by phone. The tour ends Aug. 7 in London, Ont. .

How are you doing?
I'm good. I'm sitting on a big orange ball in my underwear.

Is that the outfit you usually have for interviews?
I was in the middle of changing because we were doing our fittings for the show and they were rushing me out to get to the phone so I was like, “Can I put pants on?” And they're like “No, just go ahead.” I’m like, alright fine. I'm an exhibitionist. I'll walk around the whole office in my underwear, no problem.

Backstreet Boys go vegetarian

Members of the famous pop group reveal that they've dropped the meat from their new tour to stay healthy.

 

For their new tour with New Kids on the Block, the Backstreet Boys have decided to drop the meat and focus on staying healthy.

“We’re getting a lot of rest and have switched over to a vegetarian diet. I’m trying to get my brain clear and ready for everything that’s to come,” Nick Carter told Celebuzz.com. “I downloaded a meditation book. I like to relax and meditate. I think they’re important because I have so much going on, and if I don’t find peace within it all, it could be dangerous for your health.”

Such consideration for well-being is a nice flip from the group's tour demands back in the '90s, which included requests for hamburgers, French dips, hot turkey, Sloppy Joe’s and tacos.

The two boy bands decided to join forces after Backstreet performed last summer during a NKOTB gig at Radio City Music Hall in NYC.

We were all on tour, not together at the same time, but we were pretty close on the road," said Donnie Wahlberg. "NKOTB were wrapping up their summer run. We happened to be out and we ended up being on stage together. It was a magical moment [...] none of us will never forget. Right after we performed together everybody on Twitter and Facebook ...i t was everywhere that we were going on tour. So we started talking about it and we made it happen."

The 53-show tour, which also includes "Glee" star Matthew Morrison as an opening act, kicks off this Wednesday in Rosemont, Ill. Check out a video below of the two groups performing on a recent episode of "Dancing with the Stars."

SOURCE

Interview: Backstreet Boys' AJ McLean on growing (and sobering) up, touring with NKOTB

By Erik Maza, The Baltimore Sun

May 26, 2011

Hard as it is to believe, it's been a whopping 26 years since the New Kids on the Block released their first single. For the Backstreet Boys, it's been 16.

New Kid Donnie Wahlberg was a spry 17 back then; so was the Backstreet Boys' AJ McLean.

A lot has happened since then. They've grown up, for one.

"Some of the New Kids have kids of their own," McLean said.

Wahlberg and McLean are even members of the same country club in California. Along the way, McLean checked in and out of rehab, and Jordan Knight came out of the closet. They've gone from being the most popular boy group in the country to being has-beens and, eventually, nostalgia acts.

Backstreet Boys and New Kids on the Block Reveal 'NKOTBSB' Tracklist and Behind the Scenes Video

New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys will drop their collaborative 'NKOTBSB' album today (May 23), and their fans' votes decided the tracklist.

While gearing up for their upcoming summer tour, which kicks off May 25, the boy bands launched their 'Help Make the Album' campaign -- a 10-day, pick your favorite BSB and NKOTB classics voting initiative, on March 14. The fan favorites are in and the guys have picked the top five Backstreet and top five New Kids hits to accompany their two collaborative singles, 'All In My Head' and 'Don't Turn Out the Lights (D.T.O.T.L.)' and their medley-style mash-up track. See the track list and listen to the full album below!

'NKOTBSB'
1. 'Step By Step' - New Kids on the Block
2. 'I Want It That Way' - Backstreet Boys
3. 'You Got It (The Right Stuff)' - New Kids on the Block
4. 'Everybody (Backstreet's Back)' - Backstreet Boys
5. 'Please Don't Go Girl' - New Kids on the Block
6. 'As Long As You Love Me' - Backstreet Boys
7. 'Hangin' Tough' - NNew Kids on the Block
8. 'Larger Than Life' - Backstreet Boys
9. 'I'll Be Loving You (Forever)' - New Kids on the Block
10. 'Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)' - Backstreet Boys
11. 'All In My Head' - NKOTBSB
12. 'Don't Turn Out the Lights (D.T.O.T.L.)' - NKOTBSB
13. NKOTBSB Mash Up


WATCH THE VIDEO HERE
Source: AOL Music

Nick Carter Is OK Being a Guilty Pleasure, Wants to Avoid Being a 'Savior' or 'Tragedy'

You may best remember Nick Carter as the fresh-faced, youngest member of the Backstreet Boys, but the now 31-year-old singer is back after nearly nine years with his sophomore solo effort 'I'm Taking Off', out May 24. His first, 2002's 'Now or Never,' is an album he looks back on now as a premature project. AOL Music recently caught up with the singer to talk about his battles with drug and alcohol addiction, and how after honing his craft as a musician, he is ready to shine with a "mature pop album."

Carter is gearing up for an epic summer tour with his Backstreet Boys and fellow boy band New Kids on the Block, but admits he had to go through a fit of rebellion before finally being able to embrace pop music again. In our interview, he reveals his biggest addiction of all, his feelings about a possible BSB episode of 'Glee,' and how he escaped becoming a child star "tragedy."