Backstreet Boys Confirm They’re Reuniting For New Album, Las Vegas Shows

The Backstreet Boys are heading back to the recording studio and preparing for a nine show stint in Las Vegas, says band member Nick Carter. According to Teen Vogue, Carter has confirmed that “Backstreet is back” and it sounds like the new music and nine shows are a trial run for a possible Las Vegas residency.

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Carter told reporters that the Backstreet Boys signed a deal with concert promoter Live Nation and that the nine show Las Vegas deal will be a “test run” to see if there is enough interest in the Backstreet Boys to garner something more permanent. Fellow Backstreet Boy Kevin Richardson was also on hand to confirm the reunion stating, “We’re going to do a little test run probably the end of this year, the beginning of next year to see how it goes but we are definitely in the studio recording a new album.”

For those Backstreet fans who are bummed out that they may have to haul their cookies to Las Vegas to catch a glimpse of the Boys, Richardson wanted to put everyone’s mind at ease that Backstreet would also be taking the act on the road. “We’re going to do a world tour first.”

Next month will mark twenty years since the first Backstreet Boys album hit the airwaves. The Boys consisting of members Nick Carter, Kevin Richardson, A.J. McLean, Howie Dorough, and Brian Littrell, have sold over 165 million records worldwide making Backstreet the best-selling boy band of all time.

Last year, fans of 90s music went crazy when rumors arose about a possible Backstreet Boys and Spice Girls joint tour. While the Boys and Girls together may have sounded like a dream come true, Nick Carter tried to downplay it as just an “idea” rather than something that was really being worked on. According to MTV, Carter admitted to trying to jumpstart the joint Backstreet Boys and Spice Girls project via Twitter.

“I actually did a little Twitter shout-out to Mel B because we’re friends and I said, ‘Hey this could be a cool idea. What if we did a Backstreet Boys-Spice Girls tour?”

While Mel B has been fanning the flames of a possible Spice Girls 20th reunion tour, however, she has yet to address the possibility of them joining the Backstreet Boys. And should the Spice Girls tour actually happen, it is rumored that they will have to carry on without Victoria Beckham.

The fanfare and fascination over the boy band phenomenon is something that seems to be perpetuated in pop culture. The popularity of bands like One Direction and 5 Seconds of Summer indicates that the Backstreet Boys would be welcomed back with open arms and wallets. A possible Las Vegas residency for the Backstreet Boys is also feasible given the success of another 90s music icon who is bringing in big money on the Strip: Britney Spears.

While rumors continually circulate about reunions of the boy bands from the 1990s including NSYNC, New Kids on the Block, and 98 Degrees, the Backstreet Boys have come back together multiple times over the past two decades to work on new projects. In 2006, Kevin Richardson confirmed he was leaving the Backstreet Boys to pursue other projects but later returned for a joint tour with the Backstreet Boys and New Kids on the Block. The Boys’ upcoming album release will be their first new Backstreet music in three years.

Both Carter and Richardson confirmed that all five members of the Backstreet Boys will be returning for the album and concert series.

[Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images.]