Can’t really call them a boy band anymore.
The Backstreet Boys have made yet another effort to stun fans with a musical comeback. However, the audience reactions may not be what the boys were looking for. Instead of sheer enthusiasm for the new music, some fans are experiencing a mix of both endearment for their childhood idols’ return and indifference toward the start of a new Backstreet Boys era.
The July release of album In a World Like This thrust the Backstreet Boys into the limelight once more. However, this time the spotlight was not as bright, and the band didn’t receive the same amount of prestige and attention it did in its prime. Still, the band remains popular and is about to wrap up the U.S. leg of its worldwide tour before heading off to Japan.
“I love the songs on In a World Like This,” said Amita Jain, a sophomore chemistry major. “I like the new music. It’s more personal to each of them, and it’s just a really amazing comeback.”
In a World Like This is the Backstreet Boys’ eighth studio album. The music is more mature and refreshing yet is still marked with the signature Backstreet Boys sound. What is special about this album is that it really shows the band’s growth, especially because more of the writing credits are given to actual band members than ever before.
The tour itself was energetic, engaging and basically one big dance party. Every time a hit ’90s Backstreet Boys song began, the crowd went wild; fans were jumping out of their seats and singing along to every lyric, Jain said.
“Their interaction with the audience during the concert was amazing, and the entire time it was as if they had never stopped making music. I am once again obsessed with BSB,” said Jain, who attended the Backstreet Boys concert at Jiffy Lube Live in Bristow, Va.
However, not all fans were as obsessed as Jain was with the new material. Jaclyn Turner, a sophomore and American studies and journalism major, said although she liked the new music, she did not think the band had such a strong comeback.
“Their album has not had a lot of air play on the radio,” Turner said. “It hasn’t got the press that it should have. I found out about Backstreet Boys’ new album on my own.”
Because of this lack of media attention, it seemed to be that the Backstreet Boys’ comeback was toned down. Fans still tended to prefer the band’s older music. For instance, although they stood and cheered during the performances of older songs, audience members at the concert in Wantagh, N.Y., sat down once a more recent song began to play. They did not share the performers’ enthusiasm and wanted older songs to come back on because they were not familiar with the new ones.
However, this is not to say that people do not like the music — many fans are willing to give it a chance.
“I think the old music is better because that’s what I’m used to, but I can grow to like this new album just as much,” Turner said. “It’s a revamped Backstreet Boys with a fan base that has grown up, too.”
With just a little more publicity, maybe more Backstreet Boys fans of the past will learn to love the new album just as much, if not more, than the others.
