Backstreet Boys: Larger Than Life Explained
Backstreet Boys: Larger Than Life is the first concert residency by American vocal group Backstreet Boys, performed at Zappos Theater (formerly The AXIS Theater) in the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in the Las Vegas Valley, Nevada. The show had its opening night on March 1, 2017, and was scheduled to close on April 27, 2019, to start the Backstreet Boys' 11th world tour in May of the same year.[1] [2] [3]
Background and announcement
On April 1, 2016, member Nick Carter told "Entertainment Tonight" that the group signed a deal with Live Nation for a nine-show "test residency" in Las Vegas. AJ McLean confirmed the deal, telling "Us Weekly" that the residency would begin in January 2017.[4]
On September 23, the Backstreet Boys confirmed their Vegas residency happening in 2017 titled Backstreet Boys: Larger Than Life.[5] [6]
Reception
According to KVVU-TV 's report, "Backstreet Boys: Larger Than Life" is the fastest-selling Las Vegas Valley residency in history. It is also the first time that Planet Hollywood has opened up balcony seats for headliner, making the theater 2000 seats bigger than fellow headliners Jennifer Lopez and Britney Spears.[7]
Performance and show elements
The band was backed by an eclectic band of musicians, a DJ, and a complement of ten backup dancers (five male and five female), like their past tour (Into the Millennium Tour). The band would sometimes split up and perform with one member to each side or corner of the stage, but for much of the show, they performed to one side at a time, circling the stage (often as part of the choreographed dancing) throughout each song. A video feed of the show was shown on video screens on both sides of the overhead lighting rig.[8]
The boys began each show in a curtained-off enclosure on the venue's floor. They, dressed in purely white outfits that were reminiscent of their Millennium album cover, first descended from glowing blue and white boxes inside the Axis (now Zappos) theater, and they turned towards the audience before starting the first song, "Larger Than Life." Next, the dancers came out from behind the boxes and performed with them.
The boys used several costume changes during the show. Two versions of these costumes were built: The first encore outfits featured pink and black clothes to match. The later outfits (introduced as of February 2018 on the second leg of the residency) for the encore featured 90s clothes designed for each member. The dancers also wore white encore outfits.
After the first three songs (The One and Get Down (You're the One for Me)), AJ McLean would greet the audience as Nick Carter would either toss a used sweat towel or a signed water bottle into one of the pit seats. It would be caught by the hands of a fan in the VIP seats (three times he brought his son Odin on stage), and Kevin Richardson would Initially finish by introducing the song "Drowning, followed by "Incomplete" and then "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)."
A never-before-seen home video montage using "Boys Will Be Boys" allowed the band to change into black sequin suits. Next, an instrumental number featuring the dancers performing a dance number before They were raised on the central platform with mic stands to sing "Show Me The Meaning Of Being Lonely," before coming down to a melody of ballads "I'll Never Break Your Heart," "Anywhere for You" and "Darlin'" (The two songs were later changed to Quit Playing Games). Next, "Undone" featured five female dancers descending the steps to the track while the boys remained on stage until the dancer came down to the band members to do a dance number. Later, Brian Littrell came out to discuss the song or share each fan moment. Next, They performed "As Long As You Love Me" with the song's signature "chair routine."
The never-before-seen home videos of the group members' past tours, performances, and award shows with their song "Everyone" were played as the boys changed into red, black, and leather outfits for the following songs "The Call," "We've Got It Goin' On" and "Get Another Boyfriend." Howie Dorough would be the last to talk and thank the fans for supporting them throughout the years of their career. Afterward, the band would sit down on the steps for the next song, "More Than That" (Later shows, they would interact with the audience).
They added matching black fedoras and surprised the audience with the "hat-dance" routine in "All I Have To Give." Then, they come out with roses for the next song, "Shape of My Heart," which they performed and pulled fans, celebrities guests (Former
members Joey Fatone and Lance Bass, Snooki from Jersey Shore, Shania Twain, Donny, and Marie Osmond, Perez Hilton, Bachelor contestant Ashley Iaconetti and her then fiancé, now husband Jared Haibon, Backstreet Boys fan,[9] Aerosmith's Steven Tyler & magician, and illusionist Criss Angel) and love ones from the audience onstage at the end (Brian and AJ had their mothers up at once, then AJ's two daughters on two occasions, Howie serenaded Stacey O'Neil, his sister-in-law and wife's sister, Both Brian's and Kevin's wives Kristin and Leighanne came upon two special ones (Richardsons' anniversary and Littrell's birthday), even AJ helped organized a proposal for his friend).
During another costume change, the dancers came out for a dance break in black (later in white) for the audience to an up-tempo medley of "Straight Through My Heart" and "It's Gotta Be You." Then, as an Encore, the boys returned to the stage in black (mixed with pink but replaced with blue street clothes later in the show) to perform "I Want It That Way," later adding "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" to the list.
The boys returned once more with the final encore, "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)," often in the same clothes (later switching to their 90s-inspired street clothes). After ending the song, an instrumental outro was played as the boys said their final goodnights and fooled around. Finally, they bowed to the audience under a confetti blast and ended the song and the concert. (On Halloween, all five guys dressed in their costumes from the song's music video.)[10] [11]
The final concert saw them headed down to the theater's VIP tables to their best supporting act - their loves and escort them up to the center of to the stage while performing "Shape of My Heart".[12] McLean, and his wife, Rochelle, led the way, with the mom of two wearing a Backstreet Boys T-shirt and appearing emotional by the ballad's end; Carter, and his wife, Lauren, followed, with Lauren also rocking Backstreet Boys merchandise along with light blue hair, then smiling and glowing as Carter sweetly sang to her; Dorough, came next with his stunning wife, Leigh, who slay, strutting down the catwalk while dancing in a sexy white dress during another epic moment from a celebratory birthday weekend; Richardson, followed with his blonde beauty, Kristin, who appeared to be having a blast singing along as the two hit the spotlight; and lastly was Richardson's cousin, Littrell, whose wife, Leighanne, sweetly handed out roses to fans as she made her way to the stage. They concluded by serenading their gorgeous wives as all five couples were taken to the spotlight. Several pieces of video footage were filmed on Saturday night. At the song's end, the five singers dropped to their knees before handing the ladies long-stemmed roses to pay tribute.
Setlist
Pre-Show IHeartRadio Concert setlist
- "The Call"
- "Incomplete"
- "Interview"
- "Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely"
- "All I Have to Give"
- "Get Another Boyfriend"
- "Q&A"
- "As Long as You Love Me"
- "We've Got It Going On"
- "I Want It That Way"
- "Q&A"
- "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)"
- "Larger than Life"
Regular Show Setlist
- Video MegaMix
- "Larger than Life" (Millennium, 1999)
- "The One" (Millennium, 1999)
- "Get Down (You're the One for Me)" (Backstreet Boys/Backstreet Boys, 1997)
- Show Introductions
- "Drowning" (The Hits - Chapter One, 2001)
- "Incomplete" (Never Gone, 2005)
- "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)" (Backstreet Boys/Backstreet Boys, 1997)
- Video Transition
- Dance Break/"Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely" (Millennium, 1999)
- "I'll Never Break Your Heart" (Backstreet Boys/Backstreet Boys, 1997)
- "Anywhere for You"* (Backstreet Boys/Backstreet Boys, 1997)
- "Darlin'"* (Backstreet Boys, 1997)
- "Undone"* (This Is Us, 2009)
- Talk
- "As Long as You Love Me" (Backstreet Boys/Backstreet's Back, 1997)
- Video Transition
- Dance Break/"The Call" (Black & Blue, 2000)
- "We've Got It Goin' On" (Backstreet Boys/Backstreet Boys, 1997)
- "Get Another Boyfriend" (Black & Blue, 2000)
- Talk
- "More Than That" (Black & Blue, 2000)
- "All I Have to Give" (Backstreet Boys/Backstreet's Back, 1997)
- "Shape of My Heart" (Black & Blue, 2000)
- "I Want It That Way" (Millennium, 1999)
Encore:
- "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" (Backstreet Boys/Backstreet's Back, 1997)
Second Show Setlist
- Video MegaMix
- "Larger Than Life"
- "The One"
- "Get Down (You're the One for Me)"
- Show Introductions
- "Drowning"
- "Incomplete"
- Video Transition
- Dance Break/"Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely"
- "I'll Never Break Your Heart"
- "Undone"*
- "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)"
- Talk
- "As Long As You Love Me"
- Video Transition
- Dance Break/"The Call"
- "We've Got It Goin' On"
- "Get Another Boyfriend"
- Talk
- "More Than That"
- "All I Have to Give"
- "Shape Of My Heart"
- "I Want It That Way"
Encore:
- "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)"
Third Show Setlist
- Video MegaMix
- "Larger Than Life"
- "The One"
- "Get Down (You're the One for Me)"
- Show Introductions
- "Drowning"
- "Incomplete"
- Video Transition
- Dance Break/"Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely"
- "I'll Never Break Your Heart"
- "Undone"*
- "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)"
- Talk
- "As Long As You Love Me"
- Video Transition
- Dance Break/"The Call"
- "We've Got It Goin' On"
- "Get Another Boyfriend"
- Talk
- "More Than That"
- "All I Have to Give"
- "Shape Of My Heart"
- "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (2018/DNA, 2019)
- "I Want It That Way"
Encore:
- "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)"
Regular Show Setlist
- Video MegaMix
- "Larger than Life"
- "The One"
- "Get Down (You're the One for Me)"
- Show Introductions
- "Drowning"
- "Incomplete"
- "Quit Playing Games (with My Heart)" (later moved)
- Video Transition
- Dance Break/#"Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely"
- "I'll Never Break Your Heart"
- "Anywhere for You" (later cut)
- "Darlin'" (later cut)
- "Undone"
- Talk
- "As Long as You Love Me"
- Video Transition
- Dance Break/#"The Call"
- "We've Got it Goin' On"
- "Get Another Boyfriend"
- Talk
- "More than That"
- "All I Have to Give"
- "Shape of My Heart"
- "Don't Go Breaking My Heart"
- "I Want It That Way"
Encore:
- "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)"
Shows
Date | Attendance | Revenue |
---|
Leg 1[13] [14] |
---|
March 1, 2017 | 42,000 / 44,112 (95%) | $5,399,176 |
March 3, 2017 |
March 4, 2017 |
March 8, 2017 |
March 10, 2017 |
March 11, 2017 |
March 15, 2017 |
March 17, 2017 |
March 18, 2017 |
Leg 2[15] [16] |
---|
April 12, 2017 | 34,116 / 38,267 (89%) | $4,678,081 |
April 14, 2017 |
April 15, 2017 |
April 19, 2017 |
April 21, 2017 |
April 22, 2017 |
April 26, 2017 |
April 28, 2017 |
Leg 3[17] |
---|
June 15, 2017 | 48,126 / 48,878 (98%) | $6,447,389 |
June 16, 2017 |
June 17, 2017 |
June 21, 2017 |
June 23, 2017 |
June 24, 2017 |
June 28, 2017 |
June 30, 2017 |
July 1, 2017 |
Leg 4[18] [19] |
---|
November 8, 2017 | 18,811 / 23,716 (79%) | $2,748,074 |
November 10, 2017 |
November 11, 2017 |
November 15, 2017 |
November 17, 2017 |
November 18, 2017 |
Leg 5[20] |
---|
January 31, 2018 | 30,945 / 37,132 (83%) | $4,786,907 |
February 2, 2018 |
February 3, 2018 |
February 7, 2018 |
February 9, 2018 |
February 10, 2018 |
February 14, 2018 |
February 16, 2018 |
February 17, 2018 |
Leg 6[21] [22] |
---|
July 25, 2018 | 31,139 / 36,543 (85%) | $3,854,449 |
July 27, 2018 |
July 28, 2018 |
August 1, 2018 |
August 3, 2018 |
August 4, 2018 |
August 8, 2018 |
August 10, 2018 |
August 11, 2018 |
Leg 7[23] |
---|
October 24, 2018 | | |
October 26, 2018 |
October 27, 2018 |
October 31, 2018 |
November 2, 2018 |
November 3, 2018 |
November 7, 2018 | 21,057 / 24,789 (85%) | $1,484,562 |
November 9, 2018 |
November 10, 2018 |
November 14, 2018 |
November 16, 2018 |
November 17, 2018 |
Leg 8[24] |
---|
February 6, 2019 | | |
February 8, 2019 |
February 9, 2019 |
February 13, 2019 |
February 15, 2019 |
February 16, 2019 |
February 20, 2019 |
February 22, 2019 |
February 23, 2019 |
Leg 9 |
---|
April 10, 2019 | 37,315 / 40,786 (91%) | $5,489,843 |
April 12, 2019 |
April 13, 2019 |
April 17, 2019 |
April 19, 2019 |
April 20, 2019 |
April 24, 2019 |
April 26, 2019 |
April 27, 2019 |
Total | 263,509 / 294,123 | $36,230,259 | |
Personnel
[25]
- Lead and Background Vocals — Kevin Richardson, Brian Littrell, Howie Dorough, Nick Carter, AJ McLean
- Show Manager:
- Assistant Show Manager:
- Creative direction — Raj Kapoor Productions
- Co-Director:
- Musical Director — Keith Harris
- Co-Director:
- Video Director — Bert Pare & Garry Odem
- Video Engineer / Crew Chief / LED Lead - Caudill Pictures & Entertainment Inc.
- Press Liaison:
- Monitor Engineer — Seth Kendall
- Tour Accountant: Mark Haworth - Tour Manager and Tour Accountant
- Playback Engineer — Romain Garnier
- Technical & Production Director- Dan Mercer
- Road Manager/Production Coordinator- Kristin Rinden
- FOH Engineer- James McCullagh
- Monitor Engineer- Seth Kendall
- Show Caller- Stephen Nimmer
- Stage Manager- David Commisso
- Head Carpenter- Jason Deleu
- Management — Jennifer "Jenn" Sousa, Ron Laffitte
- Lighting Director- Graham Anderson
- Tour Accountant — Mark Haworth
- Video Director- Bert Pare'
- Creative Direction and Design- Raj Kapoor Productions
- Director/Co-Production Designer/Screens Producer- Raj Kapoor
- Assistant Director/Associate Producer- Rita Maye Bland
- Lighting Designer/Co-Production Designer- Richard Neville
- Video Content- Silent Partners
- Staff Photographer- Justin Segura - VIP Coordinator/Photographer
- Musical Director- Keith Harris
- Pre-Show Mix- DJ Earworm
- Additional Music Production- Varun
- Costume Design- Tierney Burchett - Wardrobe
- Supervising Choreographer & Choreographer- Nolan Padilla
- Assistant Supervising Choreographer- Codie Wiggins
- Choreographer-Sharna Burgess***, Chase Benz, Alex Chung, Jojo Gomez, JaQuel Knight, Chuck Maldonado, Tricia Miranda
- Iconic Choreography- Rich + Tone,[26] Fatima Robinson, Richard "Swoop" Whitebear
Security
- Michael "Mike" Elgani- Nick's Security
- Drew Philip- Head of Security/Road Manager/Brian's Security
- Aaron Tonga - Howie's Security
- Josh Naranjo - AJ's Security
- Keith McGuffey- Kevin's Security*
Band
- Keyboards - Lance Tolbert, Delvyn Brumfield (Co Musical Director/Keyboards/Synths/Strings)
- Guitars - Adam Hawley, Tim Stewart
- Bass - Andre Bowman
- Drums -
- Keith Harris - Musical Director/Drums/Keyboards
- Vocal Producer - David "DQ" Quinones
- Drum Programming/Arranger - Adrian "DJ Dubz" Wiltshire
- Programmer/Arranger - Kevin Teasley
- Engineer - John D Norten, Rico Simmons
Dancers
- Floris Bosveld (Dance Captain)
- Hailee Payne (Female Dance Captain)
- Valentino Vladimirov
- Teddy Coffey[27] [28]
- Steven Charles (2017-2018)****
- Jian Pierre-Louis
- Brooke Maroon
- Alyx Andrushuk
- Yorelis Apolinario (2017-2018)****
- Lindsey Desrosiers
- James Marino (2018-2019)****
- Genise Ruidiaz (2018-2019)****
Legal and Business Management
- Keller, Turner, Ruth, Andrew & Ghanem, PLLC
- Jordan S. Keller
- W. Chris Andrews
- Sarah A. Smith
- Meredith McGinnis
- Lindsay Brooker
Booking Agency
- William Morris Endeavor
- John Marx
- Brian Cohen
Vendors
- Lighting and Video- Production Resources Group
- Audio: Sound Image
- Automation and Staging- Show Group Production Services
- Fan Club & VIP Experience- Wonderful Union
- ER Productions
- Quantum SFX
- Jason Deleu
Touring Partners
- Live Nation
- Michael Rapino
- Steve Herman
- Kurt Melien
- Amanda Moore
Public Relations
- Caravan PR- Steven Trachtenbroit
- Edge Publicity- Shoshanna Stone
Fan Engagement and Website Design
- Wonderful Union
- Eddie Meehan
- Kat Gilbride
- Jennie Quan
- Justin Segura
- Matt Sergent
- Matt Ferro
- Chad Turner
- Nate Gabriel
- Mason Mullendore
- Anthony Ordonez
- Eric Warren
Wardrobe Contributors
- Jason Gastwirth
- Talia Rothman
- Gavin Whiteley
- Edward Tex Dike
- John Demos
Merchandise Company
- Global Merchandising
- Barry Drinkwater
- Jen Florez
- Tracy Stone
Digital Marketing and Social Media Management
- Crowd Surf
- Cassie Petrey
- Jade Driver
- Helen Showalter
Travel Agent
- Preferred Travel
- Nancy Rosenblatt
- Debbie Rosenblatt
Afterparty Venue
- Chateau Nightclub and Rooftop
Clips from BACKSTREET BOYS – SHOW 'EM WHAT YOU'RE MADE OFfeature film (c) Pulse Films/K Bahn LLC 2015 and BSB personal archives
Special Thanks:
- Millennium Dance Complex
- Warner Bros. Studios
- JetSuiteX
- Master Chefs Production Catering
- Sennheiser - For providing wireless microphones.
Notes
- Keith, known as Trey D, is an old friend of Kevin's from Kentucky
- Indicates which songs were part of a medley
- Sharna was Nick's dance partner on Dancing with the Stars
- Indicates which dancer did two years during the residency
Notes and References
- Web site: Backstreet Boys back to vegas after world tour [19 April 2019] - legendado ]. YouTube. 25 April 2019.
- Web site: AJ McLean Reflects on 27 Years of BSB, Hopes for a Christmas Album and More . Us Weekly . 30 April 2020.
- Web site: YouTube . www.youtube.com.
- Web site: EXCLUSIVE: Nick Carter Confirms Backstreet Boys' Las Vegas Residency, Teases New Album. Entertainment Tonight. November 1, 2016. Lynda. Brendish. April 2, 2016.
- Backstreet Boys Announce 2017 Las Vegas Residency. Daniel. Kreps. September 23, 2016. Rolling Stone. November 1, 2016.
- Web site: Backstreet Boys to perform Las Vegas residency. September 24, 2016. Fox News. November 1, 2016.
- Web site: Backstreet Boys Residency breaks records!. FOX5. March 1, 2017. Rachel. Smith. March 1, 2017. March 7, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170307200945/http://www.fox5vegas.com/clip/13142149/backstreet-boys-residency-breaks-records/. dead.
- Backstreet Boys' Las Vegas Residency Is a Thrilling Trip Down Memory Lane . Billboard . 2 March 2017.
- BqEBlozAaBf. ashley_iaconetti. The @backstreetboys brought Jared and I onstage last night, so I have to show you all the pics! When Jared left the stage he kept saying, “I can’t breathe.” The chubby preteen in Jared had all his boy bander dreams come true. See my insta story for the video of this moment and more of Jared’s fan boying.. 2018-11-11. Ashley Haibon.
- Backstreet Boys Throwback Halloween Picture . Billboard . 31 October 2019.
- Backstreet Boys' Las Vegas Residency is a Thrilling Trip Down Memory Lane. Billboard.
- Web site: Watch the Backstreet Boys Serenade Their Wives at Final Las Vegas Show . Entertainment Tonight.
- EXCLUSIVE: Backstreet Boys Announce 18-Date 'Larger Than Life' Las Vegas Residency. Billboard. September 23, 2016. Leena. Tailor. November 1, 2016.
- Leg 1 box score data:
- Current Boxscore | Billboard . Billboard . 5 September 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170405190426/https://www.billboard.com/biz/current-boxscore . 5 April 2017.
- Web site: Backstreet Boys. backstreetboys.com. November 1, 2016.
- Leg 2 box score data:
- Current Boxscore | Billboard . Billboard . 5 September 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170516232700/https://www.billboard.com/biz/current-boxscore . 16 May 2017.
- Leg 3 box score data:
- Current Boxscore | Billboard . Billboard . 5 September 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170628013748/https://www.billboard.com/biz/current-boxscore . 28 June 2017.
- Current Boxscore | Billboard . Billboard . 5 September 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170802005800/https://www.billboard.com/biz/current-boxscore . 2 August 2017.
- News: Backstreet Boys Extend Their Las Vegas Residency into 2018. 2017-06-09. PEOPLE.com. 2017-09-14. en-US.
- Leg 4 box score data:
- Current Boxscore | Billboard . Billboard . 5 September 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171207092111/http://www.billboard.com/biz/current-boxscore . 7 December 2017.
- Leg 5 box score data:
- Current Boxscore | Billboard . Billboard . 5 September 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180301203622/https://www.billboard.com/biz/current-boxscore . 1 March 2018.
- Web site: Backstreet Boys - Events. Union. Wonderful. Backstreet Boys. en. 2018-02-15.
- Leg 6 box score data:
- Current Boxscore | Billboard . Billboard . 5 September 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180808144206/https://www.billboard.com/biz/current-boxscore . 8 August 2018.
- Current Boxscore | Billboard . Billboard . 5 September 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180905140458/https://www.billboard.com/biz/current-boxscore . 5 September 2018.
- Leg 7 box score data:
- Current Boxscore | Billboard . Billboard . 28 November 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181128153544/https://www.billboard.com/biz/current-boxscore . 28 November 2018.
- Web site: Events – Backstreet Boys.
- Web site: Backstreet Boys. Backstreet Boys. en.
- Web site: Overview . richandtone . en.
- Web site: Watch Val Chmerkovskiy Rap in Teddy Coffey's 'Growing Pains' Video . Entertainment Tonight.
- Web site: teddy coffey (@teddycoffey) • Instagram photos and videos . www.instagram.com . en.