When 2018 began, we knew that this was going to be a special year. With the Backstreet Boys’ taking on Las Vegas for a second year, their 25th anniversary and the long-awaited release of their first new single in years, Backstreet Boys fans knew they were in for a wild ride.
But did we EVER imagine it would be like this?
So many great things happened this year – from the teases of a new single, to the 2018 Backstreet Boys cruise and performing on hit shows such as “The Voice” and “The Tonight Show.” It’s kind of hard to break all the moments down into five, but we are going to try.
First, a few runnerups:
- “Millennium” night on the 2018 Backstreet Boys cruise.
- Performing on the 2018 MTV VMA Awards pre-show
- Surprising fans in an elevator on MTV
- Winning performance of the Year at the 2018 CMT Awards with Florida Georgia Line
- The Vevo Interview
And now, the real Top 5.
5. James Corden becomes a Backstreet Boy for the night
While this skit for “The Late Late Show with James Corden” was filmed in November 2017, it didn’t see the light of day until mid-way through 2018. We honestly thought it might have been forgotten about, but it was worth the wait!
James Corden goes into Vegas to take the place of a Backstreet Boy for the evening and the lucky boy was none other than Brian, who wasn’t too happy about being kicked out of the band.
Why is this great? It showed the work the guys put into their Las Vegas show, what all goes down in the rehearsal process and what a meet and greet is like.
4. Record-breaking crowd at “Good Morning America”
In July, the Backstreet Boys took of Central Park for “Good Morning America” and set records with the crowd attendance. Apparently there were more people there to see the boys than space allowed.
Leave it to the boys to always break records!
Not only did they sing some of their classics, they performed their current (at the time) single “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.” However, the end of the last song was interrupted by President Donald Trump and fans were outraged. The Cheeto struck again.
3. DNA World Tour announced
Backstreet Boys announced the DNA World Tour in November to much surprise. Granted, everybody knew they would be touring Europe and other countries, but nobody knew that they would also be hitting the United States and Canada in 2019!
It was literally breaking news across the internet and even the fan club received so many hits and signups that the site crashed. Several shows sold out not long after tickets went on sale, including London, England, where they added a second show.
2. Grammy Nomination
While Backstreet Boys fans have hoped and prayed for years that the Recording Academy would finally bestow a Grammy nomination on the Backstreet Boys once again.
Insert “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.” The song was released in mid-May, just in time for a Grammy nomination and that’s what happened.
The hit single is nominated for Best Pop Performance by a Group or Duo and is up against some stiff competition including Maroon 5 with Cardi B. and Justin Timberlake with Chris Stapleton.
1. Release of “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart”
While 2018 had some amazingly brilliant events, news and more, there was nothing quiet as exciting as staying up until midnight to see the release of “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.” First came the song that was released on every media outlet available and then the music video premiered on YouTube.
Let’s remember the last time we saw this band dance in a music video. Are you thinking?
That’s right. The last time we saw the Backstreet Boys dance in a music video was “Larger Than Life.” There were no dancing in any of the music videos from “Black & Blue,” “Never Gone,” “Unbreakable,” “This Is Us” or “In A World Like This.”
The song was their return to the Billboard charts and also made it to the Top 10 on the U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary and Adult Top 40 charts.
And just might be the song that gets them a Grammy.
Want to see what others thought were the top moments? Click here!
