With 27 years in the music business, the Backstreet Boys have toured the majority of those years on their own headlining tours.
From the “We Wanna Be With You” tour to “Into The Millennium” and “In A World Like This,” we’ve been introduced to new artists that opened for the guys. Sometimes we enjoyed the opening acts and sometimes we just wished they would move on. (Let’s be honest, we all have thought that at one point or another.”
Let’s take a look back at the opening acts that the Backstreet Boys have had over the years.
Centory
The group released one album and remixed two other songs. They released a cover of the Milli Vanilli hit, “Girl You Know It’s True” with Trey D. Turo B, a member of Centory, pursued a solo album. He is now married with two children. He released new solo material in 2005 and he still tours the world.
Trey D.
Some people may not know it, but Trey D. is actually Keith McGuffey, BFF to Kevin Richardson and now works as his bodyguard. He is married with kids and still tours the world with Kevin and the Backstreet Boys.
LFO
The band which was also founded by Lou Pearlman opened for Backstreet Boys in Europe, but finally broke out in the United States in the late ‘90s with the hits “Summer Girls” and “Girl On TV.” The group broke up in 2002 and came back in 2009, but never got to record a third album. Rich Cronin, the lead singer/rapper, died September 8, 2010 after battling leukemia. In 2017, Brad and Devin attempted to reform and released a singer, but in October of that year, Devin was diagnosed with stage four adrenal cancer and had a kidney removed. He died a year later in November 2018. Brad, the only surviving member has toured with O-Town since.
Jimmy Ray
After never having another really big hit after “Are You Jimmy Ray?,” Jimmy Ray left the scene, he came back in 2009 as a member of a song production team called Airplayers. In 2015, Jimmy announced that he was working on new material for a comeback album. He released “Live to Fight Another Day” in 2017.
Solid HarmoniE
The group disbanded in 2000 at the height of the teen pop era, but in 2013, they announced that they were working on a comeback. They released a new single in 2014, but nothing since.
E.Y.C.
The group opened for Backstreet Boys on their biggest tour, the Into The Millennium Tour. They were huge in Europe, but never really caught on in the United States. However, they released their last single that same year and disbanded. Trey Parker toured with LA Allstars. Damon Butler began performing with Limp Wristed and they both co-wrote a song with Anastasia. Dave Loeffler went into music management and works with Lionel Richie and Why Don’t We.
Mandy Moore
Possibly one biggest acts to ever come from Backstreet Boys’ opening acts, Mandy Moore went on to great things. After releasing two albums, she began acting, and even starred in “A Walk To Remember” in just her third role. She is now a Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominee for her role on the TV show “This Is Us.” She just released her first album in 10 years, “Silver Lining.” She is currently married to Taylor Goldsmith, of the rock band “Dawes.”
Destiny’s Child
Destiny’s Child opened up for the Backstreet Boys on the first leg of their “Black & Blue” tour. Everybody pretty much knows how this story ended … with Beyonce becoming one of the biggest stars in the world. The group officially disbanded in 2006, but have reunited several times during events such as the Super Bowl.
Krystal
Krystal shot the fame pretty quickly with being signed to the Backstreet Boys’ record label, touring with them, and working with them on her debut album. She even guest-starred on television shows, such as “Touched By An Angel.” She later went by the name “Miss Krystal” and also starred on the TV show “Save The Last Dance,” but it was never picked up by a network. In 2013, she started performing as Krystal Peterson & the Queen City Band.
Shaggy
Shaggy is still as cool as he was when he opened for the “Black & Blue” tour. He has continued to record and release albums, having won his second Grammy in 2019 with Sting.
Jonas Brothers
Again, one of the biggest artists to ever open for the Backstreet Boys, the Jonas Brothers disbanded in 2013, only to come back in 2019 and “burnin’ up” the charts once again with a new album, “Happiness Begins.” Nick and Joe Jonas both had successful careers outside of the Jonas Brothers with Nick acting in movies and television shows and making music of his own. Joe, who did release a solo album before the band broke up, started the band DNCE who had a hit with the song “Cake By The Ocean.” The group finished up a huge, sell-out tour in 2019 and has been teasing new music with songs such as “What A Man Gotta Do” and “X.”
Jesse McCartney
Jesse McCartney has opened for the Backstreet Boys on two tours – “Never Gone” and “In A World Like This.” He has released several albums and even wrote the smash hit “Bleeding Love” for Leona Lewis. Recently he was on “The Masked Singer” as the “Turtle” and came in second place. He just released a new single, “Friends.”
Girlicious
The group was formed by the creator of the Pussycat Dolls on a reality TV show. They released two albums, with their last in November 2010. Four months later, the group disbanded.
Mindless Behavior
The American boy band opened for the boys’ “This Is Us” tour in the United States. The group never had a huge breakout hit and disbanded in 2017. In 2020, one of the members tweeted, teasing a possible reunion.
Shawn Desman
The Candian pop/R&B singer continued to be a huge star in Canada, winning “Video of the Year” in 2011 at the Much Music Video Awards. His last album in 2013 spawned two hits. He is currently married to his longtime girlfriend and they have two children together.
All Saints
The band reunited for a second time and toured with the Backstreet Boys in the UK and Ireland on their “In A World Like This” tour. They released a new album, “Red Flag,” in 2016 and toured, also touring with Take That in 2017. The group released another album in 2018 called “Testament” and released a single with Sting in 2020.