We are almost at the year mark of being in a pandemic and emotions are running high in the Backstreet Boys fandom.
Why wouldn’t they be high? It seems like COVID is never going to leave and there are already talks of postponing the boys’ tour yet again (Nick said so in an interview last week). Unless you went to see Howie’s play last February or went to Mexico or South America to see the boys before the pandemic hit, you probably haven’t seen them in over a year.
Trust me. It’s been since September 2019 for me. I feel like the old woman in “Titanic.”
That’s what it’s felt like. Thankfully Nick, AJ, and Howie have all done COVID-safe things with us whether it was cooking, a weekly podcast, playing video games, or reality shows, we’ve had that little bit of Backstreet Boys for most of the pandemic.
But things have gone quiet. Nick is busy preparing for a new baby and a solo album, and AJ, bless his heart, has taken TikTok by storm. Nick and Kevin have an InstagramLive this Thursday discussing the Super Bowl, but it’s been quiet.
And when it’s quiet in the Backstreet Boys fandom, tensions get higher.
Thankfully, I’ve stayed out of drama lately, but I see it being talked about, people DMing about it when I don’t want to be involved, and more, but in all my years in this fandom (God, I sound ancient), and going through quiet times before, I’ve learned one thing – not everybody is going to like one another and not everyone is going to get along. (That was a bad run-on sentence and IDGAF – I worked almost 10 hours today and I’m brain dead.)
That’s fine. We all don’t have to be best friends. Hell, we don’t even have to talk or social-media-socialize with one another. There are plenty of people who do not like me and there are some that I’m not so fond of and you know what? That’s okay. I used to worry about people liking me, but over the years, I just don’t give a rat’s ass.
Where there is drama, there is always a reason, that I know all too well, but that’s why they have a block function on social media. That’s why there’s going private and if someone is bothering you THAT much, report them to the platform. Some people just have that much time on their hands.
And sadly right now in this pandemic, if you’re following the CDC rules, you probably do have a lot of time on your hands. But don’t feed into the drama. Don’t give the person harassing you or causing drama the satisfaction of knowing that they are getting to you. Ignore them. Pretend that they don’t exist.
The boys call us their Army, kind of like the Avengers. And we see what happened when the Avengers grew apart in “Civil War.” (Spoiler Alert) Thanos came in “Infinity War” and the Avengers lost. Sure, an alien boy band isn’t going to come from outerspace to take BSB’s glory of being the Best-Selling Boy Band of All Time, but still. As the BSB Army, we can’t lose this fight of ‘Keeping the Backstreet Pride Alive.”
Whether we talk, or use to be friends, or don’t like one another, I want to see all of you on that next tour. And dammit, I want to see Kevin Richardson dance again.
<3
