I’m going to say something that I know a lot of fans have been thinking: the Backstreet Boys need to release new music.
Not next year. Not “when the timing is right.” Not after another anniversary celebration.
Now.
Don’t get me wrong. I absolutely love the Into the Millennium residency. I was lucky enough to be there opening weekend, spent Christmas and New Year’s with the boys in December, and it was one of the best concert experiences I’ve ever had. I’ve seen it eight times now. As someone who never got to see the original Into the Millennium Tour because my Mom and I couldn’t afford tickets back then, it felt like I finally got to experience that era the way I always wanted to.
But how long can you celebrate the 25th anniversary of an album?
If this residency pushes into 2027 like many fans expect, we’re talking about celebrating the 28th anniversary of Millennium. I know the Backstreet Boys have always operated on what fans lovingly call “Backstreet Time.” We celebrated their 30th anniversary during their 31st year with the Cancun resort trip. We’re used to things taking longer than expected. It’s why many of us are now getting grey hair.
Still...come on.
At some point, you have to stop looking backward and remind people why you’re still here.
The Sphere has introduced the Backstreet Boys to more than just longtime fans. Every night there are people walking in who haven’t seen them in years or have never seen them. There are tourists looking for a great show. There are casual fans who remember “I Want It That Way” but may not know anything they’ve released in the last two decades.
That’s a huge opportunity. You don’t get many chances to have this many eyes on your band at once.
Right now, “Bottle Up” is getting a lot of attention thanks to PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie. It’s fun seeing people discover the song or realize the guys are still recording together, but let’s be honest.
A song attached to a children’s movie can only carry that momentum for so long. It’s an amazing song co-written by the equally amazing Ed Sheeran who I have longed wish the boys would work with.
But I’m hoping the boys are thinking again. After “Bottle Up,” the conversation should eventually become, “Have you heard the Backstreet Boys’ new single?” Not, “Remember that song from the cartoon movie?”
Whether they head back into the studio to record a completely new album or finally dust off songs that never made DNA or In a World Like This, I honestly don’t care. There were some amazing songs that did not make either album. Kevin Richardson played so many of them for us on the 2018 Backstreet Boys cruise. There was one if you were lucky enough to be in the same group I was that Kevin kept accidentally playing called, or had the term “Three words” in it. Release that!
Just release something.
Fans have been waiting.
One thing the Backstreet Boys have always done well is evolve while still sounding like themselves. Every album has had its own identity. They don’t need to chase trends or try to sound like artists half their age. They just need great songs. That’s always been enough.
We’ve already seen this strategy work before.
Back in 2019, they released DNA just a few months before wrapping up their Larger Than Life residency at Planet Hollywood. The timing couldn’t have been better. Fans who had just seen the show had something new to take home with them.
The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. That was their first No. 1 album since Black & Blue in 2000.
It proved something many of us already knew: people still care.
People will still buy the music.
People still want to hear what the Backstreet Boys have to say.
The Sphere residency has reminded the world why these five guys became one of the biggest groups of all time. The production is incredible. The performances are strong. Their vocals are some of the best they’ve ever been, so don’t let that be the end of the conversation.
Give people a reason to keep listening after they leave Las Vegas.
Give new fans something to discover.
Give longtime fans something we’ve been waiting years to hear.
Nostalgia got people through the doors, but new music is what keeps them around, and I think the Backstreet Boys have more great chapter left to write in what is already a legendary career.