I’ve been thinking about older Backstreet Boys tours and albums lately, and I keep coming back to one.
In a World Like This.
I feel like this era gets forgotten sometimes.
We talk about Millennium constantly, especially with the Sphere residency. Black & Blue will always have a special place in the fandom. Never Gone has songs fans still beg to hear live. Then there’s DNA, which gave BSB a No. 1 album again and one of their biggest tours. But what about In a World Like This?
Because I miss that era.
I miss Nick with the guitar.
I miss his dancing during “Breathe.”
I miss Kevin singing lead on “Breathe.”
I miss hearing “Madeleine” live.
And now I want all of it back.
Let's Start With Guitar Nick
Bring him back. That's it. That's the section. Okay, not really. But seeing Nick playing guitar during “In a World Like This” was one of my favorite parts of that tour.
It fit him. It fit the song. And Nick looked like he was having so much fun doing it.
The title track itself deserves more love, too. I still think it's one of the better singles from their later albums. It's catchy, has a little bit of that pop-rock sound BSB played around with after Never Gone, and it sounded great live. But I'm going to keep coming back to the guitar.
We get Dancing Nick all the time. We get Nick running around the stage like he hasn't been performing for two hours. We get Nick throwing himself on the floor. We get Nick doing whatever Nick is doing during “Get Another Boyfriend” these days.
I would like Guitar Nick back in the rotation.
Thank you.
And Then There's “Breathe”
Not DNA “Breathe," I mean the OTHER “Breathe.”
Why do the Backstreet Boys have two songs with the same name? I don't know. That's a discussion for another day.
The In a World Like This “Breathe” is one of those songs I wish would randomly show up on a setlist again.
For several reasons.
First, Kevin. I LOVE Kevin's voice on this song. We don't get Kevin singing lead nearly enough, and “Breathe” was such a good song for him. His voice gave it this deeper, sexier sound that worked perfectly.
Then there was Nick. If you saw this tour, you probably already know where I'm going with this.
The dancing.
Sir.
I miss it.
“Breathe” was just sexy live. There's really no other way to put it.
Bring Kevin's lead back.
Bring Nick's dancing back.
Everybody wins.
I Really Miss “Madeleine”
This may be the song I miss most from this album live and not because that's my cat's name.
There was something about hearing “Madeleine” in concert that made me love it even more. It's a beautiful song anyway, but hearing all five of them singing it together gave it something extra. And now it's basically disappeared.
That's one of the downsides of being a fan of a group that's been around for more than 30 years. There are only so many songs they can put into a concert. We know “I Want It That Way” isn't leaving. Neither is “Everybody.” “Larger Than Life” isn't going anywhere.
And please don't touch “The Call.” That's one I personally need to stay.
So the deeper album tracks slowly disappear. Unfortunately, In a World Like This seems to have lost almost all representation in the current BSB world. And that's sad because there are some really good songs on that album.
Go Listen to the Album Again
Seriously, if you haven't listened to In a World Like This from beginning to end in a while, go do it. You may be surprised by how many songs you remember loving.
“In a World Like This” still holds up.
“Breathe” is still sexy.
“Madeleine” is still beautiful.
“Show 'Em (What You're Made Of)” probably hits a little differently now that we're older.
“Permanent Stain” is still catchy.
“Try” is one of those songs that showed off a different side of their voices.
“Feels Like Home” is just fun.
And there are songs like “Trust Me” that rarely get mentioned anymore.
Is every song on the album one of my favorite Backstreet Boys songs? No. I'm still capable of admitting when my favorite group has songs I don't love.
But there's enough good stuff on In a World Like This that I don't understand why we barely talk about it anymore.
And Let's Remember What This Album Meant
There's another reason this era deserves some love.
Kevin was back. That was HUGE.
Kevin officially returned to the group in 2012, which meant In a World Like This was the first Backstreet Boys studio album with all five members since Never Gone. We had gotten used to four Backstreet Boys.
Unbreakable was four. This Is Us was four. The tours were four. Then Kevin came home.
Now, Kevin has been back so long that it's easy to forget what seeing all five of them together again felt like at the time.
This era was also happening around their 20th anniversary. They got their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. They had Kevin back. They had a new album. They were touring as five again.
There was a lot happening. And we had no idea what was coming.
Think About Everything That's Happened Since
When In a World Like This came out, there was no DNA.
There was no “Don't Go Breaking My Heart.”
There was no DNA World Tour.
There hadn't been a Backstreet Boys Las Vegas residency yet.
There certainly wasn't a Sphere residency.
We didn't know they were eventually going to have another No. 1 album.
We didn't know we'd be watching them perform Millennium inside a giant ball in Las Vegas in 2026.
We were just excited Kevin was back and the five of them were making music together again.
Looking back, In a World Like This feels like the start of the BSB era we're still living in now.
They weren't trying to be the Backstreet Boys from 1999 anymore.
They were five grown men figuring out what being a boy band in their 30s and 40s looked like.
Apparently, it worked out pretty well.
I Want Some of This Era Back
I'm not asking for an In a World Like This residency. Okay, maybe I would go. Who am I kidding? Of course I would go.
But I would love to see them start pulling songs from this album again.
Give us “Madeleine” one night. Put “Show 'Em (What You're Made Of)” into an acoustic set.
LET KEVIN SING “BREATHE.” And yes, bring back the random Nick dancing with it.
For research purposes and for fuck's sake, somebody find Nick a guitar.
We've spent a lot of time celebrating Millennium, and I understand why. I'm one of the people who never got to see the original Into the Millennium Tour, so seeing this album come alive at Sphere has meant a lot to me.
But the Backstreet Boys have made a lot of music since 1999. Some of those albums deserve another moment, too. In a World Like This is definitely one of them. It's the album that gave us all five guys together again. It gave us songs I would genuinely love to hear live again.
Now excuse me while I go watch old tour videos.