NASHVILLE |DATE: MARCH 24, 2000
FROM: MITCH SCHNEIDER/MARCEE RONDAN/TODD BRODGINSKI
BACKSTREET BOYS
WRAP UP 'INTO THE MILLENNIUM' TOUR AFTER
115 SOLD-OUT SHOWS IN 84 CITIES;
NEW SINGLE 'THE ONE' CHOSEN BY FANS
VIA THE MTV WEBSITE;
group to perform on vh1's "men strike back"
With 115 shows of their sold-out and critically acclaimed "Into The Millennium Tour" in 84 cities around the world under their belts, the BACKSTREET BOYS are taking a little time off just as their new single "The One" is poised to launch at radio the first week of May. The forthcoming single–from the group's 12-times-platinum MILLENNIUM CD–was chosen by fans who cast their votes via the MTV website. That song follows up the smash hits "I Want It That Way," "Larger Than Life" and their current Top Ten hit "Show Me The Meaning Of Being Lonely." Expect the BACKSTREET BOYS to perform songs like these when they join Sting, Tom Jones, D'Angelo and Enrique Iglesias for the VH1 special "Men Strike Back," the first-ever VH1 male-dominated concert premiering Tuesday, April 18 at 9:00 p.m. (ET/PT). The special will tape at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
On the live front, the second leg of the BACKSTREET BOYS' "Into The Millennium" tour took the group into arenas and stadiums including the Georgia Dome in Atlanta (capacity 72,000), Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL (53,000), the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans (52,000) and the St. Louis Trans World Dome (74,000) before concluding on March 15 at the Toronto Skydome (36,000). This followed the group's record-breaking Fall 1999 tour which made music history when all 765,000 tickets for the dates sold out as soon as they went on sale, the vast majority within an hour.
In addition to setting sales records on both the live front and via album sales, the BACKSTREET BOYS—-NICK CARTER, HOWIE DOROUGH, BRIAN LITTRELL, AJ McLEAN and KEVIN RICHARDSON–have been praised by the critics for the artistic growth and vocal talents they displayed onstage. Ann Powers of the NEW YORK TIMES said: "The Backstreet Boys can vocalize better than any of their peers, and each has his own style…" USA TODAY's Steve Jones added that the group show "vocal strength and road polish gained through nearly five years of nonstop touring that sets them apart from their pop competition." And the BOSTON HERALD's Sarah Rodman cited their "…energetic two-hour performance…vocal elan, strong material and mature presence…"
BACKSTREET BOYS had the best-selling CD of 1999–it hit #1 in 26 countries and went gold and/or platinum in 45 countries–and received a wide array of awards and critical praise. The group received five Grammy nominations and won four Billboard Music Awards, a People's Choice Award as well as various prizes from around the world, including Juno and MuchMusic Awards in Canada and the "Best Group Award" at 1999 the MTV Europe Music Awards. The group also graced the cover of ROLLING STONE twice within an eight-month period and won their reader's poll for "Artists of the Year," "Band of the Year," "Album of the Year," "Single of the Year," "Best Video" and "Best Tour."
On the heels of the VH1 taping, the BACKSTREET BOYS will head into the studio to begin work on a new album, due out in late 2000 on Jive Records.
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BACKSTREET BOYS WRAP UP 'INTO THE MILLENNIUM' TOUR AFTER 115 SOLD-OUT SHOWS IN 84 CITIES; NEW SINGLE 'THE ONE' CHOSEN BY FANS VIA THE MTV WEBSITE
