THE LOS ANGELES `MILLENNIUM’

DATE: OCTOBER 22, 1999

FROM: MITCH SCHNEIDER/ MARCEE RONDAN/ TODD BRODGINSKI

THE LOS ANGELES `MILLENNIUM': Rod Stewart, Jennifer Lopez, Parker Posey, Ben Savage and Tiffani Amber Thiessen were among those on hand for an intimate BACKSTREET BOYS party in Los Angeles earlier this week. The post-concert party was held at Le Colonial after the first of two sold-out performances at the Great Western Forum. The Los Angeles dates–which also attracted such celebrities as Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Jenna Elfman, Kobe Bryant and Sinbad–came halfway through the group's 11-week, 39-city sold-out North American arena tour. Following the Los Angeles performances, the BACKSTREET BOYS continued their tour with a show in San Jose which Janet Jackson checked out. All 765,000 tickets for the `Sears Presents Backstreet Boys Into The Millennium Tour'–which kicked off September 14 and concludes December 6–sold out as soon as they went on sale, the vast majority within an hour. Reviews of the tour include: Steve Jones of USA TODAY who said (in a ***1/2 out of four-star review) the BACKSTREET BOYS' performance showed "…vocal strength and road polish gained through nearly five years of nonstop touring that sets them apart from their pop competition. While the Boys shifted frequently from endearing slow songs to driving dance jams, they never let the crowd's energy wane." Elsewhere, Ann Powers of the NEW YORK TIMES noted: "The Backstreet Boys can vocalize better than any of their peers, and each has his own style…" Meanwhile, worldwide sales of the BACKSTREET BOYS–NICK CARTER, HOWIE DOROUGH, BRIAN LITTRELL, AJ McLEAN and KEVIN RICHARDSON—MILLENNIUM album have just surpassed the 12 million mark.