Backstreet Boys are back to India after 13 years, with Mumbai and Delhi concerts

Since Tuesday, Indian ticket-booking website BookMyShow had been hinting at a possible Backstreet Boys gig in India with social media users just singing Quit Playing Games With My Heart.  But it turns out that they weren’t playing games as the iconic American boy band will actually be performing at Mumbai and Delhi on May 4 and May 6 respectively.

BookMyShow confirmed the news on its social media accounts and website on February 22 (Wednesday) with the band visiting India as a part of their global tour to promote their ninth studio album DNA that was first released in 2019. 

While the Backstreet Boys dominated music charts in the late 90s and early 2000s, their hit singles like Everybody (Backstreet’s Back) and I Want It That Way are still heavily streamed even by new-age listeners. The blend of sappy love songs and youth-friendly dance anthems made them an ideal precursors to subsequent global boy bands like One Direction and BTS. So, it is highly likely that their Indian performances would be major crowd-pullers. 

We know the venues but not the ticket prices

In Mumbai, Backstreet Boys will be performing at the Jio Gardens while in Delhi, the five members would display their vocal prowess and dance moves at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (the same venue where Justin Bieber was “supposed to” perform last October, *sigh*).

However, BookMyShow has not revealed the ticket prices yet even though a registration link is given that would offer further details with time. The event description on the website states that the band would be performing their “mega-watt hits” as well as more recent songs from albums like DNA. 

Not the first Backstreet Boys gig in India

Backstreet Boys first performed in India 13 years ago in 2010 with Delhi and Bengaluru being destinations for a tour to promote their seventh album This Is Us. The Bengaluru show happened at the city’s Palace Grounds while the Delhi concert was at the NSIC Exhibition Grounds, the current venue of the annual Delhi Comic Con. 

What are the Backstreet Boys up to these days? 

While their popularity started waning in the late 2000s, they still managed to gain enough airplay thanks to their 90s-era dance and teen pop hits. Over the years, their music has evolved into a more adult contemporary song with traces of R&B, electronic, and country genres.

The five “boys” might have aged into men now but they still ensure that they put up a show whenever they are performing, complete with their matching outfits and synchronised dances. 

Since the last few years, they have been performing as guests on shows like Saturday Night Live and The Voice. Their cameo in the satirical post-apocalyptic comedy This Is The End (which itself will turn ten this year) featured them in a significant cameo towards the ending. With all of the cast members dying and arriving at the gates of Heaven, they get to witness the Boys (dressed in an all-white theme) dancing and performing Everybody! It was quite a heavenly performance indeed. 

Their love ballad I Want It That Way also surged back in popularity in the late 2010s with a mention in an episode of the police sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine. When a suspect can be identified only by the way he sings I Want It That Way, protagonist Jake Peralta lines up five potential suspects and makes them all sing the song, setting up his own jailhouse Backstreet Boys!