The Boys Are Back

Having toured the United States and Europe following the June release of their first album together in five years, the next thing on the Backstreet Boy's agenda is bringing their Never Gone tour to fans on the Pacific Rim.

Included in their 10-stop tour, which begins in Japan on January 7, are concerts in Beijing scheduled for January 16, their second in the Chinese capital, and another in Shanghai on January 18.

It's been 12 years since world's favourite boy band began performing; their zenith may have been during the 1990s. Recently, after a long recording lull (as a group), fans saw the release of Never Gone.

As critics have commented, Never Gone is not the same Backstreet Boys sound you fell in love with as a teenager. It is been almost five years since their last album. Now, the boys are trying to develop a style more in keeping with their growth as adult musicians.

Most of Never Gone works well and on some tracks it works very well. Whether their audiences will accept the work remains an open question, but the group has made a pleasing transition with their trademark harmonies intact.

Never Gone is relaxed and confident. Ballads like the first single "Incomplete" and "Lose It All" soar with vocal confidence. Even songs in which the Backstreet Boys stretch their skills, like the intricate vocal blending on "My Beautiful Woman" or the collaboration with Five For Fighting's John Ondrasik on "Weird World," sound almost effortless.

Backstreet Boy A. J. Mclean said that when staging Never Gone, "We've kind of simplified our show from all the blowing up everything on stage production that we've done in the past. I think now we've gotten older and the music doesn't really lend itself to the big acrobatics and pyrotechnics. It's all about going back to basics again-just going back to good, quality music and having fun on stage."

"There are a couple of songs, like 'Poster Girl' and 'My Beautiful Woman,' where we do some choreography. You'll see all the songs and all the singles from the Chapter One album, and we do go back to some of the old choreography that our fans are familiar with, such as the hat routine on 'All I Have to Give.'

"It's just a good quality family show. We want everyone to come out, have a good time and bring out the whole family and, hopefully, leave there with a big grin on their face." Mclean said.

What should be expected of their upcoming concert? How do they feel the five stand in the ever-changing pop-music scene? Where are they headed, whether individually and as a group? Let us wait for the Backstreet Boys to share their thoughts in Beijing's in the new year.

 

Time: January 16
Venue: Capital Gymnasium
Admission (yuan): 2000, 1280, 800, 500, 400, 300, 200, 100
Tel: +86 10 6551 6590
Online booking: http://www.emma.cn/chinese/events_details.asp?event_id=107