One Night, One Stage: A Once in a Lifetime NKOTBSB Show
It was 1989 again at the Honda Center in Anaheim Wednesday night at the NKOTBSB show – and Buzznet was in the house! 80s heartthrobs New Kids On The Block (who started going by NKOTB later in their career) and 90s boyband the Backstreet Boys have teamed up as a co-headlining supergroup on tour this summer. And although they’ve all grown into strapping men (after all, they are all in their 30s and 40s, most of them husbands and fathers), they proved that they’ve STILL got it!
Earlier in the evening, brand new boyband Midnight Red took the stage as the perfect opening act for the co-headlining show: their EP comes out next Tuesday, July 12th and features a cover of the New Kids On The Block’s “Step By Step.” Midnight Red’s set was brief, but full of energy. It was their first night on the tour, but you couldn’t tell that from the way they carried themselves.
Also taking the stage for the first time on the NKOTBSB tour: Glee star and O.C. native Matthew Morrison, who played a combination of Glee hits (“Goldigger”) as well as original songs (“Summer Rain,” “Still Got Tonight”). Matthew, who is quite the dancer, did an impressive dance number in memory of his idols – among them Gene Kelly and Michael Jackson – and ended his set with his song “Don’t Stop Dancing.”
And then it was the moment everyone in the arena had been waiting for: this was it. The lights went off, causing a deafening chorus of ear-piercing screams throughout the venue. After a video montage of black-and-white photos of the members of NKOTBSB flashing on the screen for a few moments building suspense and climaxing to an explosion of pyrotechnics, all nine took the stage on an elevated platform. The opening number was a mashup of NKOTB’s “Single” and BSB’s “The One” remixed with the music of Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida.” For the duration of the show, the two bands went back and forth singing their hits.
Highlights of NKOTBSB:
For their performance of their hit “I’ll Never Break Your Heart,” each Backstreet Boys member brought one person from the crowd up onstage to serenade. AJ McClean brought up a little girl (accompanied by her father), who proceeded to hug each member, causing a chorus of “Awwwwww”s to be heard everywhere.
During NKOTB’s performance of “Cover Girl,” Donnie Wahlberg just plain ripped off his shirt much to the delight of his fans and performed the rest of the song barechested.
Nostalgia was everywhere and quite imminent even just looking around at the fans. Without a doubt, many were re-living their younger years and setting free their inner youth. “We have come to realize that there are two generations in the house tonight,” Joey McIntyre proclaimed afterward. “For some of us, it feels like 1989 all over again … and for some of us, it feels like 1999 again.”
The Encore: Both groups came out to sing their final song individually; BSB did “Everybody” while NKOTB (donning bedazzled Boston Celtics basketball jerseys) sang hard-hitter “Hangin’ Tough.” After NKOTB finished, BSB emerged wearing bedazzled jerseys of their own hometown, Orlando Magic, and proceeded to have a “battle” with NKOTB, turning the mashup into THE highlight of the night.
The show started at roughly 8:45 p.m. and ended by 11:00 p.m. Do the math: over 2 hours of boyband goodness!
The complete NKOTBSB set list: The One/Single Mashup – NKOTBSBSummertime – NKOTBThe Call – BSBDirty Dancing – NKOTBGet Down – BSB(You Got It) The Right Stuff – NKOTBLarger Than Life – BSBDidn’t I (Blow Your Mind This Time) – NKOTBValentine Girl – NKOTBIf You Go Away – NKOTB Please Don’t Go Girl – NKOTBShow Me The Meaning of Being Lonely – BSB10,000 Promises – BSBI’ll Never Break Your Heart – BSBDrowning – BSBIncomplete – BSBStep By Step – NKOTBCover Girl – NKOTBMy Favorite Girl – NKOTBClick Click Click – NKOTBTonight – NKOTBShape of My Heart – BSBAs Long As You Love Me – BSBAll I Have to Give – BSBIf You Stay – BSBQuit Playing Games With My Heart – BSBI’ll Be Loving You Forever – NKOTBI Want It That Way – BSBDon’t Turn Out The Lights – NKOTBSB
Encore:
Everybody (Backstreet’s Back) – BSBHangin’ Tough/We Will Rock You Mashup – NKOTBEverybody/Hangin’ Tough Mashup – NKOTBSB
-Reporting by Patty Gopez
Has anyone gone to see the NKOTBSB tour or WILL be going? Who are you more of a fan of: NKOTB or BSB?
