Backstreet Boys World Tour Taking Shape

Back - Index - Submissions - - What is RSS? Date: Nov 22, 2000 Source: Billboard Submitted By: Joelle Marie The Backstreet Boys descended on New York's Time Square today (Nov. 21) to announce plans for a year-long world tour in support of their third Jive album "Black & Blue," released today in North America. The North American portion of the trek begins Jan. 22 in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and will proceed to 23 other cities. Visits to South America (April), Europe (June), a North American stadium tour (summer), and the Pacific Rim are also in the works. Venues and dates will be announced Monday. The group's New York appearance capped a whirlwind promotional tour of six continents in 100 hours, beginning at the MTV Europe Awards in Stockholm last Friday and continuing on to Tokyo, Sydney, Cape Town, South Africa, and Rio de Janeiro. The 26,000 mile trip around the world was made in a chartered 28-seat 737 jet. Tonight, Wal-Mart will carry an exclusive satellite broadcast performance by the Backsteet Boys to coincide with the release of the new album. The show, which will include interviews with the group, will be simultaneously Web cast via Walmart.com and shown in the entertainment centers of 2,000 of the retail chain's U.S. stores, beginning at 8 p.m. ET. Wal-Mart will be the sole U.S. merchant to stock a version of the album with the bonus track "What Makes You So Different (Makes You So Beautiful)." Sources told Billboard Bulletin earlier this month that the retailer is buying 2.5 million copies of the album through its two largest suppliers, fueling fears of a price war. "Black & Blue" is the follow-up to 1999's "Millennium," which topped The Billboard 200 and remains on the chart after 78 weeks. In July the album was certified by the Recording Industry Association Of America for U.S. sales of 12 million copies. Here is the routing for the first leg of the Backstreet Boys' world tour: Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Charlotte, N.C. Atlanta Philadelphia Washington, D.C. East Rutherford, N.J. Uniondale, N.Y. Toronto Pittsburgh Chicago Pontiac, Mich. Minneapolis Grand Forks, N.D. Denver Vancouver Tacoma, Wash. Portland, Ore. Oakland, Calif. Sacramento, Calif. Las Vegas Phoenix San Diego Los Angeles -- Jonathan Cohen, N.Y. Comment on this item. Recent Comments Submitted by: Kelly Submitted by: Kevin Submitted by: Mary Submitted by: Edd Submitted by: Carol Clark Submitted by: Greg Guepy Submitted by: Mark Submitted by: John Submitted by: William Comment on this item. Next Item: Lance Bass comments on Black & Blue Prev Item: Backstreet Boys announce 2001 tour