No Rest for the Backstreet Boys

Back - Index - Submissions - - What is RSS? Date: Nov 22, 2000 Source: E! Online Submitted By: Gina For the Backstreet Boys, the world is not enough. The Boys touched down in Times Square Tuesday, wrapping up a whirlwind globe-trotting promotional tour that saw them hit six continents in 100 hours (a whopping 26,000 miles in four days), giving mini-concerts in Tokyo, Sydney, Cape Town, Rio de Janeiro and the Big Apple, meet the fans and, of course, get that all-important press coverage for the release of their new disc, Black & Blue. And do they know how to give an encore. At the New York press conference, the jet-lagged band announced they weren't done traveling. A.J., Brian, Howie, Kevin and Nick will hit the road again January 22 to start a more conventional world tour. Teens worldwide will be saving their babysitting cash for the BSB trek, which will kick off in their home base, Fort Lauderdale, and make stops in Charlotte, North Carolina, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Washington, East Rutherford, New Jersey, Uniondale, New York, Toronto, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Pontiac, Michigan, Minneapolis, Grand Forks, North Dakota, Denver, Vancouver, Tacoma, Washington, Portland, Oakland, Sacramento, Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Diego and Los Angeles before heading to South America in April and Africa in June. The Boys will spend their summer crisscrossing the States again, then head overseas to New Zealand, Australia and Japan. Full details will be released later this month on BackstreetBoys.com. The Boys' blitzkrieg was not without its ulterior motives. It's part of massive marketing sheme to help the band reclaim the record for first-week album sales. They set the mark in 1999 when their sophomore album, Millennium, moved 1.13 million copies. However, archrivals 'N Sync upped the ante, selling 2.4 million copies of No Strings Attached earlier this year. While Black & Blue's final figures won't be released until next Wednesday, retailers say sales have been strong, and the band thanked its devotees. "We now have the Black & Blue army just like KISS have their KISS Army," A.J. McLean said at the Tuesday news conference. And black and blue is just what several BSB foot soldiers are. During the Boys' Tokyo stop, 10 fans were injured when a thousand-strong throng crushed up against the band's departing tour bus. In Rio de Janeiro, the Backstreeters' rooftop hotel concert inspired teens to throw themselves in the path of the group's motorcade. "It was crazy. You would have thought the President was here or Michael Jackson, not the Backstreet Boys," said Howie Dorough of the kamikaze fan reaction. "It was scary," added Brian Littrell. "I was worried some of those fans were going to get seriously hurt." Comment on this item. Next Item: Taking Back The Streets Prev Item: BSB Launch Black & Blue Tour