Pop Break Live: Backstreet Boys at The Well Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA
Backstreet Boys played the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia this past weekend. The band is on a 43-date trek with their DNA World Tour. They started 2019 off with a bang with the release of their newest album, DNA, released in January. It’s the Backstreet Boys first #1 album in nearly 20 years on the Billboard 200 and has received incredible reviews. The band (AJ McLean, Brian Littrell, Howie Dorough, Nick Carter and Kevin Richardson) is the most successful boy band of all-time, selling over 130 million records. It was no surprise then that the arena was packed to the rafters.
A nice surprise for fans who got there early was to see the opening act, country singer Baylee Littrell, the sixteen year old son of Backstreet Boy Brian Littrell. He probably won over the crowd the minute he walked out on stage wearing a Philadelphia Eagles Jersey but also his vocals really impressed. He received a great response from the crowd when he finished his set.
The show opened up with a video montage and an intro to the song “Everyone.” Talk about whipping the predominately female crowd into a frenzy before the guys even reached the stage! The video flashed the names of each individual album they have made. By the time DNA flashed, the noise in the venue was deafening. Within seconds the screen rose and the fans were teased with five silhouettes of the band high up on the LED screen. Then suddenly the guys appeared below on stage. Screams were heard throughout. Backstreet Boys opened the night up with a few of their earliest hits, “I Wanna Be With You” and “Don’t Want You Back.”
As far as the production end of it, there were no back up singers, dancers or a band. The group sang with a backing track. The crowd didn’t seem to mind as it put more emphasis on their beautiful harmonies and their killer old school choreographed dance moves. The stage was pentagon shaped and extended out so on many of the songs the fans got a real up close and personal view of the guys.
Backstreet Boys played a lot of new songs from their recent release. Songs that really stood out were “Chateau,””Chances,” and a gorgeous a capella on “Breathe.” The rest of the show seemed like it was just hit after hit and included such fan favorites as “Shape of My Heart,” “As Long as You Love Me,” “Quit Playing Games With My Heart,” “All I Have To Give,” and “Show Me The Meaning of Being Lonely.” Needless to say there were MANY sing-a-longs throughout the night.
One of the songs that stood out was “We’ve Got it Goin On.” The sheer energy of the band and crowd on that number was incredible. Another standout was their monster hit “Everybody,” which had wild colorful psychedelic lights and images being projected onto the screen. The band ended their set with “I Want It That Way.”
Their two song encore was met with screams as the band rose up from the stage via a trap door donning Philadelphia 76ers jerseys. They played “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart,” one of the best tracks off their latest release. The 33 song, 2 hour show ended in epic fashion with a visual extravaganza of swirling lights, lasers, fireworks and confetti on Larger Than Life. As the song says, Backstreet’s Back Alright!
