Backstreet Boys: Larger Than Life

On April 1, 2016, member Nick Carter told Entertainment Tonight that the group signed a deal with Live Nation for a nine-show "test residency" in Las Vegas. AJ McLean confirmed the deal, telling Us Weekly that the residency would begin in January 2017.[4]

On September 23, the Backstreet Boys confirmed their Vegas residency happening in 2017 titled Backstreet Boys: Larger Than Life.[5][6]

According to KVVU-TV's report, Backstreet Boys: Larger Than Life is the fastest-selling residency in Las Vegas in history. It is also the first time that Planet Hollywood has opened up balcony seats for headliner, making the theater 2000 seats bigger than fellow headliners Jennifer Lopez and Britney Spears.[7]

The band was backed by a mixed band of musicians and a DJ and a complement of ten backup dancers (five male and five female), like their past tours (Into the Millennium Tour and Black & Blue Tour). The band would sometimes split up and perform with one member to each side or corner of the stage, but for much of the show, they performed to one side at a time, circling the stage (often as part of the choreographed dancing) throughout each song. A video feed of the show was shown on video screens on both sides of the overhead lighting rig.[8]

The boys began each show in a curtained-off enclosure on the floor of the venue. They, dressed in purely white outfits that reminiscent of their Millennium album cover, first descended from glowing blue and white boxes inside the Axis (now Zappos) theater, and they turned towards the audience before starting the first song, "Larger Than Life". The dancers came out from behind the boxes and performed with them.

The boys used several costume changes during the show. Two versions of these costumes were built: The first encore outfits featured pink and black clothes to match. The later outfits (introduced as of February 2018 on the second leg of the residency) for the encore featured 90s clothes designed for each member. The dancers also wore white encore outfits.

After the first three songs (The One and Get Down (You're the One for Me)), A.J. McLean would greet the audience as Nick Carter would either toss a used sweat towel or a signed water bottle into one of the pit seats. It would be caught by the hands of a fan in the VIP seats (three times he brought his son Odin on stage) and Kevin Richardson would Initially finish by introducing the song "Drowning, followed by "Incomplete" and then "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)".

A never-before-seen home video montage using "Boys Will Be Boys" allowed the band to change into black sequin Suits. An instrumental number featuring the dancers performing a dance-number before They were raised on the central platform with mic stands to sing "Show Me The Meaning Of Being Lonely", before coming down to a melody of ballads "I'll Never Break Your Heart", "Anywhere for You" and "Darlin'" (The two songs were later changed to Quit Playing Games). "Undone" featured five of the female dancers descending the steps to the track while the boys remained on stage until the dancer came down to the band members to do a dance number with. Later, Brian Littrell were come out to discuss the song or share about each fan moment. Next, They performed "As Long As You Love Me" with the song's signature "chair routine".

The never-before-seen home videos of the group members' past tours, performances, and award shows with their song "Everyone" was played as the boys changed into red, black and leather outfits for the next songs "The Call", "We've Got It Goin' On" and "Get Another Boyfriend". Howie Dorough would be the last to talk and thank the fans for supporting them throughout the years of their career. Afterward, the band would sit down on the steps for the next song, "More Than That" (Later shows, they would interact with the audience).[9]

They added matching black fedoras and surprise the audience for the "hat-dance" routine in "All I Have To Give". They come out with roses for the next song, “Shape of My Heart,” which they performed and pulled fans, celebrities guests (Former *NSYNC members Joey Fatone and Lance Bass, Snooki from Jersey Shore, Shania Twain, Donny, and Marie Osmond, Perez Hilton, Aerosmith's Steven Tyler & magician, and illusionist Criss Angel) and love ones from the audience onstage at the end (Brian and AJ had their mothers up at once, then AJ's two daughters on two occasions, Howie sernaded Stacey O'neil, his sister=in-law and wife's sister, Both Brian's and Kevin's wives Kristin and Leighanne came upon two special ones (Richardsons' anniversary and Littrell's birthday), even AJ helped organized a proposal for his friend).

During another costume change, the dancers came out for a dance break for the audience to an up-tempo medley of "Straight Through My Heart" and "It's Gotta Be You". As an Encore, the boys returned to the stage in black (mixed with pink, but replaced with blue street clothes later in the show) to perform "I Want It That Way", later adding "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" to the list.

The boys returned once more with the final encore, "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)", often in the same clothes (later switching to their 90s inspired street clothes). After ending the song, an instrumental outro was played as the boys said their final goodnights, fooled around, Finally, they took a bow to the audience under a blast of confetti and ended the song and the concert. (On Halloween, all five guys dressed up in their costumes from the song's music video.)[10][11]

The final concert saw them headed down to the theater’s VIP tables to their best supporting act - their loves and escort them up to the center of to the stage while performing “Shape of My Heart”.[12] McLean, and his wife, Rochelle McLean, led the way, with the mom of two wearing a Backstreet Boys T-shirt and appearing emotional by the ballad’s end; Carter, and his wife, Lauren, followed, with Lauren also rocking Backstreet Boys merchandise along with light blue hair, then smiling and glowing as Carter sweetly sang to her; Dorough, came next with his stunning wife, Leigh, who slay, strutting down the catwalk while dancing in a sexy white dress during another epic moment from a celebratory birthday weekend; Richardson, followed with his blonde beauty, Kristin, who appeared to be having a blast singing along as the two hit the spotlight; and lastly was Richardson’s cousin, Littrell, whose wife, Leighanne, sweetly handed out roses to fans as she made her way to the stage. With that, concluded serenading their gorgeous wives as all five couples took to the spotlight In several video footage, filmed on Saturday night. At the song’s end, the five singers, dropped to their knees before handing the ladies long-stemmed roses to pay their tribute. [13]

1. "Larger Than Life"
2. "The One"
3. "Get Down (You're the One for Me)"
4. "Drowning"
5. "Incomplete"
6. "Quit Playing Games (with My Heart)"
7. "Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely"
8. "I'll Never Break Your Heart"
9. "Anywhere for You"
10. "Darlin'"
11. "Undone"
12. "As Long as You Love Me"
13. "The Call"
14. "We've Got it Goin' On"
15. "Get Another Boyfriend"
16. "More than That"
17. "All I Have to Give"
18. "Shape of My Heart"
19. "Don't Go Breaking My Heart"
20. "I Want It That Way"
21. "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)"

[27]

• Lead and Background Vocals — Kevin Richardson, Brian Littrell, Howie Dorough, Nick Carter, AJ McLean
• Show Manager:
• Assistant Show Manager:
• Creative direction — Raj Kapoor Productions
• Co-Director:
• Musical Director — Keith Harris
• Co-Director:
• Video Director — Bert Pare & Garry Odem
• Video Engineer / Crew Chief / LED Lead - Caudill Pictures & Entertainment Inc.
• Press Liaison:
• Monitor Engineer — Seth Kendall
• Tour Accountant: Mark Haworth - Tour Manager and Tour Accountant
• Playback Engineer — Romain Garnier
• Technical & Production Director- Dan Mercer
• Road Manager/Production Coordinator- Kristin Rinden
• FOH Engineer- James McCullagh
• Monitor Engineer- Seth Kendall
• Show Caller- Stephen Nimmer
• Stage Manager- David Commisso
• Head Carpenter- Jason Deleu
• Management — Jennifer "Jenn" Sousa, Ron Laffitte
• Lighting Director- Graham Anderson
• Tour Accountant — Mark Haworth
• Video Director- Bert Pare'
• Creative Direction and Design- Raj Kapoor Productions
• Director/Co-Production Designer/Screens Producer- Raj Kapoor
• Assistant Director/Associate Producer- Rita Maye Bland
• Lighting Designer/Co-Production Designer- Richard Neville
• Video Content- Silent Partners
• Staff Photographer- Justin Segura - VIP Coordinator/Photographer
• Musical Director- Keith Harris
• Pre-Show Mix- DJ Earworm
• Additional Music Production- Varun
• Costume Design- Tierney Burchett - Wardrobe
• Supervising Choreographer & Choreographer- Nolan Padilla
• Assistant Supervising Choreographer- Codie Wiggins
• Choreographer-Sharna Burgess***, Chase Benz, Alex Chung, Jojo Gomez, Jaquel Knight, Chuck Maldonado, Tricia Miranda
• Iconic Choreography- Rich + Tone,[28] Fatima Robinson, Richard "Swoop" Whitebear

• Official website