B’lureans all set for Backstreet Boys gig

Fans head to Mumbai and Gurugram to catch the ’90s boy band live

‘Backstreet’s back’. Millennials in India have the 1997 chartbuster playing on loop as its composers, American boy band Backstreet Boys, return to the country after 13 years.
The ’90s hitmakers of ‘I want it that way’ and ‘Show me the meaning’ will perform in Mumbai (May 4) and Gurugram (May 5) as part of the DNA World Tour. Previously, the Romanov Red Rock ‘n India Festival saw them playing in Delhi and Bengaluru in 2010.

That BSB, as the quintet is called, isn’t touring Bengaluru was disappointing for fans here initially. “So what? They are in India. I have to go,” says Bhushan Bagadia, recalling the first thought he had when news of their India tour broke.
The photographer-filmmaker bought tickets to the Mumbai show for Rs 9,000 – “that’s the price of the stand closest to the stage”. He plans to dance his heart out. “I was part of a dance group. We would dance to BSB in school. Even today, we end our parties by dancing to BSB,” he says.

His group has also been refreshing their BSB playlist. His friend, Neeti Gokhalay Kheny, who runs a graphic design studio and a restaurant, says, “I discovered their 2019 album ‘DNA’. I know their old songs by heart but I am listening to the recent songs in case they end up performing them.”

Likewise, lawyer Amrita Pratap is listening to ‘Get down’ (1996), ‘Don’t want you back’ (1999), and ‘More than that’ (2000), the songs she hadn’t heard before. “I know the hook step of ‘Everbody’ but I am struggling to learn the rest of the choreographies. I hope muscle memory will kick in,” says the 27-year-old who’s heading to Gurugram.
There’s nostalgia to cling to but also nerves to fight. “They shifted the venue from a stadium in Delhi to a mall in Gurugram. How will that experience be?” she wonders. Her friend Sanjana Satish, also a lawyer, is curious to see if the band can match the energy and flair of their prime because fans like her want a slice of the ’90s. “My parents are into music. I discovered BSB quite early, at three, via a floppy disk,” the 28-year-old reminisces. Another fan said her outfit for the Mumbai show is a tribute to the record-breaking album ‘Millennium’ – white bootcut trousers and sports crop top with golden accessories and block heels.