I can’t believe it’s been twenty years since the release of Black & Blue! Although Millennium was the album that took me from casual BSB fan to full-on fangirl, Black & Blue is the first album cycle I remember following closely on the internet. I got into fanfic between Millennium and B&B, and that’s what also initiated me into the online fan community and introduced me to other fans from around the world. It was so much fun looking forward to the new album’s release and coming up with new story ideas based on its songs afterward. Cheers to twenty years of Black & Blue!
As for story updates, Chapter 8 of The Road to Bethlehem is up! Enjoy!
“Time. Look where we are, and what we’ve been through…”
I still remember when the boys embarked on their 100-hour promotional tour, but I didn’t see footage of the Brazilian leg until years later. And I thought their German fans were the crazy ones! B&B had some classic Max Martin-style jams, but I liked how they used other producers like Darkchild and Babyface. They also wrote a great deal of the songs, and Howie got to sing lead on the last track. It’s weird because I didn’t know BSB sang How Did I Fall in Love with You until four years ago, now I love that song more. And they’re all still together too, unlike *NSYNC. I still think the B&B album would have been better if they hadn’t rushed – even Kevin has said as much – but even at that point they knew the teen pop phenomenon had a shelf life. Well done Backstreet, I may have been a fan of the other group at the time, but you paved the way for those copycats. BSB are the better band – shoot me, hate me, but it ain’t no lie, baby. Here’s to the next 20 years!
Drums…
LOL South American fans are definitely the craziest! Or maybe I should say “most passionate.”
Black & Blue is similar to DNA in that it has a lot of different styles, which I like. How Did I Fall in Love With You is one of my all-time favorite BSB songs! One of the best ballads they’ve ever done, in my opinion. Howie wrote it, which is why he got to sing lead.
The Backstreet Boys are one of those rare boybands with exactly the right combination of personalities and a real bond that has kept them together all these years. Most of the other boybands broke up because they couldn’t get along or because certain members put their own needs and interests above those of the group. You have to be a team player to be part of a group that’s going to last longer than a few years, and BSB has five team players. Not the case with NSYNC, which is sad for Joey, Chris, JC, Lance, and their fans. Drums!
You are right when you say band members need to be team players, but BSB could have broken up like Nsync had Nick’s solo career taken off like Justin’s. Nick didn’t always have the group’s best interest at heart; even AJ has said the timing was wrong, and of course we now know B-Rok and Frackolas didn’t speak to each other for two years after the latter released his solo album. Had Oprah not reunited the group when AJ appeared on the show to reflect on his drug problems, we probably wouldn’t have had Never Gone.
I’m sorry to say this, but even Aaron’s second solo album was better than Now or Never…rubbish! I understand the Carter boys grew up listening to Billy Joel and Journey, but I didn’t like how Nick tried to be a teen rock heartthrob one minute and ghetto-fabulous the next (MTV’s Punk’d, anyone?). Oh well, the boys are back in town now, and all is forgiven. All that remains now is that acapella album they keep hinting at, and they just might win that overdue Grammy…
Last summer during the lockdown, I spotted this tall striking dude waiting in the queue outside the local post office with his daughter (Or at least I think she was), and he asked me to keep an eye on her while he sorted out his parcels. Afterwards he thanked me and asked where my accent was from (I’m a London girl born and bred now living in the Midlands), we chatted for a while and he seemed nice. For some reason I can’t get him out of my mind. Very annoying because I’m way too old for schoolgirl crushes and I don’t even know this tall leggy blonde (I prefer redheads), but if by some miracle we met again, fall in love, and get married, How Did I Fall in Love with You will be played during our first dance. If you’re lucky, I might even send you a corner piece of fruitcake via courier!
Yes, you’re right, it may have been different if Now or Never had been as successful as JT’s first album. I like NON, but I’m glad it wasn’t as successful because I prefer BSB as a group to any of them as solo artists. I think Nick was in the process of finding out who he was at that point in his life, just as most young adults do in their early twenties. It took him a while, but I’m glad he finally figured it out. Looking back on the Punk’d/Paris Hilton days just makes me appreciate the man he’s become even more.
LOL Good luck finding your tall hot blonde again. That would make for a great story if you did manage to meet him again and fall in love!