Two days after Richardson's departure announcement, the Backstreet Boys entered the studio to record their sixth album. The album, titled Unbreakable, was released on October 30, 2007. It received positive reviews, and opened at number seven on the Billboard 200, selling 81,000 copies in its first week of release.[96] It performed well in Japan, debuting at No. 1 on the Japanese Oricon weekly album charts and staying there for another week. They released two singles from the album, "Inconsolable" and "Helpless When She Smiles".
The group went on a world tour to promote Unbreakable, starting in Tokyo, Japan on February 16, 2008. The tour included shows in Australia, Japan, Mexico, UK, Europe, Asia, Canada, and United States. The show in London's The O2 Arena was filmed and is available to watch online on MSN website.[97] Richardson rejoined the rest of the group on stage at the Palladium in Hollywood, Los Angeles on November 23, 2008 for the last North American stop of the tour.[98]
On October 6, 2009, the group released their next album, This Is Us.[99] On this album, their sound went back to their original dance-pop beats and contains a more R&B sound.[100] The album debuted at No. 9 on the Billboard 200, selling 42,000 copies in its first week of release.[101] It peaked at No. 2 in Japan and was certified Platinum for shipments of 250,000 copies.[102] Two singles were released from this album: "Straight Through My Heart" and "Bigger".
A few days after promoting the new album and filming the music video for "Bigger" in Japan, Littrell contracted swine flu, causing the group to cancel a signing at Hard Rock Café in New York for the NYC Pinktober event on October 5, 2009.[103] The rest of the group were prescribed Tamiflu by a doctor, even though they weren't showing any symptom of the flu.[104] The group subsequently canceled a scheduled CBS Early Show performance the next day on October 6, 2009, which was also the release day of their new album, This Is Us.[105] In late October 2009, the group embarked on the This Is Us Tour, which lasted over a year and consisted of 123 shows.
The Backstreet Boys, including Richardson, filmed a segment for The Oprah Winfrey Show on October 22, 2010. Richardson also performed with the group in the show's studio later that day, making it the second time he had performed with the group since his departure.[106]
In May 2011, the group announced that they had left their longtime label JIVE Records.[107] In the same month, they embarked on a joint tour with New Kids on the Block as NKOTBSB.[108] Prior to the tour, they released a compilation album of their biggest hits, also titled NKOTBSB, which also includes a mash-up and two new songs.[109] At the conclusion of 2011, the tour placed 17th on Billboard's annual "Top 25 Tours", earning over $40 million with 51 shows.[110] The tour lasted until June 2012, comprising 80 shows in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. During the show in Staples Center, LA, in July 2011, Richardson once again joined the group on stage.[111]
As he had announced before on On Air with Ryan Seacrest in October 2011, Richardson hosted a beach party, part of the group's second annual cruise, in the Bahamas on December 3, 2011, where he performed with them. On Seacrest's radio show, he also stated that he would love to perform with the group again on a more regular basis.[112] The statement, along with his appearance at the cruise event, prompted speculations that he might rejoin the group for good,[113] but both he and the group remained quiet on the matter.
The Backstreet Boys finally announced that Richardson had rejoined them permanently during a show in London on April 29, 2012.[115] A few days later, McLean and Littrell revealed on separate occasions that Richardson had returned since 2010, before NKOTBSB Tour started. He had been in talks to join the tour but ultimately decided not to. They supported his decision and kept his return a secret until the tour was over.[114][116] The group spoke positively about Richardson's return, stating that they couldn't be happier to have him back. Richardson himself was thrilled to be back with his old bandmates, saying that they have a chemistry and a bond.[117][118]
The Backstreet Boys moved into a house together all by themselves in July 2012 as they started working on their new album with producer Martin Terefe in London.[119] On August 31, 2012, they closed out Good Morning America's Summer Concert Series in Central Park, in New York. It was their first performance as a fivesome since Richardson rejoined the group. During the show, they announced that they were going to have their third cruise in October 2013. It was the first cruise to feature all five members.[120]
The first single featuring Richardson's vocals in six years, a Christmas song titled "It's Christmas Time Again", was premiered on AOL Music on November 5, 2012,[121] and officially released a day later.[122] The song reached No. 1 on Billboard's Holiday Digital Songs chart.[123]
2013–15: 20th anniversary, In a World Like This, and documentary film
The Backstreet Boys celebrated their 20th anniversary, which was on April 20, 2013, with a fan celebration event in Hollywood that day.[124][125] They received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame two days later, and had the day, April 22, 2013, declared as Backstreet Boys Day in Hollywood.[8] In May 2013, the group embarked on their 20th anniversary tour, officially titled as In a World Like This Tour.[126] The tour lasted over two years, comprising over 170 shows in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Australasia, and Middle East. The tour was the 44th highest grossing worldwide tour in 2014 with total gross of $32.8 million and ticket sales of 607,407,[127] not including its 2013 and 2015 dates.
"In a World Like This", the lead single from their eighth studio album, also titled In a World Like This, was released digitally on June 25, 2013 and to the radio on July 22, 2013. The album itself was released in the US on July 30, 2013 and in other countries some time later. It was the group's first independent album, released under their own label, K-BAHN. It reached the top 5 in the US, Canada, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Taiwan, and Japan,[6][128][129] and had sold 800,000 copies as of January 2015.[130][131][132][133] They released a second single from the album, "Show 'Em (What You're Made Of)" in November 2013.[134]
The group made a cameo in the 2013 movie This Is the End as fictional version of themselves, performing their song "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)",[135] which earned them an award for "Best Musical Moment" at 2014 MTV Movie Awards.[136] In December 2013, the Backstreet Boys performed their two original Christmas songs as marquee performers in the annual "Christmas in Washington" TV special which was also attended by the President of the United States Barack Obama and his family.[137]
The Backstreet Boys members were due in court on March 24, 2014 over a claim they filed against their former manager Lou Pearlman. The group alleged that Pearlman still owed them $3,451,456.04 and they are also asking for $87,728.58 in legal fees for having to fight him in court for years.[138] But earlier that month the group stated that they have a scheduling conflict and discussed postponing the hearing by 90 days.[139] On October 21, 2014, the group received a settlement of $99,000 in cash, 34 audio tape reels, 26 CDs, seven studio mastering audio tapes, six sealed posters, three audio cassettes, and one VHS tape. The recordings include some unreleased mixes, demos, and original materials.[140]
Their documentary movie, titled Backstreet Boys: Show 'Em What You're Made Of, was released in theaters and online on January 30, 2015 in the U.S., on February 26, 2015 in UK and Europe, and on March 28 worldwide.[9][141] The movie chronicles their entire career journey up to the making of their 2013 album In A World Like This.[9]
On April 10, 2015, band members Richardson and Littrell were inducted into Kentucky Music Hall of Fame.[142]
2015–present: Dead 7 film, Las Vegas residency, and DNA
In August 2015, band members Carter, Dorough, and McLean filmed a movie that Carter wrote entitled Dead 7. The film centers around a ragtag band of gunslingers operating during a post-apocalyptic zombie plague.[143] The movie premiered on April 1, 2016 on Syfy channel. A free copy of the theme song "In the End" was released on March 28, performed by band members Nick Carter, AJ McLean and Howie D.; Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick from NSYNC; Jeff Timmons from 98 Degrees; and Erik-Michael Estrada from O-Town.[144] The official physical DVD was released on June 7, 2016.[145]
In October 2015, McLean revealed that the group were working on their ninth studio album. McLean said the band are working with producer Jacob Kasher, who has worked with Maroon 5 and Britney Spears. The band hoped to have the album done before the next Backstreet Boys cruise in May 2016.[146]
On January 29, 2016, the Backstreet Boys were the musical guests in the series finale of NBC comedy series Undateable. Following that, Carter and McLean supported Gigi Hadid on Lip Sync Battle.[147]
On April 1, 2016, Carter told Entertainment Tonight the group signed a deal with Live Nation for a nine-show "test residency" in Las Vegas.[148] McLean confirmed the deal, telling Us Magazine that the residency would begin in January 2017.[149] In July 2016, the group appeared and performed on ABC's Greatest Hits.[150] On August 19, 2016, the group released "God, Your Mama, and Me", with country duo Florida Georgia Line, which was taken from their third studio album Dig Your Roots.[151] The song entered the Hot 100 at No. 92 for the chart dated March 18, 2017, which was the group's first return to the chart since 2007.[152]
On September 15, 2016, McLean and Carter confirmed that the band would be done with the album the following year, along with a new headlining tour.[153] On September 23, the Backstreet Boys confirmed their Vegas residency show happening in 2017, titled Backstreet Boys: Larger Than Life.[154][155] The residency played 80 shows between March 1, 2017 and April 27, 2019.
On May 14, 2018, the Backstreet Boys announced their new single, "Don't Go Breaking My Heart", released on May 17, as their lead single for their new album.[156] The album is co-produced under the group's own, K-BAHN label and RCA Records, and distributed by RCA's parent company, Sony Music. On November 9, the Backstreet Boys released the single "Chances" and announced the title of their ninth studio album, DNA, which was released on January 25, 2019. On January 4, 2019, DNA's third single, "No Place," was released. The Backstreet Boys embarked on the DNA World Tour in support of the album on May 11, 2019.[157]
On April 8, 2019, the band released their exhibit at the Grammy Museum before it was opened to the public two days later, showcasing tour outfits and memorabilia from their childhoods.[158][159] That same month, the group announced that they would be releasing their first holiday album.[160] At their Las Vegas residency, they received keys to the Vegas strip as the mayor declared the 10th Backstreet Boys Day, and during the 20th anniversary of "I Want It That Way",[161] the group participated in a handprint ceremony to commemorate the ending of their two-year residency at Planet Hollywood and were also presented with a check donation to the Boys & Girls Club of Southern Nevada.[162] On February 9, 2020, the band announced the second North America leg of the DNA World Tour on social media and Good Morning America.[163]
BSB Cruises
Cruise 2010 (December)
Cruise 2011 (2nd-5th December) Nassau, Bahamas
Cruise 2013 (25th-28th October) Anniversary Cruise
Cruise 2014 (24th-27th October) Miami to Half Moon Cay
Cruise 2016 (10th-14th May) European Cruise: Barcelona, Italy and Cannes
Cruise 2018 (3rd-7th May) Miami to Grand Turk
Artistry
The Backstreet Boys have always prided themselves as a vocal harmony group and not a boy band.[164] In order to fight the boy band stereotype and the backlash from New Kids on the Block's lip-sync scandal in the beginning, they would sing a cappella every chance they could get.[165] The ad they answered in 1993 was for a singing group with "New Kids on the Block look with a Boyz II Men sound", and they aimed to have a white version of Boyz II Men.[166] "We were fans of New Kids, but were we really modeled after them? No. We looked at ourselves as Shai, Jodeci, Boyz II Men, the true vocal groups. That's who we listened to and who we really wanted to be like," Littrell stated in 2011.[167] The Backstreet Boys often employ polyphonic harmony, which sets them apart from many other singing groups. In choruses, Littrell, Carter, and McLean usually sing the melody with Dorough harmonizing above the melody and Richardson covering the bass parts.[168][169] During Richardson's absence, McLean and Carter together covered his part in choruses[170] while Dorough took his solo parts, although McLean sang Richardson's verse in "Drowning".[171]
The Backstreet Boys' musical style has evolved over the years. On their debut and second album, they sang a hybrid of R&B and dance club pop mixed with new jack balladry and hip-hop.[172][173] With Millennium and Black & Blue, they started to abandon R&B and shift more toward pop and pop rock, as demonstrated on songs like "I Want It That Way", "Shape of My Heart", "Larger than Life", and "Not For Me". The group drastically changed their style in 2005 with their comeback album Never Gone, which is an adult contemporary record featuring only live instruments, a departure from their previous pop sound that features a lot of synthesizers.[174][175] Compared to their previous albums, Never Gone is "more organic, more stripped-down, less harmonies, more instrumentation".[176] Their first album without Richardson, Unbreakable, is similar to Never Gone. It leans toward adult contemporary and contemporary pop music and features interwoven choral harmonies, piano, strings, guitar, and drums,[177] with a little bit of hip-hop and reggae elements on some tracks, such as "One in A Million".[178][unreliable source?] With their seventh studio album, This Is Us, they went back to their original dance-pop beats combined with electropop. It also contains a more R&B sound compared to Unbreakable.[100] The group's first independent album, In A World Like This, which is also their first album back with Richardson, is a mixture of modern pop, adult contemporary, and dance music, with a hint of singer-songwriter genre as demonstrated on "Try", "Madeleine", and "Trust Me".[179]
Partnerships and other ventures
The second leg of Into the Millennium Tour, which was also the first North American leg, was sponsored by Sears and was officially titled "Sears Presents Backstreet Boys Into The Millennium". The sponsorship was a part of Sears' new integrated marketing campaign that exclusively featured the Backstreet Boys. The campaign included a 30-second advertisement, featuring the group, which was aired from August 1 to 15, 1999. The advertising promoted a back-to-school sweepstakes which gave each of five fans the chance to win a $2,000 Sears shopping spree with their favorite Backstreet Boys member, and a trip for four to the group's concert on December 1, 1999 in Tampa, Florida.[180]
Carter, who was a comic fan, met comic book writer Stan Lee through his manager from The Firm in February 2000. Carter subsequently told Lee about his original concept of a six-issue series of comic books featuring members of the Backstreet Boys as superheroes called "Cyber Crusaders". Lee was interested in the concept; however, they ultimately decided to make it into only one issue.[181] The comic book, titled Backstreet Project, was released in 2000 and was available for purchase at their concerts and online stores in 2000–2001. In addition to the book, a series of flash-based webisodes were also published in 2000.[182]
In January 2000, the Backstreet Boys signed a deal with Burger King. The deal included an exclusive compilation set that was only available for sale at Burger King restaurants.[64] The compilation consisted of three CDs featuring a new song called "It's True" and live songs from the group's previous tours, and a VHS tape featuring backstage footage and interviews.[183] In August 2000, it was announced that the deal would also include three TV commercials featuring the Backstreet Boys, and a promotion, which was the inclusion of an exclusive Backstreet Project Cyber Crusader toy in each Burger King Big Kids Meal and Kids Meal.[184]
In August 2012, it was revealed that the Backstreet Boys would be starring in an Old Navy commercial.[185] The commercial featuring the group started airing on September 19, 2012. "It was a great way to show people that we're back," Richardson said regarding the commercial. The group also performed at an Old Navy event "Fit For Fall Fashion Show for All" in Bryant Park, New York on September 14, 2012.[186]
On March 12, 2014, the group filmed a series of commercials for Swedish warehouse company NetOnNet in Sweden while the group was on tour in Europe. The commercials started airing in May 2014.[187] For the purpose of these commercials, the group recorded a song called "Lager Than Life", which is a remake of their song "Larger Than Life" with different instrumentation.[188] The song was also released as a single on iTunes by the company in several countries
