30 Amazing Facts About The Fan-Favorite Band – Backstreet Boys You Probably Missed Before

Backstreet Boys, the biggest boy band of all time, had hearts throbbing in every corner of the world in the 1990s. Even today, their unique music and the heart-touching lyrics from their singles, makes the band larger than life. With their 2019 album "DNA" which peaked at #1, Backstreet Boys became the first boy band in history to have topped the U.S. Album charts in three decades. Here are some really interesting facts about the band that will make you love them more:

"Backstreet Boys performing in Cedar Park, Texas (2018-12-16)" by RalphArvesen is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

1.  Backstreet Boys is the only boy band as well as the first band, since Led Zeppelin to have their first ten albums reach the top 10 on Billboard 200.
2.  The band received the keys to the city from the mayor of Orlando on October 7, 1998, in honor of the tornado relief concert they headlined in March raising over $250,000. October 7 was also declared as Backstreet Boys Day in Orlando.
3.  Their third studio album “Millennium” holds the record for most shipments in one year, with over 11 million shipments. The album was the best-selling album of 1999 in the US, selling 9,445,732 copies.
4.  "Backstreet Project" – the comic book featuring the members of the band as themselves and superheroes "Cyber Crusaders," written by Stan Lee, was published in 2000. A series of flash-based webisodes were also published.
5.  The band’s concert at Georgia Dome, Atlanta, is till date the 5th most attended concert in American history, and the most attended concert by a pop artist.
6.  Backstreet Boys was officially formed on April 20, 1993, which they celebrate as their anniversary date. It was the day when Brian Littrell flew from Kentucky to Orlando to join the group consisting of the other four members.
7.  Dorough and McLean, who were natives of Orlando, Florida, met through a mutual vocal coach. They then met Carter through auditions, which led to them becoming a trio.
8.  Richardson, who was a native of Lexington, Kentucky, moved to Orlando in 1990, and met the trio through a co-worker. He joined the group.
9.  Record producer Lou Pearlman placed an advertisement for a vocal group in the Orlando Sentinel in the year 1992, following which McLean was the first to audition, becoming the first member of the newly forming band.
10.  After hundreds of performers auditioning and open casting calls, Carter, Richardson and Dorough were selected as the next members. Littrell was asked to come to Orlando to join the new band.

"Backstreet Boys Concert - Backstreet's Back @ Montreal" by Anirudh Koul is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

11.  Pearlman gave the newly formed group the name – Backstreet Boys, after Orlando's Backstreet Market, an outdoor flea market near International Drive, which is actually a teen hangout.
12.  The band, as Backstreet Boys, performed for the very first time at SeaWorld Orlando on May 8, 1993, before performing in different venues in summer 1993.
13.  They started to tour school across the United States, in fall 1993, building fan base in different locations while trying to sign a record deal.
14.  It was while performing in a high school in Cleveland in February 1994, that they caught the attention of Jeff Fenster and David Renzer, who signed them to their first record deal.
15.  Initially Mercury Records was in close talks to sign a deal with Backstreet Boys in the year 1993, but the deal did not materialize as the Mercury Record’s longtime recording artist John Mellencamp threatened to leave the label, if they signed with boy band.
16.  Their very first single “We’ve Got It Goin’ On,” was sent to radio in August 1995, and in September 5, 1995 was released as a physical single.
17.  Although the song only peaked at #69 in the US chart, it entered the top 5 in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France, and the Netherlands, which led to their European summer tour.
18.  In November 1997, Littrell was diagnosed with a congenital hole in the heart, which had enlarged to dangerous proportions, requiring open-heart surgery.
19.  But due to touring obligations, he kept postponing the surgery, until May 8, 1998, in the middle of the Backstreet’s Back Tour. The tour was postponed until July 1998, giving him time to recover.
20.  The band’s Into the Millennium Tour in June, 1999, comprised of 115 sold-out shows in 84 cities. The second leg of the tour was also sold out on August 14, its sale date, breaking several sales records.

"Backstreet Boys 11/11/2012 #1" by jus10h is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0

21.  In promotion of their album “Black & Blue” the Backstreet Boys traveled around the world in 100 hours, out of which 45 were spent making public appearances. A DVD of the short tour titled “Around the World” along with a board game was released in 2001.
22.  On January 28, 2001, the Backstreet Boys performed the American national anthem at the Super Bowl XXXV in Tampa, Florida.
23.  The band had a guest appearance in the 2013 movie “This Is the End” as a fictional version of themselves, performing their song "Everybody.” With this they won the award for "Best Musical Moment" at 2014 MTV Movie Awards.
24.  The group’s documentary movie, titled “Backstreet Boys: Show 'Em What You're Made Of,” which chronicles their entire career until their “In A World Like This” album, was officially released in theaters and online on January 30, 2015, in the U.S.
25.  Their "Black & Blue" album recorded the best international sales in a week for an album in history with over 5 million copies sold in its first week of release.
26.  With over 1.6 million discs sold in the first week in the United States, Backstreet Boys became the first artist since The Beatles to have achieved back-to-back million+ sales in the first week.
27.  The band had their first concert residency performing 80 shows at Zappos Theater in Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, from March 1, 2017 to April 27, 2019.
28.  Backstreet Boys received the keys to the Vegas strip as the mayor of Vegas declared the 10th Backstreet Boys Day, at their Las Vegas residency.
29.  The band also participated in a handprint ceremony on the 20th anniversary of "I Want It That Way" - April 12, 2019, commemorating the ending of their two-year residency at Planet Hollywood.
30.  Their song "Quit Playing Games (with My Heart)" the fourth single from their international debut album "Backstreet Boys," was ranked at number 26 in their list of "75 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time" in the year 2020.
31.  Backstreet Boys Net Worth: $200 Million