A quarter century after they turned Millennium into the Y2K-era gospel for every starry-eyed Millennial, the Backstreet Boys are back at it again. But this time, they’ve left the planet entirely. On an electric Friday night in July, with fans dressed in white (per the band’s request and in the style of the album being celebrated), the iconic quintet of Nick Carter, Brian Littrell, AJ McLean, Kevin Richardson, and Howie Dorough continued their latest Las Vegas residency, Backstreet Boys: Into the Millennium, on its launch into another dimension—literally and metaphorically—inside the awe-inspiring, retina-melting sensory playground that is Sphere.
It was the fourth performance of their 21-date galactic voyage, and if you ever wondered what it would feel like to scream-sing “I Want It That Way” on a spaceship with 18,000 other nostalgic souls under a sky full of stars, consider this your sign from the cosmos.
Six years removed from their last Sin City takeover (Larger Than Life at Planet Hollywood), the Backstreet Boys have returned to the desert with something far more expansive: a full-blown interstellar time warp, powered by Sphere’s mind-bending LED dome and a nostalgic engine of ’90s pop perfection.
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Into the Millennium is so much more than a nod to their seminal 1999 album. It’s a sprawling, spacefaring concept concert that threads their career-defining hits and deep cuts through a cohesive, cosmic storyline. The visuals, all carefully married to the music, take fans on a surreal ride: from blast-off into deep space, to asteroid-surfing and dancing on alien worlds populated by giant, holographic Backstreet avatars. It’s like Interstellar, Tron, and TRL had a glitter-soaked lovechild.
“Larger Than Life” was a fitting opener, both sonically and visually. The band emerged as their spaceship rocketed into orbit, landing on a futuristic asteroid stage where the members’ digital doppelgängers boogied alongside real-time footage. The vibe was instantaneously euphoric, the audience awestruck.
“It’s Gotta Be You” transformed Sphere into a galactic nightclub, a flashing hyperdrive dance floor that made it impossible not to shake it like it was 1999. By the time they reached “As Long As You Love Me”, fans were singing through tears in a cathedral made of stars.
Backstreet Boys: Into The Millennium Las Vegas Sphere Drone Footage
[Video: Fly By Chicago & JayByrd Films]
AJ took the reins on “More Than That”, serenading the room while Sphere’s visuals dove into an abstract robotic sculptor sequence (think Da Vinci meets Daft Punk) culminating in a bloom of digital petals that drew audible gasps.
Nick Carter, sleeveless and glove-clad like a Y2K gladiator, broke hearts all over again with “I Need You Tonight”, set against a skyscape of swirling nebulae. By “Siberia,” we were fully in a frozen alien tundra, where the icy Backstreet Boys sang the chorus back in haunting harmony.
Midway, Howie reminded everyone that 2025 marks the 25th anniversary of Millennium, which teed up a string of deeper cuts, including “Don’t Want You Back”, set to a wild montage of space sharks, stiletto-wielding starlets, and CD-riding dancers that felt like a fever dream from the Napster era.
Later, “Get Another Boyfriend” staged a rocket race through a cyberpunk cityscape as enormous Backstreet Boys danced among skyscrapers. It was pure campy chaos.
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After a moody trip through “Show Me The Meaning of Being Lonely”, as Sphere turned into a wispy smoke ballet under a star field, reminiscent of visuals from Anyma’s New Years residency), came one of the most touching segments: a Millennium medley that included “Back to Your Heart”, “Spanish Eyes”, “No One Else Comes Close” in pseudo-a cappella form, and finally “The Perfect Fan”, accompanied by photos of the Boys and their families that turned Sphere into a giant, heart-melting scrapbook.
If there weren’t tears by then, they definitely flowed during “I Want It That Way”. The stage lifted thirty feet in the air, lasers dancing as the band harmonized beneath a starlit hyperspace tunnel. Yes, that song still hits like a gravitational wave.
And somehow, they weren’t done.
“Get Down (You’re The One For Me)” turned Sphere into a 360-degree disco ball. “We’ve Got It Goin’ On” took fans through a dark cityscape that was somehow sexy. “The Call” dropped us into a Matrix-style world of streaming code.
Then, of course, came the closer: “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)”, with a synchronized robot army dancing in unison. It was peak ’90s, peak Vegas, peak everything.
There’s something poetic about the Backstreet Boys being the ones to break pop into The Sphere. They were once dismissed as teenybopper fluff. Now, they’re headlining the most technically advanced venue on the planet, proving that nostalgia is as much a guilty pleasure as it is a cultural superpower.
Not only are their vocals intact and their choreography still snappy, but their ability to reinvent themselves for this futuristic format is a feat in itself. They’re leaning into their legacy with full confidence and a whole lot of sparkle.
The fans, both OGs and new recruits, were right there with them. Singing every word. Screaming like it’s 1999. Sobbing into $22 cocktails and wearing butterfly clips without a trace of irony.
Backstreet Boys: Into the Millennium continues at the Las Vegas Sphere with shows on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays through August 24th. Find tickets here or try the secondary market.
Indeed, Backstreet’s back, and it’s more than alright.
