As the American boy band gets on stage this evening in Bandra, Mid-day Online spoke to three die-hard fans to understand their emotions. While it is something that they have been looking forward to for a long time, they share fond memories of listening to the band's music and are all charged up to sing their hearts out
The Backstreet Boys are in India to perform in Mumbai on May 4 as part of their DNA World Tour 2023. Photo Courtesy: AFP
Bengaluru-based Rehna Kareem has been excited to attend the Backstreet Boys concert since the day the band announced their tour dates for India. "It is a very nostalgic day for any 90s kid," she exclaims. Flying down to the maximum city, she isn't only excited about the concert but also about visiting Mumbai because it's been more than two decades since her last visit. Now, the fact that the iconic American rock band is performing here, gives her all the more reason to make the best of it. "To go from listening to them on cassettes to watching them live -- it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, right?" she expresses what many other fans are feeling.
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The Backstreet Boys are in India to perform in Mumbai and Delhi, as part of their DNA World Tour 2023. Interestingly, the last time they performed in Mumbai in India was in 2010, at a time when many 90s kids may still not have had enough money to attend the concert. So, now that they're here after 13 years, it only means that most of them will definitely try to attend it, and Kareem is the only one of them, who is flying from another city to witness them live.
Closer home in Mumbai, Prabhadevi-based Cryselle D'Souza is no different. Having saved up enough for such occasions, D'Souza, in fact, was the first one to announce to her friends that the American band is all set to come to India and even convinced them to book tickets. "On a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is most excited, I'm on 100," shares D'Souza, whose excitement is palpable. "I pity the one who's going to stand beside me and God bless their ears because I am going to be screaming with excitement," she adds.
Being a die-hard fan, it is difficult for D'Souza to choose any one favourite song of the band, but when prodded a little bit more, she finally says "I Want It That Way". On the other hand, it's 'Everybody' and 'It's Gotta Be You' for Kareem. "I think I was 10 or 11-years-old and I had the cassette. So, I'd sit with the paper of lyrics that came with it and sing along with the paper till I didn't need it anymore," shares the Bengaluru-based program manager with a multinational company. It was no different for D'Souza. "As a school kid, I would dote on them on TV, when Channel V and MTV would play their songs back-to-back." The fact that both of them haven't witnessed them live before makes it even more special, so much so that they've been listening to them every day for the last few weeks. D'Souza reveals that she has even warned her friends to learn the words perfectly to sing along at the concert.
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It is no different for Andheri-based Neil Lopez. The city-based corporate lawyer has also been listening to a couple of the band's setlists on the Internet and is prepared. "One does not simply mumble through the verses at a Backstreet Boys concert," he says as a matter of fact.
While Lopez is definitely looking forward to the concert, he will also be getting ready for another once-in-a-lifetime experience. "I have a meet-and-greet opportunity that I won through a contest. I'm just hoping I don't get tongue-tied and giddy when I meet them," shares the 33-year-old.
It is a dream that he never knew would come true, ever since he listened to the boy band's fourth album, Black & Blue. "My cousin Roanna is a huge fan of theirs and used to play the Black and Blue album on our cassette player back in the day. I got hooked to it instantly," reminisces Lopez. So, it is no surprise when he tells us that 'Shape of My Heart' and 'Larger Than Life' and 'The Call' to name a few from the album.
While D'Souza and Lopez are ready for it all, Kareem also has a wish list. "I am hoping to listen to favourites like 'Everybody' and 'I Want It That Way' because these are some tracks that are etched in our memories but even if they sang songs I don’t recognise or remember, I am okay with that. I am sure half the excitement is just seeing them there," she concludes with an emotion that is shared by every Backstreet Boys fan.
Also Read: Backstreet Boys in Mumbai: 5 songs you must know before you attend the concert
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