Courtesy Live NationThe Backstreet Boys kicked off their new Larger than Life Las Vegas residency last week at the AXIS theater in Planet Hollywood, where Britney Spears stages her residency show, Piece of Me. Backstreet’s A.J. McLean says that Britney’s success really paved the way for them to do it too.
“We’ve been talking about this since…2013,” he tells ABC Radio. “[But] I think Britney really kinda changed things. She started bringing a much younger demographic with her show. It just changed the whole residency concept. And I think her being from our generation and vice versa, I think we’re a perfect fit for Las Vegas.”
The 100-minute show features 20 songs, but A.J. says it was difficult to narrow it down.
“Putting the set list together was hard because we have our favorites, we have fan favorites, we have the hits,” he says, laughing. “At one point, we had I think 50 [or] 40 songs! We would’ve been dead, [but] the fans would’ve been, like, ‘Keep going! Yeah!'”
A.J. says now that all five Backstreet members have kids, a residency makes sense.
“It’s convenient, it’s easy on us,” he says. “We’re all family men now and to…not have to travel as much, and we can bring our families with us here, it’s perfect.”
In fact, A.J. and his wife are ready to welcome their second child any minute now. He laughs, “I said, ‘Just please have them have a plane ready for me…’cause if God forbid I get a call in ten minutes, I’m flying home!'”
In addition to the show, the Boys also has new music in the works. A.J. says they’re recording a regular album — their 10th studio project — and another project he describes as “a big secret.” Both will be out in the next year.
