The world may be social distancing amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, but nothing was going to stop one of the most successful boy bands of all time coming together in a good cause. On Sunday, the Backstreet Boys reunited for Elton John iHeartRadio’s Living Room Concert for America in a bid to raise some smiles– and lots of money for families in need.
The group — AJ McLean, Howie Dorough, Nick Carter, Brian Littrell, and Kevin Richardson — drenched fans in nostalgia by belting out their 1999 hit “I Want It That Way” from their respective homes on five different screens.
As they were all live in different states, they streamed in their pre-recorded performance, which featured cameos from some of their children.
Whether by the pool (Carter), by the piano (McLean), on the sofa (Littrell), in the home theater room (Dorough) or jamming with the kids (Richardson), each of them raised their voices to belt out the song for a good cause.
Fans have long found the lyrics to “I Want It That Way” to be confusing. As Chrissy Teigen once tweeted, “I never wanna hear you say, I want it that way, cause I want it that way.’ He doesn’t wanna hear it because he is the one that wants it that way? Does he want to be the one to say it? Also What is’ it’. ‘
Last month, during a pre-quarantine visit to “Watch What Happens Life,” the band finally had something to say to fans still trying to make sense of the lyrics.”
“The song makes no sense,” McLean said.
“There was a completely different version of the song that actually made sense, and thankfully we decided to go back to the one that didn’t make sense,” he recalled. “I don’t think this song would’ve been big as it was had it made sense.”
BACKSTREET BOYS – But in a world where things don’t make sense these days, that song and the many others performed Sunday night provided something more important – Comfort.
Rock icon Elton John hosted the event and assured viewers, “There’s a lot of grief out there, uncertainty and fear, but let me tell you what’s going to keep us together: all the goodness that’s still happening in the world.”
And he didn’t just mean the music makers, adding, “Those doctors, nurses, and scientists on the front line, they’re living proof that most superheroes don’t wear capes.”
