Backstreet’s back, alright!
The Backstreet Boys are spreading holiday cheer with the release of their new Christmas album, A Very Backstreet Christmas, out Friday, Oct. 14.
READ MORE: Backstreet Boys Reimagine Wham!’s ‘Last Christmas’ In First Holiday Track Off Forthcoming Album
So of course when ET Canada’s Cheryl Hickey sat down in Montreal with one of the most iconic boy bands in history, nothing was off limits. But before getting into the holiday spirit, we had to get all the details on the gift they gave their fans when Drake showed up for a surprise performance during their DNA World Tour stop in Toronto.
“I went out to dinner the first night we were in Toronto with my wife and kid, and it just so happens the place that we went is his spot,” Kevin Richardson recalled. “My wife and son go to the bathroom, and my littlest one Max, he comes back and he’s like, ‘Dad, I just saw Drake!’
Richardson continued: “So afterwards, the manager’s like, ‘Drake would like to come down and say hi,’ and I’m like, ‘We’re signing our cheque, we’ll hit him on the way out. No problem, we’ll come by and say hi.’ And so he told me the story that he told everyone on stage about his bar mitzvah and then he ended up performing with us. so, it was a really cool, authentic, real moment.”
“That was impromptu, what you saw,” Howie Dorough added. “We didn’t have a soundcheck or anything. It was totally impromptu when he came up on stage.”
While the guys have been fans of Drake for 15 years, they’ve also been fans of each other for nearly 30.
“It’s a long time, you know? We’ve shared so many memories together, travelled the world multiple times, seen things, gone through generations,” Nick Carter said of the band’s upcoming milestone anniversary.
“We’ve just experienced life together, and so it’s really family to me,” Carter added.
“I mean, we’ve literally come from cassette tapes to now digital downloads,” AJ McLean quipped. “It’s kind of insane when you think about it. But it really is a true testament to our fans, to the music.”
However, just because they’ve been around for nearly three decades doesn’t mean the Backstreet Boys will be slowing down anytime soon.
“There’s still lots of things that we want to do, don’t get me wrong,” Dorough chimed in. “There’s still lots of accolades that we still want to achieve, but we’re at the point now where I can see this going on for years and years and years — our fans are gonna be there for us for the long haul.”
After working tirelessly and sacrificing a lot along the way, Brian Litrell says this anniversary is “monumental” for the band.
“It’s a shot in the vein every time you get up on stage and you see the smiling faces. You don’t wanna stop, you just wanna keep going,” said Litrell.
This year it’s all about A Very Backstreet Christmas, where the BSB will be putting their signature spin on some of the biggest holiday hits.
“It’s different, it’s, it’s unique, it’s fresh,” Carter said of the new project.
“There’s a lot of solo artists out there. Even throughout the past 10, 15 years — there hasn’t been a lot of harmonies,” added Carter. “We grew up listening to lots of harmonies, and now we’re able to put those into these classic songs and turn them into different versions of the songs that you love.”
For more with the Backstreet Boys, tune into “One on One with Backstreet Boys” airing Friday, Oct. 14 at 7:30 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on Global, and streaming live and on demand on STACKTV and the Global TV App.
