I Just Saw the Backstreet Boys with My 4 Millennial Besties and I Was a Teenager All Over Again (Minus the Angst)

Like any self-respecting millennial, I of course was a BSB fan back in the day (Kevin was my fave, BTW). And while I’ve long since swapped my Discman for Spotify and my bedroom posters for bills, when I heard the Backstreet Boys were doing an Into the Millennium residency at The Sphere in Las Vegas, my inner 13-year-old jumped for joy. So did the group chat.

So there we were—five women in our late thirties scattered across the country and deep in the trenches of parenting, caretaking, perimenopause (maybe??), career burnout, budget stress and general adulting fatigue. One friend couldn’t make it because she had a two-month-old at home. Another nearly bailed after a last-minute work event five hours away. But still, we rallied. We needed this.

And the Backstreet Boys delivered.

From the moment the lights dimmed, it was full-body nostalgia. The set list was amazing (yes, they played all the hits). The vibe was pure joy. The crowd was a sea of women all dressed in white (we followed the suggested dress code, naturally), belting lyrics like we were back at the middle school dance. At one point, we asked a group of strangers to take our photo in front of the Sphere and they insisted on waiting five minutes to time the BSB graphic just right. Sisterhood at its finest.

The Boys themselves (um, men) were total pros. They sounded great. They danced their hearts out. They made self-deprecating jokes about aging and being “zaddies.” And the genuine affection between them was heart-melting. Unlike most boy bands of their era, the Backstreet Boys have stayed relatively drama-free, and that camaraderie shone through on stage.

Speaking of the stage—wow. I’ll admit that I was skeptical about The Sphere and thought that it might be gimmicky, but it was anything but. The effects were incredible and, at times, intense. The crowd especially went wild at the giant flip phones and Tetris blocks (we were a bunch of millennials after all) and the boys definitely leaned into the whole space-theme (I got a little dizzy following various spaceships around). Some of it was a little weird (BSB heads on a snowy mountaintop? Sure. Why not.), but all of it was impressive.

A few practical notes: The seats at the Sphere rock back a lot, especially when you stand up to dance (which you definitely will). Drinks might spill. And definitely lean into the theme and wear the white. The show starts late, but there’s a countdown timer, so you’ll know when to wrap up your merch run. Also: Howie might be the unsung hero of the group—I came in a Kevin girl and left questioning everything.

In the end, it wasn’t about reliving our youth. Honestly, I wouldn’t go back to all the insecurity and angst of being a teenager if you paid me. But singing and dancing with my best friends to a soundtrack that once defined our lives? It was medicine. It was magic. It was exactly what we needed.

Now... who do I talk to about a Spice Girls Sphere show?

The Backstreet Boys ‘Into the Millennium’ residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas ends on August 24, 2025. They added three final shows to the residency, which will take place on August 22, 23, and 24.