Backstreet Boys land Las Vegas residency at the Sphere. Backstreet's back, all right
Backstreet's back, all right! The Backstreet Boys are heading to Las Vegas this summer with nine shows at the Sphere.
The iconic Y2K boy band will kick off a nine-show residency July 11, making the quintet the first pop act to play the state-of-the art venue christened by U2 in 2023.
'We're heading 'Into The Millennium' once again!' the group said Wednesday on Instagram. 'Relive your Backstreet Boys Y2K memories, but this time… LARGER THAN LIFE at @SphereVegas starting this July!'
Band members AJ McLean, Kevin Richardson, Brian Littrell, Howie Dorough and the embattled Nick Carter are bringing their 1999 album, which featured the hit 'I Want It That Way' as well as 'Larger Than Life,' 'Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely' and 'The One,' back to the stage. Indeed, the 'boys' are currently grown men whose original fervent fanbase likely now consists of moms whose children are old enough for a Vegas trip.
'Fans can expect an unforgettable experience as the Backstreet Boys bring their legendary 'Millennium' album to life, alongside a selection of their greatest hits,' concert producer Live Nation said in a statement. 'Beloved classics like 'I Want It That Way,' and 'Larger Than Life,' will be delivered or enhanced with cutting-edge visuals and sound made possible by Sphere's revolutionary immersive technology.'
The Into the Millennium shows are set for July 11-13, 18-20 and 25-27. Aspiring concertgoers can sign up for the artist presale until Monday. Backstreet Boys Fan Club presale begins Tuesday and will be followed by additional presales. The general sale begins Feb. 21, with all tickets sold at backstreetboys.com.
The Backstreet Boys' stint at the Sphere follows residencies by U2, Phish, the Eagles, Dead & Company and Anyma. Country star Kenny Chesney will also set up shop at the Sphere from May to June for 15 shows.
The Grammy-nominated group — whose music was a radio mainstay and perennial No. 1 on MTV's 'Total Request Live' at the turn of the century — released its 10th studio album 'DNA' in 2019 and later that year launched the subsequent DNA World Tour, its biggest arena tour in 18 years. They also released their first Christmas album, 'A Very Backstreet Christmas,' in fall 2023.
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Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Some animals seem to appreciate music. What does that mean for human evolution?
Ronan the sea lion can dance to a lot of different songs, but there is something about 'Boogie Wonderland,' by Earth, Wind and Fire that really gets her going. It didn't take more than a few days for Peter Cook, a marine mammal sciences professor at the New College of Florida, to train Ronan to bop her head to music. Using fish as a reward, he taught her the movement. Then he taught her to move when a metronome played. Over the course of the next two months, he gave her a fish every time she synchronized her head bops to the beat of the music. Once that clicked, she could do it 60 times in a row within a couple of days, he said. Before long, she was able to do this with music recorded live in a studio with natural fluctuations, complex instrumentation and syncopation, meaning different beats were emphasized in different measures, Cook explained. And it wasn't just Earth, Wind and Fire that got her moving, but also the Backstreet Boys and other rock songs. 'Once she understood the task, she seemed to be able to transfer that knowledge over to even complex musical types of stimuli, which do have things like meter,' Cook told Salon in a phone interview. 'The thing is, we're just not sure how she thinks about or understands things like meter, syncopation or anything like that.' Historically, many thought that humans were the only animals that could recognize an external beat and synchronously move to it. But in 2007, Snowball the cockatoo went viral for dancing to the rhythm of the Backstreet Boys. Then, in 2013, Ronan the sea lion similarly acquired world-fame for moving her head rhythmically to the beat of music. These two case studies are part of a growing field of research set on trying to understand which animals have the capacity to be musical, providing clues on how and why music evolved in humans. In 1871, Charles Darwin wrote: "The perception, if not the enjoyment, of musical cadences and of rhythm is probably common to all animals.' Darwin suggests that if music gives us pleasure, it has an evolutionary purpose. And if all animals share a common ancestor, it could be something that is evolutionarily shared. But that isn't easy to investigate. 'We have this problem in studying the origins of musicality … Music doesn't fossilize,' said Henkjan Honing, a professor of Music Cognition at the University of Amsterdam. 'Cross-species work is a way of resolving that problem because the assumption is that if you share a certain trait with a genetically close species, then the common ancestor might also have had that particular skill.' In a way, all animals make rhythms, whether in the form of fireflies flashing, birds chirping or even a tiger pacing back and forth. Some of these rhythms are influenced by pure physiology: Walking, swimming and having a heartbeat are all rhythmic. Yet defining what constitutes music is challenging because it is inherently subjective. Plus, we don't know if animals experience music as music, or if that is our own human experience we are projecting onto them. In one study released last month, eastern and western chimpanzees — which are two different subspecies — were observed in the wild to have distinct drumming patterns. These patterns are short, structured and rhythmic, but they are thought to be used more for communication purposes than for music, said study author Vesta Eleuteri, who studies the evolution of social cognition and communication at the University of Vienna. 'Some chimpanzees drum with isochrony [occurring at the same time], but we didn't find evidence of other core musical rhythms that are present in humans,' Eleuteri told Salon in a video call. Musicality generally implies that animals have control over the rhythm they are making and use it flexibly. One way to determine if an animal is musical is to see if they have the ability to identify a note's pitch in relation to other notes. Another way, which has been studied more, is to see if they are capable of synchronizing to beats in a rhythm, Honing children have been shown to do this before they can walk or talk, though it's unclear whether this ability is learned or innate. Children aren't perfectly synchronized to the beat at younger ages and they improve over time, suggesting that it could be something that is socially learned. On the other hand, one 2009 study found evidence in baby's brains that they were detecting rhythmic patterns as young as seven months old, which could indicate that this ability is already functional at birth. Nevertheless, in a study published in May, Ronan the sea lion was shown to perform better than adult humans when tasked with moving in sync to a beat. Although Ronan doesn't perform this task outside of her training sessions on her own, she does get a fish regardless of whether or not she moves to the music in training sessions, indicating she is voluntarily moving to the beat, Cook said. It's unclear what motivates Ronan to perform this activity, but Cook said sea lions are kind of like the Border Collies of the sea and can quickly learn new tasks. As such, it could have something to do with mastering a task, he explained. 'I think she enjoys the cognitive challenge and the opportunity to sort of master something and then practice that mastery,' he said. 'I just don't know if it's about groove the way it is with humans.' Looking at similarities and differences between our closest living relatives, primates, can provide clues into whether music shares a common ancestral origin. In humans, if we are walking or typing and listening to music, we naturally sync up to the rhythm. In studies conducted by Yuko Hattori, an assistant professor at Kyoto University's Primate Research Institute, chimpanzees were able to synchronize their movement to a variety of rhythms. Similar findings were also reported in another study with a bonobo, in which the bonobo was also able to synchronize its drum beats to a human in the experiment. Movements from primates in these studies are not as precise as humans, but one hypothesis used to explain the origins of music could help explain the differences. It suggests that in humans, our ability to move in time with a beat stems from vocal learning. It could be that humans' ability to refine that beat synchronization evolved along with our vocalization abilities, Hattori said. 'The monkeys are a more distant evolutionary distant species, and so perhaps that there is some gradual development in the course of primate evolution,' Hattori told Salon in a video call. This hypothesis could explain why birds like Snowball and humans can move to a rhythm, although it raises questions about Ronan the sea lion's ability to move to the beat. Sea lions don't naturally adapt their calls to external stimuli in the wild, although seals do, which share an evolutionary root with sea lions more than 20 million years up the ancestral tree. However, it could be that this shared ancestor is related to some degree of vocal learning in sea lions. It's rare to get a brain scan of chimpanzees or sea lions due to ethical reasons, so what is happening neurologically when these animals move to the music is also unknown. However, experiments in birds like the zebra finch help provide some answers as to why this species sings. Although zebra finches sing their own songs and do not move to external rhythms, they do at some point learn those songs from other zebra finches, so there is some degree of learning and internalization related to music. In one 2017 study, Ofer Tchernichovski, who studies animal behavior at Hunter College, and his team set up an experiment in which birds had to get an unpleasant air puff in order to reach a peep hole where they could see a singing bird. What they found was that males were always willing to 'pay' to hear any song, whereas females were only willing to hear the song if they were presented with the song of their mate. When females were presented with the song of her mate, dopamine levels went up. 'The thing is, the females are not very sensitive to songs, so this was exactly the opposite of what we thought,' Tchernichovski told Salon in a video call. 'What we think is that for females, the song is really about sex, whereas for male zebra finches, it's more social.' Another study released earlier this year found dopamine activity increased in young zebra finches when they sang songs that were closer to their eventual adult song versions compared to when they sang songs that deviated further away from them. Other studies have shown male zebra finches 'self-evaluate' their songs when practicing alone with songs they sing better activating the dopamine system more than songs they sing worse. However, when singing for females, their dopamine system is activated by a social response based on the cues they receive from the female. Studies show that the dopamine system in humans is also activated when we listen to music. In one study, people listened to their favorite music while under an fMRI machine. In anticipation of that moment, the dopamine system was activated in the brain. Furthermore, studies have also shown that musical training in adolescence increases empathy and prosocial behaviors. In other words, it brings us together — which we see when we clap to the beat at a concert or sing the lyrics to popular songs. One 2014 study found infants were more likely to help someone if that person rocked them synchronously versus whether they did so out of rhythm. 'One of the theories that is important for the origins of musicality is that it could be a way of social bonding, of increasing the social cohesion of the group,' Honing said. 'You see the same thing with Snowball: He likes to dance when his owner is there … She always dances with him, and that's what the bird likes.' 'Enjoyment is the key,' Honing added. 'If you get pleasure out of something, that means it's important biologically, so it might be an adaptation.'
Forbes
2 days ago
- Forbes
Lil Wayne Debuts At No. 1 With His First New Album In Half A Decade
Lil Wayne's Tha Carter VI debuts at No. 1 on iTunes, with 'Sharks," featuring Big Sean and Jelly ... More Roll, emerging as a quick fan favorite tune. BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - MAY 03: Lil Wayne performs onstage at Legacy Arena at the BJCC on May 03, 2025 in Birmingham, Alabama. (Photo by) Lil Wayne has returned! The superstar rapper is back with the sixth installment in his Tha Carter series, which has proved to be one of the most successful in hip-hop history. While he didn't promote the set via the traditional path with multiple early singles, it appears that Wayne's popularity may be enough to power him to another bestseller, as Americans have quickly responded to the release of Tha Carter VI and turned it into a chart-topper. Tha Carter VI currently rules the iTunes Top Albums chart in the United States. The full-length leads during a packed frame of exciting new releases, as this Friday (June 6), includes drops from stars across genres — but none of them can quite compete with Wayne at the moment. The biggest competition facing Tha Carter VI is not something new. In fact, it's an album that was released more than a quarter century ago. Millennium by Backstreet Boys bolts up the iTunes Top Albums ranking and currently lands in the runner-up spot. Wayne and Backstreet Boys push recent champions I'm the Problem by Morgan Wallen and Reputation by Taylor Swift down a few pegs, and they land at Nos. 3 and 4, respectively. The top 10 on the iTunes Top Albums chart features half a dozen new arrivals as of the time of writing, with Tha Carter VI leading them all. Just a few spaces further down the list, new drops from Enhypen, Addison Rae, Marina, Turnstile, and Volbeat all manage to find space inside the uppermost region. None of them can compete with Wayne's first solo full-length since 2020's Funeral, which earned him another No. 1 on the Billboard 200. As Tha Carter VI gets going, one of its predecessors returns and becomes a bestseller again. Tha Carter III, which is widely regarded as the best of these half-dozen releases — and perhaps Wayne's most celebrated full-length — currently sits at No. 60 on the iTunes Top Albums chart. No major singles were pushed from Tha Carter VI before its release, but a favorite track has quickly been identified by fans. "Sharks," which features both Big Sean and Jelly Roll is the only tune by Wayne to appear on the iTunes Top Songs tally, and it's off to a fairly slow start. The track currently appears at No. 186, but it will likely rise in the coming hours and days. Tha Carter VI features 19 songs and a handful of somewhat surprising collaborations. While it's not shocking to see other hip-hop artists like 2 Chainz, Sean, and Kodak Black on the project, U2's Bono and even Andrea Bocelli are also officially credited. The Irish rocker lent his songwriting skills and voice to "The Days," while the Italian crooner appears in the background on "Maria," as he sings "Ave Maria" while Wyclef Jean and Wayne take turns performing.
Forbes
2 days ago
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Mariah Carey's Comeback Single Shoots Straight Into The Top 10
It's been years since Mariah Carey's last proper era — as the parlance goes these days — and fans have been eager to hear from the elusive chanteuse. While Carey does occasionally drop a collaboration here and there, and she can be heard non-stop throughout December thanks to "All I Want for Christmas Is You," her longtime supporters have been craving more. The Grammy winner has responded with a brand new single, "Type Dangerous," which quickly becomes a bestselling track just hours after its release. "Type Dangerous" immediately shot into the top 10 on the iTunes Top Songs chart in the United States. Its quick adoption among American audiences shows there was serious pent-up demand for new music from Carey — and it confirms that her signature blend of hip-hop and R&B with pop sensibilities still connects with a wide audience. As of the time of writing, "Type Dangerous" sits at No. 9 on the ranking. The current top 10 on the iTunes Top Songs tally is packed with new releases, and had Carey shifted her drop to another week, she might be charting even higher. At the moment, Barbra Streisand and Laufey lead with their joint tune "Letter to My 13-Year-Old Self." That track bests "Manchild" from Sabrina Carpenter, which sits at No. 2. The Backstreet Boys — yes, those Backstreet Boys — fill the next six spots with some of the group's biggest hits, as 2025 is shaping up to be a massive year for the boy band. Coming in just behind Carey is "Sapphire" by Ed Sheeran, though this order could shift throughout Friday. Carey has been teasing new music for the past several days, and it seems there's more than just one tune on the way. Visuals she's recently shared on social media hint at MC16, which is shorthand for her sixteenth full-length. The project, which has yet to be properly announced, will mark her first full-length since 2018's Caution. In the years since that album, Carey has released a handful of tracks, including remixes of Latto's "Big Energy" and Ariana Grande's "Yes, And?" She also tours annually around Christmas, as her holiday staple brings in millions of dollars annually thanks to massive upticks in streams, sales, and especially radio airplay.
