‘Acrophobic' Brian Littrell ‘freaked out' over floating platform at Backstreet Boys' Sphere residency

New York Post

a day ago

Backstreet Boys may be larger than life, but one member of the beloved pop group wasn't on board with a sky-high stunt they incorporated into their Las Vegas Sphere residency.
The band's creative directors, Rich and Tone Talauega (better known simply as Rich + Tone), behind their newly-extended 'Into The Millennium' residency spoke to The Post about the 'challenges' they faced putting the show together, which included talking 'acrophobic' Brian Littrell into performing at over 50 feet in the air.
14 Backstreet Boys made their debut at Sphere in Las Vegas, kicking off their residency in July.
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14 Brian Littrell of the Backstreet Boys on February 14, 2025.
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The Backstreet Boys' action-packed residency, which kicked off in Sin City on July 11, includes insane visuals — like monster-sized dancing robots projected on the 160,000-square-foot interior screen — a 1,600 speaker sound system to highlight the group's powerful vocals, and a futuristic platform with the ability to levitate Brian, Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean and Kevin Richardson up to 80 feet.
The latter, of which almost didn't happen, thanks to Brian's fear of heights, The Post is told.
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'Baz [Halpin] came up with this idea,' Rich shared, referencing the Silent House CEO, the other mastermind behind the residency.
He said the Backstreet Boys wanted to make a statement as the first big pop act to perform at the Sphere since its opening in September 2023.
'I think that was the statement that we wanted to make, was having them float,' Rich said of the platform. 'Like it looks like they're actually floating on there.'
14 Global pop icons Backstreet Boys made their debut at Sphere in Las Vegas.
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14 Brian Littrell of Backstreet Boys performs at Stagecoach on April 27, 2025 in Indio, California.
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14 Backstreet Boys Vegas residency.
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When asked if all five members of the Grammy-nominated group were game for the stunt, which happens during the medley portion of the show, Rich laughed.
'Brian is acrophobic, so he's a bit afraid of heights,' he responded. 'So we had to ease him into it, make sure that everything was safe around that.'
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Brian's counterparts, however, were 'gung-ho about it,' so he didn't have much of a choice.
14 The Backstreet Boys performing during their Las Vegas residency.
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14 Brian Littrell turns to the camera to perform as his bandmates sing to the audience on July 14, 2025.
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14 The Backstreet Boys dance and perform their classic hits during opening night of their residency inside The Sphere in Las Vegas.
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'They were so on board,' Rich, also a longtime choreographer for the Backstreet Boys, told The Post, explaining that they made some modifications to the floating platform stunt to help make Brian feel comfortable.
'We capped it at, I think, 52 [feet], which is as hell,' Rich noted, adding, 'Brian was freaking out about it at first.'
However, the singer 'worked his way up to it,' the proud creative director shared. 'He's such an amazing team player when it comes to that.'
14 Brian Littrell of the Backstreet Boys perform onstage at the 60th Academy Of Country Music Awards held at the Ford Center at The Star on May 08, 2025 in Frisco, Texas.
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14 The Backstreet Boys sing as they levitate over 50 feet in the air.
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Revealing that Brain's bandmates, as well as the entire team behind the residency, are 'sensitive' to his fear of heights, Rich said, 'For the most part, he came through and we didn't have to get rid of the gag.'
Nick had previously opened up about Brian's phobia, but his comments resurfaced after eagle-eyed fans noticed that the vocalist uses a stand for extra support while soaring on the platform.
'Brian hates that,' Nick told Entertainment Tonight in February. 'He's afraid of heights.'
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14 An shot of the Sphere in Las Vegas during the band's residency show.
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14 The Backstreet Boys on February 21, 2025.
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Kevin, who is also Brian's cousin, echoed Nick's statement: 'He does not like heights.'
Brian's fears aren't trumping his residency experience.
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'It's a show like no other,' he told the outlet earlier this year. 'At the end of the day the venue is remarkable, it's one of a kind. We can give our fans something different.'
14 Backstreet Boys announce their extended residency dates.
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14 The Backstreet Boys at their Las Vegas residency at the Sphere.
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Rich + Tone didn't just spill on Brian's acrophobia, either.
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They also shared the secret rituals each member of the Backstreet Boys does before they hit the stage — and the one thing they do as a band ahead of showtime.
While their 'Into The Millennium' residency was scheduled to end on August 24, the Backstreet Boys added several shows to their lineup this week due to popular demand.
'OH MY GOD, WE'RE BACK AGAIN!' the band shared via Instagram on Wednesday. 'We know we said we were done for this year, but that was before you guys sold out 21 nights at Sphere! So we worked hard to get some more shows scheduled to make sure everyone who wants to see the show can come to Vegas.'
Nick, Brian, AJ, Howie and Kevin will return to the Sphere for five new dates in December and two additional shows in January 2026.