Backstreet's Back Alright!

I was 8 years old when I saw him singing on the tv. In my head, he looked like an angel and sang like one too. His smile was one you could not ignore and his eyes were piercing blue, and still are, and that’s to show how close to the screen I was.

The Backstreet Boys became a big hit worldwide in 1996 but it would be a whole 3 years before they were introduced into my world. The first time I heard them was while watching their music video, which featured them all individually at some point, for the song “Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)”.

Just so you know, I just watched that video and giggled like a schoolgirl with a crush, which I happened to be at that time. Yes The Backstreet Boys were all that a bag of chips but to me Brian Littrell was the Backstreet Boys. He will go down in history as my first crush ever and if they ever scrape away the paint in my old bedroom, they might find my ‘I heart Brian’ scribbled in permanent marker somewhere where my bed was positioned.

Justin Bieber fans would never understand the hardships we endured back in the 90s, we were not blessed with Youtube or Spotify, we depended on good old cable and radio to get us by - at least I did. Let’s not forget the cassettes, The Backstreet Boys of course would be the first cassette I ever owned and it was given to me by my best friend at the time as a birthday present. I treated that cassette with more care than I showed my dolls and tested out the cassette decks before putting “my precious” in because God forbid the deck messes up the tape reel.

I wasn’t teased at all for this obsession I had with the group specifically for Brian, I guess at 8, people think it’s adorable and cute. My sister on the other hand was jeered relentlessly for her crush on Nick Carter, the other front man of the band.

A few years later I was gifted with a Backstreet Boys calendar that I also cherished and worshiped.

Boy was I envied by every girl I knew for that calendar that one even tried to steal it from me - I am happy to report that she did not succeed. It would not be that easy to steal my only print of Brian Littrell’s face from me, but that was the extent she was willing to go for the love of the band on her part.The calendar noted his birthday February 20, which I had to google shame on me, and little facts here and there about his heart murmur that lead to an open heart surgery in 1998,

his love for chewing gum and basketball which took my adoration to another level where you try to compare your own interests to that of your crush for compatibility purposes. Then I heard the conversation mix for the song “All I have To Give” - skip to 0:42 for Brian’s intro and insert emoji in love here.

Me: He likes what?

Brian: A girl who's gonna be smart...

Me: *Smiles* Check! 'A' student here.

Brian: A girl who uh even likes to go to school…

Me: I will never miss school again!

Brian: No for real. I like a girl who’s got a good head on her shoulders.

Me: *Grins* We are definitely getting married.

That dream of marriage was quickly squashed after discovering he was about to get married which he did in 2000. My little now 10 year old heart was crushed by my crush and my mom thought it would be a good idea to present me with a VHS cassette of The Backstreet Boys Live in concert. Oh mom.

I did watch the video tape, in agony, but after it was done that was it. The obsession fizzled from there on out as I aged and now as I look at him today, I have to admit, I still giggle and blush much to my friends' amusement.

I watched the Backstreet Boys: Show 'Em What You're Made Of documentary film on Prime Video a few weeks ago and learnt even more about Brian and the band. The documentary highlighted struggles they faced with being young and famous, how hard and tirelessly they worked and how badly they were ripped off. It also highlights the struggles they face now in particular Brian’s fight with Vocal Tension Dysphonia and the strain this has on the group's performance.

I didn’t have posters plastered on my wall of this 90’s heart throb, just the one calendar and a cassette with a song of him encouraging me to be smart, go to school and get that good head on my shoulder.