SINGAPORE // Technically, they can no longer be described as boys, but when they play Dubai for the first time in their 16-year career, the Backstreet Boys will turn the clock back to their early days as baby-faced teen heartthrobs.
When the band play their first Middle East concert on December 17, fans will see a return to the pop format that made the group a worldwide sensation in the 1990s.
Within hours of the concert being announced yesterday, Backstreet Boys websites were flooded with messages from fans who have waited for years to hear the band perform in the UAE. The show will be held at The Palladium, a Dh220 million (US$60m) facility that opened this year in Dubai Media City.
In an interview with The National, band members talked about the trip to Dubai and the evolution of their sound.
"We were experimenting with new sounds for the last two albums, but we are a pop band," said Brian Littrell, speaking in Singapore where the band is playing during the city's Formula One Grand Prix weekend.
"When we did those two albums we thought we were a pop rock band, but pop is what we hark back to. This time, we made a conscious effort to go back to being ourselves."
He said the band had been trying for years to stage a concert in the Middle East, "but it has never worked out".
"We would have fans coming up to us at gigs in Las Vegas and Tokyo saying, 'We live in Dubai, when are you going to come to visit us?'" he said.
"Well, we're coming now. One thing we do know about our fans in the UAE is that they are very loyal and follow us around the world, so we're expecting a great night. It is going to be quite a spectacle. We are going to have a light show, eight dancers on stage and great tracks."
Fellow band member Nick Carter added: "We have heard so many amazing things about the place. I am expecting it to be beautiful, glamorous and hot.
"We are excited to finally be seeing our fans in the UAE. It is going to be a joyous occasion and we cannot wait."
The band have come a long way since being plucked from obscurity in 1993 by the pop impresario Lou Pearlman, who later parted company with the group on acrimonious terms.
Since their early days as squeaky-clean teen idols, there have been battles with drugs, stints in rehab, two weddings and two babies, as well as a religious epiphany for Littrell.
The band was whittled down to four members when Kevin Richardson quit three years ago to spend time with his family, leaving Littrell, 34, Carter, 29, Howie Dorough, 36, and AJ McLean, 31.
But despite their current collective age of 130 and several breaks in their performing career, they can still boast of being one of the best-selling boy bands of all time.
The Backstreet Boys have notched 13 Top 40 hits on the Billboard charts and sold more than 100 million albums with chart-toppers including I Want It That Way, Quit Playing Games With My Heart and Everybody (Backstreet's Back).
Along the way, they set numerous records. Millennium was the best-selling album of 1999, selling nearly 10 million copies and earning five Grammy nominations and providing Top 40 singles. It also set a record for the most albums sold internationally in one week (2.2 million) and was certified platinum in 45 countries.
The band, which started by playing school assemblies and shopping malls, embarked on their first world tour 12 years ago.
Since then, Littrell has undergone open-heart surgery and found God, McLean confessed his addiction to drugs and alcohol on the Oprah Winfrey show, and the band had a three-year hiatus from 2002 to 2005 when Carter embarked on an unsuccessful solo career.
The Backstreet Boys came back with a radically new sound with the albums Never Gone in 2005 and Unbreakable in 2007, which were panned by critics, with Rolling Stone magazine giving the earlier album only one star.
At that point they realised their strength lay in the pop melodies and catchy tunes that made them famous, Littrell acknowledged yesterday.
Their current European tour, which precedes the Dubai show, features music that gets back to those pop roots. It includes music from their seventh and soon-to-be-released album This Is Us. One of the new tracks, Straight Through My Heart, has already received multiple plays on local radio stations.
"We reached back into what made us who we are that is, great pop melodies and great harmonies and made it current and relevant," Littrell said.
In addition to the pop sounds, the Dubai concert would include some Eurodance and rhythm-and-blues numbers, he said. He expected the audience to be "a mixture of our older fans and some new ones".
The group's entourage now includes two new recruits who could aptly be described as boys Littrell's six-year-old son Baylee and Dorough's five-month-old son James.
While Baylee will accompany the tour in Europe, he is unlikely to travel to Dubai.
"It is a lot to ask of a six-year-old, but he is a big fan," Littrell said. "He knows all the hits and loves the new record. In fact, he knows all the words to the track Bigger on the new album so I am sure it is going to be a hit."
And would the band ever consider changing its name? The boyish good looks and cheeky grins that turned them into stars may still be there, but so are the creeping lines that give away their maturity.
"Never," Littrell said firmly. "We were asked whether we planned to keep the name 16 years ago when we first started and that is still what everyone asks us. The name won't change we are always going to stay the same."
tyaqoob@thenational.ae
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Watford v Leicester City (3.30pm)
Brighton v Arsenal (6pm)
West Ham v Wolves (8.30pm)
Bournemouth v Crystal Palace (10.45pm)
Sunday
Newcastle United v Sheffield United (5pm)
Aston Villa v Chelsea (7.15pm)
Everton v Liverpool (10pm)
Monday
Manchester City v Burnley (11pm)
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
Springtime in a Broken Mirror,
Mario Benedetti, Penguin Modern Classics
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
MADAME%20WEB
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20S.J.%20Clarkson%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Dakota%20Johnson%2C%20Tahar%20Rahim%2C%20Sydney%20Sweeney%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
The Bio
Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”
Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”
Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”
Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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Europe wide
Some of French groups are threatening Friday to continue their journey to Brussels, the capital of Belgium and the European Union, and to meet up with drivers from other countries on Monday.
Belgian authorities joined French police in banning the threatened blockade. A similar lorry cavalcade was planned for Friday in Vienna but cancelled after authorities prohibited it.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Takreem Awards winners 2021
Corporate Leadership: Carl Bistany (Lebanon)
Cultural Excellence: Hoor Al Qasimi (UAE)
Environmental Development and Sustainability: Bkerzay (Lebanon)
Environmental Development and Sustainability: Raya Ani (Iraq)
Humanitarian and Civic Services: Women’s Programs Association (Lebanon)
Humanitarian and Civic Services: Osamah Al Thini (Libya)
Excellence in Education: World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) (Qatar)
Outstanding Arab Woman: Balghis Badri (Sudan)
Scientific and Technological Achievement: Mohamed Slim Alouini (KSA)
Young Entrepreneur: Omar Itani (Lebanon)
Lifetime Achievement: Suad Al Amiry (Palestine)
