The Backstreet Boys are back. This is not a drill.
The Backstreet Boys announced on Twitter their new North America tour dates on the DNA World Tour. "To actually be able to say that we've been together for over 26 years now — and it's just a testament to our amazing fans," Howie D, born Howard Dorough, told Cheddar.
The popular boy band released their first album in 1996, but you can't put a time stamp on musical classics, according to Dorough, and their original music is still a crowdpleaser, allowing fans to reminisce about their younger days.
"It's kind of tough to compete with the big jams we had back in the day," he added comparing the hits to the group's newer work. "Those are the ones that bring people back to their memories."
When not on tour, Dorough talks about dedicating his time to working on positive content for kids with BabyFirst. After feeling like he couldn't connect with his oldest son through contemporary music, he wanted to produce quality, family-friendly music of his own for all ages to listen to and enjoy.
"I created a family CD, loosely based on some of the topics I went through in my life as a little kid," Dorough explained.
The songs from the Which One Am I? album offers musical reflections from his childhood and sparked the idea for the Howie D: Back in the Day musical that loosely parallels Dorough's time in middle school. "I feel like, me doing this kind of CD, and I'm hearing other people are moving into the family lane, it's just good positive promoting of families being together."
He also discussed the overwhelming number of devices kids use to access social media and other content, stating that "when we were little kids it was always 'you're spending too much time watching TV.' Well, now the internet, iPads, and tablets are the modern-day TV."
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