Backstreet Boys

We’ve all been asked the question before – “Where were you when….?” 

 

Whether it’s a historical event, a personal milestone, or a memory between friends, there are many important dates and times we remember that make up our lives. For Backstreet Boys fans, the moment she or he first became a fan is one of those unforgettable memories. It’s been nearly 23 years since Kevin, Howie, Brian, AJ, and Nick became a band, but if you ask a fan when or where they were when their Backstreet addiction began, they’re absolutely going to know down to the smallest details. 

 

When we took to social media to ask fans to share their “moment”,  replies poured in quickly. Some from 20 years ago, some from 5 years ago, but one thing is the same – once you love the Backstreet Boys, you don’t go back.

Check out some of our favorite shared moments below, and make sure to tell us your story in a comment!

 

“My sister used to wake me up for school and I would watch the morning video block on MTV while I waited for my turn to get ready. One day, ‘Quit Playing Games’ came on. I was instantly intrigued. I thought ‘did the guy from Casper and the guy from Oasis start a group?’ Then the rain started... ‘Should I be watching this?’ crossed my mind. Needless to say, I was hooked from there and still have a huge crush on Howie.” - @pandabehr72

 

“It was when I saw them live for the first time here in Germany at the music show ‘Pop Explosion’ in Nürnberg back in 1995. That's also when they were in Germany for the very first time at all. Kevin has also been my favorite since then. After another show 3 weeks later, I met Kevin and Howie for the very first time...then AJ & then Brian and Nick another day. That's my story about falling in love with this guys. The rest is history I guess!” - @UteKohler

 

“I'm Faith, 17 years old, and I'm from the Philippines! It was in 2008 (I forgot the exact date), but all I can remember was that, I was all alone in our house, and our neighbor started playing popular songs from the BSB (IWITW, Shape of my Heart, among others). I kind of liked the songs, aside from the fact that I could sing along to them. So I borrowed my neighbor's CD so that I could l hear the rest of the tracks (she basically burned the mp3 files she downloaded online on a CD-RW). The first song that played in the disc was 'Intro', and I was mesmerized by the 'hmmmm' at the beginning of the track. I was like 'oh my goodness I didn't know they could sing acapella this good!'. And then ‘Everything But Mine’ came next, then ‘Inconsolable’, and so on. I decided to google BSB's discography after returning the disc to my neighbor, and that's where I found out that I fell in love with their album entitled ‘Unbreakable’, which was their first album without Kevin. That's how I became a BSB fan.”

 

“It was 1997. I was a freshman in high school. I was walking to school with two friends who were arguing over a picture of a band. They wanted me to side with one of them over "Who is the hottest?" I didn't know the group yet, and just by looking over the photo, I went with my gut. I pointed to (who I later found out was) Brian. One friend was excited, as he was her choice as well. My other friend got mad at me, since she was a die-hard AJ girl. That's where it happened. I even remember the exact hallway at school.  After doing what limited research I could in 1997, I connected instantly with Brian and his faith, and I began to listen and watch BSB obsessively to find out as much as I could about him. Of course, as I grew up and got deeper into BSB-mania, I realized I liked all of the guys and connected with their lives in different ways...but that's what got me into them, and it’s been going strong since then!” - @bnbailey 

 

“Fall/Winter 1995- My friend's mom was driving my friend and me to our jazz dance class. All of a sudden, ‘We've Got It Goin' On’ started playing on the radio. Go Mix 96 (now Virgin Radio) for being the first to bring the boys to Montreal's airways! My friend and I just looked at each other and we begged her mom to detour, so we could hit up the closest record store. She obliged and she bought us each a copy of the album. It's safe to say that we never went to class that night. On a side note: That first album cover is also the first time I ever saw Kevin.  Oh man...heart eyes galore! Anyway, here we are 20 years later- I'm still and will always be a K girl!” - @andieyammine

 

“The exact moment I turned into a BSB fan was when I was at my best friend’s house. There were posters of these strange boys plastered on her walls and when I asked her who they were she said "the Backstreet Boys!" She then put on the cd and played ‘As Long As You Love Me’ from then on I was hooked. I was 9 years old.” - @MelissaLamb613

 

“In 1997, Kiss 95.7 played ‘Quit Playing Games with my Heart’. From that moment on, I was hooked. There was no question about it. Any of my friends who grew up with me will tell you I've been a fan for more than half of my life.” - @Sushi_Flower

 

“I became a fan of BSB in ‘95 and Brian became my favorite a year later. That’s when I fell in love with the song ‘Quit Playing Games’. Brian’s voice, and of course is personality, got me hooked to him. I'm still and will always be a BSB fan. I love and respect all five of them.” - @briansfan4life

 

“The moment I became a fan I was going through something and I heard ‘All I Have To Give’. The part where Nick says ‘I don't know what he does to make you cry but I’ll be there to make you smile’, I just smiled and of course on AJ’s part too because I’m an AJ girl. I fell in love with these guys. Most people said they weren’t  going to last and they proved those people wrong. They are so amazing.” - @MrsTurner7276

 

“I turned into a Backstreet Boys fan when I was about 7. I was home from school sick and my dad gave me their ‘Millennium’ CD. Ever since then I've been the biggest fan. I have every CD, concert DVD and I'm a fan of each one of them as well. I'm hoping to see BSB in concert. It has been my dream to see and meet them, but I will get a head start by meeting Nick at the end of March!!” - @bsbcarter4life

 

“I was in the 6th grade and back then MTV/TRL was big. I saw these boys on the TV singing ‘I'll Never Break Your Heart’ and I instantly fell in love.” – @Henderson1221

“I have always known BSB. I knew ‘Everybody’ and ‘Get Down’ since I was young but I wasn't a fan…yet. I was more of Westlife fan, but one day my sister found her old CD of 90s Boybands' compilation which consisted of Boyzone, 911 & BSB. I knew Boyzone and 911 really well, but when I got to BSB's stuff, I screamed my lungs out during ‘Everybody’. That was when I first saw Brian (in his werewolf costume) and I was like, hey he's pretty cute. Then the music vid went on and I saw Kevin (a.k.a Dr. Jekyll/Hyde). I've always thought his profile was so good looking, but when I watched ‘All I Have To Give’ and they showed his close up.... MAN, MY WHOLE LIFE CHANGED. At that time, Westlife, all of a sudden announced their split. I was devastated. BSB was like my Westlife replacement but there's no day that I’m not thankful for having them in my life.” - @sasarichardson

 

“I got my first tape at the store which was the album ‘Backstreet's Back’ then I went upstairs on my room. As I went to my room and sat on the bed, suddenly I was staring at Nick on the album cover. I stared at him for like 30 seconds. Then I asked my friend how old Nick was and she said he is 17. I wanted to marry him. I was only 10 with my crush on him and wanted to marry him. Then I listened to the whole album.” - @sapnasajnani

 

“Believe it or not, I'm actually a relatively new fan. I know most Backstreet Boys fans came about in the 90s, but I was only born in 1995. Granted that makes me nearly 21 years old, but still. I was on Youtube last May (when I should have been studying for finals) and started searching 90s music videos. I would watch a video, see a nostalgic song of my childhood in the suggestions, and go from there. I came across ‘I Want It That Way’, which I obviously knew but had never seen the entire video in full. I watched it, singing along with the song, when about halfway through I felt my heart nearly stop as I looked at and heard the voice of who I would learn to be Kevin. I was captured by him and his wonderful eyebrows, and I had to know more. I googled him, learned his name and birth and that he's cousins with Brian. I then went to watch the ‘Everybody’ music video, which I jammed along to, then noticed the video for As Long As You Love Me. At the time, I thought I didn't know the song, and thought maybe this was the original and Justin Bieber did a cover or something. By the time the song reaches the chorus, I recognized it immediately. I have ALWAYS loved that song, but NEVER knew who it was by. The same happened with ‘Larger Than Life’. Before I knew it, I was in a blackhole of BSB videos and it was 4 am and I was still in finals week (aka hell week). I've been a fan ever since, and never looked back once.” - @Frgt10_Anthem

 

“When I was in 7th grade, the 1st song I listened about BSB on the radio was ‘Nunca Te Haré Llorar’ ... From that moment I loved it!!! A few days after, my best friend showed me a Nick Carter's poster that she bought and she wasn't sure who the boy was (All this happened in 1997, we didn't have internet yet). We bought magazines and started to see their videos on TV. Step by step, we started to in love of them. My friend loved Nick and I surrendered to the sweetness and kindness of Brian Littrell. So many people made fun of us, they said we we're crazy, including our parents. Our world became completely BSB.  Our dream came true the last year on June 23rd in Mexico City, after 18 years of waiting.” - @Mely_85_BROK

 

“The exact moment I became a Backstreet Fan is one my father curses to this day. I was watching a French TV show called Dimanche Martin and BSB were there as guests. At first, I thought they were a Take That wannabe group. Then they started to sing ‘Get Down’. Then I saw Nick and called to my mom, "Damn! That blonde one is cute!" The rest is history. That was early September 1996. My family and I had just moved to Rome, Italy from New Orleans.” – SilverMoon28

 

“We didn't have a lot of channels when I was a teen. But there was one free music video channel called The Box. I'm not sure the exact day we saw ‘Quit Playing Games (With my Heart)’, but it was a changing moment for me. After that, my fan dome grew and I had to have everything I could find of theirs! This was pre-internet, so it was very expensive! I wouldn't trade one moment for one penny. Every moment of being a Backstreet Boys fan has been worth it! I've seen them live 5 times and was able to go on their 2013 cruise and finally meet them!” - @miss_sjw

 

“I became a BSB fan at the tender age of 6. ‘Everybody’ was the first song I'd heard and honestly, AJ scared me the first couple of years. Nineteen years later, I'm happy to still be their fan, and I hope to go to another show of theirs soon. I've only been to one, and that was in 2013.” - @beccakilam91

 

“The moment I became a fan was the summer of 1997, I heard ‘Quit Playing Games’ on the radio and liked it but didn't think much of it. A few minutes later, a commercial for a concert was on the radio. I heard QPG in the background and was like ‘That's that song! I wanna go!’ Fast forward to September 25, 1997, I go to the concert and when the guys introduced themselves Brian said ‘hey I'm B-Rok...’. He was my favorite ever since and I've been a fan ever since then.” - @yahtzee27

 

“So I can't find the actual date, but my first time seeing them was when they were on "All That" singing ALAYLM.And I misunderstood the song and called it selfish (haha) then my mom explained it, and I looked at them and went "ohhhhh ..." Then I fell in love with Nick. It was 1998 or 1999.” - @_Deya_vu

 

“1995. A friend of the family kept bringing her videos and CD over and I was hooked within the first week of listening to their album.” - @markham73

 

“I was 8 and had just moved here from Colorado. I made fast friends with my neighbor Jessi. I think she got into them first, and had the album Millennium. I remember either hula hooping or jumping rope in her driveway while listening to ‘Larger Than Life’, not having a clue what it was about but loving it. I think I had my parents get for me soon after. I remember drawing hearts around my favorite guys on the booklet. (It was the same then as it is now, AJ, Brian and Kevin). I remember recording their homecoming concert on VHS way back when ABC family was Fox Family. I remember being ecstatic when I got Black and Blue for Christmas, and playing it on repeat in the car and in my room. I recorded their takeover of time square on MTV. I vaguely remember hearing about AJ going into rehab but not knowing what it meant. I kind of lost track of them after that, and I'm not proud of this but when my friend from Colorado came to me when I was in middle school and said they had made a new album that was awesome and tried to get me back into them I brushed her off.  When I was a freshman in high school I was watching old home movies with a friend when we came across the homecoming concert tape. That's all it took, I was in love all over again, especially with AJ, I mean his hips don't lie in that concert. I showed it to my then best friend and got her hooked again too. We would watch that concert at least once every time she came over, which was every weekend almost. We also watched YouTube videos, I bought Never Gone and kicked myself for not listening to my Colorado friend earlier. I printed out a bunch of pictures of The Boys and AJ (who became my main favorite after that concert.) and taped them to my bright pink walls. I kept up with them and have bought every album since then. I'll be a fan when I'm old and gray. They have helped me through some pretty rough heartbreaks. They make me laugh when I don’t even want to smile and for that I’ll be eternally grateful.” - @believer48

 

“I first became a BSB fan in 1997 at age 8. I was spending the night at my grandmother's house, watching ‘All That’ on Nickelodeon and the boys were that night's musical guest. They were performing ‘As Long As You Love Me’ and when I first saw Brian - that was it, I was in love lol. My brother tried to change the channel on me too. My best friend at the time and her cousin also liked their music so we would listen to it all the time and it was from then on I was hooked. That's how I became a BSB fan and I have been a proud BSB fan for 18 years.” - @puffnstuff08

 

“For me, it started in ‘97 at my friend Olivia's house. Her babysitter said you have to listen to this new group. She played it and after that asked my parents for the CD. That Christmas, I got the Backstreet Boys CD. The second the 1st song started playing, after popping it in the stereo; something come over me. So from that moment on, my life was changed forever; in a good way. So there you have it Christmas Eve 1997 was the day I officially became a Backstreet Boys fan; at the age of 9.” - @BSB_PsychFan26