The real genius behind the Backstreet Boys’ Sphere Las Vegas residency? AJ’s wife

Barring any last-minute extension announcements, Backstreet Boys are scheduled to wrap up their super-successful Into the Millennium residency show at Sphere Las Vegas on Sunday. And now it can be told: AJ McLean says we owe the entire concept for the residency to his wife.

“You know, she threw this out in a dinner conversation … about how none of the biggest acts in the world have ever recreated their biggest tour,” AJ told ABC Audio. “She was talking about, you know, if Janet Jackson were to redo the Velvet Rope Tour, because she didn’t get to see it, she would be like, ‘I’m gonna use all my adult money to pay whatever I have to, to go see Janet Jackson.'”

“And same with Madonna and other acts,” he continued. “And she’s like, ‘What if you guys did that?'”

Specifically, she wanted them to recreate their 1999 Into the Millennium tour, complete with all the bells and whistles that made it their biggest ever. AJ liked the idea, but it took him a while to get the rest of the group onboard.

“So I kept bringing it up to the boys and they kept saying, no, no, no, because we’re in a different mindset, different albums, da-da-da,” AJ continued. “And finally they were like, ‘Y’know what? Let’s do it.'”

AJ then pitched the idea to their concert promoter, but then, he said, “I didn’t hear a peep.” Finally, the group’s management revealed that Sphere Las Vegas was offering to host the show.

“We were overjoyed, but then immediately panic set in,” AJ recalled. “Like, how are we gonna do this?” 

But after going to see the Eagles’ show for some inspo, Backstreet figured it out, and have played to sold-out crowds ever since.