If fans thought the Backstreet Boys‘ just-launched Into the Millennium residency at Las Vegas’ Sphere was going to be a faithful track 1 to track 12 run-through of the boy band’s seminal 1999 Millennium album, they were in for a shock at Friday’s (July 11) opening night.
Yes, all dozen tracks of the standard album are there — in addition to “Hey,” the single from BSB’s brand-new Millennium 2.0 reissue — but they are not performed in the order that ’90s tweens and teens have committed to memory. The 25-track show starts with “Larger Than Life,” the album’s opening track (and also the namesake of Backstreet’s original Vegas residency that ran from 2017 to 2019), and then all bets are off from there.
The first non-Millennium moment comes early in the night, with “As Long as You Love Me” — from BSB’s self-titled 1996 debut album — as the third song on the setlist. Even more surprising might be the fact that the project’s most enduring hit, “I Want It That Way,” does not end the show. In fact, fans are in for four more, non-Millennium songs after their signature ballad.
So what we’re saying is: Backstreet Boys did not play it safe or straightforward with this setlist. In total, there are four non-Millennium albums represented across the setlist, proving that the Boys are doing their best to serve the casual Vegas fans who know them best for the 1999 album, while also sprinkling in treats for the superfans who continue to ride with them more than 25 years later.
Below, find the full night 1 setlist for Backstreet Boys’ Into the Millennium residency at Las Vegas’ Sphere — with dates through Aug. 24 — and stay tuned for our full recap of the show and its epic visuals.
