Tag Archives: Package Tour

90s, Big Time Rush, Boy Bands, Friday Five, Music, NKOTB, On Tour

The Friday Five: Our Favorite Tour Lineups

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There is nothing better than seeing your favorite artist on tour.   Except when two or more of your favorites team up – then it’s pretty much guaranteed to fall into the best concert EVER category. Or as NKOTBSB billed it:  One Night.  One Stage.  Once in a Lifetime. (or in our case, 3 times.)  Here are some of our favorite tour lineups!

1.  NKOTBSB (New Kids on the Block & Backstreet Boys)
Basically the greatest tour of all time.   Sure anything with these two acts would be amazing.  But the way the show was arranged, with alternate medleys of songs from each group, kept the audience thrilled from start to finish. And they played every song you’d ever want to hear – just giving the fans what they want.  If you’ve never seen Backstreet Boys perform “Everybody” live, you’re missing out! The choreography, set list, stage, everything about this tour was amazing.  It took everyone back in time , be it 1989 or 1999.

2.  The Best of Both Worlds Tour (Jonas Brothers, Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus)
It’s been years and we still aren’t sure how we managed to snag tickets to this one (as we say in our Fangirl Handbook, we refuse to buy resale tickets!)  But we were there, on the floor, and it was even 10 times more awesome than it looked in the 3D movie. We’d seen Jonas Brothers a couple of times before, but this tour was when they really hit their stride and exploded. And this tour was truly a once in a lifetime event.  Especially now that Hannah Montana is dead.

3. The Package Tour (New Kids on the Block, 98 Degrees & Boyz II Men)
We love NKOTB and their boy band posse. They recruited newly reunited 98 degrees and Boyz II Men for the appropriately titled “Package Tour.” Once again, NKOTB nailed the set, stage, choreography, etc. They’re older now, as are their fans, so they’re at a point when everyone can just relax, have fun and have the time of their lives.  It’s a beautiful thing.  We’re so glad NKOTB reunited and are better than ever!

4. Summer Break Tour (Big Time Rush, Victoria Justice, Jackson Guthy & Olivia Somerlyn)
The perfect name for the perfect summer tour.   We’re huge Victoria and BTR fans so we were thrilled to see them team up!  Openers Jackson Guthy and Olivia Somerlyn were fun opening acts who had us singing and dancing along by the third go round.  BTR doesn’t get enough credit for being a legit boy band, and for bringing back the genre. We’re convinced NKOTBSB and all these amazing things wouldn’t have happened without BTR.  These guys are talented singers and dancers and totally bring it each night. It doesn’t hurt that they share a choreographer with NKOTB – boy band master Kevin Maher.  Now if the New Kids could just recruit Big Time Rush for their boy band posse…

5. Matchbox Twenty & Goo Goo Dolls
We’re 90s fan girls so when we heard Matchbox Twenty and Goo Goo Dolls, two of our favorite bands ever, would be touring together we HAD to go. Mostly because if you had told us 15 years ago we would have the chance to go and didn’t, we would have been very upset with ourselves. Luckily we decided to go and it was more than worth it. Both acts played very solid sets including all of their old material.   It was just as great in 2013 as it would have been in 1996. If you are/were a fan of either group, we highly suggest seeing them live at least once.

You can see New Kids on the Block, Backstreet Boys, and Goo Goo Dolls on tour this summer!

90s, Boy Bands, Boys We Like, Music, NKOTB

Forgotten Boybands Who Should Reunite in 2014

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It’s been an amazing couple of years for boyband aficionados such as ourselves.  It all started when NKOTBSB (that’s New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys, duh) announced they would be joining forces for a tour in 2011 (arguably the best tour of our entire lives).  The next year, 98 Degrees reunited!   We still aren’t sure if the t-shirt we got at their Mixtape Festival show has a picture taken in 2002 or 2012.  They’ve aged EXTREMELY well.  And of course 2013 brought us the Package Tour: NKOTB, 98 Degrees, AND Boyz II Men.  What more could a boyband fangirl ask for?  Well then we got the greatest gift of all: NSYNC REUNITING AT THE VMAs (yes, we have to write this in all caps every time we mention it, because OMG!)  We should actually thank Big Time Rush for all of these boyband reunions, because they brought boybands back.  Alright?

While we impatiently wait for that NSYNC reunion tour, which unfortunately doesn’t look possible for this summer as Justin Timberlake will still be out on his 20/20 Experience World Tour, we thought about which OTHER boybands could reunite in 2014 to fill the void…

1.  5ive – They were the original Simon Cowell boyband.  Their first single, “Slam Dunk (Da Funk)” debuted at number 10 in the UK, but had little success in the United States. Their second single, “When The Lights Go Out” was certified Gold in 1998. They made a few bad decisions along the way, like turning down a song called “Bye Bye Bye…”

Who can forget their iconic choreographed dance scene cameo in Disney’s “Smart House”

2.  2ge+her – Okay, so they were created as a joke but they’re still iconic in boyband history. We still find ourselves breaking out into their hit song “U + Me = Us (Calculus)”

3.  BBMak
Remember when they were on Even Stevens?  Pretty sure “Back Here” was also played on every single WB show.

4. O-Town
Apparently, this is already actually happening.  They recently launched a Twitter page and keep hinting at future music.

5. LMNT
We wanted to share the official music video here, because it’s amazing, but someone has managed to faceblock it from the internet.  In summary: the boys bring a boom box to the laundromat and dance around in their muscle tanks.

6. Dream Street
Baby.  JMAC.

7. LFO
Otherwise known as the Lyte Funky Ones, they made it impossible for a generation to say “Abercrombie & Fitch” without thinking of this song.  (or is that just us?)

8. The Original Menudo
with Ricky Martin.  If you’re into these pants, you can buy them now at American Apparel!  In the women’s department.

menudo-5

9. Boyzone
We’ve actually never heard of them before, but this is an amazing name, so yes.

10.  The Moffatts
This band has FOUR brothers!

11. S Club 7
This isn’t strictly a boyband, but they are still awesome.  Remember their show on ABC Family?

But really, WE JUST WANT AN *NSYNC REUNION!!  Please?

90s, Big Time Rush, Boy Bands, Boys We Like, Hunter Hayes, Music, NKOTB, On Tour

Top 10 Moments of 2013 – Part 2

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It’s almost time for 2014, so you know what that means – time to recap our favorite moments of 2013!  (We’re so original here).   As we mentioned before, 2013 was an awesome year for music, especially if you’re a secret fangirl.   Here are our favorite things that happened this year.  Check out Part 1 here.

5. Summer Break Tour

We were already thrilled that Victoria Justice was heading out on a summer tour, and the lineup got even better when it was announced she would be joining our favorite boy band, Big Time Rush!  The show was the perfect summer tour:  fun music and cute boys on a warm summer night under the stars.  What more could you ask for?!   BTR broke out their amazing dance moves, and Victoria’s “Shake” dance has a fun Zumba choreography.   Learn it here!  Openers Olivia Somerlyn and Jackson Guthy are ones to watch for in 2014.

4.  The Package Tour
It’s no secret that we love boybands, so a tour with three of the best ever on the same bill was like a dream come true!   98 Degrees, Boyz II Men and New Kids on the Block joined forces for one of the most entertaining tours of the year.  NKOTB have proved time and time again they still have the right stuff, we are pretty sure 98 Degrees haven’t aged a day since 2002, and who doesn’t love Boyz II Men’s 90s jams?  They all seem to get better and better with age.   And what comes with age is simply not caring what people think, and this is a beautiful thing.  If you haven’t seen NKOTB live, get to a show as soon as possible.

3.  Hunter Hayes

We expected big things from Hunter after winning Best New Artist at the CMAs last year and we were right.  He released the deluxe version of his debut album, “Encore,” this summer with new tracks like “I Want Crazy” and “A Thing About You.”  We had the chance to see him live and he does not disappoint.   We knew he would be amazing, but Hunter blew us away with his serious musicianship and his passionate performance.

2.  Justin Timberlake’s Return to Music

We’ve been impatiently waiting for the day JT would come back to his musical roots, and let’s face it, it wasn’t looking like it would happen anytime soon.  Little did we know JT had secretly recorded an album last summer and would be releasing it so soon after that thrilling “I’m Ready” teaser came out.  If you haven’t made it to a show on the 20/20 Experience World Tour, pay whatever amount you can find tickets for because JT is WORTH IT!  He performs for nearly 3 hours, plays every song you’d want to hear, and has a few surprises up his sleeve that we won’t ruin for you.  Just seriously, go.  You never know – it could be 7 years before you get the chance again!

1.  *NSYNC REUNITING AT THE VMAs!!!!

We could hardly believe it when the rumors started earlier that week.   Sure, it was only 90 seconds, but it was more *NSYNC than we’ve had in a decade!   And they’ve proved that they’ve still got it – if they were that great after just a few hours of rehearsal, imagine if they planned a full tour?  And man, we miss hearing JC Chasez’s voice.  We’re just keeping our fingers crossed for a full reunion tour.   We don’t mind waiting (Lance Bass announced his first solo single will be out in January!) as long as it happens!

Header image via James Maslow’s Instagram

90s, Austin Mahone, Big Time Rush, Boy Bands, Boys We Like, Hunter Hayes, Music, NKOTB, On Tour, Selena Gomez

Top 10 Moments of 2013 – Part 1

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It’s almost 2014, so you know what that means – time to recap our favorite moments of 2013!  (We’re so original here).   As we mentioned before, 2013 was an awesome year for music, especially if you’re a secret fangirl.   Here are our favorite things that happened this year.

10.  78Violet
After what seemed like years of talk, 78Violet, aka Aly & AJ, announced an official reunion and a new single, “Hothouse.”  We are loving their new sound!   They are very interactive with their fans, and had some adorable sister moments on stage at their Grammercy Theater show, like mixing up their mic-pacs and swapping them back on stage.   We also love Aly’s story about their song “53rd Floor” – she realized only after the song was finished she had gotten the floor number wrong. Oops!

9.  Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis were everywhere in 2013, and we would put “Can’t Hold Us” and “Thrift Shop” on any Best of 2013 list.   Their live show is just incredible with freestyle rapping, a full horn section, confetti blasters, and some serious crowd surfing.  Not to mention one of the most energetic performers we’ve ever seen!  Oh, and have you heard how Macklemore (aka Ben Haggerty) met his now fiance Tricia Davis?  Take notes: She had heard one of his songs on the radio, and sent him a MySpace message offering to make him a picnic, or so the legend goes.  She did, and they’ve been together ever since.    Fangirling at its finest.  We love it!

8. Jesse McCartney’s Comeback
We’ve been fans of J Mac since his days on “Summerland” and his first album.  Okay, we admit we were fans of Dreamstreet too.  (Remember them?)  He’s been focusing on acting lately, so we were stoked when he announced he would be joining the Backstreet Boys on their 20th Anniversary Tour.   Jesse let us know he’d been in the studio too, and released an EP, In Technicolor Part I, in December. Our favorite song is “Back Together”.

7.  Austin Mahone!
We discovered Austin by actually clicking on an “Amazon MP3 suggests” selection, and boy are we glad we did.   Talent, style, sweet dance moves? Austin is the complete package.  We were counting down the days until his headlining MTV Artist to Watch Tour in the fall, which was sadly postponed, but now means we’re just counting the days until it now kicks off in March!

6.  Selena Gomez Makes the Stars Dance
Selena returned to music this year with her album, “Stars Dance.”  This also marked the first time she released music without her band, The Scene.   Her music and performances are a throwback to early Britney (chair dances!!) and we are loving her pop-dance sound.   Say what you want about her,  but there is no denying the girl can dance and put on a good show.

Stay tuned for Part 2!