Why Backstreet Boys’ Brian Littrell Has a Stand Onstage at Sphere Concerts
One member of the Backstreet Boys is taking larger than life precautions.
As AJ McLean, Kevin Richardson, Howie Dorough, Nick Carter and Brian Littrell take the stage for their Into the Millennium residency at the Las Vegas Sphere, there’s one very noticeable addition to the group.
During the set, Brian and his bandmates go 75-feet in the air on a moving platform during the Millennium medley portion of their show. However, while all five members are strapped into a harness, he also has a metal support beam in front of him for the entirety of the performance.
Indeed, Brian has no shame in his added support as his fear of heights is well-known among the group.
“Brian hates that,” Nick told Entertainment Tonight in February while teasing the residency alongside his bandmates as Brian nodded in agreement. “He’s afraid of heights.”
Doubling down on his bandmate and cousin’s fear, Kevin emphasized, “He does not like heights.”
As for Brian, he used one of the band’s most iconic lyrics to confirm his feelings about being in the air with the group, quipping, “Tell me why?”
Fans have also had the “I Want It That Way” singer’s back when it comes to his stage accessory, with one unsuspecting attendee detailing how stressful it would be to soar into the air while afraid of heights.
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“For anyone going to the sphere who gets motion sickness or is afraid of heights, hold onto your butterfly clips it was amazing though,” one fan wrote on TikTok alongside a video of Brian performing onstage with the beam. “Do we think Brian is afraid of heights?? He was in the middle and was holding onto the bar for almost the whole time up there. I would be doing the same.”
While one commenter noted, “I definitely don’t blame him for holding on to something even if he wasn’t lol,” another recalled further proof that Brian has long spoken about his struggle with heights, chiming in with, “I have an old teeny bopper magazine from like 1999 with a q&a with Brian and in it he said heights are his biggest fear!”
Despite his fear, Brian wasn’t going to let it stop him from the once in a lifetime experience onstage.
“It’s a show like no other,” he told Entertainment Tonight earlier this year. “At the end of the day the venue is remarkable, it’s one of a kind. We can give our fans something different.”
For more on the Backstreet Boys and more iconic groups, keep reading…
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Backstreet Boys
Backstreet’s back, alright! The Backstreet Boys released their first album in 1996, and redefined the turn of the century with 1999 record Millennium. Thankfully, Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson are still touring and belting our favorite hits over two decades later.
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Spice Girls
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Hanson
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New Kids On the Block skyrocketed to fame in the late 1980s and the group reunited in 2011 for a throwback tour with The Backstreet Boys.
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One Direction
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The Wanted
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Girls Aloud
British pop group Girls Aloud made history as one of the first bands formed from a reality competition series. The year was 2002, the show was Popstars: The Rivals and the powerhouse vocalists were Sarah Harding, Cheryl (then known as Cheryl Cole), Nadine Coyle, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. Girls Aloud recorded 20 consecutive top 10 singles and four number ones, including “Sound of the Underground,” during their reign.
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