Givin' It Their All The Backstreet Boys' Rise To The Top

PROLOGUE: Meet the Boys! The fans have been waiting outside the hall for hours, maybe even since the night before. They are with their best friends, and perhaps with a parent or older sibling who has come along to make sure everything goes okay. They have been anticipating this night for weeks. Maybe they already stood in line outside this very hall for tickets weeks before. Maybe they dialed the telephone number for the ticket agency over and over again until they finally got through. Maybe they won the tickets in a local radio station contest. No matter how they got the tickets, the fact is that they _have_ these precious pieces of paper in their hands, and they are not letting them go until they must hand them to the ticket-taker, who will finally allow them into the hall. At last the gates open and the girls--thousands of them--are allowed in. The crowd surges forward once the buzz moves back to the farther reaches of the line that the time has come for these dedicated fans to be let in at last. After all, haven't they been waiting forever? It seems that way. Their tickets are ripped in half, and the fans race into the hall, cardboard signs, teddy bears, roses, and chaperones in tow. The wide-open space that was empty and silent just moments before now fills with thousands of people within minutes. The fans settle themselves in the best spot they can find, which with some luck has a decent view of the stage. The stage is set fairly high up, so even though thousands of people will be standing at the same level, they should be able to see well enough. But even though they have now staked out their positions, they must wait some more. It seems like an eternity. The noise in the hall increases as the thousands of people pour in. Soon chanting begins: "Back-street Boys. Back-street Boys." It starts softly, swells, reaches an ear-shattering, floor-stomping pitch, and then subsides again. It starts again a few minutes later, washing over the crowd in waves. Some people are singing snippets of songs. Others are climbing up on their friends' shoulders to get a better view of the stage and find out what is going on, but the only thing they see is roadies walking back and forth across the stage, moving equipment around, seemingly meaninglessly. When will they leave the stage so the show can begin? Finally the lights go down and the screaming starts. The fans don't even realize how loud they are; because they are so happy and excited, the screams and yells of delight just come out of their mouths spontaneously. The chanting begins again, only much louder than before. It continues nonstop for several minutes, people stamping their feet to keep the beat. They wave their signs high in the air and hold up sparklers and lighters, trying to will the Boys onto the stage. Spotlights start to pan over the crowd, momentarily lighting up the thousands of hands waving in the air, alternating between bathing them in bright white light and plunging them into darkness. The spotlights go out and a momentary hush falls over the crowd as the tiniest bit of music is heard. Ten, maybe twenty seconds of the song "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)," and then silence. A pause. More screaming. At last a man's deep voice is heard over the loudspeaker--a thunderous noise, even louder than the chanting. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to [whatever hall, stadium, forum, or center]! We have a very special show for you tonight!" Suddenly two huge screens above the stage light up, flashing larger-than-life baby and childhood pictures of the Boys as the announcer says the following: "And now we present A.J. ... Kevin ... B-Rok ... Howie D. ... and Nick! Ladies and gentlemen ...the Backstreet Boys!" Screams of joy fillRifkin, Sherri is the author of 'Givin' It Their All The Backstreet Boys' Rise To The Top' with ISBN 9780345482884 and ISBN 0345482883.