Backstreet Boys

When it comes to onstage spectacle, the Backstreet Boys don't mess around.Fireworks? Costume changes? Intricate, aerobicized choreography? The Backstreet Boys show had all that. Of course, so does almost every other big-time pop tour these days. In fact, it seems safe to say that the teen supergroup's audience anticipated at least as much eye-candy from the Boys as it sees daily on MTV.And the anticipation was considerable -- considering that the quintet's current "Millennium Tour" (which just finished a two-night stand in Washington)

I never set out to become a Backstreet Boys fan. Believe me. It's a lonely place to be. Sure, there are millions upon millions of fans out there. But all of them happen to be young girls between the ages of 7 and 13. Except, uh, me. I'll be 31 in a few days. And let me tell you, it's not easy being an adult fan of a teenybopper boy band. Not only am I mocked by each and every friend my own age, but I'm also shunned by young children. Young Backstreet Boys fans don't want me in their circle.

Records, they say, are made to be broken. But nobody expected the first-week CD sales record to be broken as quickly and decisively as 'N Sync did with its "No Strings Attached" album. The album went on sale last week, and by the end of its first day in stores, the 12-song CD had sold more than a million copies, doing in a single day what the previous record-holder -- the Backstreet Boys' album "Millennium" -- took a full week to do. Six days later, "No Strings" had racked up a whopping 2.4 million units sold, according to industry figures, more than double the 1.13 million sales of the Backstreet Boys album.

In an unprecedented show of popularity, the Backstreet Boys have sold all 765,000 tickets for their North American concert tour in just one day, generating an estimated $30 million.Tickets for the 11-week, 39-city arena tour, which kicks off Sept. 14 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., sold out as soon as they went on sale Saturday -- most within an hour.The box office activity for the Sears Presents Backstreet Boys Into the Millennium Tour, which runs through Dec. 2, is unprecedented in the concert business.

You have probably read my intro post for Baltimore Sports Blitz by now, and learned who I am and what I plan do to in this space. But this morning, I shot an impromptu introductory video with Baltimore Sun video guru Kevin Richardson (no, not the guy from the Backstreet Boys). Thanks to some slick editing from Kevin, the video turned out pretty well if you overlook me swaying back and forth for two-plus minutes. Thanks, Kevin, for masking my awkwardness. Look for more videos from me in the future.

Ticket watch Tickets are still available for: Soulfarm at the Eight by Ten Club Dec. 26. Call 410-625-2000. Jill Scott at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall Dec. 29. Call 410-481-SEAT. Jimmie's Chicken Shack at the 9:30 Club in Washington Dec. 31. Call 410-481-SEAT. Garnet Rogers at Baldwin's Station Jan. 11. Call 410-795-1041. The Hilton Ruiz Quintet at the Baltimore Museum of Art Jan. 14. Call 410-410-385-5888. David Sanborn at the Rams Head Tavern in Annapolis Jan. 25. Call 410-268-4545.

If the masses of swooning young girls who cry hysterically at the dreamy ballads and hip dance moves of the the Backstreet Boys scare you, you certainly don't want to see them deprived of tickets to see the slick, super-successful popsters on their upcoming tour."

"And the winner is ... Carlos Santana!" Expect to hear that phrase a lot when the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards telecast airs on Wednesday (live at 8 p.m., on CBS, Channel 13). It won't be simply because the veteran guitarist is the most-mentioned name on the Grammy ballot, with 11 nominations spread across 10 categories. No, Santana will probably make a Grammy sweep because he's the ideal Grammy candidate. To begin with, he's popular. "Supernatural," Santana's current album, has sold more than 6 million copies to date, and shot back to the top of the charts after the Grammy nominations were announced last month.

The Beatles' latest hits compilation didn't just humble the Backstreet Boys on the sales chart this week, but also set a record for the highest sales in a non-debut week since SoundScan began monitoring U.S. album sales in 1991. By selling 1.259 million copies last week, the Beatles' "1" beat by almost 200,000 the mark of 1.06 million set by Whitney Houston's "The Bodyguard" soundtrack in its fifth week of release in 1992. Normally, high-profile albums will start off strong, then see sales drop in subsequent weeks.

To hear Lance Bass tell it, he and the other members of 'N Sync are five of the hardest-working guys in show business.It isn't just that the quintet puts on a show with enough singing, dancing and eye-popping razzle-dazzle to rival the attractions at Universal Studios amusement park. As much work as the show may be, it's only part of the job of being in a teen sensation like 'N Sync."We never knew how difficult it would be," Bass says, over the phone from a tour stop in Albany, N.Y. "You just never imagine that it would really be a 24/7 job, that you would be on [24 hours a day, 7 days a week]