The This Is Us Tour was the eighth concert tour by American boy band, the Backstreet Boys. The tour promotes their seventh studio album, This Is Us (2009). The tour reached Europe, Asia, Australasia and the Americas. The tour was the second and final concert tour that the band had performed as a quartet before the original member Kevin Richardson returned on April 29, 2012.
Background With the announcement of their seventh studio album, the band reported they will spend the latter half of 2009 and all of 2010 on the road. The trek began in Europe in October 2009 and ended in South America in March 2011. Band member, Howie Dorough stated the tour was not a comeback tour, after the sluggish sales of their last album. He stated the band has matured during their nearly 20 years in the music industry. This maturity would be reflected in their album and upcoming tour. He was later interviewed by Jam!, where he stated the band were in tour rehearsals and this would be the first tour in which the group had background dancers since 2001. To promote the tour, the band did several promotional performances in the United States, Japan, Spain and Switzerland. Some performances were cancelled due to the member Brian Littrell contracting H1N1. To introduce the tour, Nick Carter stated:
"[It's] a pop show, dancing, singing, cool gags, just big energy, explosions. You get to see a group who hopefully you've liked through the years. We perform our biggest hits -- we've got 10 or 12 top 10 hits around the world that people know -- so we perform those as well as songs off our new record. It's just jam-packed. We've got four dancers and big production."
While on tour, it was announced the band will perform aboard Carnival Cruise Lines, Carnival Destiny with a show titled, "SS Backstreet"—done in similar vein to the New Kids on the Block and Boyz II Men. During the summer of 2010, the Backstreet Boys joined New Kids on the Block onstage at the Radio City Music Hall (as a part of NKOTB Casi-NO Tour), where the groups performed "I Want It That Way". Since the performance, the media began to circulate rumors of the two uniting for a tour in the summer of 2011. The tour is created by Live Nation Entertainment as an outlet to reignite the boy band fad in the United States.
The tour, named the NKOTBSB Tour, was officially announced on On Air with Ryan Seacrest. Due to demand, the Backstreet Boys continued their tour into 2011 with additional dates in South America and Asia.
Opening acts Ricki-Lee Coulter (Australia) J Williams (New Zealand) Mindless Behavior (North America) (select dates) Tino Coury (Pittsburgh show only) Madcon (London, O2 Arena) Dan Talevski (North America) (select dates) Shawn Desman (North America) (select dates)
Set list There was a concert DVD of the tour held in Japan.
indidicates what wasn't included in the DVD
Tour dates Date City Country Venue Europe October 30, 2009 Lisbon Portugal Pavilhão Atlântico October 31, 2009 Madrid Spain Palacio Vistalegre November 3, 2009 Newcastle England Metro Radio Arena November 4, 2009 Manchester Manchester Evening News Arena November 7, 2009 Glasgow Scotland Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre November 8, 2009 Birmingham England LG Arena November 9, 2009 Liverpool Echo Arena Liverpool November 10, 2009 London The O2 Arena November 12, 2009 Belfast Northern Ireland Odyssey Arena November 13, 2009 Dublin Ireland The O2 November 15, 2009 Rotterdam Netherlands Rotterdam Ahoy November 16, 2009 Oberhausen Germany König Pilsener Arena November 17, 2009 Zürich Switzerland Hallenstadion November 18, 2009 Munich Germany Zenith Munich November 20, 2009 Antwerp Belgium Lotto Arena November 22, 2009 Frankfurt Germany Jahrhunderthalle November 23, 2009 Berlin O2 World November 24, 2009 Milan Italy PalaSharp November 25, 2009 Bratislava Slovakia Sibamac Arena November 27, 2009 Zagreb Croatia Arena Zagreb November 29, 2009 Bamberg Germany Jako Arena November 30, 2009 Prague Czech Republic O2 Arena December 2, 2009 Helsinki Finland Hartwall Arena December 4, 2009 Stockholm Sweden Hovet December 5, 2009 Oslo Norway Oslo Spektrum December 6, 2009 London England The O2 Arena December 8, 2009 Copenhagen Denmark Valby-Hallen December 10, 2009 Saint Petersburg Russia Ice Palace December 11, 2009 Moscow Crocus City Hall December 13, 2009 Kyiv Ukraine Kyiv Palace of Sports December 15, 2009 Belgrade Serbia Belgrade Arena Asia December 17, 2009 Dubai United Arab Emirates Palladium Auditorium February 5, 2010 Saitama City Japan Saitama Super Arena February 6, 2010 February 7, 2010 February 9, 2010 Kobe World Memorial Hall February 10, 2010 February 11, 2010 February 14, 2010 Nagoya Nippon Gaishi Hall February 15, 2010 February 17, 2010 Tokyo Tokyo International Forum February 18, 2010 Nippon Budokan February 20, 2010 New Delhi India NSIC Exhibition Grounds February 21, 2010 Bangalore Bangalore Palace Grounds February 24, 2010 Seoul South Korea Melon-AX Hall February 25, 2010 Taipei Taiwan Taipei Arena February 27, 2010 Quezon City Philippines Araneta Coliseum February 28, 2010 Marina Centre Singapore SSICEC Convention Hall Oceania March 2, 2010 Perth Australia Challenge Stadium March 5, 2010 Melbourne Rod Laver Arena March 6, 2010 Sydney Sydney Entertainment Centre March 8, 2010 Brisbane Brisbane Entertainment Centre March 11, 2010 Auckland New Zealand Vector Arena Asia (Leg 2) March 14, 2010 Shanghai China Shanghai International Gymnastic Center March 15, 2010 March 17, 2010 Beijing Wukesong Indoor Stadium North America April 11, 2010 Napa United States Napa Valley Opera House May 23, 2010 New York City Highline Ballroom May 29, 2010 Miami Waterfront Theater May 31, 2010 Clearwater Ruth Eckerd Hall June 1, 2010 Orlando Hard Rock Live June 3, 2010 Atlanta Chastain Park Amphitheater June 4, 2010 Biloxi Studio A June 5, 2010 Valdosta All-Starr Amphitheater June 6, 2010 Raleigh Raleigh Amphitheatre June 8, 2010 Boston Bank of America Pavilion June 9, 2010 Vienna Wolf Trap Filene Center June 10, 2010 New York City Hammerstein Ballroom June 12, 2010 Atlantic City Etess Arena June 13, 2010 West Long Branch Multipurpose Activity Center June 15, 2010 Uncasville Mohegan Sun Arena June 17, 2010 Highland Park Ravinia Park Pavilion June 18, 2010 Clarkston DTE Energy Music Theatre June 21, 2010 Kansas City Midland Theatre June 22, 2010 Broomfield 1stBank Center June 23, 2010 Salt Lake City EnergySolutions Arena June 25, 2010 Temecula Pechanga Showroom Theater June 26, 2010 Los Angeles Gibson Amphitheatre June 27, 2010 San Francisco Warfield Theatre June 28, 2010 June 30, 2010 Reno Grand Theatre July 1, 2010 Fresno Save Mart Center July 2, 2010 Paradise The Beach at Mandalay Bay July 24, 2010 Boise Ann Morrison Park August 4, 2010 Wenatchee Town Toyota Center August 5, 2010 Kent ShoWare Center August 6, 2010 Vancouver Canada Rogers Arena August 8, 2010 Calgary Pengrowth Saddledome August 9, 2010 Edmonton Rexall Place August 11, 2010 Winnipeg MTS Centre August 14, 2010 Toronto Molson Amphitheatre August 15, 2010 Ottawa Scotiabank Place August 16, 2010 Montreal Bell Centre August 18, 2010 Halifax Halifax Metro Centre August 19, 2010 Saint John Harbour Station August 21, 2010 St. John's Mile One Stadium August 22, 2010 Baltimore United States Pier Six Concert Pavilion August 23, 2010 Lincoln Twin River Event Center August 25, 2010 Pittsburgh Trib Total Media Amphitheatre August 26, 2010 New York City Hammerstein Ballroom August 27, 2010 Cleveland Nautica Pavilion August 28, 2010 Cincinnati Riverbend Music Center December 8, 2010 Miami Byron Carlyle Theater December 9, 2010 Destiny Palladium December 10, 2010 December 11, 2010 December 12, 2010 December 13, 2010 South America February 18, 2011 Recife Brazil Chevrolet Hall February 20, 2011 Brasília Nilson Nelson Gymnasium February 23, 2011 Belo Horizonte Chevrolet Hall February 25, 2011 Rio de Janeiro Citibank Hall February 26, 2011 São Paulo Credicard Hall March 1, 2011 Buenos Aires Argentina Luna Park March 3, 2011 Santiago Chile Movistar Arena March 5, 2011 Lima Peru Jockey Club del Perú March 8, 2011 Quito Ecuador Coliseo General Rumiñahui March 10, 2011 Caracas Venezuela Terraza del CCCT North America (Leg 2) March 12, 2011 Panama City Panama Teatro Anayansi March 14, 2011 Zapopan Mexico Auditorio Telmex March 16, 2011 Mexico City Auditorio Nacional March 18, 2011 Monterrey Arena Monterrey Asia (Leg 3) March 24, 2011 Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam Quân khu 7 Stadium March 26, 2011 Hanoi Mỹ Đình National Stadium
Festivals and other miscellaneous performances This concert was a part of the "Jingle Bell Ball" These concerts were a part of "Rock 'n India" This concert was a part of the "Ravinia Festival" This concert was a part of the "Boise Music Festival" This concert was a part of "Mixfest" These concerts were a part of the "SS Backstreet"
Cancellations and rescheduled shows December 8, 2010Kyiv, UkraineKyiv International Exhibition CentreThis concert was moved to the Kyiv Palace of Sports for December 13, 2009December 13, 2009Minsk, BelarusMinsk Sports PalaceCancelled
Box office score data Venue City Tickets sold / available Gross revenueRotterdam AhoyRotterdam8,337 / 9,547 (87%)$482,526Lotto ArenaAntwerp4,427 / 4,932 (90%)$286,971Rod Laver ArenaMelbourne6,950 / 7,775 (89%)$504,644Sydney Entertainment CentreSydney5,731 / 6,000 (95%)$422,461Brisbane Entertainment CentreBrisbane2,629 / 2,850 (92%)$202,174Waterfront TheaterMiami4,491 / 4,539 (93%)$178,703Ruth Eckerd HallClearwater1,683 / 1,983 (89%)$94,181Multipurpose Activity CenterWest Long Branch3,278 / 4,013 (82%)$140,105Mohegan Sun ArenaUncasville3,909 / 4,332 (80%)$136,360DTE Energy Music CenterClarkston15,196 / 15,196 (100%)$213,930Warfield TheatreSan Francisco3,701 / 4,500 (82%)$192,305Save Mart CenterFresno3,519 / 6,345 (55%)$121,482Rexall PlaceEdmonton5,037 / 10,000 (50%)$284,200Bell CentreMontreal9,963 / 12,200 (82%)$608,379Halifax Metro CentreHalifax3,016 / 3,770 (80%)$168,105Harbour StationSaint John2,547 / 3,184 (80%)$146,500Mile One StadiumSt. John's3,418 / 4,727 (72%)$194,186Nilson Nelson GymnasiumBrasília3,498 / 13,300 (26%)$255,867Chevrolet HallBelo Horizonte2,972 / 6,000 (49%)$204,077Citibank HallRio de Janeiro5,782 / 8,433 (68%)$420,523Credicard HallSão Paulo6,462 / 6,949 (93%)$644,205Luna ParkBuenos Aires6,339 / 8,293 (76%)$461,184Movistar ArenaSantiago9,689 / 12,676 (76%)$614,488Jockey Club del PerúLima8,077 / 9,000 (90%)$399,201Coliseo General RumiñahuiQuito9,931 / 11,070 (90%)$529,751Terraza del CCCTCaracas3,962 / 5,600 (65%)$453,926Teatro AnayansiPanama City2,508 / 2,806 (71%)$144,581Total 179,522 / 199,703 (89%) $10,932,123
Broadcasts and recordings For the live DVD, the concert at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan was filmed on February 18, 2010, and sold through Japanese websites. It was released under the title "Backstreet Boys: This Is Us Japan Tour 2010."
Critical reception Overall, the tour received positive feedback from music critics in each region the band toured. The quartet received a four of five star review from Kate Watkins (City Life). She writes, "Show Me The Meaning Of Being Lonely demonstrated the tight vocals they have developed over the last decade. And just to inform pop music sceptics they sang live and didn't mime even though the show was laced with energetic choreography."