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I admit, I was a huge Backstreet Boys fan back in the day. I attended every concert, bought every CD, wore their T-shirt and wrote them fan mail.
That's why it saddens me that their latest music video, "Bigger," made me laugh really hard, and not in a good way.
In it, the four-member group (remember, Kevin Richardson left to start a family?) goes on adventures in Japan, including playing video games, singing karaoke and looking wistfully out of a cab window at all the glittering lights. The guys look like four middle-agers who are still trying to play the part of boy band members, when all I'd really like to see is them pick up some instruments and transition to a real band.
The video has nothing to do with the song lyrics, which tell of the singers being intimidated by the objects of their affections. They also bash themselves in the process, admitting they're liars and clowns with huge egos. Not exactly the best way to present yourselves to fans, eh, especially considering the group's fans fall in the adult contemporary category now.
Thankfully, if you close your eyes hard enough, the upbeat pop track sounds like it would fit perfectly with the Boys' earlier stuff. But when you open them, A.J. McLean's overloaded guyliner will just make you wonder if he needs another trip to rehab.
Hey, at least Nick Carter looks like he's in decent shape, and that's nothing to laugh at.
If the Boys still manage to make you swoon, their new album, This Is Us, is out now.
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