Okay...so where was I? Ah yes, just wrapping up Howie's event. Standing in that same spot on the pool deck for a couple hours, waiting patiently for the Q&A!
Q&A
I always love the Q&A- one of my favorites. I'm thrilled they brought it back. It's so simple but so hilarious. And I always learn something new. The boys trickled onto the stage and Nick came strolling out with a pack of peanut butter M&Ms, which I was surprised he was eating. But he was munching on those throughout the session and starting throwing them into the audience. I thought most of the questions were good, original questions I hadn't heard before. A few exceptions, but for the most part a great Q&A.
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| Nick and his M&Ms |
The highlight of the Q&A for me was when not 1, but 2 of my questions got answered! I was so excited!! Though I feel I should clarify, I personally did not submit both questions; I had my roommate, Cory, submit one of them on my behalf. Thanks girlie! So the question that Cory submitted for me was, "How well do you recognize your fans. Who's the best and who's the worst at it?" Their response was maybe not quite was I was expecting. They all claimed to be good at it, and I'm not sure I buy that. Nick stated, "If I meet you like 10 times I'll get your name." Umm, no, Nick. One of the big reasons I wanted to ask this is because after every event I got to, someone will inevitably ask me, "They must recognize you by now" and then I have to explain to them that they see hundreds of thousands of girls every day. So even though it wasn't the answer I was expecting, I was still happy to hear my question get asked and get some form of an answer.
Boys answering my first question- how well do you recognize the fans?
And just a couple minutes later I hear Jen reading "Laura from Rockville....If we went to your computer now, what would be the last 3 websites we'd see in your browser history." Oh I was so excited to hear my name get called!! This question seemed a lot more successful- both the fans and the boys seemed to enjoy it. Jen even tried to cut Nick off and he enthusiastically was still answering. I also feel like I got some info out of it and some good laughs.
Boys answering my second question- what are the last 3 websites in your browser history?
So those were the two highlights of the Q&A for me. But there were still so many other great moments. Here are a few of my other fave parts:
What's the most embarassing thing in your house?
Nick- "Me....I'm telling you, when I walk around and look in the mirror I'm like 'Damn, that's embarrassing."
After 20 years together, what is the one thing about each of the guys that irritates you the most?
AJ- "Well there is one thing I think that overall that bothers all of us and bothers you guys as well, this thing called Backstreet Time. That irritates the shit out of me."
If you had to marry one of the other boys, who would you marry?
Brian- "I would die an old maid"
Howie- "My hand would be my best friend."
Which song are you most sick of performing after all the years singing it over and over?
Kevin- "I would say The One. Sorry- I just don't like that song very much. So tonight when you see me singing it, you'll know"
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| Kevin's thinking face |
If you could redo a music video, which one would it be and why?
Kevin- Are you guys tired of us singing in fields? Are you tired of us standing on the mountain tops singing? Are you tired of us staring into the camera going like this *makes funny seductive face*
If you were stranded on a desert island, which BSB album would you want to have and why?
Nick (said very emphatically)- "First of all, I wouldn't want to have a BSB album. Sorry I mean, you're on an island by yourself.
What were some favorite memorable moments on this leg of the IAWLT tour? What were some of the worst?
Kevin- I ripped my ass out twice on tour. In Irvine and Vegas I ripped my pants out. That was embarrassing.
I only had to put this one because I was there for that moment. It was so funny watching Kev's reaction as well as the other guys just laughing away in the background.
Also, Kevin confirmed a second US leg in this question, so that's super exciting!
If you had the chance to ask the fans anything you want?
Howie- "And where do you get your money to come and see us so much. What do you guys DO? Drug dealers or something? What are you guys?"
Howie, I ask myself this very question
Overall- loved the Q&A! As I said before, always one of my faves.
The only other interesting thing to point out is that Brian seemed oddly
quiet and subdued. Definitely not the Brian we're used to. Meanwhile I
thought Howie had some great lines. I may have missed some of them the
first time around, but he had some good moments.
Cover Story with Kevin
As soon as the Q&A ended I ran over to the atrium to get a good spot for Kev's solo event. I was expecting to sit and chat with my friends for the next hour or so to kill time, but in a pleasant turn of events Kevin showed up early for a little mini soundcheck. Bonus Kevin time- score! During his soundcheck he hopped on the piano and played a few notes. Then he played all of Incomplete while the entire atrium sang along. It was actually one of the highlights of the cruise for me. Such a beautiful moment in its simplicity.
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| Kevin playing Incomplete |
He continued with his soundcheck and sang a few lines from a couple different songs, one of which 'Shes Got a Way,' which holds a personal special place in my heart and made my tear up. Oh geez, I honestly thought Kevin would cry before I did! I'm partly happy he didn't sing it his actual set or I would've lost it, but partly upset I didn't get to hear his full rendition.
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| Really cool vibe for Cover Story with Kevin in the atrium |
After he finished soundcheck he left to go change and the atrium continued to fill up. He didn't keep us waiting too long, he came back cleaned up, now wearing a sports jacket and introduced us to Cover Story. The concept of his event was to sing cover versions of songs that were meaningful to him. He even said that he's was playing around with the idea of releasing those songs that meant a lot to him, and if he did it would be in an album called 'Cover Story'. So basically a one-man type of show. Now he warned us in the beginning of his set that he would get emotional, and he did. So lets play a game....guess how many times Kevin got choked up and/or teary eyed. I'll give you a hint, he played for 32 minutes. Answer- 6 times. Oh Kev.
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| Kev singing his heart out |
During his set he sang Watching the Wheels by John Lennon, Can't Make You Love Me by Bonnie Raitt, Back to Your Heart by BSB, Forever in My Life by Prince, and Danny's Song by Kenny Loggins. In between each song he gave some background on why he chose this song and why it holds so much meaning to him. It was quite lovely. Here are clips of my favorite moments:
Favorite moment #1- Back To Your Heart. Self-explanatory why its a fave.
Favorite moment #2- Kevin trying like 4 times to get through Danny's
Song. Such a touching performance. "I love this verse. I gotta get it
out."
This was another one of my favorite events. The event suited him very well and I loved the vibe of him performing in the main atrium with the piano and the lighting. It all just worked! I think I particularly enjoyed this because on a regular cruise I could see myself sitting in a lounge listening to the piano; and I was doing just that here but it also happened to have Kevin singing along. It was a nice chill event amid the craziness of everything else going on. I would love to see him do this again.
After Cover Story was finished we had missed the beginning of dinner. So my friends and I went up to the lido buffet for a quick bite before the concert. During dinner they actually came over the PA system and announced the winners of the door decoration contest. I always know it's a long shot for a win, but I always hold out a tiny bit of hope. Alas, our door did not get called. There were 3 winners this year; here are 2 of them. If anyone knows what the third winner was, please let me know!
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| Door decoration winner |
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| Door decoration winner |
In a World Like This Concert
Next on the action-packed agenda was the In a World Like This concert. Now I had already seen the show on tour, but I was excited to see if and how they would change it up. The main difference to the setlist was the addition of Shape of My Heart. That was a nice surprise! Apparently I'm really easy to please.
I loved the concert, even though I had seen the show before, it was so different! Overall it had a much more laid-back, fun vibe. I think it helped we were on the cruise and that it was the last night. They seemed really not to care.
A few of my fave moments:
AJ doing an reprise of Lay Down Beside Me during his intro.
The boys singing a beautiful impromptu version of Free
Falling....followed by a less beautiful and more dirty version of Free
Falling.
Intros to the acoustic set. Nick makes fun of Hanson. Howie went through
puberty with his voice cracking. And Howie making a new joke about his
guitar.
Nick, Howie & AJ being inappropriate during the Shape of My Heart intro
Overall a really fun concert- no complaints at all! Plus I'd call it a borderline comedy show at points.
Bachelorette Night
Ohh- the final event of the cruise, always bittersweet. I went into this night, really unsure on what to expect. I guess I should start with my ensemble. I'm not the type to be into getting all dressed up and donning penis paraphernalia- so my girlfriends and I made another t-shirt instead. Tagline 'Girls will be Girls.'
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| Girls will be Girls |
By this time in the cruise my feet felt like they were going to fall off. I remember looking around at other girls in their heels and my feet were hurting just looking at them. But props to those of you who can pull it off! We were waiting a while for the boys to show up and when they did- they made quite the spectacular entrance...
I really don't even know how to really describe this night in words. Lets just say Brian certainly didn't pick this theme! It was your average deck party times 10. Okay, maybe times 20. I think the guys were a lot more interactive, for the most part they really embraced the theme. Howie and Kev were both doing a lot of pictures and autographs throughout the evening while Nick & AJ seemed to be primarily working the crowd. Not sure where Brian was. Granted- I feel like he was kinda MIA for a lot of the cruise. He didn't seem like his normal outgoing self. But back on track...the night consisted of a lot of dancing, throwing beads out into the audience, having fun with random props, pouring shots in fans' mouths, which by the way would not have been a pretty picture if that were me. I dont do shots.
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| Kevin really seemed to like that sailor outfit |
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| Howie with...you guessed it, alcohol. And apparently money of himself?? |
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| Brian having a good laugh |
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| Nick at bachelorette night |
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| Nick wearing 2 bras |
One of my fave parts was when they sang Get Down and did the 'Get Down' dance.
Get Down
Nick seemed to have the most fun with all the props that girls brought- from oversized bras to penis-shaped water guns. In fact- he was having a bit too much fun with that water fun, putting liquor in there at one point. Here he is trying to show Brian how much fun he was having....
Nick and Brian goofing around
At one point in the evening AJ attempted to start the longest conga line in history. He even admitted it would either be the best or worst idea he had. Honestly I'm not sure how that ever turned out, but I give them props for trying.
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| AJ with his inappropriate shirt, that also has a ton of holes in it |
Bachelorette night was definitely an awesome way to end the cruise with a bang. It was one of those nights that I'm honestly not sure how they'll top. After that I begrudgingly went back to my cabin, took down the door decoration and packed. I think taking down the door decoration is when it really sucks the most, not sure why. I guess to me it symbolizes it all being over. All the anticipation, the buildup, the hardwork, all gone in a just a few minutes.
Really nothing else much worth mentioning after bachelorette night. Just an early wake-up and debarkation the next morning. No other BSB sightings. I heard a few fans were lucky and ran into the guys at the airport. Now I will say that my friends and I went to Fort Lauderdale for a couple days afterward and literally did nothing but sit by the pool and eat. It was spectacular and I'm definitely doing this again. We stayed at a nicer hotel and just had a chance to relax and retell all of our stories. It just really helped with the "backstreet hangover" and ease me back into real-life.
And so the 20th Anniversary BSB cruise comes to an end. Another amazing time at sea with my Backstreet Boys and my backstreet girls!
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| Until Next Time! |
