Backstreet Boys turned down Super Bowl halftime show

11 June 2021

The Backstreet Boys turned down the chance to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show.

Backstreet Boys

The 'I Want It That Way' hitmakers sang the US National Anthem at the 2001 NFL flagship game in Tampa, Florida, while the mid-game entertainment was provided by *NSYNC, Aerosmith and Britney Spears, but Nick Carter has revealed things could have been very different.

He told 'Entertainment Tonight': "It's interesting because we were presented the opportunity to perform at the halftime at the Super Bowl and it was in Tampa, my home town.

"At the time we came from the era of, we loved the Whitney Houston rendition of the national anthem. And for us, we got the choice and we passed on the halftime.

"But it was a memorable experience for everyone. And everyone was able to share [the stage] and *NSYNC did a great job at halftime, and I like to say we did a really good job at the national anthem as well."

But Nick is still hopeful Backstreet Boys could be offered the gig again in future, and thinks it would be "pretty cool" if they shared the stage with *NSYNC, as was originally planned.

Referencing the lyrics to 'Shape of My Heart', he said: "Looking back on the things we've done… Would I have switched? I want to do it in the future. I say maybe another halftime when the Bucs go back to the Super Bowl.

"And that again is going back to the era we came from, the late '90s. It was a really beautiful time and I think everybody wants that again.

"They want that feeling coming out of this, everything that we have gone through together and society for the past year and a half. We want to be a part of that story, of love and growth and just coming out of the dark."

Speaking about the 'Bingo Under the Stars' event he and bandmate AJMcLean are hosting with *NSYNC's Lance Bass and Joey Fatone in Los Angeles later this month, he added: "Maybe it's the first of many things to come and, hey, if they want us to do a halftime at the Super Bowl, I'll tell you what, there's only one Backstreet Boys and there's only one *NSYNC, and I think we do pretty well at it."