Rewind to 1995.
Picture this. A group of young guys, goofing around, filming their first music video. They have hopes, dreams and high aspirations. Scenes being filmed in a gym, outside on a basketball field, performing live, creating mock radio interview introductions.
The date? August 19th, 1995.
The song? “We’ve Got it Goin’ On”
The band? The Backstreet Boys
“We’ve Got it Goin’ On” was the first song I heard by the guys many years ago. Nonetheless, I remember it as if it were yesterday. I spent hours on end watching MuchMusic and the various interviews and music videos played. It was actually late at night when I stumbled upon the video. The tune was catchy and the guys weren’t half bad either. I didn’t catch the name of the group but they haunted by thoughts for days. This was before I had internet access readily available and spent days watching music videos with hopes of seeing them again. I eventually did.
It wasn’t long after that I picked up their first album, the Canadian self-titled album that was released early in 1996. I was hooked. I remember spending many hours online that summer while visiting my sister. Having the internet at my fingertips was a new thing at that time and how many pictures I saved to floppy diskettes, no one will ever know.
Over the years I have spent countless hours invested in this fandom; from watching videos (how many times did I watch the Backstreet Boys: The Video VHS, you know… the one with the green cover) to creating websites (oh those were some interesting/horrible creations) to reading/writing fanfics (you know we all did at one time or other). But the greatest thing the guys ever gave me was the friends I have made. Without their music, I would have never been able to interact with people from all over the world. It is amazing to think that almost fifteen years ago I met an amazing group of girls through a fan fiction website (that sadly no longer exists). I’m still in contact with most of them (one of them is even a part of this website) and I actually ended up working with one of them in my profession a few years ago. We often laugh when people ask how we knew each other. It is definitely an interesting story to share.
One of the greatest memories I will always cherish is getting to see all five of them in concert last May as a part of their extended anniversary tour. I remember thinking I would never get to see them growing up. I was extremely excited to see them during their ‘Unbreakable’ tour. Seeing ‘This is Us’ is just put the icing on the cake. When they announced their anniversary tour I knew there was no way they would come back to Newfoundland. I was actually joking with a friend that we would have to fly to Nova Scotia to see them if they played there, never expecting it to happen. A few weeks later we had concert tickets, hotel booked, plane tickets bought and anxiously awaiting after party information.
It is things like having a favorite band/singer and amazing friends that we will remember in the years to come. No matter how good or bad things may seem many of us have found another family, even if we are millions of miles away from each other. To be honest I can’t imagine my life any other way. This is just one of the many things I am thankful for when I think about that restless night many years ago and those five dorks jumping around on stage singin’ and dancin’.
- By Melissa