Drake with an inset of the Backstreet Boys. Shutterstock (2)
OMG, they’re back again — and they have a new member! During the Backstreet Boys‘ Toronto, Canada, concert, they enlisted Drake for a special duet.
In the middle of BSB’s Saturday, July 2, concert, fans were surprised when the band — comprised of AJ McLean, Kevin Richardson, Brian Littrell, Nick Carter and Howie Dorough — covered Drake’s “Hold On, We’re Going Home” before the “Hotline Bling” rapper, 35, joined them on stage.
“Toronto, I want you to make some noise, and I want you to sing this song as loud as you possibly can,” the Canada native told the crowd, per social media footage. “[‘I Want It That Way’] is one of the greatest songs in music history. I’ll be on stage for it. I’ll try to sing along too.”
The band posted the full clip of their rendition of the 1999 single via Twitter on Saturday, writing, “What’s better than ‘I Want It That Way’?” In the footage, Drake hit the track’s impressive high notes before BSB pretended to bow down to him. The men all ended up embracing when the number was finished.
What’s better than I Want It That Way?
I Want It That Way…. f/ @Drake #BSBTO #DNAWORLDTOUR pic.twitter.com/pKVQK2XtDN
— Backstreet Boys (@backstreetboys) July 3, 2022
“When she says she’s over men in this generation and asks why I live alone,” Drake jokingly captioned Instagram footage from his concert cameo.
The boy band — whose stars are currently on their “DNA World Tour” — was formed in 1993, soon rocketing to fame thanks to chart-topping singles including “Everybody,” “Larger Than Life” and “I Want It That Way.”
While the band eventually went their separate ways in 2008, they’ve since reunited to release new records, hit the road on tour and during a limited Las Vegas residency.
“It seems wild to me because it’s so close to 30 [years],” McLean, 44, exclusively told Us Weekly in April 2020. “We’ve been talking about, obviously, going back to Vegas at some point and now it’s kind of ironic because a couple of us were like, what if we wait until our 30th? At the rate we’re going, the timing might work out kind of perfectly.”
The Dancing With the Stars alum further opened up about the group’s enduring bond.
“I’m not trying to dog my other bandmates but Howie and I have always — every holiday, we used to always exchange gifts. Now, we’re calling each other to wish our kids a happy birthday,” he told Us at the time. “Brian has never missed either one of my daughters’ birthdays. Him and his wife and [son] Bailey, they do three-part harmony! They do it like clockwork every year.”
