Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter has said fans are nostalgic for the 1990s as the band prepares to embark on a world tour.
The group, formed in Orlando, Florida, in 1993, was one of the biggest acts of the decade, selling millions of records worldwide thanks to hits such as I Want It That Way, Everybody and As Long As You Love Me.
Backstreet Boys are one of the few bands to enjoy success after their peak and their ninth studio album, DNA, is out now while they are nominated for a Grammy ahead of next month’s ceremony.
Carter, who formed the Backstreet Boys with AJ McLean, Howie Dorough, Kevin Richardson, and Brian Littrell, said the band’s continued success could partly be down to nostalgia.
He said fans can attend a concert or listen to an album to “escape and relive some of the best times in their lives, late 90s early 2000s, great times, feel good times, with us”.
He told the Press Association: “There’s so many different facets to it and right now the 90s are coming back again, people miss those moments. People miss it.”
Carter, 38, suggested the world was still in a phase of “discovery” during the 1990s, in an age before social media and the proliferation of mobile phones.
He said: “Music during that time, from the pop standpoint, was really special. I might be biased but it was special because it was feelgood music.
“A lot of those teenagers during that time they were experiencing life, they were growing up. Everything was just happy and good and that’s why all these bands and groups came from that time.
“We’re the biggest example of what was at that time and we’re still here. That’s why it’s coming back. It was just a good time.”
Backstreet Boys picked up their eighth Grammy nomination for best pop duo/group performance, in recognition of their single Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.
Carter said he and his bandmates were “surprised but happy” at the news and he thought “that ship had sailed”.
He added: “It’s a dream of ours to win a Grammy after eight nominations but if it doesn’t happen, where we are right now and all we’re experiencing with our second coming, that’s the reward and we’re proud of that.”
The Backstreet Boys will embark on their DNA world tour in February, arriving in the UK and Ireland in June.
They will play six dates across Manchester, Dublin, Glasgow, Birmingham and London.
Carter, who has a two-year-old son, Odin Reign Carter with wife Lauren Kitt, said he is excited to return to the UK.
He said: “The UK, people don’t even realise, it gave the Backstreet Boys a career. Without the UK we would never have been the Backstreet Boys.
“For me, it’s like a second home – it is home. We’re so excited to see all of our old fans again ans those incredible faces and come back to the homeland that gave us everything.”
DNA is out now while tickets for the world tour are also on sale.