The Backstreet Boys took the Strip by storm when they launched their Larger Than Life resident show at the Axis in March, and Nick Carter has been embracing his Las Vegas life since then. He moved to the Southern Highlands neighborhood about seven months ago.
What have you learned about Las Vegas since moving here? I’ve been touring since I was 12 years old, so I’ve always enjoyed living in different places and making discoveries, and here I’ve discovered the people are really nice. Coming from LA where everyone seems aggravated all the time, the people here are really chill, and it creates a calm environment. And [they’re] very resilient ... the Vegas Strong thing really holds true.
How do you assess the success of the show at Planet Hollywood so far? We’re always trying to make it better, finding ways to maybe restructure some of the content, make it more seamless and as entertaining as it can possibly be. We’re always trying to outdo ourselves. But I think from the outside, people are really satisfied and maybe even kind of blown away. We’re very grateful, and it’s serious business to us. For the past two weeks I’ve been in the gym training and preparing. The show is intense, and there’s so much to it, and we need to look good and feel good to have the strength and energy to endure it. And in Las Vegas, it’s important that people leave satisfied and [feel] their money was well spent.
How is the performance experience different from being on tour? There was a time in the late ’90s when I think we were really on top of our game—we had the albums out and all the hit singles and were able to put on an incredible show with all the bells and whistles and take it on the road. Now things have changed in the marketplace, and it’s harder to do that. Vegas offers us the chance to bring that back, for us and our fans to relive that thing that we are best at doing. We want to be that pinnacle Backstreet Boys show from that time, which is what everybody remembers. Backstreet Boys: Larger Than Life at the Axis at Planet Hollywood, November 10-18.
