The Backstreet Boys held a concert in Beijing's Capital Gymnasium last night. It was the curtain-raiser to the 2006 concert season. 

The Backstreet Boys first came to China in 2004 and less than one and a half year's on, they were with us again, giving a hot and exciting performance.

Less than 20 percent of the seats were left empty last night. After a series of intense concerts at the end of 2005, the Backstreet Boys still commanded a large audience and were warmly welcomed.

The stage design was similar to last time. The audience sat in three stands surrounding the stage, with a special VIP area right in the middle. Although the whole design was simple, it did have its own special feature. Before the concert started, a catwalk show was organized to warm the audience up.

At half past seven the light show began, signaling the concert was starting right on time. Shouts and exclamations from the fans grew louder and louder as the Backstreet Boys appeared on stage. The singers began with a quick song and rose swiftly to a climax. One of the Boys, Nick, looks like he has grown a lot stronger than last year, which might have disappointed many of his female fans. Fortunately, his strong figure didn't weaken his ability to dance with the other band members.

After three hot songs, the five boys said hello in Chinese to the Beijing audience. Their short Chinese greeting inspired many more excited shouts.

There were not many new songs in the concert. Instead, the singers chose more of their old songs that were more familiar to Beijing fans. The concert lasted about two hours. It ended, successfully, with their most well-known song, Every body.

(CRI January 17, 2006)