#TeamLittrell When the Fandom Lets You Down... Find this Post

Almost two years ago, I wrote this post. I never really followed up on the first part. Because something happened because of that Instagram post that was incredible!

For a little history lesson, read this post.

After you've done that, lemme tell you this. I lost everything in the fire. The only thing I really wanted to replace was my CD collection. It took me FOREVER to find Brian's solo album. Amazon and eBay were NOT my friends at that time. I downloaded it from Amazon after his post that night, but I still wanted the physical copy of the album for my car.

So after Brian locked his comments on the post, I went to his Facebook to see what happened. Over the course of a few comments (because comments were still open on Facebook), I found a fan who was interested in my story. I wasn't fishing, but we got to talking. I told her how I couldn't find Brian's solo album for less than $30 (at that time). She was shocked. She said she had it on her shelf and she felt bad it was gathering dust. So she asked for my address.

Four days later, this came in the mail:

This fan who didn't know me from the next person on the street sent me HER copy of this album, no questions asked. No cash exchanged. NOTHING!

To me, THIS is what the fandom is all about. Fans helping fans. 

So when the fandom lets me down and starts doing crazy things like they've been doing lately towards Brian, THIS is the story that reminds me that there are people out there who are kind and caring and will help others.

And all that being said, I used to be able to listen to this album STRAIGHT THROUGH without skips. I can't do that anymore. There are two songs that break my heart; one song I did to myself, the other just makes me bawl. But I still LOVE this album. I miss having my still sealed copy. And I miss this one the most: 

Yep. A signed copy of it. *sigh* Oh well. That one may never be replaced. But at least I have one copy again.

FanGirl Friday: SQUEE!!!!

SO MUCH SQUEE in this FanGirl Friday, you may want to cover your ears! So, by now you've heard:

DNA WORLD TOUR RESCHEDULED!

Yes, the tour has been rescheduled! I was literally in a work meeting and THANKFULLY we were in a breakout room. But I feel bad for my team because their leader squealed like a crazy woman! So anyway, I was in this room with my staff, and my phone buzzed beside me. I glanced at it and saw that it was the BSB Insider so I opened it. And literally squealed on camera! Yeah, GREAT impression to make! But they'll get to know me and how crazy I am!

Anyway, so my Facebook Timeline has essentially EXPLODED BSB! Yes, everyone has to repost what the guys posted 8 bazillion times! But that's okay! One thing I can say for this reschedule is it is LONG! It starts on June 7 and goes to September 12! It's ALL SUMMER!

So here is the video:

And then here is the image of the dates:

I'm super excited that my rescheduled date is a Saturday! I might be able to go! I hadn't bought my tickets yet because I was trying to figure things out and then it got postponed so I waited. And now, yes, I do still have some stuff to figure out but I would LOVE to see them again! So now I just wait a bit and see what happens. Hopefully, I'll be able to get tickets after summer work and be all ready for the crazy that is ANOTHER BSB show!

Quarantined: Too Much Love! Is that a Thing?

What a weekend! First thing's first, let's talk CMT Music 12 Pack Countdown. BAYLEE WAS NUMBER 4!!!!!! OMG! We are moving this boy up the chart!!!! Woohoo! And while we're talking about, GO VOTE!

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Number 4 y’all! Let’s keep it up! #cmt12packcountdown

A post shared by Baylee Littrell (@bayleelittrell_music) on May 23, 2020 at 5:52pm PDT

And then on Saturday, Brian decides to BLESS us with a video of Bay being Bay, his gorgeous wife, and a shirtless pic of him!

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#weekending in Littrellville.... 🤣 #iloveyoubaby thank you for the deliciousness..... 🤪

A post shared by Brian Littrell (@rokspics) on May 23, 2020 at 1:23pm PDT

Can life get better????

Why, yes! Yes it can! Saturday afternoon I got word of Bay doing a Live Instagram. I was bummed because it was right over dinner time for me. Well, apparently, they were having technical difficulties. Because when this live DID happen on Sunday, Bay was having all kinds of sound drops and blurriness! But it continued! Yeah, it was a short one, maybe 15 minutes but he sang "Some Guys" which is definitely growing on me the more he performs it! The first shot is from another Instagram user and then the rest are my screenshots. *sigh* God I needed this!

FanGirlFriday: Not Very FanGirl Feeling

This is not the happiest of FanGirl Fridays on the planet. Why? Well, Tuesday THIS announcement came:

Honestly, I was expecting it. They had had two of their shows postponed (Hollywood and Lexington) by the venues. They had to say something soon or else more was going to get out before they did it themselves.
My show was supposed to be August 16. I hadn't bought my tickets. Why? Well, I didn't have everything worked out yet. See, it's hard when you are a single mom working to support your family. Everything has to line up for things like this. Yeah, I did sit in my leadership team meeting with my tablet and phone out in the "waiting room" for FanClub presale. But I didn't buy. I didn't even buy on Valentine's Day when the main sale opened up. And now, well, I guess I'll just wait until next week to see what they say about rescheduled dates. Hopefully, I'll be able to go then.

FanGirl Friday: Baylee's Second Helping!

Monday, I was in Zoom meetings all morning. When I Zoom, I always have my phone with me just in case my staff has to get in touch with me while I'm doing things. Well, one of the great things in following BSB and Baylee on YouTube is that I usually get alerts when they drop something new. This time, I didn't. But I knew something was coming from Baylee because he had teased it on his Instagram on Saturday.

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Hey y'all, for those of you who've seen #BayleeLittrellHomemade and want a second helping, we're releasing four new videos this #Monday on my Youtube at www.youtube.com/bayleelittrellmusic 📺

A post shared by Baylee Littrell (@bayleelittrell_music) on Apr 25, 2020 at 11:38am PDT

Anyway, I was in my meeting and when I finished I decided to check Baylee's YouTube page. Low and behold, there are the 4 videos! They became my playlist for the next 30 minutes while I worked on stuff.

So here is your "Second Helping" of "Baylee Littrell: Homemade!"

 My fav! "Nobody Tells Ya" Love this version!

"Dirt and Gold" is just to die for!

"Why Did You Leave" is amazing!

"Stuck in the Middle" is quickly becoming my new fav original of his!

FanGirl Friday: Digital Repop

As you may know, I lost everything, including my BSB CD collection. (See this post for a refresher.) When I bought my car a year ago, it HAD to have a CD player. The only CDs that survived the fire were whatever was in my car, which happened to be Unbreakable, This is Us, and NKOTBSB. I have been slowly replacing all my CDs. And with the help of my friends, I have finally accomplished it! I've had some pretty awesome things happen over the course of getting this collection replaced.

Like being able to get Brian's Welcome Home CD because Brian went all comment lock-down on an Instagram post. (I talked about it here.) Yeah, that was kinda cool. I got to chatting with a fan on his FB page about it and how I had two copies of it. I can even picture the one I had sitting on my nightstand the morning of the fire that was unopened. And we got to talking and she said she had a copy and would send it to me!

I also had my BSB Tribe send me the rest of the CDs to complete my collection. That was pretty awesome! It was a complete surprise that they did that for me!

The coolest thing with that is I finally listened to In a World Like This. Yes, I'll admit, I hadn't listened to that album AT ALL! See, I got it back in 2013 when it came out. But I left my ex shortly afterward. I don't know what happened to that album. But I have now finally listened to it!

Probably the strangest thing that transpired over the course of this journey happened when I tried to replace the original Backstreet Boys album from 1994/95 era. (i.e. The Red Album.) I got with a couple of ideas in mind. One, hearing Nick sing all high pitched pre-pubescent on "Let's Have a Party." And two, hearing Brian sing BOTH verses on "Quit Playin' Games."

So I got the album from the post office and popped it in my car. The first indication that something was wrong should have been that my car "read" the album. It was literally telling me the songs on the display. But then when I got to "Quit Playin' Games," that's when I noticed something wrong. Nick sang the second verse! Yep! I got a digital repop of this album! *sigh* Oh well, I guess I'll take it. My chances of finding an original like I had are extremely slim!

27 Years!

I cannot believe I am writing this post! How is it that these guys have been doing this for 27 years? It just amazes me!

A little history lesson here. Let's get it from THE Boy's mouth that it happened to!

Brian was the last member to join. And he's my favorite. He has been since 1999. Yes, I have been a fan since 1999. The Millennium era. *sigh*

But, I have known about them for longer. See, back in 1992, I seem to remember a blurb on my Top 40 station. The DJ said that he had found an ad that said a guy in Orlando, Florida was looking for singers to form a New Kids on the Block type group. Why is this relevant to BSB history? Because when you ask Nick how old he was when he met the guys, he always says "12." Nick and I are the same age. So if Brian didn't join until 1993, he would've been 13.

Anyway, here's Brian and Nick talking about the day they first met. (This is from the Singapore concert. Brian actually drops the date.)

These guys hold a special place in my heart. Why? I'm not entirely sure. They are real, down to earth guys. They're all dads. They're amazing at what they do.

I mean, who would've thought that we would have "eras" of the Boys! The "Millennium Era," the "Vegas Era," the "Era without Kevin," the "NKOTBSB Era," etc! It's just incredible! And now we are in a NEW "era": DNA! How blessed we are to be living in a world like this. (No pun intended.)

The only thig I know is that I will always be a fan.

Quarantined: Live with the Littrells

Friday, Brian and Leighanne blessed us fans with a video on Brian's accounts. They called it "Cooking with the Littrells." OMG! It was the best thing in the world! They were making a scramble. Yes, I call it a scramble because it wasn't just scrambled eggs. And I learned something new, Brian doesn't like onions! And Leighanne loves potatoes and Baylee loved the movie Cars when he was little!

And they were just so adorable! Bay was recording and he was so picking on Dad the whole time!!! I could watch them all day! So you wanna watch it, go to Brian's Facebook page. Gosh, they are just too cute together!

Saturday, Baylee and his fam went LIVE on like, everywhere, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. Of course, they seem to run on Brian's watch (i.e. Backstreet Time) so they started late. It was absolutely amazing! They got up to about 600+ on the Facebook Live (where I was watching). The only problem with that is that if they got over 500, I would buffer like crazy! So I totally missed the end! :( But the best thing with it also being on YouTube and Facebook Live is that it was recorded!

Anyway, I really love that he had Alex with him. Fun fact that we learned about Alex, he sang harmony on "Let Her Go." This whole set was like an acoustic dream set! It really kinda took me back to my meet & greet with him. (Read about that here.) And King Willard even popped in!!! It was great!!!! And the fact that they have their own nurse and doc come by their house does not surprise me, even though they are Alex's parents! Very cute that Bay needs glasses and he NEEDS TO WEAR THEM! God, he would probably look so cute! And Dad on percussion is just amazing!

This is his setlist: (*Unreleased Original)

Don't Knock It

Some Guys

Why Did You*

Come Kiss Me

Let Her Go

Nobody Tells Ya

Boxes

Stuck in the Middle*

The fact that Brian and Baylee did "Come Kiss Me" made my whole heart happy! And I found out it's a Gary Baker song! Gosh, he wrote so many of those songs I loved when I was deep into country music. And "Nobody Tells Ya" in this version was just Ah-MAZE-ing! I've already had to watch this hour-long set again (because I missed stuff). I loved that they did it on the patio and it was all professional-ish because I would expect nothing less from them! They did a bunch of questions. between every couple of songs. Though I will say that his writing process can be hilarious at times.

This whole thing just totally made my heart happy. I could watch this family all day. Their videos, their singing, their stories. Gosh, I hope they do more!

Wanna watch Baylee Littrell Homemade? Watch below!

FanGirl Friday: BSB DNA Wolrd Tour: Meeting Baylee Littrell

*Note: This was originally written August 4, 2019.*

This is going to be part of probably about a zillion posts...or maybe not. But first here's a photo from my Baylee Littrell Meet and Greet! Yep! I got to meet Baylee! And his Mama. They are such sweet, caring people!

Yes, I'm old enough to be his mom, but I don't care! He's SUPER sweet!

So this is how it started. A week ago, I was lamenting to my co-worker while we were in the computer lab working. And he literally gave me the "You Only Live Once" speech and the "when is this opportunity ever gonna come around again" and the "this might be their last tour" thing. So I did a thing and bought Baylee Meet & Greet passes! I'm so glad I did!

It was SUPER intimate! It was me and three other people! So we were SUPPOSED to be there at 4:30. Yep, me and about 50 other people who were doing the Meet & Greet for the Boys. At 4:30, they start prepping the metal detectors. Thankfully the other three people who were there for Baylee figured out that we got to cut the line and go in first! So we were led upstairs and down a hallway to wait outside his dressing room. Gosh, I now know how my kids feel waiting for the bus! LOL! I did manage to sneak glances of James (Howie's oldest son) and Nick! And then Mama came down the hall and the nerves started hitting. I honestly don't know how I wasn't shaking like a leaf the whole time!

So we FINALLY get let in and it is like literally, here chill in his "living room" on tour! LOL Or as he called it, Baylee's lounge! He totally snuck up on us too! And then, of course, Mama had to fix his hair! Oh, the look was so cute like "Mom, why are you doing this in front of my fans?" Then he sat down with his bass player, Phil, and sang "If You Don't, I Will" off his forthcoming album that is supposed to be out "this fall." (I have now heard 7 of the ??? number of songs on it and it's gonna be amazing!)

We then kinda kicked back and we could ask him anything. (Okay not anything, Mama was there.) One member of our group had come all the way from Tokyo! So, of course, she asked if he would come to Japan in October. That's when we found out he'll be starting his senior year in the fall. I asked him about who he would wanna meet. Elvis (dead), Michael Buble (alive). And I kinda blabbed about the fire. His Mama said I was a blessing. (Yeah, being homeless when tickets go on sale, and making sure your kids are taken care of first...it's a no brainer.) Well, I guess that's better than blabbing about how I inadvertently named my dog after him! LOL

He's so super sweet! We did photos. I went last. I literally put my head on his shoulder. I'm gonna scout the whole tour to see if I win shortest Baylee fan that's NOT a kid! Got his autograph postcard, which he ALMOST forgot about...thanks Mama for reminding him! He's such a sweetheart!

Then I had to LEAVE. I didn't wanna! But he gives the BEST side hugs ever! SO I hiked back to the hotel I was staying at to drop my autograph and then pretty much turn back around and get in line for the show! Yes, he ran late. He runs on Backstreet Time like his Daddy or cousin Kev. I will talk about his set in the next post, hopefully!

Cue the Waterworks

Again, not a Friday, but gotta post this one now!

Okay, so remember this post? Well, let's just add some icing on the cake, okay?

So I joined the OFFICIAL BSB DNA World Tour Facebook Group. The Boys themselves are "admins." (Okay, their social media person/team, but whatever!) Anyway, someone posted this video:

I watched it. Loved it. And cried like a little freaking baby!!!!!!! Why? Well, see the post linked above.

But Baylee was only like 4 when I saw Brian. (It was actually 2007.) I remember seeing him hanging off the side of the stage with his mama watching Dad.

So this is kinda like a really weird full circle moment for me. Gosh, dang it, Kid. You and your dad are KILLING me! I guess I'd better make sure I have tissues with me if he sings it on tour. I can't listen to that song without bawling. And hearing HIM sing it makes me bawl harder because I remember his DAD singing it! Okay, Bay, QUIT GROWING UP!

Mega FanGirl Friday Post

There is so much fangirling going on in this post, it's not even gonna be funny! So, let's start back on Tuesday, April 2. Baylee Littrell, Brian's son, and aspiring country artist posts on his Instagram that he's gonna announce his "Summer Travel Plans" the next day. Of course the next morning, his fam is all over social media before it happens. Then the Backstreet Boys jump on it and say that Baylee is opening for them on the North American dates of the DNA World Tour. Oh, and "come chat with us on Baylee's Insta account."

Well, of course, I'm already following Baylee. I've been following him for a while now. So on HIS account, I post that "I think I may just buy my ticket now!" I'm not thinking anything of it. But then I get this:

Um, WHAT????? The BOYS just liked my comment?!?!?!?!?! Yeah, totally made my day. Then it became me trying to talk myself out of buying a ticket. The excuses were slim to stupid. I mean, yeah, I missed out on the $25 just on sale rush because of the fire. (Hey, I didn't even know if I was gonna have a job!) But, tickets were still REASONABLE, even for nosebleed seats that I KNEW I would be getting.

So I had everybody trying to talk me out of it. No one could. Everyone said I deserved this. So today I did this:

Yeah, I'm gonna go see my Boys for the first time in 8 years! Yes, it is a nosebleed seat. Yes, my anxiety is probably gonna be through the roof because I will be going BY MYSELF for the first time EVER! But you know what, they're worth it. I'll probably bawl like a baby during "Chances" because well, that was the song that came out around the fire. Or during "I'll Never Break Your Heart" because that's my fav song EVER. But at least I know they will quiet my anxiety. They always do.

Oh, and the other cute/cool little fangirl thing that happened was last night. I had had an awesome day at work! We were two staff short, but the day ran SO SMOOTH and we ran SIX programs with three staff! It was incredible! Then I get home and all hell breaks loose. Well, just as I'm about to take the dogs outside, I get a ping on my phone that Brian is doing a live Instagram video. So I step outside with my phone and jump in to watch. It was adorable! He was essentially helping Baylee get his stage cred. They were "attempting" sing "I Want it that Way" but apparently everyone but Brian forgot the words! And Brian just played along. It was just so adorable to watch that moment.

I have another couple but I'll post them later. Today is just all about there being 118 days until I see the Backstreet Boys!

WHAT?!?!?!?!

I wasn't planning on doing a FanGirl Friday this week, except a couple things happened.

One: Nick about made me cry! So Wednesday, they teased on their Social Media that there was "something coming on YouTube." (When you went to the link that's where it took you.) Okay, so yesterday morning, of course, after I get home from dropping the kids off, my phone pings that they had uploaded a new video.

And Nick says something about a moment of peace and I'm all teary. Yeah, that's what they've given me over the past 3 months: peace. Thanks guys!

On to two: I was at work last night and we were going over our day. I somehow wound up on Pinterest just scrolling. And what do I see but this:

I about fell out of my chair! See, here's the funny thing, if you haven't been following my writing posts (you should!), I started writing this novel back in November. I wasn't sure where it was going to go, but it turned into this Brian/Howie vampire erotica fic. I have never written anything close to that before in my life. I have no idea where it came from. And so when this picture pops up, yeah, I about curse out loud and fall over. Good thing I didn't because no one knew I was on Pinterest pinning the Boys. But now I have a "Sweet Rok" section on my Backstreet Board!

Oh, and number three: I'm learning "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" in ASL. It's actually really fun, though probably gonna kill me in the process.

And number four: HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRIAN!!!! I've seen all the video, even from his wife. It was so cute! And he even thanked all the fans for the birthday love! This man has my heart!

DNA!!!!

Welcome to Friday!!! Best Friday EVER!!!!! Why? Backstreet Boys released a new album today! It is SO AMAZING!!!!!

Yes, I bought a digital copy and my physical copy should be arriving TODAY! They are ALL OVER EVERYWHERE this morning (and last night). I'm like jumping up and down this morning! I've already watched the Jimmy Fallon bits. (Search "Backstreet Boys Jimmy Fallon" on YouTube.)

Just found the Good Morning America stuff. Link here.

The Live with Kelly and Ryan thing hasn't been posted yet, but check back. I'll find it eventually! Okay, so apparently they are on Live today! So that will post tomorrow. But hey, they did get a mention on the Today show: here

Okay, here are the Kelly and Ryan vids:
Performance
Can't get the interview. But their website is: www.kellyandryan.com

Backstreet Week

This week, I have a week full of Backstreet Boys and most of it was at work! And it's not even release week yet!

The first thing happened at a work training on Tuesday. We were all sitting there and our trainer, who also happens to be our CFO, made some comment about music and how his son listens to way different music than he did. Well, a co-worker, D, said, "What did you listen to, J, Backstreet Boys?" No one in the room knew I was a fan because I was the only one from my site. I just dropped the proverbial, "Don't go there!" It was just too funny in my mind.

The second thing happened on Wednesday. Supervisor J had already left for an appointment. We were down to one kid, a fourth-grade girl. One of the other staff members was cleaning in the corner, humming something. Fourth-grader said that guys couldn't sing. I teased her that she needed to hear my ring tone. So I played it for her. (It's "Don't Go Breaking My Heart".) She heard it and went, "I love this song! Who sings it?" BAM! It opened the door for me to pull up YouTube and show her it was the Backstreet Boys! I even caught her singing it a few minutes later. Converting the next generation!

Then, there was last night. I happened to check my phone to see if I needed to charge it and there was a note that the Backstreet Boys had posted a new video. So I check it out. The song is called "Breathe" and it's them acapella! *swoon* I guess that's one way to make sure your album doesn't get leaked: drop it yourself! One more week until this album comes out!

No Place I'd Rather Be

So this morning I woke up to an onslaught of Instagram mini-videos. Apparently, the Backstreet Boys were releasing new music. Yeah, they teased it on Wednesday after their DNAuary video. But instead of releasing the video all at once, they decided to post a bazillion clips on their various social media accounts and then release the whole thing! I had just about pieced it together when Brian posted that it was finally up on YouTube. From the clips I had heard, I was fearing I was going to not be in the mood for the sap (just not feeling the whole lovey-dovey thing right now), but of course, these Boys always surprise me. Yes, I like it. Yes, I can't wait the three more weeks until the whole album is out. Yes, I will pre-order (once I get the PO Box situation figured out here soon, I hope).

So, yes, I am FanGirling this morning, hard! And yes, this post is out of color context. Sorry, their new album colors are black and red.

Apparently, my daughter does not like my music. So I am stuck using my "earbugs" (as she calls them) because otherwise, she starts singing "Baby Shark" at the top of her lungs. I have to put up with this in the car when we go anywhere. Now if the Backstreet Boys would sing "Baby Shark"... I wish I could order my mp3 player, but this again is another PO Box issue. I'm hoping to get the things I need here soon so I can get my PO Box set up in my tiny town with the big name. See, we don't get curbside delivery, so we get a free PO Box. Right now, our PO Box is in the town just up the road because I am waiting for the deed to the house to come to get things set up here. So it makes for delivering things really difficult. That is why I have not pre-ordered this album. I want it to come to ME, I just don't know where that is going to be at yet.

I am loving all the new things these Boys are putting out. Takes me back to years ago. Maybe that's what I need right now. Maybe we are starting over together.