what a crazy week! what i thought would never happen again just did. i was transformed back to my fangirl days, thanks to the first boyband i obsessed over all the way back in freshman highschool. oh gawd, and that's almost a decade ago!
confessions of an ex-fangirl
i had a lot of fangirl obsessions in high school, i worshipped practically every teenybopper boyband that made its way here (yeah i had a lot of free time in my hands back then). but nothing beats the first obsession that started it all, the bAcKsTrEeT bOyS! i think it was about september or october 1996 when they first landed on our shores, and i was a measly 13-year old back then. the boys arrived friday, their show was on saturday night, and they were leaving sunday. of course i wanted to see the backstreet boys in between that very short stay but couldn't because i was too young and too broke to go and catch them anywhere. yes, i would've sold an arm and a leg to see nick carter in person (a skinnier and much younger version then) who i was absolutely nuts about. will you check out that smile from 10 years ago and tell me what girl wouldn't fall for that? their mini-concert was held at limits disco in st. francis square right in front of megamall. i remember shaving my eyebrows for the first time because according to a classmate, i had to look "older" to get in clubs like that. unfortunately, there weren't fx rides leading straight to ortigas back then so there was no other way to go except by car. imagine my utter devastation when there was really no way i could see them in person, so i had to satisfy myself with their tv appearances left and right. i have never heard get down played so many times during their stay, but heck it was their launching single in this country and the video is nothing but hot. i remember sulking the next day sunday for not being able to get a glimpse of them boys. then comes a phonecall that would've made me fly to the moon with joy had it been made much much earlier... a friend announces that the backstreet boys just finished an autograph signing in megamall! i was crushed for not making it, how more unfair can the world get? i never thought i'd feel anything more than that again in my life (apparently, far worse things were going to happen as life went on). my dad had a hard time consoling me in between sobs, i was broken beyond words. and by the way, they had one last performance on The Sharon Cuneta Show that night, then they were gone and never came back. for a good 10 years anyway.
whew, was i a dramatic kid at 13 or what??
backstreet's back... AYOS!
thanks to my friendship with myra from way back when we were highschool sophomores at the tender age of 14, in what started with endless boyband swooning discussions at the back of biology class (she with the backstreet boys, me with irish lads boyzone), i found my way to sm manila to claim upperbox A tickets to the backstreet boys concert in araneta coliseum 9 years later. once i started with my boyzone obsession when i was 14, i have never looked back so you can say i abandoned my backstreet boys fantasies in exchange for a european pop act. but being friends with myra who was completely into nick carter from head to foot, and having senseless fights with her as to which boyband was better still had me plugged into the backstreet scene way back. and we thought getting older would've erased all that. boy, how very wrong we were.
the backstreet boys arrived thursday, january 19 (yes, history repeats itself) for a concert the next day january 20, friday. i swore to myself i would never let the craze get to me, it's been almost a decade for cryin' out loud! i have graduated from all the screaming, swooning fangirl days with full honors in high school and had no plans of taking it all up again. ah well, how i eat my words. thursday night, after a call from ro saying the backstreet boys were sighted shopping around galleria, i dragged mm and practically flew to where the sighting was. howie d was in people are people and not surprisingly, there was a small crowd gathered just outside the store to see a glimpse of him. the bodyguard looked like he was ready to eat someone so i dared not make a scene of wanting to get near mr. d. it was enough that i caught one backstreet boy that close. not only was howie the only one out and about in the mall, brian and aj were at shoe salon too. and according to some, even nick lingered around. you gotta love this mall.
anyways, so it was nearly dark when we made our way to the concert venue come friday. it's funny seeing kids our age lining up for the show. it's as if it was the same kids who first got the backstreet fever when the boys first came a decade ago. the front seats weren't that packed, but the venue was filled to the rafters nonetheless. there were three of us: me, myra, and new BSB disciple becky jumping up and down all throughout the show and belting our hearts out with every (90's released) song. i have not have been a fan for so long, but seeing their show for the first time was definitely worth going through. everything felt surreal. although nick carter changed tremendously and gained double his weight from when he was 16, the boys still had it in them. but for the record, he is still gorgeous despite the rocker don't-care attitude, pierced nipples, multiple tattoos, ballooned figure and all. it was still the same energy, same vibe, the same screaming, the same oh-be-still-my-heart, you're-so-gwapo-marry-me moments. i loved it that they made me feel 13 all over again.
check out the pics from that night. if anything, it was definitely a night worth reminiscing for when we get really old and really grey. the grandkids are sure to have a riot with this story.
pre-concert. bex, myra and moi are all geared up
backstreet's... erm, back!
howie, nick, and my fave backstreet boy b-rok work the mic
... and the crowd goes wild.
nick strums while howie croons
k-rich still knows how to bust a move
nick prays for immediate weight loss
aj has to brush up on his steps
nick belts a tune. b-rok helps out. kevin couldn't care less.
"we've got it goin' on for yeeeaaarsss..." boys, you sure have.
rock and RAAAWWWLLL! in commemoration of nick carter the rockgod.
post-concert: we are HAPPY!
ro introduced me to this song by raul midon featuring jason mraz called keep on hoping. it's a very positive song, but i can't say i relate to the song since no one specific comes to mind. i simply want to share the lyrics because it's a really feel-good song, it has a very positive outlook on love... rather, the never-ending wait for the right love *wink*
