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Pop fandom can be warfare.
These wars have been raging for decades.
In the 60s, it was the Beatles versus the Stones.
In the 70s, it was punk rock versus dinosaur rock and mainstream rock versus disco.
Cheirons aces were the producers Max Martin and the late Denniz Pop, gifted music scribes Backstreets A.J.
McLean oncedescribedas looking like they were plucked out of Metallica.
To people who grouse about real instruments and commerce as the enemy of good art, it was reviled.
The hits were inescapable.
The mid-tempo deep cuts were fascinating experiments.
The ballads were sturdy but a touch too drippy.
If you could get past the sterile cleanliness of the enterprise, there were hummable tunes for days.
Meanwhile, Justin and Britneys hit parade produced an army of racy hip-hop and dance-pop hits.
The squeaky-clean bit was old hat.
Nobody loves a man group, rock scribe Robert Christgauwroteof the turning tide in 2005.
A year later, singer Kevin Richardson left to pursue an acting career.
The group soldiered on.
Getting the Backstreet Boys back in shipshape was a game of giving the people exactly what they wanted.
First, they dove full bore into the nostalgia circuit.
Kevin Richardson rejoined the group in 2012 as the yearlong NKOTBSB trek came to a close.
But the success ofDNAis more than a story of cyclical trends in popular music.
The Backstreet Boys toured consistently enough to stay afloat and also keep their base excited.
Elsewhere, theres help from R&B hired hands Kuk Harrell and the Stereotypes.
(Dont Go Breaking My Heart peaked respectably at No.
63 on the Hot 100.
Chances hasnt had the same luck.
Only 7,000 of the 234,000 equivalent salesDNAaccumulatedin its first week out came from streams.
Billboard counts 1,500 streams as oneequivalent unit.
You do the math.)
Itisa reminder that a lot of people still love the music they grew up with.
Nostalgias a powerful force.
