Backstreet Boys say they hope to headline a future Super Bowl halftime show and have begun rallying public support while outlining a performance concept rooted in late-1990s and early-2000s nostalgia.
Speaking to PEOPLE during the group’s ongoing residency at Sphere, AJ McLean said he launched an online petition calling for the band to perform at halftime in 2027. He noted the game is scheduled for SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, which he described as a meaningful location for members of the group.
“I just started an online petition on behalf of the group for us to do halftime 2027,” McLean shares with PEOPLE. “You better vote yes for us to do halftime, especially because it’s gonna be in Los Angeles at SoFi next year. That’s home for me and Kevin (Richardson), so that would be pretty awesome.”
Nick Carter described the proposed performance as a large-scale pop showcase featuring artists from the same era. “We’re bringing back Britney Spears, we’re bringing back NSYNC,” Carter says of their would-be performance, to which McLean chimed in, “They both already did it, though.”
Carter added that the group would also seek to include 98 Degrees and other contemporaries, emphasizing the cultural impact of music from that period. “We’re bringing back 98 Degrees, I don’t care. We’re headlining,” Carter says. “We’re bringing all of our pop friends back; it would be something like that.”
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“We’re biased because we really think that our era of music, coming from the late ‘90s, early 2000s, is probably some of the most nostalgic for people and makes people feel good. We’re part of a club of all those artists that you’d have to bring them back,” he added.
Howie Dorough said the group would also consider large-scale visual staging similar to their current residency production, noting that “some kind of flying in the stadium” is among the elements he would want to incorporate.
AJ McLean added that they would aim to reunite the same creative collaborators behind the Backstreet Boys shows at Sphere, describing the residency as a visually driven production shaped by the group from its earliest planning stages.
Backstreet Boys’ Prior Super Bowl Role And Recent Appearance
The discussion of a potential halftime performance follows the band’s previous participation in Super Bowl programming during Super Bowl XXXV. At that time, artists including Aerosmith, Mary J. Blige, and Nelly performed in the halftime show alongside Britney Spears and NSYNC, while the Backstreet Boys instead sang the national anthem.
The group also appeared in Super Bowl LX–related advertising, joining comedian Druski and musician MGK in a T-Mobile commercial that reworked the lyrics to their song “I Want It That Way” to highlight features of the wireless network.
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Dorough said the commercial marked another milestone in the range of Super Bowl-related opportunities artists pursue, noting the group has now participated in national anthem duties and advertising tied to the event while continuing to campaign for a halftime performance in a future game.
