BE, Rachel S.

I gotta thank BTS for delivering from my boy band-induced depression as of late. ICYMI Backstreet Boys' Brian Littrell went off the deep end and joined Parler. His cousin and bandmate Kevin called him out on the socials. AJ shared his support for Biden/Harris. Nick was too busy announcing his new kid on the way. And Howie remains the neutral one. It's why moms always liked him. I am now Team Kevin, if you were wondering!!!!

IN ANY CASE. I have been a staunch BSB fan since my loins turned prepubescent. I stood in the freezing cold in the seventh grade outside TRL studios just to grab a glimpse of the boys from below in Times Square as they were promoting the release of their album Black & Blue. Shout out to my late father for driving me there 2.5 hours on a weekday and writing me a note out of school. What a guy.

The Backstreet Boys also happen to be the reason I know my best friend. In Ms. Johnson's ninth grade science class, we had to stand in front of the room and say a fact about ourselves. My now best friend shared sheepishly, "AJ is my favorite Backstreet Boy." And without hesitation I yelled, "BRIAN IS MINE!" Everyone stared, she sat down next to me and we've been attached at the hip ever since. Needless to say, seeing Brian turn into a full-throttle trump cultist broke my heart. AND THE BACKSTREET BOYS PROMISED THEY'D NEVER BREAK MY HEART.

The fact that 'N Sync fans can now throw this in my face is...I don't want to talk about it. JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE IS AN ANTI-VAXXER FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH.

It's been rough, y'all.

So here comes BTS. Every single track hits all the right notes of a quintessential boy band album. You've got the "oh no it's too sexy for teens to really understand" slow jams; the straight banger dance songs; the ballads that start with the deep bass singer slow-talk-singing his way right to your heart/privates; the Swedish-produced-sounding glittery tracks that highlight only one or two vocals. You could pull the backing tracks from each of these songs and play behind NKotB, BSB, 'N Sync, 98 Degrees, Westlife, O-Town, etc., and they'd all fit right in. And yet, it's uniquely BTS. I know this music, I understand its origins, but it feels new again. I absolutely get why they are the megastars they are. Who amongst them will become the Harry Styles breakout? ONLY TIME WILL TELL. (Harry Styles solo work is excellent, BTW. It's okay to enjoy pop music!!!)

Thanks for the ride, BTS, it's been a dark few weeks.