Backstreet Boys' Pre-Show Ritual Has Changed Over the Years, Now They Stretch and 'Pray' They Don't Get Hurt (Exclusive)

The Backstreet Boys admit they aren't the same band they were 30 years ago

NEED TO KNOW

• The Backstreet Boys were formed in the early ’90s and tell PEOPLE their pre-show ritual looks different from what it did 30 years ago
• When talking to PEOPLE, the band says that they all stretch before their shows
• “90% of the show is full-out dancing. So we gotta be as limber as we can be,” McLean says

The Backstreet Boys are back, and they’re doing a few things differently than before.

The band — composed of AJ McLean, Kevin Richardson, Howie Dorough, Nick Carter, and Brian Littrell — tells PEOPLE they've added a few things to their pre-show ritual during their residency at Las Vegas' Sphere that they didn’t do when they were younger, mainly, “stretching.” 

“I think everybody's different. I know for me personally, I try to just have a complete quiet stretch, I do a quick little meditation and I've got some weights that I'll do a little bit of weightlifting and stretching and whatnot,” McLean, 48, shares.

“For a long stretch there, I would look at all of us in the dressing room, and maybe one of us might be stretching, but for the most part, we weren't," he adds. "Now I'm pretty sure we're all stretching before a show, before vocal warmups. About 90% of the show is full-out dancing. So we gotta be as limber as we can be."

While they've always prayed before their performances, even that looks a little different now.

“We pray that we don't fall, we pray we don't break an ankle, we get the lyrics, pray we don't pop [an] Achilles heel,” Carter, 46, says. 

No matter what, McLean notes that they make sure to have a moment together before stepping on stage.

“We've always had a circle up, whether it's just us five or it's us and our crew, our management, families, our close-knit team. No matter what, us five circle up, that's something we do unified," McLean shares.

The band has changed a lot since they formed in 1993, and they are the first to admit it.

“I sounded like Mickey Mouse back then. I just had a very different voice," Carter shares. "I was younger, so all of our voices have matured. I think the 30-something years, how many shows that we've done, how many albums we've put out… I mean, it's just a natural progression of getting a little bit better. So I think maybe a better version of ourselves."

Dorough, 52, adds that they "maybe have an extra wrinkle or two as well."

“Well, a little bit more back pain, but aside from that, yes," McLean responds.

Recently, the Backstreet Boys teamed up with comedian Druski and musician MGK for a T-Mobile ad at this year's Super Bowl LX, for which they reworked the lyrics to their song "I Want It That Way."

“You don’t take moments like this for granted. We’ve been fortunate to perform all over the world, and coming together in Times Square to shoot a Super Bowl commercial with T-Mobile was a pretty surreal experience," Richardson, 54, tells PEOPLE. "Seeing the response from the fans and feeling that love year after year is a beautiful thing."

Read the full article here