Backstreet Boys: Show ‘Em What You’re Made Of

Any non-Backstreet Boys fan weird enough to watch this doc about the globe-conquering US boy band will find it a two-hour cheesefest. And that’s no dig at the music.

With video montages from the early days and more tears than you’d get in an episode of ‘The X Factor’, this tale of the manufactured pop group – fractured by fall-outs and drug abuse and now trying to ‘find’ themselves as they reflect on their career – is nauseating even for a long-term fan.

But you can’t deny their success: BSB have sold 130 million albums; and they’ve been recording and touring for 20 years. Now, free of a record contract for the first time (the band have their own label, K-Bahn), BSB are on a pilgrimage to find and record their own sound. Stop-offs include time in London to jam, write and look thoughtful holding an acoustic guitar, while returns to everyone’s home towns spark tearful memories of where it all began.

The ‘boys’ might be pushing 40, but having completed their mission and made an ‘authentic and personal album’ (which has sold 800,000 copies), Backstreet’s back, alright.