And they have some very starry cameos in mind for their would-be performance.

Backstreet Boys want to play Super Bowl halftime show 25 years after turning down the chance

And they have some very starry cameos in mind for their would-be performance.

By Lauren Huff

Lauren Huff

Lauren Huff is an award-winning journalist and staff writer at ** with over 12 years of experience covering all facets of the entertainment industry.

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February 13, 2026 9:09 p.m. ET

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The Backstreet Boys perform at 'SNL50: The Homecoming Concert'. Credit:

Theo Wargo/Peacock via Getty

Backstreet's not just back, they want to rock their bodies at the Super Bowl. (All right!)

Fresh off their popular ad during this year's big game, the Backstreet Boys — AJ McLean, Kevin Richardson, Howie Dorough, Nick Carter, and Brian Littrell — are manifesting their next gig: Super Bowl LXI.

“What do you guys think? Backstreet Boys: 2027 Super Bowl halftime," McLean asked the crowd during their show at the Las Vegas sphere earlier this week, per E! Online. "Let's make it happen! I mean, why not? It's in Los Angeles, it's right down the street."

McLean also reiterated his manifestation in an interview the boy band did with PEOPLE recently. "I just started an online petition on behalf of the group for us to do halftime 2027," he said. "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, so that would be pretty awesome."

Carter took it one step further by suggesting such a show would be a "pop explosion" full of other stars from the late '90s and early aughts. "We're bringing back Britney Spears, we're bringing back *NSYNC,” Carter said, to which McLean chimed in, "They both already did it, though."

The Backstreet Boys performing in 2019.

Anne Barson/FilmMagic

Undeterred in his idea, Carter added, "We're bringing back 98 Degrees, I don't care. We're headlining. We're bringing all of our pop friends back; it would be something like that."

He continued, "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."

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Dorough added he simply would want to do “some kind of flying in the stadium.”

The Backstreet Boys didn't always want it that way, though. Carter revealed to *Entertainment* *Tonight* in 2021 that the band declined to take part in the 2001 Super Bowl halftime show and opted to sing the national anthem instead.

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“At the time, we loved the Whitney Houston rendition of the national anthem. And for us, we got the choice and we passed on the halftime," he said. "But it was a memorable experience for everyone, and I like to say we did a really good job at the national anthem."

During this year's Super Bowl, the boy band starred alongside comedian Druski and musician MGK in a T-Mobile commercial, where they did a version of their hit "I Want It That Way" to tout the benefits of the cellular service.**

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