Pop royalty is on its way to Dubai. Well, deposed pop royalty, perhaps. It was announced somewhat subtly on Monday morning that Backstreet Boys were bringing their reunion tour to the UAE in March.

So ear-plugs at the ready, and we don’t mean for the music but for the screaming teenage girls that might rear their heads once more as they did in the band’s heyday.

The chart-topping stars of the 1990s, whose hits include ‘Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)’, ‘I Want It That Way’ and ‘Quit Playing Games With My Heart’, listed a performance at Dubai World Trade Centre on March 28 among their European tour dates. They will likely be supported by British girl group All Saints.

Among dates in Britain, Scandinavia, Germany, Turkey, Russia and many more, the ‘In a World Like This’ tour will roll into town with the band, marking almost five years since their last appearance. Then, they played The Palladium. 

The quintet of AJ McLean, Howie Dorough, Nick Carter, Kevin Richardson and Brian Littrell, who burst onto the scene in 1995, two years after forming, are now all in, or on the verge of, their 40s, yet possess all the synchronised moves and vocal harmonies that made them one of the biggest bands of the pop era.

The news comes just days after Justin Timberlake confirmed he was bringing his 20/20 Experience tour to the UAE, while mega stars like The Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton will also perform in the first half of 2014, cementing the region’s place among the live entertainment elite.

RELIVE SOME OF THEIR CLASSIC HITS

I WANT IT THAT WAY

EVERYBODY (BACKSTREET’S BACK)

AS LONG AS YOU LOVE ME