Joey Fatone & AJ McLean’s Legendary Night
Date: March 22, 2024
Location: Boston, MA
If you told 12-year-old me that an NSYNC member and a Backstreet Boy are going on tour together, the team NSYNC pre-teen me would not believe you! But here we are!
In January 2024, NSYNC’s Joey Fatone and Backstreet Boy’s AJ McLean announced they will embark on a tour together across America, entitled “Joey Fatone & AJ McLean - A Legendary Night”. Originally, the tour only included nine shows on the East Coast and West Coast.As a result of the high demand, the tour unsurprisingly almost sold out within a week of ticket sales. They ended up adding more dates and shows. My friend and I were lucky enough to score VIP tickets to the sold out Boston show.
The Joey and AJ show was my 2nd Joey Fatone solo show and 1st AJ Mclean solo show. Last time I saw Joey was at Boyband Mardi Gras last year. I had previously seen AJ at the BSB DNA tour in 2019.
The Joey and AJ Boston show took place at the House of Blues, located next to Fenway Park.
VIP
As part of the VIP ticket, my friend and I got to enter the venue early for Joey and AJ’s soundcheck. We got to hear Joey and AJ sing two songs: Little Mermaid’s “Part Of Your World”and Naked Eyes’ “Always Something There to Remind Me”. They also sang “Happy Birthday” to a young fan named Emerson. Which I thought was very sweet!
Joey and AJ spent the rest of the time answering fans’ questions. I did get to ask Joey about what it was like recording my new favorite song “Paradise” with NSYNC and AJ, his thoughts when heard “Paradise” for the first time. Joey said recording “Paradise” with his boys was like riding a bike. He also mentioned that NSYNC recorded “Paradise” for Justin’s sixth solo album at the same time as “Better Place” for the Trolls Band Together soundtrack. AJ added that “Paradise” was definitely the song he expected NSYNC to record if they continued as a group. He also wished BSB recorded a song like “Paradise”!
After soundcheck, I did another meet and greet with Joey while my friend did a meet and greet with AJ. In addition to taking a photo, I got to briefly chat with Joey and tell him how much I love Paradise! He was incredibly nice and friendly. I’m so glad Joey remembered me too. Joey also gives great hugs!
After the VIP meet and greet, my friend and I went to Loco, a restaurant nearby, for dinner prior to the show.
The Show
The biggest benefit of getting VIP is that we get to enter the venue earlier before the general admission. We were allowed to go in at 6:45 before doors open at 7 pm. We managed to secure our spots closer to the stage. We definitely lucked out. By the time the doors opened to general admission, the venue was at full capacity!
See Seven Reasons Why I Choose VIP.
The show started surprisingly early, approximately 10 minutes before 8 pm. Joey and AJ kicked off the show with a bang in their Dunkin outfits,opening with NSYNC’s “Pop” and “I Want You Back” and BSB’s “Larger Than Life”. Later, they had a quick change. AJ changed to a Boston Red Sox shirt and Jeans with a Red Miracle Academy cap. Joey changed to a Black fan-made “Super J” t-shirt and Black pants with a red baseball cap.
The setlist included mainly NSYNC and BSB songs. Joey performed a jazzy version of “Tearin Up My Heart”. AJ and Joey also sang “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back) and “Space Cowboy”. In addition, because it’s Boston, they paid homage to NKOTB and Bell Biv Devoe with their covers of “Step By Step” and “Poison”, respectively. They also sang Montel Jordan’s “This is How We Do It”.
During the show, Joey and AJ included a live band playing in accompaniment, which definitely accentuated their vocals and overall performances.
I enjoyed the part when they sang their boyband ballads. I was really happy to see Joey perform “For A Girl Who Has Everything”, one of my favorite NSYNC songs. Definitely brought a lot of nostalgia. Joey does a great job singing the song as a solo. Obviously he’s not JC or Justin, but Joey brings his own spin to it.
I’m not going to lie. At first, it was strange seeing AJ sing NSYNC songs “Drive Myself Crazy” and “This I Promise You”. But he definitely put his heart and soul into the songs and his renditions were beautiful. They also sang BSB’s “All I Have To Give” and “I’ll Never Break Your Heart”.
In addition, AJ sang songs from his upcoming solo album: “Electric” and “Burning Up”, two upbeat songs. My favorite AJ solo performance was the ballad, “Good Enough”. The song was extremely soulful. AJ definitely showed his vulnerability and honesty during the performance. The song referred to his journey to sobriety. The performance made me appreciate AJ more as an artist.
While Joey and AJ had a formal setlist, this concert was different from other concerts I’ve been to. They made the show more interactive for the fans by improvising and performing unplanned songs and fan-requested songs. During the show, they asked the audience to request TV theme songs to sing. Including “Friends theme song”, “Mickey Mouse Club”, and “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”.
Later, Joey and AJ rolled a soft dice beach ball out in the audience to toss. Whatever the number the dice landed on, they would sing a song according to that number. They ended up singing Blink-182’s “All The Small Things” and “Shut Up And Dance”. They even invited lucky fans to sit on a couch and watch them perform directly on stage!
They appropriately closed the show with their groups major hits “I Want It That Way” and “Bye Bye Bye”.
Overall, I enjoyed every moment of the show. The concert lasted about 1 hour and 30 minutes, but it was still fun and energetic. The night was just full of good feelings and nostalgia. Joey and AJ definitely know how to excite an audience as they move about the stage. My feet were tired by the end of the show.
I do hope AJ and Joey partner again but after NSYNC reunites. The Backstreet Boy and Nsyncer definitely share a special friendship. They are not only fantastic showmen, but they also have authentic chemistry. AJ and Joey easily played off and supported each other during the show.
If you ever see AJ and Joey play a concert in your area, I highly recommend checking it out. You are guaranteed a great time!
