Backstreet's back and so are the Spice Girls: Why '90s acts are making a comeback

If you thought it wasthe End of the Road foryour '90s playlists, feel free to Jump Around: Bands from that era are making a comeback in a big way.

Backstreet Boys, Spice Girls, New Kids on the Blockand Hanson are just some of the groups hitting the road for tours in 2019.

"I think every 20 years there'sa resurgence of reflecting on where you've been," said Taylor Hanson, 35,of the brothers trio Hanson. "That feels like probably what it isright now."

While Hansonhas continued to make music since breaking into the industry with the 1997 earwormMMMBop, other bands have taken a much longer hiatus.

Backstreet Boys, the popular boy band known for catchy tunes such asI Want It That Way and Everybody (Backstreet's Back), has returned to the top of the pop charts after nearly a decade with the song Don't Go Breaking My Heart.

The group enjoyed a successfulLas Vegas residency for two years and their latest single, Chances, was co-written by Canadian pop star Shawn Mendes.

I would go anywhere for them.- Maggie Marks, a New Kids On The Block fan

"They're definitely bridging the gap between the older generation and then the new ones coming in," said Billboard magazine associate editorBianca Gracie, whosebeat focuses on 1990sand early 2000s pop culture.

What's driving the latest '90s nostalgia?

6 years ago

Duration 2:59

They may be grown up with kids of their own now, but '90s pop stars seem to be back on top. The Backstreet Boys have released new tracks, and are set to go on a big international tour. Not to be outdone, the Spice Girls are back together as well, and will also be hitting the road this year for a huge stadium circuit. So what's driving this '90s resurgence?

"They definitely matured with the times, but they still have that classic synth-pop element to them, whichthe fans, they really love."

Edmontonian Maggie Marks is among those devoted fans. She's a working mother of two with a busy schedule, but that hasn't stopped her from catching a previous Backstreet Boys reunion in 2011 ormaking plans to travel for her all-time favourite band, New Kids on the Block, later this year.The Step by Stepsingers are re-releasing their breakout album Hangin' Tough to celebrate 30 years since the album's original releaseand will kick off the aptly named MixtapeTourin May.

"Every second year, I wait for them to announce whether they're touring,"said Marks, 41, who hastravelled to Vancouver and Toronto to see the group in the past. Since the band won't be playing in Vancouver, Marks says she'll likely make a trip to the U.S. to catch a concert this time around.

"I would go anywhere for them."

The five band members, who range in age from 45 to 50 years old, arescheduled to tour alongsidetwo other singers sure to sparknostalgia: Tiffany and Debbie Gibson. Both solo artists brokeintothe music scene in 1987 with the hits I Think We're Alone Now and Only In My Dreams, respectively.

Also along for NKOTB's tour will be quintessential '90ship-hop artists Naughty By Nature and Salt-N-Pepa.

The Spice Girls are also contributingto the '90s revival, recently announcinga reunion tour, though it will be without Victoria Beckham, a.k.a Posh Spice. Nonetheless, the groupknown for smash hits like Wannabe and Say You'll Be Therebroke records for ticket sales in the U.K. and was forced to add additional tour dates.

"I think '90s music, especially '90s pop, it takes us back to a moment in time where we were more stress-free,"said Billboard's Bianca Gracie.

"It has such a carefree, feel-good vibe that I feel right now is kind of missing. I feel pop music right now is a little bitmore...melancholic and sad, and I feel like listeners, like myself, we go back to the '90s to have thatblissful feeling again."

Bell Biv DeVoe, En Vogue, Color Me Badd,Twisted singer Keith Sweat, Aqua ofBarbie Girl fameand Canadian duoProzzak, known for songs such as Sucks To Be You,are among other '90s acts that haveembarked ontours recently.

Prozzak'sJames Bryan McCollumsaysthe music industry has latched ontoblasts from the past as a sure bet for ticket sales.

"Within the industry, people are definitely looking for ways to make money," he said. "And so, at this point, I'm just like, I will show up ifpeople want to see a show."

But the renaissance isn't just lucrative for bands ofthe era.Contemporary artists many of them barely old enough to remember the decade are cashing in on the '90sand early 2000s nostalgia factor as well.

Bruno Mars paid homage to the '90s in the music video for his hit song Finesse. Halsey references Justin Timberlake'sCry Me A River in her breakup song Without Me. And Charli XCXandTroye Sivanrecently released 1999, a nodto the past with references in the music video to artists such asEminem and Britney Spears and filmsThe Matrix and Titanic.

Meanwhile, Zac Hanson, 33,summed up what a lot of children from the '90smight be thinking.

"Man, watching all those people," he said with a laugh, referring tobands such as the Backstreet Boys and Spice Girls. "They're getting old and they're dancing. Wow!"

Marks, for one, can't wait to see those dance moves on stage.

"Really good fans probably have blinders on anyway," she jokes. "Yes, you notice they've aged but you love them so much that you don't really see it.

"When you've formed a bond with a band at that [young] age, it's something you never let go of."

And thesebands are counting on that.