Black & Blue Tour

The Black & Blue World Tour was the fifth worldwide concert tour by the Backstreet Boys in support of their fourth album Black & Blue (2000) and the world tour took place in 2001. The first leg of the tour kicked off January 22, 2001 in the United States. The second leg began June 8 in the group's hometown of Orlando, Florida, and was temporarily put on hold July 9, in order for group member AJ McLean to seek treatment for clinical depression which led to anxiety attacks and the excessive consumption of alcohol. The tour resumed August 24 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and wrapped up October 19 in Paradise, Nevada. The Boys then continued their tour around the world before it came to a close by the end of 2001. It grossed over US $315 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing concert tour by an artist in general of the year. The tour was sponsored by Burger King, Kellogg's and Polaroid.

On September 11, 2001, band member Brian Littrell's wife Leighanne and the band's crew member Daniel Lee were scheduled to fly from Boston, where the group played their fifth sold-out show the night before, back to Los Angeles aboard American Airlines Flight 11. Leighanne Littrell canceled her flight the night before as she wanted to spend more time with her husband, but Lee was one of 92 people killed aboard Flight 11 after it was hijacked and crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. Near the end of the concert in Toronto on September 12, 2001, Littrell gave a brief speech about crew member Daniel Lee, who was on board American Airlines Flight 11, which was hijacked and deliberately crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center on 9/11, and led the entire audience in a moment of silence for Lee and all those who died that day.

Opening acts

 * Myra
 * Krystal Harris
 * Destiny's Child (January 27, 2001 - February 15, 2001)
 * Shaggy (June 8, 2001 - July 7, 2001)
 * Sisqó (August 24, 2001 - October 19, 2001)

Tour dates

 * Festivals and other miscellaneous performances
 * Wango Tango
 * The Concert for New York City
 * United We Stand: What More Can I Give


 * Cancellations and rescheduled shows

Personnel

 * Lead Vocals: Kevin Richardson, Brian Littrell, Howie Dorough, Nick Carter, AJ McLean
 * Tour Director:
 * Tour Manager: Paul 'Skip' Rickert
 * Assistant Tour Manager: Tim Krieg
 * Co-Director: Denise McLean
 * Co-Director: Nicole Peltz
 * Press Liaison: Leila Eminson
 * Tour Accountant: Vincent Corry
 * Staff Photographer: Andre Csillig
 * Musical Director:
 * Costume Design: Jill Focke, Kerstin 'Kiki' Theileis, Janine Schreiber
 * Choreographer: Fatima Robinson
 * Assistant Choreographer: Richard "Swoop" Whitebear*
 * Web Master: Leigh Dorough (née Boniello)*

Security

 * Billy Evans: Head of Security/Nick's Security
 * Nelson Monteiro: Brian's Security
 * Raul Ibanez: Howie's Security
 * Marcus Johnson: AJ's Security
 * Carlos Cardenas: Kevin's Security

Band

 * Keyboards: Darrell Smith, Dave Delhomme
 * Guitars: Andy Abad, Tariqh Akoni
 * Percussion: Ramon Yslas
 * Bass: Sam Sims
 * Drums: Teddy Campbell

Dancers

 * Shannon Lopez
 * Earl "Sleepy" Manning*
 * Michelle Molchanov (now Landau)
 * Reginald "Reggie" Jackson*
 * Lisa Fraser
 * Richmond "Rich" Talauega**
 * Anthony "Tone" Talauega**
 * Nikki Tuazon
 * Earl "Punch" Wright
 * Russell Wright

Info
 * indicates which dancer appear in the last tour
 * Rich and Tone also choreograph the Boys' reminding tours: Never Gone, IAWLT and their Vegas residency
 * Leigh, who was dating Howie at the time, later became his wife in 2007 after six years of dating since meeting in December 6, 2000