'TRL' era bands are back: All the millennial favorites on tour this summer
The decade-long run of MTV’s “Total Request Live” didn’t merely unveil videos.
It shaped a generation of music fans collectively, in a way likely done for the last time.
The days of rushing to the TV on weekday afternoons, hearts thumping in anticipation of host Carson Daly counting down a lineup of slickly produced music videos from Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Good Charlotte, Eve, Eminem, Blink-182, Destiny’s Child and a parcel of boy bands disappeared when the internet and social media seized attention spans.
That original 1998-2008 run is a bygone era for millennials, the latest generation forced to accept the dissolution of a musical rite of passage.
But the nature of pop culture is cyclical, and those whose raging hormones fueled the popularity of these artists in the late-‘90s through mid-‘00s are now inching toward middle age, with families and careers and the urge to look back.
It’s a good thing plenty of artists are complying with major tours and residencies this summer.
Backstreet Boys
When they debuted, the Florida-based quintet was billed as a cross between New Kids on the Block and Boyz II Men – unabashed hunks with harmonies. But what Nick Carter, Kevin Richardson, Brian Littrell, AJ McLean and Howie Dorough created was a boy band tsunami for a new generation. Their polished pop anthems, distinct personalities and coordinated dance moves drafted the blueprint followed by the equally mega-successful *NSYNC, along with 98 Degrees, LFO, BBMak, B2K and many other acts fond of acronyms and numbers. The ’90s-era mania that followed BSB returns this summer when their diehard flock squeals its way through their visually arresting residency at the Las Vegas Sphere.
Songs you’ll hear: “As Long As You Love Me,” “I Want it That Way,” “Quit Playing Games (With My Heart”)
Tour dates: Through Aug. 24
Jonas Brothers
It seems a lifetime ago that the trio of Joe, Nick and Kevin Jonas reveled in Disney Channel love and brought their floppy-haired charm to a cover of British band Busted’s “Year 3000” in 2007. Sibling rivalry and desires to experiment with music less confined than their gleaming, efficient pop led to a decade-long professional break. But since returning in 2019 with “Happiness Begins,” the JoBros have been “Burnin’ Up” the charts while collaborating with Diplo (“Lonely”), Marshmello (“Leave Before You Love Me”) and Karol G (“X”). Next up is their “Greetings From Your Hometown” album, scheduled for an Aug. 8 release, and an arena and amphitheater tour will carry fans through their sonic evolution.
Songs you’ll hear: “Year 3000,” “Sucker,” “Leave Before You Love Me”
Tour dates: Aug. 10-Nov. 14
Lady Gaga
When she roared onto the scene in 2008 with “Just Dance,” Lady Gaga piqued curiosity. Was she a Madonna for the aughts? Was she a Cyndi Lauper acolyte with those undeniable pipes that were sometimes overshadowed by her flamboyant style? Was she a three-hit wonder after “Poker Face” and “Paparazzi” maintained her initial chart appeal? Turns out she was a little bit of everyone yet completely distinctive, her stardom solidified with 2011’s “Born This Way” with a title track that became a hymn of inclusivity. The Mayhem Ball tour, titled to insinuate the flashy festivities on stage, follows 2022’s “The Chromatica Ball” and provides another sharp-edged playground for the “Artpop” queen.
Songs you’ll hear: “Born This Way,” “Bad Romance,” “Abracadabra”
Tour dates: Through Oct. 4
Oasis
It’s the most unlikely reunion this side of Led Zeppelin, yet Noel and Liam Gallagher have so far pulled it off. The mercurial siblings, who parted ways professionally in 2009 after years of public outbursts that became predictable and a bit tiresome, returned July 4 with swagger intact. Undeniably the mightiest monarchs of Britpop in its mid-‘90s zenith, Oasis can be criticized for allowing chemically-fueled tantrums to define their celebrity, but their assured, Beatles-shaded rock remains supreme.
Songs you’ll hear: “Roll With It,” “Wonderwall,” “Champagne Supernova”
Tour dates: (In North America) Aug. 24-Sept. 13
Nelly
Amid the boy band surge came the liquid-rhymer from St. Louis, who brought his original crew, the St. Lunatics, along for a zip to the top of the charts with his 2000 debut album, “Country Grammar.” With his omnipresent shades and frequently bare torso, Nelly was a cool character who blanketed MTV and Top 40 radio with his pop-rap sing-alongs “E.I.,” “Ride Wit Me” and the breakthrough title track from his debut album. When his club banger “Hot in Herre” arrived in 2002, Nelly’s brand of mainstream rap was so trendy that it earned him the first-ever best male rap solo performance Grammy Award.
Songs you’ll hear: “Hot in Herre,” “Country Grammar,” “Ride Wit Me”
Tour dates: July 23-Sept. 19
Katy Perry
Her 2008 major label debut, “One of the Boys,” definitely altered Katy Perry’s career from her contemporary Christian roots to “I Kissed a Girl,” her sly slice of glossy pop that delivered her first No. 1 hit. That debut also boasted “Waking Up in Vegas” and “Hot n Cold,” confectionary delights that allowed her to sonically experiment on her follow-up two years later with “Teenage Dream.” The sumptuous collection of smashes – “California Gurls” with Snoop Dogg, “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)” and “Firework” among them – landed Perry her biggest-selling album and solidified her standing as a pop queen who could brandish an innocuous headband with cat ears while slipping teasing innuendo into her songs while no one was watching.
Songs you’ll hear: “California Gurls,” “Teenage Dream,” “I Kissed a Girl”
Tour dates: (In North America) Through Aug. 23
The All-American Rejects
With their debut single "Swing, Swing" and platinum, self-titled 2002 debut album, the Tyson Ritter-fronted group gained popularity for its cheeky pop-rock with an undercurrent of sneer. They danced through the charts for a solid six years with albums "Move Along" and "When the World Comes Down." This year, knowing a comeback would require innovation in the complicated, fragmented music landscape, the band started playing free "House Party" concerts in barns, bowling alleys, backyards and anywhere fans on social media summoned them. They’ll return to bigger stages this summer, opening for the Jonas Brothers.
Songs you’ll hear: “Dirty Little Secret,” “Swing, Swing,” “Gives You Hell”
Tour dates: Aug. 10-Nov. 14
Creed
The ‘90s juggernaut of faceless alt-rock-post-grunge bands – Puddle of Mudd, Nickelback, Staind, Candlebox – produced the kind of scorn previously reserved for disco and hair metal. Creed, fronted by the earnest Scott Stapp, he of booming voice and sculpted pecs, seemed to (unfairly or not) bear the heaviest antipathy. But the band was vindicated in 2024 with a summer tour that defied industry expectations with 60 sold-out amphitheater and arena shows that sold more than 800,000 tickets. Their well-earned victory lap this summer confirms that nostalgia hits hard.
Songs you’ll hear: “My Own Prison,” “With Arms Wide Open,” “Higher”
Tour dates: Through Aug. 30
Linkin Park
By the time “In the End,” the fourth single from the band’s 2000 debut “Hybrid Theory,” became a Top 10 smash worldwide, the band from Agoura Hills, California, had already been together for nearly half a decade. Their mishmash of electronic rock, metal and rap was both angry and thoughtful, but it was the unleashed vocals of frontman Chester Bennington that conveyed the angst of the generation. Linkin Park went on hiatus after Bennington died by suicide in 2017, but returned in 2024 with singer Emily Armstrong joining co-founders Mike Shinoda and Brad Delson. The band’s “From Zero” album and hit single “The Emptiness Machine” signified their return with a rumble.
Songs you’ll hear: “What I’ve Done,” “In the End,” “The Emptiness Machine”
Tour dates: (In North America) July 29-Sept. 24