I’ve been a fan since 1998 when I was throwing a raging kegger at my home in Auburn, Massachusetts. (My parents were away on vacation.) My friend Mary started talking about ‘NSYNC, and my best bud, Erin, was like, “Nope, Backstreet is way better.” I rolled my eyes and laughed at them. Then, they convinced me to put on my sister’s VHS of BSB: Homecoming in Orlando. Suddenly, I knew what they were obsessed over. When Nick sang, “I Need You Tonight”- I cried. Brian won my heart in that video, but I had a dream about AJ that night, which immediately made him my favorite. That freed up Brian for Colleen.

BSB became a part of life. The boys kept my high school group of girls connected while we went off to college. We would always plan Backstreet adventures, and traveled all over. We maxed out a few credit cards in the process. My friend even got tattoos. Being a Nick and AJ fan, she got a “Shining Star” on her neck, and the Chinese symbols for “Wild and Free.” I think Sunday was my 15th concert, solo shows included. (Man, I loved AJ’s alter ego charity shows as Johnny No Name) I’ve been to Orlando, Toronto, New York City, Buffalo, Los Angeles, Boston - all for the boys.

Those were the days…the smell of Joop in the hallways always meant AJ had just been there. There was the time when we were in the elevator, and Kevin came in for the ride to the lobby. I’ll never forget the screams when those doors opened to a huge mass of fans. I can only imagine what it feels like to know they are screaming for you. We’ve battled blizzards, car breakdowns, girl-fights, term paper due dates, budgets and security all to see our boys, and I don’t regret a second of it. To this day, whenever I’m down, I throw on a little BSB and life is suddenly much better.

Enough background, moving on…Sunday’s concert. I was skeptical at first because at sound check we heard that the band only knew 3/4 of the new album, and the hits. Siberia is my all-time favorite BSB song, so I was bummed out to hear that. And honestly, I haven’t been super crazy about this album. But, it is the tour for Unbreakable, so obviously they need to play songs from it.

I have to say the boys never looked better. They were totally feeling the venue and the crowd. Nick was so sick, but he just pushed through and gave his all. Howie amazed me. He has grown so much vocally over the years, and he’s hotter than ever. I was really impressed by him. The guys sprinkled in some solo numbers from their personal projects, which the audience loved. I enjoyed when they projected videos on the screens during the oldies…adorable and heartwarming.

You can tell the economy has hit the boys, as the spectacle and set of this tour was a bit bland, and I noticed Marcus wasn’t on bodyguard staff anymore. But, hey we are there for them, and as one fan mentions in this YTC episode…it’s more personable and far more entertaining when they just goof off on stage and interact with the audience. Too much dancing and fancy effects take away from that. I can see how it the set could be disappointing for a huge arena-like theater, but for this venue, it was PERFECT.

Of course the highlight of the show was Kevin’s surprise appearance for the encore of “Shape of my Heart.” What a moment! I’m so blessed to have experienced that.

What’s great about all of this is…it’s not over! It keeps going, and as long as the fans stay strong - BSB will. I’ve seen a lot of boy bands, and have been a fan for a lot of them, and nobody has more dedicated fans.

The boys announced that they were going back into the studio (the next day actually) to start recording the new album!!!YESSSSSSSSSS! They’ll be working with T-Pain, so maybe a little extra effort will be put into this album, and we’ll be seeing an answer back to the New Kids’ kickass comeback CD.

I have to say, this year was all about NKOTB for me, but Sunday I realized…in the words of Howie D My Heart Stays With You, BSB. When the New Kids left us for 15 years, BSB picked up the pieces, and have not given up on us. I’m not giving up on them. I’m keeping the Backstreet pride alive.

The Sounds began their raucous set with fan favorites “Living in America,” “Dance with Me,” and “Hit Me.” When it came time for “Queen of Apology,” lead singer Maja Ivarsson climbed to the top of the drum stand and announced, “I know we’re gonna have a good time tonight.”

And a good time it was indeed. The newly renovated Palladium saw a crowd that rocked harder than was probably expected. There was plenty of crowd surfing and a few fans even managed to make it on stage before security chased them off. But the most surprising was seeing a mosh pit during the band’s anthemic tune “Fire” – yes you read that right, a mosh pit during a Sounds show. To escalate the crowd’s excitement even more, Ivarsson took a running start and dove right into the crowd at the end of the song. Needless to say, the place went ballistic.

In between the excitement, Ivarsson took a moment to tell the crowd that the band is currently working on a new album. And the inspiration for the new album? Well it’s the fans, duh. Ivarsson also proclaimed her love for L.A., saying the band considers it their second home.

Closing out the night were encore tunes “Tony The Beat” and “Hope You’re Happy Now.” I think it’s safe to say that fans walked away very happy.

Check out all of MattgomeryBurns’ uploads at yourhere.mtv.com…

Get Loud! Be Heard! Send Us Your Concert Reviews! Stop hugging the wall and jump in the You R Here mosh pit. Upload your photos and text at YouRHere.mtv.com. The best stuff goes on this blog, gets promoted on MTVNews.com, and might even end up on TV!

After the huge opening of “Twilight” over the weekend, the rest of the world is realizing what we’ve known for some time: There’s no stopping the Twilighters. During the past year, fans have weighed in on the trailers, the exclusive clip on the Movie Awards preshow, and the cast’s appearance on the Video Music Awards, all on MTV’s YouRHere site — and now that the film is finally here, of course they’ve taken their reactions online.

Read more about fans’ “Twilight” reactions at MTVNews.com.