Schoolgirlish giggles and sweet anticipation filled the area around Mata Elang International Stadium in Ancol, North Jakarta, on Friday.

The occasion? A concert by NKOTBSB — two of the most successful boy bands in history, the New Kids on the Block and the Backstreet Boys, who have teamed up and left traces of hysterical nostalgia in each city they have performed in during their tour.

Jakarta, it seemed, would be no exception.

Visi Firman, the 33-year-old head of corporate communications for an Indonesian company, was among the many people who had already arrived at the venue in the afternoon, even though the show was not to start until 8 p.m.

“The New Kids were my idols when I was in the fifth grade,” she said. “I had posters of the band all over my room, and I still know all the lyrics of the songs by heart.”

Rebecca Ticoalu, a Hong Kong-based flight attendant, came back to Jakarta especially for the concert.

“NKOTB was the first boy band that I ever fell in love with, and Jordan [Knight] was my favorite,” she explained. “When they split up, it was the Backstreet Boys who filled the void — so I’m here tonight for both of them.”

The concertgoers — you might expect them to consist of women only, but there were quite a few men who passionately sang along to many of the songs during the show — didn’t go home disappointed.

From the second the boy band supergroup appeared on stage, the women were on a quest to test the strength of their vocal cords, screaming like crazy and stopping only occasionally to breathe over the next two hours.

The members of NKOTBSB are clearly not boys anymore, and the fans who came out to the stadium have aged with them, but other than that, not much has changed: At least for this one night, both groups were the undisputed kings of the music world.

Read full article on TheJakartaGlobe.com.