Backstreet Boys still going strong | Concert preview

The Backstreet Boys, the best-selling boy band in history, are still going strong more than 20 years after impresario Lou Pearlman placed an ad in an Orlando, Fla., newspaper seeking young male singers for a group. An extension of their hugely successful tour in support of the album “In a World Like This” features a concert Thursday, May 22, at WaMu Theater, with Avril Lavigne opening.

The show features such hysteria-inducing hits as “The Call,” “Never Ever,” “I Want It That Way,” “I’ll Never Break Your Heart” and “All I Have to Give,” as well as an acoustic set that features “Quit Playing Games With My Heart.”’

Last year was huge for A.J. McLean, Howie Dorough, Nick Carter, Kevin Richardson and Brian Littrell. The grown-up boy band received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on its 20th anniversary, performed for President Obama (at their “Christmas in Washington” TV special) and appeared in the Seth Rogen movie, “This Is the End,” earning them a “best musical moment” nomination at this year’s MTV Movie Awards.

French Canadian singer Lavigne, whose hook-laden songs of empowerment gained her a big following in the early 2000s after the release of her debut album, “Let Go,” and hit single “Complicated,” is touring in support of her self-named, fifth studio album.

Backstreet Boys, Avril Lavigne

7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 22, WaMu Theater, 800 Occidental Ave. S., Seattle; $56.50-$122 (800-745-3000 or www.ticketmaster.com).