Backstreet Boys Say Their Pre-Show Routine Looks a Lot Different Now

The Backstreet Boys are not just back onstage. They are back with smarter habits, stronger bodies, and a little more back pain, too.

During their residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas, the group opened up to PEOPLE about how things look different from their younger days. The band, made up of AJ McLean, Kevin Richardson, Howie Dorough, Nick Carter, and Brian Littrell, admitted that preparing for a show now involves something they barely did before: stretching.

“I think everybody's different. I know for me personally, I try to just have a complete quiet stretch, I do a quick little meditation, and I've got some weights that I'll do a little bit of weightlifting and stretching and whatnot,” McLean shared with the outlet.

That calm focus is a big shift from their early touring years.

“For a long stretch there, I would look at all of us in the dressing room, and maybe one of us might be stretching, but for the most part, we weren't," he adds. "Now I'm pretty sure we're all stretching before a show, before vocal warmups. About 90% of the show is full-out dancing. So we gotta be as limber as we can be."

When most of your concert involves intense choreography, flexibility is not optional. It is survival.

The group has always prayed together before going on stage. That tradition has not changed. What they pray for now, though, feels a little more specific.

“We pray that we don't fall, we pray we don't break an ankle, we get the lyrics, pray we don't pop [an] Achilles heel,” Carter said to PEOPLE.

Experience teaches you what can go wrong. After decades of performing, they know exactly what to hope for.

No matter what, the circle before the show still matters most.

“We've always had a circle up, whether it's just us five or it's us and our crew, our management, families, our close-knit team. No matter what, us five circle up, that's something we do unified," McLean shared.

That unity has been part of the group since they first formed in 1993. Even as they have grown older, that bond stays the same.

Time changes everything, including voices.

“I sounded like Mickey Mouse back then. I just had a very different voice," Carter shared. "I was younger, so all of our voices have matured. I think the 30-something years, how many shows that we've done, how many albums we've put out... I mean, it's just a natural progression of getting a little bit better. So I think maybe a better version of ourselves."

Dorough added that they "maybe have an extra wrinkle or two as well."

“Well, a little bit more back pain, but aside from that, yes," McLean responds.

They joke about the aches and wrinkles, but they also recognize the growth. Three decades of music, touring, and life have shaped them into something stronger.

The group recently teamed up with comedian Druski and musician MGK for a T-Mobile ad during Super Bowl LX, where they reworked lyrics from their classic hit “I Want It That Way.”

For Kevin Richardson, the moment meant a lot.

“You don’t take moments like this for granted. We’ve been fortunate to perform all over the world, and coming together in Times Square to shoot a Super Bowl commercial with T-Mobile was a pretty surreal experience," Richardson, 54, told PEOPLE. "Seeing the response from the fans and feeling that love year after year is a beautiful thing."

The Backstreet Boys may stretch more and pray harder these days. They may even wake up with sore backs. But after more than 30 years, they are still showing up, still dancing full-out, and still feeling the love.