A member of the Backstreet Boys’ extended family is about to show off his own skills on American Idol.
Brian Littrell’s 22-year-old son, Baylee Littrell, will compete on season 23 of Idol, the “proud” dad told Today on Friday, February 14. “He’s actually on the new American Idol this season, which is a little caveat of information,” Brian, 49, shared.
“He was just texting me last night, going, ‘Dad, dude, how do you do this? Like, it’s hard work,’” Brian continued. “He’s been busting his butt, and I’m super proud of him. He kind of gets a new sense of reality of what this is.”
Baylee teased his Idol audition via Instagram on February 5, posting a photo from the set and writing, “Well guys, recently I had the opportunity to audition for @americanidol. Tune in to see the season premiere and what happens on 3/9/25!”
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Brian commented, “Bubba I can’t wait!!!!! Good Luck we’re all counting on you hahaha,” with Baylee’s mom, Leighanne Littrell, adding, “This💕🔥💕 yes bubba 💥.”
Brian, who has been a member of the Backstreet Boys alongside Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean and Kevin Richardson since 1993, said Baylee has been in the boy band’s orbit since he was young.
“He tells this joke about being at a convenience store or a drug store, and there was a Millennium album, in the casing of all these CDs,” Brian recalled to Today. “And he picks it up … and he was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, that’s my dad!’ And this was when he was, like, probably 7 or 8 years old.”
Baylee also used to go on the road with the group and introduce them before shows.
“I got to introduce my dad at 5 years old,” Baylee told People in 2023. “And then when I was 10, I started opening up for them. I would sing two or three songs before the opener would come out and play their set. And then that transcended into 2019, being able to go on a 42-show run with them and be the official opening act. That was the experience of a lifetime.”
“I’ve pretty much grown up on the road since I can remember. So my first crib was a bunk on a tour bus,” he added. “So really, my first memories are being out on the road and being abroad.”
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Baylee has always followed in his father’s footsteps and made his Broadway debut in 2016 at just 13 in the musical Disaster! before releasing his debut album, 770-Country, in 2019. That same year, he was the opening act for the Backstreet Boys’ DNA Tour.
Nick Carter, AJ McLean, Kevin Richardson, Brian Littrell and Howie Dorough TODAY/YouTube
The Backstreet Boys will be back on stage with their 12-date Into the Millennium Sphere residency in Vegas, in celebration of the 25th anniversary of their hit album Millennium. On February 14, they also announced the release of Millennium 2.0, which will come out on July 11. The album is a deluxe version of the 1999 record, with 25 songs that include the original 12 songs remastered, live recordings, demos and an alternate version of “I Want It That Way.” They also dropped a new song titled “Hey” ahead of the album’s release.
“We’re excited to take that album, that concept of the future, to the next level in the most state of the art venue,” Richardson, 53, told Today.
