The singing and dancing teen idols had the spirited audience shrieking with every choreographed gyration, and left the crowd satisfied.

"It was great. I liked the dancing the most. I hope they come back soon," said Lindsay Murrell, 13, from Mississauga.

The Backstreet Boys did several costume changes but "I liked it when they weren't wearing any shirts," said Niki Boghossian, 13.

The Florida-based quintet with model good-looks is riding a tidal wave of popularity.

"I came because they've got great voices. They're going to be around as long as the Rolling Stones - even longer," said April Dezen at the wise old age of 15.

The Backstreet Boys fan rejected any suggestion they are nothing more than musical fluff in nice packaging, like the Spice Girls or the New Kids on the Block.

"Don't even compare them to the Spice Girls. That is a major insult," Dezen said. Her friend agreed.

"They're nothing like the New Kids," said Angela Graf, 16.

But for some fans, the band members' square jaws and chiselled physiques are the main draw.

"Howie D. can call me any time," Aminda Cardoso, 20, said. "He can rock my world any time."

In the last year, they sparked a near riot at an autograph-signing session in Ottawa and sold out three consecutive concerts at the Molson Centre in Montreal.

They have sold more than a million CDs in Canada and countless videos, T-shirts and boxer shorts.

Inside the SkyDome's Cafe on the Green restaurant, parents were served free coffee while waiting in a quit room to pick up their children after the show.

"We're here because our daughter loves them; she's 10. This is one of her Christmas presents," said Audrey Wiles of Ajax. "How many parents really want to see them?"

- Greg MacDonald, The Sunday Sun

January 4, 1998