Breaking Backstreet's Back

After last night's Xavier game we watched the Celebrity Apprentice finale on DVR. The final task was a fund-raiser concert featuring the Backstreet Boys. It was the responsibility of country singer Trace Adkins to take care of the group, which included fulfilling the requirements of their rider. A "rider" is a list of contractual demands that a band has that needs to be fulfilled when they perform live. I've worked a couple of these out before with Christian bands. Fortunately, none of them were nearly as involved as that of the BSB.

If you have a couple of minutes, you need to watch this video of Trace working with the group. I think what really sets him off is Nick Carter's request for wheat grass; the good ole' country boy looks like he's ready to collectively choke the entire band. This scene was just one of many things [including Gene Simmons] that helped make this one of the most entertaining seasons of The Apprentice in years.

By the way, the footage I linked to was from last week's show. I need to find some from the finale, because Trace goes on an even longer tirade about the boy band, noting how he performed a show while needing major surgery and they want wheat grass; he was absolutely killing them. If I'm the publicity agent for Backstreet Boys, I have to question if this TV appearance really helped their comeback [then again, if I'm their publicity agent, I would probably reevaluate my life's priorities and perhaps go all samurai on myself].

FYI, Trace lost the competition but surely gained a following of non-country fans in the process because the guy is a class act.