The Backstreet Boys [ tickets ] have unveiled a handful of spring dates that will lead into a larger US tour behind the group’s most recent Top 10 album, “This Is Us.”

So far, the itinerary includes just four shows, beginning June 3 in Atlanta and wrapping up a little more than three weeks later (6/26) in Universal City, CA.

According to a statement posted at the band’s website, this is just the first round of “many upcoming dates.”

“This Is Us,” the boy band’s seventh studio set and follow-up to 2007′s “Unbreakable,” surfaced in October on Jive Records. The 11-track effort, which peaked at No. 9 on The Billboard 200, features new material that Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell and AJ McLean collaborated on alongside songwriters and producers like T-Pain, RedOne and Claude Kelly. The new work and lineup does not include original member Kevin Richardson.

“With this album, we feel like we kind of went back to what people really know of the Backstreet Boys, the sound of the pop/R&B with a little Euro-dance influence,” Dorough explained in a recent interview with LiveDaily. “We felt this is what the Backstreet Boys are really known for.”

Last month, the band announced a Backstreet Boys cruise, slated to leave South Florida Dec. 9 and return to port Dec. 13 after visiting Key West and Cozumel. Fan-club members can reserve their cabins beginning March 15 via the band’s website, while public on-sales begin March 22. [Source]

I added some more photos of Nick Carter with the Backstreet Boys to the gallery so, you can go there to take a look.

Gallery Link:
– Backstreet Boys Play Sydney

First the New Kids on the Block, now the Backstreet Boys.

The 1990s boy band — one of the biggest selling musical groups of all time — announced plans Tuesday to take to the high seas for a fan cruise.

The Backstreet Boys Cruise 2010, as it’s being called, will take place on an as-yet-unnamed Carnival ship from Dec. 9-13.

Initial details of the trip, unveiled on the Backstreet Boys’ website, say the voyage will include a performance by the band, question and answer session, photo session, deck party and beach party.

The announcement comes in the wake of a sell-out fan voyage in 2009 by 1980s boy band New Kids on the Block. The New Kids already have announced plans for a second fan cruise to take place in May.

Tickets for the Backstreet Boys Cruise will go on sale to Backstreet Boys Fan Club members on March 15 at 12:00 ET. The general public can start booking one week later on March 22. [Source]