CHICAGO, IL- It’s crazy to think that a television show that started for teens in 2009 would be back in 2025 on a world tour. Big Time Rush is on their “In Real Life, Worldwide” tour playing every song from every episode. To top it off, both openers were key characters in the TV series as well. Stephen Kramer Glickman played the infamous Gustavo Rock that originally signed the boys to become the next big thing. Katelyn Tarver played an aspiring actress named Jo Taylor who later became Kendall’s love interest.
Logan, James, Kendall and Carlos were all just teenagers when their singing and acting career skyrocketed. Becoming one of the biggest boy bands of the 2010s was no small sacrifice and shortly after the series came to an end, so did Big Time Rush. As many boy bands do, they separated to work on solo projects. Logan continued singing, Carlos married the famous Spy Kid Alexa PenaVega, James got insanely into fitness, and Kendall reunited with his previous band Heffron Drive.
It wasn’t until 2021 when Big Time Rush returned from their hiatus with two huge shows in New York and Chicago. I remember sitting at my waitressing job with my laptop, and two phones open trying to get tickets. It sold out within 10 seconds. Since those two shows, I have not missed a tour. When I was younger and the show was at its peak, you either were a Directioner (One Direction fan) or a Rusher (Big Time Rush fan). And it was a very controversial topic at that age. I stood as a Rusher, strong and proud. And actually, One Direction opened for Big Time Rush in 2012 if that gives you any insight as to how huge they were.
By 2021, One Direction had been on an indefinite hiatus since 2016 so the boy bands we grew up with felt like a distant memory. The feeling and excitement when Big Time Rush announced they were back was a feeling I’ll never forget. Ever since, they have been touring all over the world playing a mix of music from the series and brand-new music. It is so fun to hear how much the music has changed. They aren’t under a television contract anymore and they can truly make the pop music they want, as well as make the performance not as kid-friendly as previous ones were. Thanks Nickelodeon.
This tour is extremely special though. Playing all of the original songs, with two actors from the show, makes for a big night! They opened their set with the “Big Time Rush” theme song and played the intro on the screen behind them. It immediately took me back to middle school and I could feel the excitement throughout the amphitheater in my bones. It was interesting to see the age range of the audience. A lot of fans were late 20s, the ones that grew up watching it. But there was a whole younger generation that was also there, screaming every word.
Throughout their performance, they used props that were callbacks to the episodes, like Carlos’s helmet, the hockey jerseys, pranking Gustavo, and of course singing with Katelyn because she was the original Worldwide Girl. Every night on tour they each bring up a fan and sing “Worldwide” to them. As jealous as I was, it was so amazing to see how happy the band still makes everyone. We aren’t too far from it being 20 years since the first episode aired on Nickelodeon, which is horrifying, but it is just as impressive that they still have a very large fan base. I can’t act like this wasn’t a dream of mine. To be within feet of a band I grew up with—very special to me—and to be able to capture the essence of who Big Time Rush is… it just left me speechless. I rewatched the series in college because it just made me feel at home, so those four men hold a special place in my heart.
There’s an undeniable chemistry when they share a stage, an ease in the way they play off one another that only comes from years of friendship, laughter, and shared dreams. They don’t just perform songs; they pour their history into them, letting the highs and lows of their journey seep into every note. Watching them now, you get the sense that this isn’t just nostalgia—it’s proof of their staying power, their ability to adapt, and their genuine love for the people who’ve been with them since day one. It’s rare to witness a band that can grow older without losing their spark, but Big Time Rush somehow makes it look effortless.
Getting to hear the songs that were the soundtrack to some very life-altering years is a feeling I wish I could relive over and over. And that feeling was apparent throughout the entire amphitheater. Even the boyfriends that were dragged there left with smiles.
By the end of the show, the confetti was falling, and there were nothing but smiles all around. If you were a fan of the series or even just a fan of their music, you do not want to miss the Big Time Rush In Real Life tour.
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Big Time Rush Brings Nostalgia and Energy to Chicago with “In Real Life, Worldwide” Tour
