What is Backstreet Boys Reunion Tour?

A Game Grumps slang term for the COVID-19 outbreak, coined to let video creators talk about the pandemic without triggering YouTube demonetization of videos that named the virus.

Where did Backstreet Boys Reunion Tour come from?

Arin Hanson and Dan Avidan floated the swap in the March 31, 2020 Game Grumps episode of their Super Mario Galaxy 2 playthrough, riffing on the band's newly announced summer dates.

What does Backstreet Boys Reunion Tour mean?

It means the Coronavirus/COVID-19 outbreak. Catching the virus is called 'getting tickets,' and quarantine is called 'avoiding the tour'.

How do you use Backstreet Boys Reunion Tour?

Substitute 'Backstreet Boys Reunion Tour' for 'coronavirus' in sentences about the pandemic. Fans paired the swap with self-isolation photos and Perfection-style template parodies on Reddit.

Is Backstreet Boys Reunion Tour still popular?

Usage peaked in April 2020 inside Game Grumps subreddits and the adjacent r/NinjaSexParty community, and the bit faded with the specific YouTube demonetization window it was built around.

Backstreet Boys Reunion Tour

2020catchphrasedead

Published November 11, 2026

Backstreet Boys Reunion Tour is a Game Grumps slang term for the COVID-19 outbreak, coined on March 31, 2020 to dodge YouTube's demonetization of videos that named the actual virus. Arin Hanson and Dan Avidan swapped the disease for the band's newly announced summer dates, and Reddit fans ran with the bit through April 2020.

covid 19 memes lets play memes slang memes subreddit origin memes 2020 memes

Overview

The joke works as a straight substitution: anywhere a video creator would say 'coronavirus' or 'COVID,' they swap in 'the Backstreet Boys Reunion Tour' instead. Fans extended the bit so that catching the virus became 'getting tickets,' quarantine became 'avoiding the tour,' and frontline healthcare staff were thanked for their work 'during this Backstreet Boys reunion tour'5. The bit stayed inside the Game Grumps audience at first and spread to the r/gamegrumps and r/NinjaSexParty subreddits within days3.

The format carried a specific tonal mix: dark enough to acknowledge a global crisis, safe enough to clear YouTube's March 2020 demonetization sweep on pandemic content. Captioned photos of self-isolation and Perfection-style template parodies of Game Grumps hosts Arin Hanson and Dan Avidan became the main image macro vehicles6.

Gallery

Origin & Background

Platform

YouTube (Game Grumps) / Reddit (viral spread)

Creator

Arin Hanson and Dan Avidan

Date

2020

On March 31, 2020, Game Grumps uploaded the first episode of their Super Mario Galaxy 2 playthrough recorded under lockdown2. Arin Hanson told Dan Avidan on camera that they could not say 'the word' because YouTube was demonetizing any video that named the Coronavirus, and Dan pivoted by claiming the major event he had in mind was really the Backstreet Boys North American tour announced the month prior. Rolling Stone had covered the 45-date summer run in February 2020, with an opening night set for Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, New York on July 101.

Dan called it the Backstreet Boys 'Reunion' Tour on air, and the duo repeated the swap across following episodes, turning 'catching coronavirus' into 'getting tickets to the Backstreet Boys Reunion Tour'3.

How It Spread

On April 1, 2020, Redditor specialopps posted a photo of themselves and their cat watching Game Grumps with the caption 'Me and my girl avoiding the Backstreet Boys reunion tour' on r/gamegrumps4. The same week, user _Installation04 shouted out medical workers 'during this Backstreet Boys reunion tour' in r/NinjaSexParty for over 200 points5.

Fan art and image macros followed inside r/gamegrumps. Redditor WIDTL drew Arin and Dan calling self-isolation the 'reunion tour,' earning over 2,000 points6, and user Anasthera's Perfection-template parody about getting tickets cleared 3,600 points7. The bit leaked out of Game Grumps circles enough that one user opened an r/OutOfTheLoop thread asking where the joke came from8.

Timeline

2020-02

Backstreet Boys announce a 45-date North American tour starting July 10, 2020 at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, New York[1].

2020-03-31

Game Grumps upload the first lockdown episode of their Super Mario Galaxy 2 playthrough; Dan Avidan swaps 'coronavirus' for 'the Backstreet Boys Reunion Tour' to avoid YouTube demonetization[2].

2020-04-01

Redditor specialopps posts the earliest fan use in r/gamegrumps, captioning a photo of themselves and their cat 'Me and my girl avoiding the Backstreet Boys reunion tour'[4].

2020-04-02

User _Installation04 thanks medical workers 'during this Backstreet Boys reunion tour' in r/NinjaSexParty for over 200 points[5].

2020-04

WIDTL's self-isolation fan art of Arin and Dan clears 2,000 points on r/gamegrumps, and Anasthera's Perfection parody about getting tickets clears 3,600 points[7].

2020-04

An r/OutOfTheLoop thread asks why people are calling the pandemic a Backstreet Boys reunion tour[8].

How to Use This Meme

Replace any reference to COVID-19 or the pandemic with 'the Backstreet Boys Reunion Tour.' A common convention is to say someone 'got tickets' when they caught the virus, or that they are 'avoiding the tour' when self-isolating. Posts often include photos of empty streets, home-quarantine setups, or Game Grumps fan art with the swap in the caption6.