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Backstreet Boys to try out Vegas residency

(CNN) — The all-grown-up boy band is headed to Las Vegas for a trial run of a residency, joining the likes of Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez, who have also mounted productions there.

Backstreet member Nick Carter told CNN that new music and a world tour are also happening.

“We signed a deal with Live Nation to do nine shows just to do a test in the market,” he said. “We’ve always had interest in performing in Vegas.”

Carter said the shows will be part of 130 the Boys will be performing during their upcoming world tour. The group, which also includes A.J. McLean, Howie Dorough, Kevin Richardson and Brian Littrell, is in the studio working on a new album.

Carter said they are working with “young, hot producers that can give us a fresh new sound.”

“When it comes to the music, we want to make sure we have hits,” he said.

Dates have not been set for the Vegas residency, but Carter says the group is hoping to release a single toward the end of the year, with the album and tour to follow.

He is fresh off his post-apocalyptic zombie SyFy movie, “Dead 7,” in which he stars with other boy banders including members of ‘N Sync, 98 Degrees and O-Town.

Acting has been a dream come true, he said.

“The movie was so much fun,” Carter said. “I loved creating and acting. It was a great experience.”

But he’s more focused on another production: He and wife Lauren Kitt Carter are expecting their first child within the next few days. The pair revealed the sex of the baby during his run on last season’s “Dancing With the Stars.”

“We are so excited,” said Carter, who just enjoyed their baby shower. “We are about a week away from the baby arriving, and I think (Lauren) is over it.”