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AJ McLean

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Brian Littrell

Kevin Richardson

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About BSB
Formed in Orlando, Florida, USA, in the mid-90s, white vocal quintet the Backstreet Boys comprises Kevin Scott Richardson (b. 3 October 1972, Lexington, Kentucky, USA), Nicholas Gene Carter (b. 28 January 1980, Jamestown, New York, USA), Brian "B-rok" Littrell (b. Brian Thomas Littrell, 20 February 1975, Lexington, Kentucky, USA), A.J. McLean (b. Alexander James McLean, 9 January 1978, West Palm Beach, Florida, USA) and Howie D. (b. Howard Dwaine Dorough, 22 August 1973, Orlando, Florida, USA). Managed by former New Kids On The Block tour manager Johnny Wright and his wife Donna, they began their careers by making a breakthrough in Europe rather than their domestic market. Their success began in 1995 when the single "We've Got It Goin' On" became a substantial hit in Germany, and eventually charted in the rest of mainland Europe. The band's first UK success came in June 1996, when "Get Down (You're The One For Me)" reached number 14. Reissues of their earlier singles broke them into the UK Top 10 for the first time, with 'We've Got It Goin' On' reaching number 3 in August, and "I'll Never Break Your Heart" climbing to number 8 in November (the previous year they had stalled at number 54 and 42 respectively). Their self-titled debut album repeated this success, although it was only made available in Europe, as was the 1997 follow-up, Backstreet's Back. The latter featured a cover version of P.M. Dawn's "Set Adrift On Memory Bliss", but was otherwise another suite of teenage-orientated love songs and ballads. "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" became another huge hit, and was instrumental in breaking the group in the US when it reached number 4 in June 1998. Further huge hits followed with "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)" and "As Long As You Love Me". Their self-titled US debut, compiling tracks from the European albums, went on to become the third best-selling record of 1998 in that country. They topped the UK singles chart in May 1999 with a new single, "I Want It That Way", which also proved an enduringly popular US Top 10 radio hit. Millennium was a predictable success, topping the US album charts at the start of June 1999 and selling two million copies in just over three weeks. The group's popularity showed no sign of waning over the following year, with a string of hit singles followed by the bestselling Black & Blue, which topped the US charts in November 2000.

Interview With MTV's John Norris
MTV News' John Norris:: It's a fine Backstreet tradition that the first night of the tour is always great. But on the second night, anything that can go wrong...

Howie Dorough: ...Normally does.

A.J. McLean: Always does.

Kevin Richardson: Seems that way, yeah.

Norris: Last night was the tour's official opening night, but it was really your second show. So there were a few mishaps?

Richardson: We were having some technical problems with lifts and trap doors not closing and not going up when they were supposed to. Certain things got stuck and didn't happen when they were supposed to ط£آ¢أ¢â€ڑآ¬أ¢â‚¬â€Œ like surprises for the audience, which I'm not going to tell you about.

McLean: We got put in some weird predicaments. Our security was having an aneurysm because we were a lot closer to the audience than we were supposed to be.

Norris: At one point the fans were really close to you. Is it not supposed to be like that?

McLean: No.

Richardson: It was great.

McLean: Well, it was, but not in the way it happened. We were supposed to stay in our first position, where we ended up, and we ended up going down toward the floor, which was kind of bad.

Dorough: It was cool, though.

Richardson: The audience really enjoyed it.

Dorough: They got a special thrill out of it.

Norris: The stage for the Millennium show was round. How different is playing in the round versus the traditional setup, with the stage at the end?

Dorough: It's not as intimate, unfortunately, on the end stage. In the round, there were no bad seats in the whole auditorium or stadium. I don't think there are many bad seats [with the new setup] either, because the stage is so big. We do some special things that give us a chance to see a lot more of the audience, without giving it away. Being on the end stage is a little bit less intimate, but it's definitely a bigger production.

McLean: It's also easier for us, though. After running the circle the entire night, it gets tiresome. It's a lot more work; you have to cover more ground. On this stage, we have us five, our 10 dancers and a seven-piece band. Everything is filled up enough so there's no dead spots or gaps on the stage.

Dorough: They see us all together, at once. [RealVideo]

Norris: It feels like a bigger show. Is it?

Richardson: Oh yeah. We have 29 trucks. We would have had 30, but we took some elements out, to save for when we do stadiums in the summer. So, yeah, it's bigger. The stage is really huge.

McLean: It's almost 200 feet wide.

Richardson: It overlaps the seats on each side of the arena. That's really cool, because we get to run right up in the audience. And we've added a huge video element to the show.

Dorough: We put a lot of money into the production ط£آ¢أ¢â€ڑآ¬أ¢â‚¬â€Œ a little bit too much money. We're not making money on this tour. It's all good, though.

Norris: Is it safe to say this is your most expensive tour yet?

McLean: If you combine all of our tours and then triple it, you might get close.

Richardson: It was money well-spent. It's a beautiful show and the audience is going to get their money's worth and have a great time. That's what's most important. Right, fellas?

Dorough: I was going to say that, but you didn't give me a chance to finish.


Hear From the Boys!
Is AJ getting married? Does Nick have a girlfriend? Are they splitting up? When the Backstreet Boys decided to come clean who do you reckon they called? Yep, Smash Hits bring you the latest and exclusive Backstreet gossip - straight from the horse's mouth.

It's not everyday the Backstreet Boys invite you to Orlando to interview them, so when they did, we literally jumped at the chance. The interview took place in what could possibly be the swankiest hotel suite in the cosmiverse. AJ was the first to enter, while Kevin sloped in just behind him. Howie arrived looking a tad tired, "I was out at a place called Zuma's Beach Bar last night, and I've only had five hours sleep!" he explained. Brian walked in just behind him wearing a friendly grin, while Nick was last to enter, clutching his dog Mickey. They looked relaxed and happy, immediately pumping Smash Hits for gossip. "What new bands are out? What's Geri Halliwell single like?" Hold on - we were supposed to be interviewing you...

What have been the best and worst things about the past year?
Kevin: The best thing is that we've achieved incredible success in the US. We're getting a diamond award, which is for artists who've sold over 10 million albums. The worst things are - (looks at Brian) B-Rok?

Brian: I had my heart surgery a year ago and it was a trying time. We've become more focused and we feel a lot happier. We've realised that it's not about possessions, it's about being happy on the inside and staying positive.

How have these sort of experiences changed you?
Howie: I think it's made us stronger. We get on better now than we've ever done before, we've grown up a lot and have learnt to accept each other.

AJ: We've supported each other and that's brought us closer. We've changed the way we do things and we're more conscious of things around us. With success comes responsibility.

AJ, is it true your mum is now your manager?
AJ: No! We have a new management team called The Firm.

Kevin: That really took a lot off our shoulders businesswise.

Howie: For about eight months we were basically managing ourselves with the help of AJ's mum Denise. We had to handle the day-to-day schedules and the phone calls and stuff like that.

Nick: We have more guidance and a positive team behind us. Now we can do what we're supposed to do, which is get up on stage and perform.

Do you get mobbed every time you go out in America?
Nick: It really depends on where you go. If you go to theme parks, then you get mobbed, but if you go to a quiet restaurant for dinner then you don't.

Kevin: It also depends on how you dress and if you want to be recognised or not.

AJ: I don't mind the attention. I'll go out with no sleeves on, and as my tattoos are the most obvious thing about me, and I'm probably the most recognisable member of the band, people do tend to notice me. It can get out of hand if you don't have security with you - you can't really enjoy a peaceful day out with friends.

Have you any plans to do a film a la Spice Girls?
Kevin: We've had offers, but for now, we're concentrating on our world tour.

You've managed to fit in a bit of modelling though, Kevin?
Kevin: Yeah, it was while we had some time off. Me and Howie went to Milan to check out the fashion shows and Donatella Versace asked me if I would model for her - so I did! It's not like a new career though.

Are any of you planning to get married and have kids yet?
Brian: Not yet, but a bit further down the road.

Nick: Actually, a couple of us have been married for 15 years, but the press haven't found out yet.

Howie: Yeah, Nick was married when he was four!

Nick: And I've got four kids!

Who do you think will be the first up the aisle?
Kevin: (pointing at AJ) Gosh, I really don't know!

(Everyone starts pointing at AJ, while Nick hums Here Comes The Bride.)

AJ: (shocked) Y'all pointing at me? Ah hell!

Are the rest of you single?
Nick: No, I've got a girlfriend, we all see people.

Blimey, so kids could be on the cards then?
Brian: Nah. First comes love, then marriage, then babies.

Kevin: Not, if you're a Spice Girl! (All laugh.)

Brian: We all have puppies, that's enough for now. Having a puppy is good training for having kids. You have to feed them and clean up after them.

AJ: All mine do is pee and pee!

Howie: I haven't got a dog or a girlfriend - I'm totally available!

Do you ever see the Backstreet Boys ending?
Brian: We've got a lot to accomplish yet.

AJ: Even if we do solo stuff, it doesn't mean we're breaking up.

Nick: Maybe after the world tour we'll take six months or a year off to do our own thing, but we'll come back together.

Howie: We're definitely not going to take a 10 year gap or anything but we'll see what happens.

Nick: But we'll always be together, it's never going to be the end of the Backstreet Boys.




 


LET'S PUT BSB AT NUMBER ONE!