a.j. McLean: the rebel
Multi-tattooed, pierced, and wild haired, A.J. loves to be recognized, and gets a kick out of going on the band's Web sites to talk to fans.
AJ is, and has always been a ham. His very first acting job was when he was seven years old. He played Dopey in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and stole the show! "I was the main squeeze," AJ told Scholastic writer. "All the girls thought I was really cute. And I went out and signed autographs for all the little kids. And it was funny- back then I signed my full name, because that's what I thought you were supposed to do. But now, I just write, 'AJ' because that's who I am."

AJ's Issues
Carefree AJ might seem like he's just into having a good time, but he's had to confront some real issues inhis life. When he was just four years old, his dad left. He didn't hear from him untill he was 19 when AJ spotted his dad's return address on a child-support notice. AJ drove out to his dad's place and just knocked on the door. When his dad opened the door, the two embraced, crying. Then AJ noticied that his dad had all this Backstreet Boys stuff hanging on his walls. AJ couldn't believe his dad had been following the Boys all this time, yet never tried to make contact with him.

Since the emotional reunion, things have calmed down a bit- though the sitch is still