All About the Backstreet Boys
Since the release of their 1997 debut album, the BACKSTREET BOYS have been redefining the meaning of pop music success. Presently
recognized as the biggest pop music group in the world, they've dominated
the charts both in the U.S.--BACKSTREET BOYS has been lodged in the
Billboard album chart's Top Twenty for nearly two years now--and
internationally, where the album has received gold and platinum awards in
45 countries with more than 28 million albums sold worldwide. They've
scored 5 Top Ten singles; released a multi-platinum full length video, ALL
ACCESS; and performed on scores of major television programs including
their own pay-per-view concert special in 1999. They were nominated for a
"Best New Artist"
Grammy Award
and named
among
Entertainment
Weekly's "Best
Entertainers of
1998." They were
also among
People
magazine's 1998
"Men We Love,"
and "25 Most
Intriguing People
Of The Year." In May 1999, they landed on the cover of ROLLING STONE.
Now with the release MILLENNIUM--the follow-up to their self-titled U.S.
debut album and the group's third international release--the
BACKSTREET BOYS are reinventing pop music stardom once again.
MILLENNIUM entered the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart at #1 the week
of June 5, having sold 1,134,000 copies in its first week of release and
shattering the previous SoundScan record held by Garth Brooks for
single-week record sales (his was a double album released during the
Christmas buying season). According to SoundScan, "In addition to having
the biggest sales week in the SoundScan era, 'Millennium' has now rung
the most sales for an album's second and third weeks." The Los Angeles
Times described this phenomenal success as "Millennium mania," further
noting that the album is "positioned to be the sound of summer 1999."
Outside the U.S., MILLENNIUM also dominates the worldwide charts,
landing at the #1 spot in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany,
Greece, Holland, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Italy, Korea,
Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Portugal,
Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan and Thailand. By
mid-June '99, the album has sold over 10 million copies worldwide which
includes five times platinum status in the U.S.
The recording features songs for the first time co-written by the
BACKSTREET BOYS themselves, with tracks produced by Max Martin,
Robert "Mutt" Lange and Steve Lipson. On MILLENNIUM, the
BACKSTREET BOYS--NICK CARTER, HOWIE DOROUGH, BRIAN
LITTRELL, AJ McLEAN and KEVIN RICHARDSON--display new depth and
expanding artistry. "The BACKSTREET BOYS have earned some major
main-street credibility with their new release MILLENNIUM," Dan Aquilante
observed in his New York Post review. He went on to rave that the guys are,
"...red-hot, with some of the tightest vocal harmonies in music," while
Newsweek took note of "their impassioned harmonies."
While the BACKSTREET BOYS (gratefully) acknowledge their debut
success to millions of teenage and young adult fans, their goal is to grow
along with their audience. "We're a vocal harmony group," BRIAN
explains. "On our last album we wanted to bring back singing as the focus
and hopefully with MILLENNIUM we'll break down a few more doors. The
album has a lot of personal influences. The lyrical content is a little bit
more mature. Wherever this album takes us we want to keep our fan base,
but expand it to all ages, older and younger, boys and girls, all
nationalities."
One of the lyrical themes the BACKSTREET BOYS explore on
MILLENNIUM is their appreciation for their fans in songs such as "Larger
Than Life," "Spanish Eyes" and "Perfect Fan," a song written by BRIAN
about his mother. They also reveal a harder, edgier sound on "Don't Want
You Back." The album showcases just how much these five extraordinarily
gifted vocalists have grown--both individually and harmonically--since the
group began six years ago. On MILLENNIUM, each of the five
BACKSTREET BOYS unique musical contributions emerge, catapulting
their trademark harmonies to even more passionate heights.
The BACKSTREET BOYS' incredible journey began in Orlando, Florida in
1993. It was there that then-high school students AJ McLEAN, HOWIE
DOROUGH and junior high school student NICK CARTER began to
encounter each other at local acting auditions. The three young men
became friends and, inspired by Boyz ll Men and Color Me Badd, formed a
singing group. The trio then decided to expand, by two. They were
introduced by a mutual friend to KEVIN RICHARDSON, whom at the time
was performing at Disneyworld. Then after unsuccessfully scouring Orlando
for a fifth member, KEVIN recruited his Kentucky-based cousin BRIAN
LITTRELL. BRIAN relocated and the BACKSTREET BOYS were ready to
begin chapter one of their amazing story.
At first, the group concentrated on their favorite cover tunes--including
Shai's "If I Ever Fall In Love"--but eventually began to find their own
distinctive sound. Stressing their strong harmonies and a blend of pop and
R&B, the vocal quintet began trying to secure a record deal. Willing to sing
for anybody anywhere, the group resorted to such classic tactics as
performing a capella in the foyers of local record label offices.
Quickly their talent and tenacity began to pay off; within six months of
forming, they became one of Florida's hottest live acts. They played high
schools, Grad Night at Sea World and scored an opening slot for Brandy.
With an indie single "Tell Me That I'm Dreaming" and a whole lot of stage
experience, the BACKSTREET BOYS entered the next chapter in their rise
to superstardom. Their then-manager was friends with A&R executive David
McPherson (who was at Mercury at the time) and in a canny move, called
him on her cell phone from one of their live shows so that he could
experience first-hand the pandemonium the group generated. Jive signed
them soon after.
In 1995, BACKSTREET BOYS released "We've Got It Going On." The
song, written by Denniz Pop and Max Martin, took off in England and
throughout Europe, where the BACKSTREET BOYS' brand of R&B infused
pop was gaining popularity. Shortly after that, a second single "I'll Never
Break Your Heart" began to climb the charts. Its success lay the foundation
for the tidal wave which was about to come.
The group won a 1995 Smash Hits Award in London for Best New Tour Act
and performed the gold single "I'll Never Break Your Heart" on British TV's
Top Of The Pops. In early 1996, the BACKSTREET BOYS were voted #1
International Group by TV viewers in Germany. Their next single "I'll Never
Break Your Heart" went gold in Germany and hit #1 in Austria. By February
of that year, the track had become a hit in Quebec and the BACKSTREET
BOYS sold out shows, with hordes of screaming fans, soon became
legendary throughout Europe and Canada. In April, 1996, the
BACKSTREET BOYS released their first full-length album in Europe and
Canada and that summer headlined a sold-out 57 date European tour. By
fall, BACKSTREET BOYS fever had also swept Asia, the Pacific Rim and
Australia. Then it was off to Canada where their debut CD had gone six
times platinum and hit the number one spot on the charts. The
BACKSTREET BOYS' 32 Canadian dates sold out in under 20 minutes as
the intensity inched closer to the U.S. By the end of 1996, the
BACKSTREET BOYS had completed a second European tour and earned
the coveted 1996 MTV Europe Viewers Choice Award--beating out the
Spice Girls, Oasis and Jamiroquai--and had sold nearly 10 million records
worldwide. All this success was only the groundwork for what was yet to
come: a triumphant homecoming.
In early 1997, the group returned to Orlando, where they began
collaborating on new tracks for their U.S. debut. Released August 12, 1997,
the self-titled album included all the BACKSTREET BOYS international
hits plus new songs recorded with some of the biggest names in music,
including "Mutt" Lange and PM Dawn (a startling remake of "Set Adrift On
Memory Bliss").
The BACKSTREET BOYS' debut album struck the U.S. like an avalanche,
spawning hit after mega hit: "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart);" "As
Long As You Love Me;" "Everybody (Backstreet's Back);" "I'll Never Break
Your Heart," and "All I Have To Give."
The newly-minted legions of U.S. fans weren't the only folks who couldn't
get enough of the BACKSTREET BOYS. The media couldn't get enough
of these five charming young men from Orlando either. The group's
domestic television appearances to date have included Saturday Night
Live (twice), The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, MTV "Live," The Rosie
O'Donnell Show, Live with Regis and Kathie Lee, Nickelodeon's "All That,"
ABC-TV's The View, "The 25th Annual American Music Awards," "The
World Music Awards," VH1's "Storytellers With Tony Bennett," the Disney
Channel's "In Concert" series, "The 1998 Billboard Music Awards," "Dick
Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve 1999," and "Shania Twain's Winter Break
Featuring Elton John And The BACKSTREET BOYS."
In addition to their ever-escalating touring and promotional schedule, the
BACKSTREET BOYS also met with a very real and potentially tragic crisis
in 1998 when BRIAN underwent heart surgery to correct a congenital
defect. He has since completely recovered.
As the world fast approaches the year 2000, the BACKSTREET BOYS will
once again hit the road for an extensive worldwide tour in support of
MILLENNIUM. Their concerts will be performed in the round to give all
their fans, both old and new, a perfect, unobstructed view of the BOYS
everyone can't help but love.
