THE BACKSTREET BOYS

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BACKSTREET BOYS :

Backstreet Boys were, in many ways, a contradictory band. Comprised entirely of white, middle-class Americans, the group sang a hybrid of new jack balladry, hip-hop R&B and dance-club pop that originally found its greatest success in Canada and Europe, with their 1996 debut album charting in the Top 10 in nearly every country on the continent; ironically, success in their native land did not follow until nearly two years later.
The core of the Backstreet Boys is cousins Kevin Richardson and Brian Littrell, who both hail from Lexington, Kentucky. The two began singing while they were children, performing in local church choirs, as well as festivals, where they sang doo-wop and new jack R&B in the style of Boyz II Men. Two of the other remaining members, Howie Dorough and A.J. McLean, were natives of Orlando, Florida who met each other -- as well as transplanted New Yorker and fifth Backstreeter Nick Carter -- through auditions for local commericials, theater and television. At one audition, the three discovered that they shared an affection for classic soul and could harmonize together. In no time, they were singing as a trio. Shortly after the trio had formed, Richardson moved to Orlando, where he became a tour guide at Disney World; at night, he concentrated on becoming a professional musician. Eventually, he met Dorough, Carter and McLean through a co-worker, and the four decided to form a group, naming themselves after an Orlando fleamarket; Littrell was invited to join to make the band into a quintet.

Through a friend, record producer Louis J. Pearlman, the band secured management from Donna and Johnny Wright, who put the group out on the road and had several A&R reps come see the Boys perform live. Eventually, Jive Records became interested in the band, signing the group in 1994. Jive/Zomba set the Backstreet Boys up with producers Veit Renn and Tim Allen and they labored over the album with the band for several months. The group's eponymous album was released throughout Europe in late 1995. The record was a success, spending several weeks in the Top Ten in most continental countries where it charted. In the U.K., the Backstreet Boys were named Best Newcomers of 1995 at the Smash Hits Awards thanks to their international hit single "We've Got It Goin' On." After scoring another European hit with "I'll Never Break Your Heart," the group released their eponymous debut album in Europe and Canada in late 1996; it was a success, spending several weeks in the Top Ten in most of the countries where it charted. Despite their popularity in Europe and Canada, "We've Got It Goin' On" stalled in the lower reaches of the U.S. charts in 1995; this may have been due to the fact that the American version of Backstreet Boys was not released until 1997. Combining their international singles with new tracks (which also formed the centerpiece of that year's European-only album Backstreet's Back), the American Backstreet Boys finally began their rise to U.S. success, scoring hits with the singles "Quit Playin' Games (With My Heart)" and "As Long as You Love Me" (the former of which went platinum). The album continued to spin off hits into 1999, with "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)," "I'll Never Break Your Heart," and "All I Have to Give" all landing on the charts; both the former and the latter were platinum Top Five hits, and the album ended up with sales of over 13 million copies. In the meantime, the group saw its share of turmoil; Littrell underwent surgery in early 1998 to correct a congenital heart defect, and the Boys became embroiled in lawsuits against Pearlman and the rest of their management over royalties for most of the rest of the year. When the dust settled, Pearlman remained the group's manager (though the rest of the team was fired), and the Boys began work on their follow-up album.

Millennium was released in the summer of 1999, and debuted at number one with first-week sales of over a million copies. Despite the fact that no singles were officially released from the album in the U.S., "I Want It That Way," "Larger Than Life," "Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely," and "The One" all hit the charts based on airplay alone. The group released its Christmas Album before the end of the year, by which time Millennium was well on its way to sales of 12 million copies in the U.S. alone. Once again striking immediately after their previous album stopped producing hits, the Backstreet Boys issued Black & Blue in fall 2000.

BLACK & BLUE, their new album, features five songs co-written by members of BACKSTREET BOYS as well as two songs ("The Answer To Our Life," and "Time") solely written by all five BACKSTREET BOYS. It was released November 21, 2000.

BLACK & BLUE features production from the Cherion team (Max Martin, Rami, Kristian Lundin, Jake, Per Magnusson, David Kreuger); Babyface; Rodney Jerkins; Timmy Allen; Franciz & LePont; and Larry "Rock" Campbell.

In the first week of release, BLACK & BLUE's first single "Shape of My Heart" received 170 out of 171 of the Top 40 stations in the U.S. Meanwhile overseas, the song immediately jumped into the Top Five in Sweden (#1), Norway (#1), Canada (#1), Germany (#2), Switzerland (#4), Austria (#5) and Holland (#5).

BACKSTREET BOYS have sold more than 55 million records worldwide in less than three years.

Both U.S. albums--BACKSTREET BOYS and MILLENNIUM--have received the Diamond Award from the R.I.A.A. for sales of more than 10 million each.

MILLENNIUM entered the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart at #1, 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). Significantly, MILLENNIUM sold nearly 500,000 copies alone on its first day out in the U.S.

MILLENNIUM dominated 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.

MILLENNIUM is certified twelve times platinum in the U.S. and has spent more than 77 weeks on Billboard's "Top 200 albums" chart. In addition to receiving gold and platinum awards in 45 countries, MILLENNIUM was honored with five 1999 Grammy nominations including "Album of the Year."

"I Want It That Way" reached #1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary Charts; #1 on the Billboard "Top 40 Tracks"; and #6 on Billboard "Hot 100." The song also reached #1 in the U.K., Italy, Spain, Holland, Canada, Austria, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Singapore, Malaysia, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Croatia, Germany and Pan Europe and the song entered the charts at #1 in the U.K., Italy, Spain, Holland, Canada, Austria, Switzerland and Germany.

BACKSTREET BOYS made history when all 765,000 tickets for their greatly anticipated 11-week, 39-city 1999-2000 North American arena tour sold out as soon as they went on sale Saturday, August 14--the vast majority within an hour.