The Backstreet Boys are a multi-Grammy nominated American vocal group.They were formed in Orlando/ Florida and managed by producer Lou Pearlman, and have been together since 1993. They have 14 Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and have sold over 130 million records worldwide[2] making them one of the biggest selling artists of all time and best selling boy band. According to US Billboard 200, the Backstreet Boys are the first artist since Sade to have their first seven albums reach top 10 on the chart.[3] Their earlier songs still remain very popular. When they returned to the pop scene in 2005, their sound had changed drastically, incorporating only live instruments (some of which they play themselves) and a more guitar and piano driven pop-rock sound. After the 2005–2006 tour, original member Kevin Richardson left the group on June 23, 2006, to start a family,[4] but the four-piece refused to rule out a possible return for the singer.[5] The now four-member group consists of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell and A. J. McLean. The quartet has since released two albums, the most recent on October 6, 2009, titled This Is Us, which went back to pop music, although is still considerably different from their classic sound, with This Is Us being more R&B.
Band history
Backstreet Boys – beginnings and early success: 1992–1996
Lou Pearlman, who had been inspired by New Kids on the Block in 1989, decided to create his own clean-cut boy band. After newspaper advertisements and auditions from June 1992 to early 1993, he recruited A. J. McLean in August 1992, Nick Carter in October, and Howie Dorough in December, who eventually met each other in several auditions and became friends.[6] Following the departure of three previous members, Burk Parsons (pursued a career in ministry), Sam Licata (later performing as Phoenix Stone) and Charles Edwards, Kevin Richardson came on board in March 1993. He met the other guys through a co-worker,[7] and the four decided to form a group, naming themselves after an Orlando flea market.[8] The group took its final member on April 9, 1993, when Brian Littrell, Richardson's cousin, joined the group after a phone audition.[9] Pearlman had spent around $3.5 million of fraudulently obtained money (he has been convicted of operating a Ponzi scheme during this time frame) on his search to form the group, and then spent more to launch their career.[10] They officially became a group on April 19, 1993.
Afterward Pearlman called on Bob Curiano to write and produce for the Backstreet Boys. Their first two songs recorded were "Lover Boy", written and produced by Curiano, and "Get Ready", a cover tune. Their first concert, on July 8, 1993, was performed for 3,000 teenagers at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida. Pearlman booked them at grade-school assemblies and shopping malls, and assigned management duties to Johnny Wright and Donna Wright,[11] who had worked with New Kids on the Block. Recording for their debut album officially began in the fall of 1994 and finished a few weeks prior to their European album's release in 1996. In the first few months of recording for Jive Records they worked in mainly Florida studios. They notably recorded during these late months of 1994, the ballad "I'll Never Find Someone Like You" and the track "Every Time I Close My Eyes" with Eric Foster White, as well some other songs. By mis-communication, "I'll Never Find Someone Like You" was given to Keith Martin after they recorded it and released as a single in February 1995, barring them copyrighting their version. In June 1995, they were sent to Stockholm, Sweden for a week to record at Cheiron Studios with producers Denniz Pop and Max Martin. Out of the recording sessions came We've Got It Goin' On, Quit Playing Games (With My Heart), and I Wanna Be With You.
The first single chosen to be released was We've Got It Goin' On released to radio in late August 1995. The song was a minor success, which resulted in promotion being shifted to Europe. The single did well on several European charts, which sent them on a summer tour there. They finished recording in April 1996 and filmed their second music video, Get Down (You're the One for Me) in Germany as well. On May 6, 1996, their debut was internationally, except in the US and Canada. It was later released that September in Canada.
European popularity grew, and the Backstreet Boys kicked off 1996 being voted the No. 1 international group by TV viewers in Germany – "I'll Never Break Your Heart" went gold there and hit No. 1 in Austria. The group earned their first platinum record in Germany and toured Asia and Canada. They became one of the most successful debut artists in the world. Most importantly they were able to get attention from China and South Asian countries where we have 2/3 of worlds population. Bangladesh (a country in South Asia), where their first album remained number 1 in the chart for back to back 24 months.
Backstreet's Back and Millennium – breakthrough and stardom: 1997–1999
They began recording their second album in January 1997, Backstreet's Back, releasing "Quit Playing Games With My Heart" in June. They also recorded the song, If You Stay, for the Booty Call soundtrack in January 1997. Coinciding with the release of their second international album, the band released a self-titled album in the US which collected songs from both international albums. They hit big on the U.S. charts and debuted at No .1 in Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Finland and Austria. The two albums sold more than 28 million copies worldwide (14 million copies in the U.S.)[12]
In December 1997, the band embarked on a 60-city, 20-country tour. In September 1998 the group began work on their next album. Work on Millennium began in September 1998, with recording taking place from October 3, 1998 to early March 1999 in multiple cities. A sneak preview of the tracks "The One", "Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely", and "I Need You Tonight" was released on November 17, 1998 on the A Night Out with the Backstreet Boys concert video, as well as on the All I Have To Give U.S. single in December 1998. Preceded by the worldwide hit single "I Want It That Way", anticipation for Millennium was high. On May 18, 1999, Millennium was released. The day of the album's release, the Backstreet Boys made a heavily publicized appearance on MTV's Total Request Live. Millennium entered the Billboard 200 at #1, where it remained for 10 non-consecutive weeks. It sold 1,134,000 copies in its first week of release.[13] Four singles were released from Millennium: "I Want It That Way", "Larger than Life", "Show Me The Meaning Of Being Lonely", and "The One".
The image above is proposed for deletion. See files for deletion to help reach a consensus on what to do.
Millennium became the best-selling album of 1999 in the U.S., selling 9,445,732 albums.[14] Millennium remained on the Billboard chart for 93 weeks, eventually selling over 12 million copies in the United States and being certified 13 times platinum.[15][16] As of the end of December 2008, the album stands as the fourth best selling album in the US of the SoundScan era.[15]
Impressed by the success of the Backstreet Boys, Sony BMG, which already owned 20 percent of Jive's parent company, purchased the remainder for $3 billion, the most ever paid for an independent record company. In the meantime, The Firm negotiated tens of millions of dollars in advance payments for recordings and performances from Jive and the concert promoter Clear Channel. Also by the end of 1999, the Backstreet Boys faced new problems declaring their current Jive contract null and void, soon striking one of the largest record deals ever valued at $60 million with Jive.[17]
Black & Blue: 2000–2001
In November 2000, the group released a new album, Black & Blue, with the idea of the title of the album coming from Brian as the boys were in Los Angeles for a photoshoot. To promote the release of Black & Blue, the boys traveled around the world in 100 hours to Sweden, Japan, Australia, South Africa, Brazil, and the US; 55 of the hours were spent traveling and 45 were spent making public appearances.[2] In the first week of release, Black & Blue's first single "Shape of My Heart" was played on 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 (#1), Switzerland (#1), Austria and Holland (#1). Towards the end of 2000, the album's second single "The Call" made the Top 10 in the UK and the third single "More Than That" made the Top 20.
In 2001, the Backstreet Boys kicked off the first leg of their "The Black & Blue Tour", in which they were to perform on five continents. The tour also had extremely expensive production costs. The tour was featured on a CBS TV special, The Backstreet Boys: Larger Than Life. To coincide with the special, TV Guide issued six different covers of the boys: five individual shots and one group photo.
The second leg of "The Black & Blue Tour" was put on hold when it was reported that A.J. McLean had checked himself into rehab to battle alcoholism, cocaine addiction and depression after Richardson had held an intervention for him at a Boston hotel.[18] Three sold-out shows for Air Canada Centre were postponed until September.[18]
Also, in 2001, the Backstreet Boys performed the American national anthem, in front of an audience at the Super Bowl XXXV at the Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida.
Hiatus: 2002–2004
In 2002, the band expressed a strong desire to leave their management company, The Firm.[19] Nick Carter chose to remain with The Firm to manage his solo career. It became apparent that this was reason for their lack of resistance to the Backstreet Boys moving on and this unexpected move forced the band to take a break. Starved for a blockbuster album release, Jive, according to industry observers, had no choice but to bank on releasing Carter's solo album by the end of the year, ahead of the next Backstreet Boys' album, which was due in early 2003.
In 2002, Nick Carter's solo album Now or Never was released. The album peaked at #17 on the Billboard 200 and was certified Gold.
The relationship with Jive worsened when the Backstreet Boys filed a $75–100 million lawsuit against Zomba Music Group (Jive's parent company) claiming breach of contract.[20] The group stated the label promoted Nick Carter's solo album Now or Never at the expense of the group who wanted to promote their fourth album. According to the suit, in November 1999, the Backstreet Boys revised their 1994 contract and committed to releasing two further albums for Zomba. In exchange for delivering them on time as part of a predetermined schedule, the group would receive multiple non-returnable payments that would serve as advances against future royalties.
In November 2002, Brian's wife Leighanne gave birth to the couple's first child, Baylee Thomas Wylee Littrell. In December 2003, A.J. McLean appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show where he talked for the first time in public about his addiction to alcohol and drugs, and his struggles rising to fame. The rest of the band surprised him by arriving in person to give him support, marking the first time the Backstreet Boys had appeared together in public in almost two years. The band began to reform and reconcile their differences to start recording a comeback album.
In 2004, the Backstreet Boys started performing together to promote their return to the music scene. In September they kicked-off a small Asian tour, visiting Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo and Manila. Based on the success of this tour, they announced a Mexican tour, visiting Mexico City and Monterrey and performing all new material.
Never Gone and Kevin's departure: 2005–2006
After a three-year hiatus, their single, "Incomplete", was released to radio stations on March 28, 2005. The album is named after a song on the album which mourns the loss of Kevin Richardson's father.[21] The drastic style change drew negative criticism from magazines such as Rolling Stone, which gave the album one star.[22]
On June 14, 2005, the Backstreet Boys released their comeback album Never Gone, which they spent more than a year recording. The album debuted at #3 on the U.S. chart with first week sales of 291,000 copies, and #1 debuts in Japan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Germany, India, Chile, Brazil and South Korea. In the same year, Brian Littrell's song "In Christ Alone" charted at #1 on the US Christian Charts. The Backstreet Boys began the first leg of their The Never Gone Tour in July in West Palm Beach, Florida. It was their first Australian tour.
Never Gone was certified platinum in the US and four singles were released from the album. Their first single was "Incomplete", the second single was "Just Want You to Know", and the third singles were "Crawling Back to You" for the US and "I Still..." internationally. Never Gone has sold approximately 10 million copies worldwide.[23] Backstreet Boys' second single "Just Want You to Know" hit the top 10 in the UK, but was not as successful in the United States. It was one of the group's weakest performing U.S. singles, only peaking at #70 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The third international single "I Still..." debuted at #1 on the Japan International Singles Chart. The third US single, "Crawling Back to You" peaked at #15 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary charts.
In June 2006, Richardson left the Backstreet Boys to pursue other interests and "move on with the next chapter of his life." He issued the following statement on the band's website on June 23, 2006:
“ After 13 years of what can only be described as a dream come true, I have decided that it is time to leave the Backstreet Boys. It was a very tough decision for me but one that was necessary to move on with the next chapter of my life. Howard, Brian, Alex and Nick will always be my little brothers and have my utmost love and support. I would like to thank the Backstreet fans for all the beautiful memories we have shared together and look forward to including you in the next phase of my life. I wish my brothers continued success and look forward to their new album.[24] ”
Unbreakable: 2007–2008
The Backstreet Boys' sixth album includes various music styles, combining their earlier mid-90s dance-pop sound with their newer guitar driven pop/rock sound. Unbreakable, was officially launched on October 30, 2007. It was the group's follow-up to 2005's Never Gone and is the first effort since Richardson's departure.
On July 25, 2007, the first single was confirmed as "Inconsolable," a piano-driven power ballad similar to Never Gone's "Incomplete." It reached #21 on the US Adult Contemporary Charts, but managed only #86 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Helpless When She Smiles" was the next single to be released from Unbreakable. It only managed to reach #52 in the US Adult Contemporary charts and in turn failed to reach the Billboard Hot 100 charts.
While the album had received positive reviews, it did not perform as well as its predecessor, Never Gone. Unbreakable opened at #7 on The Billboard 200, selling 81,000 copies in its first week of release.[25] Two weeks after its debut, the album dropped out of the top 100. However, it performed well in Japan, debuting #1 on the Japanese Oricon weekly album charts and staying there for another week.
The group went on a 45 date World tour to promote Unbreakable in Tokyo, Japan on February 16, 2008. Dates were confirmed for the tour being titled the Unbreakable Tour in Australia, Japan, Mexico, UK, Europe, Asia, Canada and The United States. The group kicked off their North American tour on July 29, 2008 in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada and was originally scheduled to wrap up in Redmond, WA, USA on September 6. They recorded a tour DVD in London's The O2 Arena which can be seen on YouTube, but has yet to be released.
Richardson rejoined the rest of the band in Los Angeles at the Palladium in Hollywood on November 23, 2008 for the last North American stop of the Unbreakable Tour.[26]
This Is Us: 2009–present
In 2009, the group began working on a new album that was released on October 6, 2009[27] and were confirmed to be working with Max Martin,[28], OneRepublic singer Ryan Tedder, RedOne, Ne-Yo, Brian Kennedy, Pitbull, Claude Kelly, Jim Jonsin, Eddie Galan, T-Pain, Rami Yacoub, Kristian Lundin, many others.[29]
In an interview with Extra TV the Backstreet Boys confirmed the title of their seventh album to be This Is Us.[30] The Backstreet Boys formally announced the dates for the European leg of the new tour for the album. This Is Us Tour started on October 30. It was announced on the official website that Sony would be releasing the a second Backstreet Boys greatest hits album on January 26th 2010. The compilation is titled "Playlist: The Very Best of the Backstreet Boys " and is part of a series of similar Playlist albums issued by Sony Legacy.
Recognition
In October 1998, the band received the keys to the city from the mayor of Orlando in honor of the tornado relief concert the group headlined in March that raised over $250,000.
Controversies and issues
Littrell (soon joined by McLean, Richardson and Dorough) brought a lawsuit against Lou Pearlman, as he was taking an unusually high percentage of the profits made by the band (75 percent), leaving the Boys barely enough to survive after credits to writers and performers were given separately. The lawsuit also claimed that Pearlman had hidden and misused money earned by the band and prompted similar lawsuits from other prominent boy bands such as 'N Sync. The case was settled in 1998.[4] In February 1999, they hired a new manager team called "The Firm", famous for managing bands including Limp Bizkit and Korn. Along with their new management team, the Backstreet Boys sued Pearlman several more times, until he renegotiated the settlement on terms more favorable to the band. Executives of the Firm stated that the Backstreet Boys had bought out Pearlman's stake in the band.[citation needed]
In 1998, Littrell underwent open-heart surgery in the middle of their sold-out US 39-city tour, at the insistence of his then girlfriend (and now wife) Leighanne Wallace; he had twice postponed the surgery in the past. He had been struggling with a heart murmur since he was born, almost dying at the age of 4 due to a bacterial infection. Shortly after, the Backstreet Boys cancelled an appearance in Minnesota after learning that Howie Dorough's sister had died of lupus.
Solo work
Nick Carter
* Nick Carter was the first to have an attempt at a career as a solo artist in 2002, when he released his debut album Now Or Never. The album reached #17 on Billboard 200 and was certified gold. The singles released by him during this period were "Help Me" and "Do I Have to Cry for You" both released in 2002 and "I Got You" which was released early 2003.
* In autumn 2009 Carter worked with singer Jennifer Paige and their single, "Beautiful Lie" will be out November 20, 2009.
Brian Littrell
* On May 2, 2006, Brian Littrell released his first solo album Welcome Home with the title track as the first single. Both album and single made the top 3 on the Billboard Christian Charts.
A.J. McLean
* In April 2008 A.J. McLean announced plans to kick start his own solo career, he performed some of his own solo material while on the Unbreakable Tour, some of the most noteworthy material included "London" and "Drive By Love". Long time Backstreet Boy producer Kristian Lundin worked on both of these tracks as well as many others.[31]
Howie Dorough
* In 2007/2008 Howie Dorough began work on his first solo album. His new material was first performed on the Backstreet Boys Unbreakable tour in 2009, where he sang a new solo song entitled "She's Like the Sun". On 2008, he recorded the song "I'll Be There", a duet with Filipina singer Sarah Geronimo.
Band history
Backstreet Boys – beginnings and early success: 1992–1996
Lou Pearlman, who had been inspired by New Kids on the Block in 1989, decided to create his own clean-cut boy band. After newspaper advertisements and auditions from June 1992 to early 1993, he recruited A. J. McLean in August 1992, Nick Carter in October, and Howie Dorough in December, who eventually met each other in several auditions and became friends.[6] Following the departure of three previous members, Burk Parsons (pursued a career in ministry), Sam Licata (later performing as Phoenix Stone) and Charles Edwards, Kevin Richardson came on board in March 1993. He met the other guys through a co-worker,[7] and the four decided to form a group, naming themselves after an Orlando flea market.[8] The group took its final member on April 9, 1993, when Brian Littrell, Richardson's cousin, joined the group after a phone audition.[9] Pearlman had spent around $3.5 million of fraudulently obtained money (he has been convicted of operating a Ponzi scheme during this time frame) on his search to form the group, and then spent more to launch their career.[10] They officially became a group on April 19, 1993.
Afterward Pearlman called on Bob Curiano to write and produce for the Backstreet Boys. Their first two songs recorded were "Lover Boy", written and produced by Curiano, and "Get Ready", a cover tune. Their first concert, on July 8, 1993, was performed for 3,000 teenagers at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida. Pearlman booked them at grade-school assemblies and shopping malls, and assigned management duties to Johnny Wright and Donna Wright,[11] who had worked with New Kids on the Block. Recording for their debut album officially began in the fall of 1994 and finished a few weeks prior to their European album's release in 1996. In the first few months of recording for Jive Records they worked in mainly Florida studios. They notably recorded during these late months of 1994, the ballad "I'll Never Find Someone Like You" and the track "Every Time I Close My Eyes" with Eric Foster White, as well some other songs. By mis-communication, "I'll Never Find Someone Like You" was given to Keith Martin after they recorded it and released as a single in February 1995, barring them copyrighting their version. In June 1995, they were sent to Stockholm, Sweden for a week to record at Cheiron Studios with producers Denniz Pop and Max Martin. Out of the recording sessions came We've Got It Goin' On, Quit Playing Games (With My Heart), and I Wanna Be With You.
The first single chosen to be released was We've Got It Goin' On released to radio in late August 1995. The song was a minor success, which resulted in promotion being shifted to Europe. The single did well on several European charts, which sent them on a summer tour there. They finished recording in April 1996 and filmed their second music video, Get Down (You're the One for Me) in Germany as well. On May 6, 1996, their debut was internationally, except in the US and Canada. It was later released that September in Canada.
European popularity grew, and the Backstreet Boys kicked off 1996 being voted the No. 1 international group by TV viewers in Germany – "I'll Never Break Your Heart" went gold there and hit No. 1 in Austria. The group earned their first platinum record in Germany and toured Asia and Canada. They became one of the most successful debut artists in the world. Most importantly they were able to get attention from China and South Asian countries where we have 2/3 of worlds population. Bangladesh (a country in South Asia), where their first album remained number 1 in the chart for back to back 24 months.
Backstreet's Back and Millennium – breakthrough and stardom: 1997–1999
They began recording their second album in January 1997, Backstreet's Back, releasing "Quit Playing Games With My Heart" in June. They also recorded the song, If You Stay, for the Booty Call soundtrack in January 1997. Coinciding with the release of their second international album, the band released a self-titled album in the US which collected songs from both international albums. They hit big on the U.S. charts and debuted at No .1 in Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Finland and Austria. The two albums sold more than 28 million copies worldwide (14 million copies in the U.S.)[12]
In December 1997, the band embarked on a 60-city, 20-country tour. In September 1998 the group began work on their next album. Work on Millennium began in September 1998, with recording taking place from October 3, 1998 to early March 1999 in multiple cities. A sneak preview of the tracks "The One", "Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely", and "I Need You Tonight" was released on November 17, 1998 on the A Night Out with the Backstreet Boys concert video, as well as on the All I Have To Give U.S. single in December 1998. Preceded by the worldwide hit single "I Want It That Way", anticipation for Millennium was high. On May 18, 1999, Millennium was released. The day of the album's release, the Backstreet Boys made a heavily publicized appearance on MTV's Total Request Live. Millennium entered the Billboard 200 at #1, where it remained for 10 non-consecutive weeks. It sold 1,134,000 copies in its first week of release.[13] Four singles were released from Millennium: "I Want It That Way", "Larger than Life", "Show Me The Meaning Of Being Lonely", and "The One".
The image above is proposed for deletion. See files for deletion to help reach a consensus on what to do.
Millennium became the best-selling album of 1999 in the U.S., selling 9,445,732 albums.[14] Millennium remained on the Billboard chart for 93 weeks, eventually selling over 12 million copies in the United States and being certified 13 times platinum.[15][16] As of the end of December 2008, the album stands as the fourth best selling album in the US of the SoundScan era.[15]
Impressed by the success of the Backstreet Boys, Sony BMG, which already owned 20 percent of Jive's parent company, purchased the remainder for $3 billion, the most ever paid for an independent record company. In the meantime, The Firm negotiated tens of millions of dollars in advance payments for recordings and performances from Jive and the concert promoter Clear Channel. Also by the end of 1999, the Backstreet Boys faced new problems declaring their current Jive contract null and void, soon striking one of the largest record deals ever valued at $60 million with Jive.[17]
Black & Blue: 2000–2001
In November 2000, the group released a new album, Black & Blue, with the idea of the title of the album coming from Brian as the boys were in Los Angeles for a photoshoot. To promote the release of Black & Blue, the boys traveled around the world in 100 hours to Sweden, Japan, Australia, South Africa, Brazil, and the US; 55 of the hours were spent traveling and 45 were spent making public appearances.[2] In the first week of release, Black & Blue's first single "Shape of My Heart" was played on 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 (#1), Switzerland (#1), Austria and Holland (#1). Towards the end of 2000, the album's second single "The Call" made the Top 10 in the UK and the third single "More Than That" made the Top 20.
In 2001, the Backstreet Boys kicked off the first leg of their "The Black & Blue Tour", in which they were to perform on five continents. The tour also had extremely expensive production costs. The tour was featured on a CBS TV special, The Backstreet Boys: Larger Than Life. To coincide with the special, TV Guide issued six different covers of the boys: five individual shots and one group photo.
The second leg of "The Black & Blue Tour" was put on hold when it was reported that A.J. McLean had checked himself into rehab to battle alcoholism, cocaine addiction and depression after Richardson had held an intervention for him at a Boston hotel.[18] Three sold-out shows for Air Canada Centre were postponed until September.[18]
Also, in 2001, the Backstreet Boys performed the American national anthem, in front of an audience at the Super Bowl XXXV at the Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida.
Hiatus: 2002–2004
In 2002, the band expressed a strong desire to leave their management company, The Firm.[19] Nick Carter chose to remain with The Firm to manage his solo career. It became apparent that this was reason for their lack of resistance to the Backstreet Boys moving on and this unexpected move forced the band to take a break. Starved for a blockbuster album release, Jive, according to industry observers, had no choice but to bank on releasing Carter's solo album by the end of the year, ahead of the next Backstreet Boys' album, which was due in early 2003.
In 2002, Nick Carter's solo album Now or Never was released. The album peaked at #17 on the Billboard 200 and was certified Gold.
The relationship with Jive worsened when the Backstreet Boys filed a $75–100 million lawsuit against Zomba Music Group (Jive's parent company) claiming breach of contract.[20] The group stated the label promoted Nick Carter's solo album Now or Never at the expense of the group who wanted to promote their fourth album. According to the suit, in November 1999, the Backstreet Boys revised their 1994 contract and committed to releasing two further albums for Zomba. In exchange for delivering them on time as part of a predetermined schedule, the group would receive multiple non-returnable payments that would serve as advances against future royalties.
In November 2002, Brian's wife Leighanne gave birth to the couple's first child, Baylee Thomas Wylee Littrell. In December 2003, A.J. McLean appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show where he talked for the first time in public about his addiction to alcohol and drugs, and his struggles rising to fame. The rest of the band surprised him by arriving in person to give him support, marking the first time the Backstreet Boys had appeared together in public in almost two years. The band began to reform and reconcile their differences to start recording a comeback album.
In 2004, the Backstreet Boys started performing together to promote their return to the music scene. In September they kicked-off a small Asian tour, visiting Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo and Manila. Based on the success of this tour, they announced a Mexican tour, visiting Mexico City and Monterrey and performing all new material.
Never Gone and Kevin's departure: 2005–2006
After a three-year hiatus, their single, "Incomplete", was released to radio stations on March 28, 2005. The album is named after a song on the album which mourns the loss of Kevin Richardson's father.[21] The drastic style change drew negative criticism from magazines such as Rolling Stone, which gave the album one star.[22]
On June 14, 2005, the Backstreet Boys released their comeback album Never Gone, which they spent more than a year recording. The album debuted at #3 on the U.S. chart with first week sales of 291,000 copies, and #1 debuts in Japan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Germany, India, Chile, Brazil and South Korea. In the same year, Brian Littrell's song "In Christ Alone" charted at #1 on the US Christian Charts. The Backstreet Boys began the first leg of their The Never Gone Tour in July in West Palm Beach, Florida. It was their first Australian tour.
Never Gone was certified platinum in the US and four singles were released from the album. Their first single was "Incomplete", the second single was "Just Want You to Know", and the third singles were "Crawling Back to You" for the US and "I Still..." internationally. Never Gone has sold approximately 10 million copies worldwide.[23] Backstreet Boys' second single "Just Want You to Know" hit the top 10 in the UK, but was not as successful in the United States. It was one of the group's weakest performing U.S. singles, only peaking at #70 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The third international single "I Still..." debuted at #1 on the Japan International Singles Chart. The third US single, "Crawling Back to You" peaked at #15 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary charts.
In June 2006, Richardson left the Backstreet Boys to pursue other interests and "move on with the next chapter of his life." He issued the following statement on the band's website on June 23, 2006:
“ After 13 years of what can only be described as a dream come true, I have decided that it is time to leave the Backstreet Boys. It was a very tough decision for me but one that was necessary to move on with the next chapter of my life. Howard, Brian, Alex and Nick will always be my little brothers and have my utmost love and support. I would like to thank the Backstreet fans for all the beautiful memories we have shared together and look forward to including you in the next phase of my life. I wish my brothers continued success and look forward to their new album.[24] ”
Unbreakable: 2007–2008
The Backstreet Boys' sixth album includes various music styles, combining their earlier mid-90s dance-pop sound with their newer guitar driven pop/rock sound. Unbreakable, was officially launched on October 30, 2007. It was the group's follow-up to 2005's Never Gone and is the first effort since Richardson's departure.
On July 25, 2007, the first single was confirmed as "Inconsolable," a piano-driven power ballad similar to Never Gone's "Incomplete." It reached #21 on the US Adult Contemporary Charts, but managed only #86 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Helpless When She Smiles" was the next single to be released from Unbreakable. It only managed to reach #52 in the US Adult Contemporary charts and in turn failed to reach the Billboard Hot 100 charts.
While the album had received positive reviews, it did not perform as well as its predecessor, Never Gone. Unbreakable opened at #7 on The Billboard 200, selling 81,000 copies in its first week of release.[25] Two weeks after its debut, the album dropped out of the top 100. However, it performed well in Japan, debuting #1 on the Japanese Oricon weekly album charts and staying there for another week.
The group went on a 45 date World tour to promote Unbreakable in Tokyo, Japan on February 16, 2008. Dates were confirmed for the tour being titled the Unbreakable Tour in Australia, Japan, Mexico, UK, Europe, Asia, Canada and The United States. The group kicked off their North American tour on July 29, 2008 in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada and was originally scheduled to wrap up in Redmond, WA, USA on September 6. They recorded a tour DVD in London's The O2 Arena which can be seen on YouTube, but has yet to be released.
Richardson rejoined the rest of the band in Los Angeles at the Palladium in Hollywood on November 23, 2008 for the last North American stop of the Unbreakable Tour.[26]
This Is Us: 2009–present
In 2009, the group began working on a new album that was released on October 6, 2009[27] and were confirmed to be working with Max Martin,[28], OneRepublic singer Ryan Tedder, RedOne, Ne-Yo, Brian Kennedy, Pitbull, Claude Kelly, Jim Jonsin, Eddie Galan, T-Pain, Rami Yacoub, Kristian Lundin, many others.[29]
In an interview with Extra TV the Backstreet Boys confirmed the title of their seventh album to be This Is Us.[30] The Backstreet Boys formally announced the dates for the European leg of the new tour for the album. This Is Us Tour started on October 30. It was announced on the official website that Sony would be releasing the a second Backstreet Boys greatest hits album on January 26th 2010. The compilation is titled "Playlist: The Very Best of the Backstreet Boys " and is part of a series of similar Playlist albums issued by Sony Legacy.
Recognition
In October 1998, the band received the keys to the city from the mayor of Orlando in honor of the tornado relief concert the group headlined in March that raised over $250,000.
Controversies and issues
Littrell (soon joined by McLean, Richardson and Dorough) brought a lawsuit against Lou Pearlman, as he was taking an unusually high percentage of the profits made by the band (75 percent), leaving the Boys barely enough to survive after credits to writers and performers were given separately. The lawsuit also claimed that Pearlman had hidden and misused money earned by the band and prompted similar lawsuits from other prominent boy bands such as 'N Sync. The case was settled in 1998.[4] In February 1999, they hired a new manager team called "The Firm", famous for managing bands including Limp Bizkit and Korn. Along with their new management team, the Backstreet Boys sued Pearlman several more times, until he renegotiated the settlement on terms more favorable to the band. Executives of the Firm stated that the Backstreet Boys had bought out Pearlman's stake in the band.[citation needed]
In 1998, Littrell underwent open-heart surgery in the middle of their sold-out US 39-city tour, at the insistence of his then girlfriend (and now wife) Leighanne Wallace; he had twice postponed the surgery in the past. He had been struggling with a heart murmur since he was born, almost dying at the age of 4 due to a bacterial infection. Shortly after, the Backstreet Boys cancelled an appearance in Minnesota after learning that Howie Dorough's sister had died of lupus.
Solo work
Nick Carter
* Nick Carter was the first to have an attempt at a career as a solo artist in 2002, when he released his debut album Now Or Never. The album reached #17 on Billboard 200 and was certified gold. The singles released by him during this period were "Help Me" and "Do I Have to Cry for You" both released in 2002 and "I Got You" which was released early 2003.
* In autumn 2009 Carter worked with singer Jennifer Paige and their single, "Beautiful Lie" will be out November 20, 2009.
Brian Littrell
* On May 2, 2006, Brian Littrell released his first solo album Welcome Home with the title track as the first single. Both album and single made the top 3 on the Billboard Christian Charts.
A.J. McLean
* In April 2008 A.J. McLean announced plans to kick start his own solo career, he performed some of his own solo material while on the Unbreakable Tour, some of the most noteworthy material included "London" and "Drive By Love". Long time Backstreet Boy producer Kristian Lundin worked on both of these tracks as well as many others.[31]
Howie Dorough
* In 2007/2008 Howie Dorough began work on his first solo album. His new material was first performed on the Backstreet Boys Unbreakable tour in 2009, where he sang a new solo song entitled "She's Like the Sun". On 2008, he recorded the song "I'll Be There", a duet with Filipina singer Sarah Geronimo.