Backstreet Boys performed to a 10,000-strong crowd in Sunway Lagoon recently. LIN MEI ZHEN talks to A.J. McLean about the group’s continued popularity.

The Backstreet Boys has not faded into obscurity like its peers from the 90s— LFO, 98 Degrees and BBMak.

Instead, the group has defied the odds and remain an active music act still releasing albums regularly, gaining airplay in Malaysia and touring.

The group currently comprises Brian Littrell, Nick Carter, Howie Dorough and A.J. McLean. Kevin Richardson left in 2006 to pursue stage acting.

Says McLean of the band’s longevity: “It’s pretty overwhelming. It’s flattering to have success in countries where the fans may not speak your language, but they know all the words to your songs and all the dance moves! We have the best fans.”

But age catching up is something that isn’t lost on McLean and his fellow “boys”. He admits to things being different now and says the group is not likely to pose in wet T-shirts like it did back in the 90s.

“Oh my lord, what were we wearing? The only guy who isn’t in his 30s yet is Nick, but we all definitely see things differently now,” says McLean, laughing.

While they may not have the same level of fame they used to, McLean says it doesn’t really matter.

What the group now has is more than enough to sustain it for a while.

“We still have fans interested in seeing us. We want to do this for another 10 or 15 years.

“Who knows? Maybe even many more years. But we may not dance as much and we may have walkers on stage,” jokes McLean.

Beyond the group’s own effort to keep going, McLean has noticed that there is a new wave of pop acts out there keeping pop music alive today.

Pop music started taking a back seat in the last few years, giving way to hip hop and rock acts. The new wave of pop would be thanks to artistes related to High School Musical and American Idol graduates.

“There’s definitely a positive new wave of pop resurfacing,” says McLean.

Beyond Backstreet Boys’ most recent release, Unbreakable, fans of the group can look forward to more solo releases.

“My solo album is done. I’m just waiting for the record label to release that.

“Nick and Brian are working on new ones too. Howie has his Latin pop album in the works.

“Musically, mine will reflect my influences who are musicians like Prince, Al Green and Lenny Kravitz,” explains McLean.

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Posted: March 20th, 2008 under In The Press.
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Backstreet Boy A.J. McLean put tickets on sale Tuesday for two sneak-preview solo concerts this coming Sunday and Monday in the Los Angeles area.

On Sunday, McLean will play the House of Blues in Anaheim; and on Monday the famous Roxy on L.A.’s Sunset Strip.

“After 13 years with the Backstreet Boys, and 75 million records sold worldwide, A.J.’s excited to take a step out on his own and present his music, in his style,” his manager, Eric Podwall, tells PEOPLE. “He’s excited to connect to his fans on a one-on-one basis at smaller venues – something you can’t do in large arenas – and to give them a taste of some of the music that will appear on his first solo record later this year.”

McLean’s record, expected to be released toward the end of the year, will include songs such as “What If,” “I Hate It When You’re Gone,” “London,” and “Drive-By Love,” a tune that McLean has already been singing at Backstreet Boys shows.

Following his own two shows, as well as the Backstreet Boys’ European tour wrapping up May 14, McLean is set to play a series of solo shows in small venues throughout Europe before returning the States to continue working on the record.

But Backstreet Boys fans need not fret. A source also confirms that McLean is planning to record another album with the group next year.

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Posted: March 19th, 2008 under In The Press.
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Backstreet Boys, one of the most popular boy bands of all-time, returned to Seoul for a successful concert at the Olympic Fencing Stadium, Saturday evening.
On their 16th year as Backstreet Boys, the now four-member group still has what it takes to get a crowd of thousands on its feet and screaming. Brian Littrell, Howie Dorough, A. J. McLean and Nick Carter showed a lot of energy during the Seoul concert, which was their last stop on the Asian leg of their “Unbreakable” world tour.

Once the lights dimmed, the crowd roared with excitement as one by one, the Backstreet Boys appeared on stage. Each member was introduced in the same way a boxer is before a fight. Appropriately enough, they were all wearing satin boxer’s robes as they sang “Larger than Life.”

“It’s great to be back to this beautiful country,” Dorough said, in between songs.

Backstreet Boys performed several ballads and pop-rock songs from their recent albums “Never Gone” and “Unbreakable.” However, it was apparent the crowd knew more of the songs from the group’s earlier albums.

To keep things fresh, the Backstreet Boys tweaked many of their hit songs such as “I Want it That Way,” “As Long as You Love Me” and “Quit Playing Games (With My Heart).”

It’s impossible to expect the Boys to sing and dance like they did in their music videos in the late 1990’s, since the members are all in their early 30’s except for 28-year old Carter. They still had a few dance moves, but none of their old complicated routines or flashy back-up dancers.

Even the stage seemed somewhat bare, with just a few chairs and the band. Only the lighting would change as the group performed different songs.

Backstreet Boys were at their best with romantic ballads like “More than This.” The Boys seemed pretty laid-back while singing “Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely,” as they sat around a table, playing poker and smoking cigars.

Each member had a chance to do a solo performance. Carter and Littrell have already released their solo albums in the past years, while Dorough and McLean are currently working on theirs.

Dorough surprised many with a strong performance of a Latin-inspired number “She’s Like the Sun,” which will appear on his forthcoming solo album. McLean did a rock song, “Drive By Love,” and Carter, who appeared to have some vocal problems, sounded hoarse while also doing a rock number. Littrell sang “Welcome Home,” which was a number one hit on the U.S. Christian music charts.

Since it was their last concert in Asia, they specially performed an extra song “Unsuspecting Sunday Afternoon.”

Fans surprised the Backstreet Boys by throwing yellow airplanes towards the stage during the “Inconsolable” performance. The members looked surprised, but delighted the fans by throwing the airplanes back into the audience and even autographing some of the airplanes.

McLean thanked the fans for continuing to support the Backstreet Boys through the years.“We really liked the paper airplanes. We never had anything like that. It was really cool,” he said, as the fans cheered.

Backstreet Boys ended the concert with their hit “Shape of My Heart,” and a promise to be back in Seoul for another concert.

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Posted: March 10th, 2008 under In The Press.
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From culture - to pop-culture. The Backstreet Boys played their first Hong Kong concert, at the Asia World-Expo, last Friday. The show, part of the American pop quartet’s Unbreakable World Tour 2008, follows the release of the group’s sixth album, “Unbreakable” last October.

It’s the group’s first concert in Hong Kong. The band has been away from the limelight for a long time, but it never officially broke up.

AJ Mclean, member of Backstreet Boys, said, “A lot of people in between “Black And Blue” and ” Never Gone” thought we’ve broken up, thought we were done and we never really broke up, we’ve just taken a break, we had toured for nine years straight. And we had not taken a break, we probably going cuckoo, and probably wouldn’t be here right now.”

The group’s first two albums, Backstreet Boys and Millennium, released in 1997 and 1999, sold more than 10 million copies each and topped the charts in 25 countries. To date the Backstreet Boys have released 6 studio albums which sold over 75 million copies worldwide.

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Posted: March 4th, 2008 under In The Press.
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US boy band the Backstreet Boys arrived at Hong Kong International Airport yesterday afternoon, ahead of their concert at the Asiaworld Arena this evening, forming the Hong Kong leg of their Unbreakable tour.

A press conference was held this afternoon, where the boys met local reporters. It has been ten years since the band was last in Hong Kong and they commented that the region is still continually maturing. They also told of how some fans had presented them with photographs from their last performance and they were very touched by the gesture.

The band have been together now for fifteen years, but band members Nick Carter and Brian Littrell have also had successful solo careers. The other two members, Howie Dorough and A.J. McLean, are also planning to release solo albums this year.

They were met by around 30 fans as they left the airport yesterday, but security was tight as they were bundled into their car. However, the men were very co-operative and friendly as they waved to their fans and exchanged autographs for gifts from their supporters. Brian spoke briefly to the reporters, saying that they had planned to do some shopping during their stay and laughed that the fans here were very crazy but this made him happy. He added that he does like Hong Kong a lot.

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Posted: March 1st, 2008 under In The Press.
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Fifteen years on, the Backstreet Boys have lost neither their talent nor appeal.

Even back in 1993 when the Backstreet Boys were formed, people were scoffing at the concept of boybands. Other than their pre-pubescent fan base, they were given little credit – members of boybands are apparently pretty boys who can’t sing, and dance to cheesy choreography.

Two nights ago, Malaysians at the Sunway Surf Beach at Sunway Lagoon Theme Park in Petaling Jaya were witness to the flaws in this argument. Fifteen years on, the Backstreet Boys are still pretty, can still dance and showed that they indeed can sing.

In fact, the four members – Brian Littrell, AJ McLean, Howie Dorough and Nick Carter – proved to be complete entertainers if the shrieks of approval from the 10,000-strong crowd were anything to go by. The crowd was diverse – with children as young as seven years old and adults in their 40s – bopping to the music.

Thunder and rain had threatened to spoil the party but that did not deter the crowd from streaming into the venue more than an hour before the scheduled showtime. The band only appeared at 8.45pm, but the crowd was all hyped up long before that. Every time a Backstreet Boys song filled the air, they would go wild.

But it was when the stagehands walked on stage to remove a black curtain that the screams became deafening. The drape had hidden four figures, dressed in shiny boxers’ robes, from view. Yes, the Backstreet Boys were in town and they were ready to party.

As each member was introduced by a pre-recorded announcement, he would start shuffling around in place, not unlike boxers gearing themselves up for a fight. And when they turned around … let’s just say that only dogs could hear the high-pitched screams that emitted from the crowd.

Apart from the robes, the costume changes ranged from sleek suits and ties to casual street wear. But it was when they put on Fedora hats for As Long As You Love Me midway through the show that they garnered the loudest and most rapturous ovation.

The hat became iconic to the band back in 1997 in their music video for the said song. In fact, it is such a trademark that there were several groups of audiences who were wearing similar hats. Yes, the Backstreet Boys made the Fedora cool before anyone even knew who Kevin Federline was.

The costumes were only one way the band entertained that night. Although there were no special effects, it was clear that the Backstreet Boys had stolen the hearts of many fans as the crowd’s attention never faltered for a second through the 1½-hour performance.

Case in point was at the end of the song Treat Me Right, when the ring of a cellphone suddenly filled the air. Everyone turned to check their own phone, only to realise the sound had come from some audio console somewhere, and that even the four gentlemen on stage had pulled out their own phones, ready for the song The Call.

For Show Me The Meaning Of Being Lonely, the Boys just sat at a table and sang the whole song while playing poker and having a glass of “wine”. They didn’t even need to move to hold the attention of the crowd.

The Backstreet Boys were known, in their heyday, for their sleek dance moves – all choreographed, of course – and this was still very much part of their performance, despite the fact that most of the band members (save for the 28-year-old Nick Carter) are in their 30s.

“This one is for you,” McLean shouted to the crowd during their rendition of Backstreet’s Back, the last song for the night as they reenacted the dance moves from the song’s 1996 music video in which they all played monsters of some sort.

The Backstreet Boys delivered one hit after another from their six studio albums recorded during their 15-year-career and one thing was obvious – times may have changed but people’s taste never do. The teens and 20-somethings sang along to the songs alongside those in their 30s and beyond, although the Backstreet Boys’ first few albums were released at a time when the younger crowd were still dancing along to Barney.

The band performed almost 30 songs including one solo from each member. Dorough gave fans a taste of what his upcoming debut album would sound like during She’s Like The Sun, possibly the best solo rendition of the night. The song has a jazzy salsa flavour to it, probably a nod to the singer’s Latin roots, and he came across as a new-aged Marc Antony.

McLean added a touch of rock to the show with his solo Drive By Love while Carter’s I Got You and Littrell’s Welcome Home were familiar songs as these two had previously released solo albums.

The Backstreet Boys were performing in Malaysia as a quartet for the first time as member Kevin Richardson left the group last year. They were last in Malaysia to perform at the Force of Nature Tsunami Relief Concert in 2005.

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Posted: February 29th, 2008 under In The Press.
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Even the possibility of a huge storm couldn’t stop the 10,000 strong crowd from showing up at Sunway Surf Beach at the Sunway Lagoon Theme Park last night to catch American boyband Backstreet Boys live.

Barely an hour before the concert was due to start, thunder and rain threatened to dampen the atmosphere at the concert, the band’s first concert in Malaysia since the Force of Nature Tsunami Relief Concert in 2004.

“The skies are clear, and we are here … Backstreet’s back!” shouted McLean as he thanked the crowd for showing up.

The band members – Brian Littrell, AJ McLean, Nick Carter and Howie Dorough – had the crowd eating out of their hands throughout the one and a half hour concert, belting out almost 30 songs.

A great show: (From left) Littrell, McLean, Carter and Dorough of the Backstreet Boys thrilling the crowd at the Sunway Lagoon Theme Park last night. — Azhar Mahfof/ The Star
The Backstreet Boys were formed in 1993 and have so far released six studio albums, which the crowd were obviously familiar with, if their shrieks and screams were anything to go by. At times, during songs such as I Want It That Way and Incomplete, the band members even paused because the crowd was singing louder than them.

The Backstreet Boys made several costume changes throughout their performance, but it was when they put on their trademark fedora hat, made popular from the music video of their 1997 hit song As Long As You Love Me that the crowd went wild.

This was also the first time Malaysians were seeing the band perform live as a quartet as member Kevin Richardson left the group last year.

The band only sang one song for their encore but gave such a heart-warming performance that it was enough to placate the crowd.

The Star had been the official newspaper for the Kuala Lumpur leg of the Backstreet Boys Unbreakable World Tour.

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Posted: February 28th, 2008 under In The Press.
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Take 40 caught up with Brian and Howie from the Backstreet Boys recently while they were in the country for their tour, and found out a bit about ex-BSB Kevin Richardson’s buck’s night!

Even though Kevin has left the band, the boys say they still keep in touch. Howie even went along for his spur of the moment bachelor party recently!

“Poor guy…” Howie said. “We were on tour at the time, I think we were in Canada… and supposedly AJ told him he was going to set up this whole bachelor thing for him… and unfortunately he thought about himself at the last minute and ducked out… so the poor guy really didn’t truly have a major bachelor party…”

But Howie and some friends saved the day. “His security guard (Keith McGuffy) was one of his good friends…” Howie continued, “and he was… out with us at that time… so he actually came out… it was a good time.. but poor guy - if I had have known better I would’ve tried to put it together myself.”

“He actually came to mine just recently… and I think he saw what a real bachelor party was all about!” Howie said his buck’s night was a big one, although he couldn’t remember much about it!

Meanwhile Brian and his wife spent some time on Bondi Beach during their visit to Australia, with their son Bailey. They gave little Bailey an Aussie experience, making him taste Vegemite and wear speedos!

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Posted: February 28th, 2008 under In The Press.
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Backstreet Boys are back after three years in the musical wilderness. And the first thing fans will notice is that the five-piece that were one of the biggest names in pop are now a quartet.

This comes across from the opening track of their sixth studio album - Unbreakable - a sweet a capella that was the hallmark of the Florida-based outfit during their multi-platinum peak in the mid-1990s.

When founding member Kevin Richardson opted to step away from the limelight so he could start a family, Brian Littrell, Nick Carter, Howie Dorough and A. J. McLean decided to pick up where they left off with their last “comeback” album Never Gone (2005).

“It’s definitely a little bit weird for us just because we were a five-piece for 13 years, but we’ve definitely got used to it,” says McLean.

He says that despite the loss of Richardson the group’s harmonies are as strong as ever.

“You really can’t hear that much of a difference as far as the harmony [goes]. That’s because a lot of times we would just [go] crazy with harmonies and do a six- or seven-part [vocal arrangement]. There was never really a five-part harmony, it was really a four-part harmony. Kevin and I would usually double up and sing the same part,” McLean says.

“The main difference is obviously visually … you only see the four of us now,” McLean says.

And the boys have no intention to replace Richardson. Instead, they’ve decided to leave the door open, hoping that one day he might rejoin the fold.

“We’d definitely [be] ready to have him back,” McLean says.

The heart-throbs started out 15 years ago and were a hit outside their native US before they made it big at home.

They released their first single, We’ve Got it Goin’ On, in 1995 and it met with immediate success in Britain and on various European charts. In 1996, their self-titled debut album sold 7.5 million copies internationally, while 1997’s follow-up, Backstreet’s Back clocked up global sales of 10.2 million. Later that year they struck it big in the US when gangsta rap and rock were dominating the charts.

In those years, teenage girls the world over were singing along to sappy ballads such as I’ll Never Break Your Heart and upbeat numbers like Quit Playing Games (With My Heart) and, perhaps, their best-known hit Everybody (Backstreet’s Back).

Over the next several years, the boys rolled out a litany of chart-toppers. Millennium, released in 1999, sold more than 20 million copies in 43 countries and went multi-platinum in 28 countries. Their next effort, Black & Blue (2000), did even better.

After years of recording and touring, the band decided to take a break to pursue solo projects. Nick Carter released a solo album - Now or Never (2002), Littrell became a father, Dorough did charity work, and Richardson took a lead role in the Broadway musical Chicago. Meanwhile, McLean worked on conquering his drug addiction.

The next time Backstreet Boys were seen together was on The Oprah Winfrey Show, during which McLean openly discussed his stint in rehab and his lengthy battle with alcohol and drugs.

Like most boy bands, Backstreet Boys have attempted the tricky transformation from being teenage idols to adult contemporary performers. And 2005’s optimistically titled pop-rock set, Never Gone, went some way to achieving that goal with more mature tracks such as Incomplete and Siberia.

Apart from undertaking another world tour in the first quarter of this year, McLean says that both he and Dorough are still working on their first solo albums. “I’ve always wanted to do something on my own … And the time was just never right [before],” he says.

“I finished my record towards the end of last year and we’re moving forward to mixing songs,” he says.

Fans can look forward to elements of rock, funk and soul, with losts of horns and guitars. “I wrote pretty much the whole record along with other writers and producers and a lot of the lyrics are very personal, very intimate and special to me.

“It’s kind of a breakout record in the sense that I introduce myself as an individual,” McLean says.

As for Dorough, McLean says his band mate is putting the finishing touches on a record that will feature English and Spanish songs.

As for tomorrow night’s show, McLean says the boys will focus mainly on their dance tracks.

“We are putting a lot more dance records on this tour so that we can bring movement back to our live shows,” he says.

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Posted: February 28th, 2008 under In The Press.
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OK, so I have to admit I wasn’t exactly excited about going to see the Backstreet Boys in concert — even with the offer of a free ticket.

I didn’t even have time to warm to the idea of going to watch the boys perform because the promotion for the concert was … where? If it wasn’t for a billboard I spotted near Senayan on Sunday afternoon, I would have had no idea the former teen heart-throbs were coming to Jakarta.

The Backstreet Boys’ Unbreakable Tour kicked off Feb. 16 in Tokyo, Japan, with two shows, followed by three shows in Australia (Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne) then Jakarta.

It is the boy band’s first tour without Kevin Richardson, (36), who left the group in June 2006 to pursue a solo career. The now four-member group still includes original members Nick Carter (28), AJ McLean (30), Brian Littrell (33,) and Howie Dorough (34).

Their performance in Jakarta took place at Plenary Hall, in the Jakarta Convention Center, Senayan, on Feb. 25. The boys burst onto the stage at around 8 p.m. to begin their first set with the 1999 hit single “Larger Than Life” from their Millennium album, followed by songs from their Unbreakable album, which was released in October 2007.

During the concert, the boys performed 23 songs from these two albums, as well as their albums Backstreet’s Back, Black & Blue and Never Gone. Each gave a solo performance, with Brian Littrell singing “Welcome Home”, a single from his solo Christian album of the same title, which was released in May 2006. Nick Carter belted out “I Got You”, a single from his solo album Now or Never, which was released during the band’s hiatus in 2002.

I must say, the boys are looking good. After more than 15 years together — charting 12 U.S. Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and selling more than 100 million albums worldwide to become the best-selling boy band of all time and the world’s biggest money makers from concert and album sales (amounting to more than US$2.2 billion) — they still manage to bring that certain boyish charm to the stage. And who can deny the fact they have amazing voices.

When I was given a press pass to go and watch the concert, I immediately envisioned the venue swarming with ABG (anak baru-gede, or teeny-boppers) and sighed at the prospect of a night spent protecting my eardrums from the hordes of screeching adolescents.

On the night of the concert, however, I was surprised to see the majority of the audience consisted of relaxed couples in their late-20s to early-30s — the same demographic as the Backstreet Boys themselves — reminiscing, no doubt, about the early days of their courtship, back in high school or college, during the group’s heyday.

“The Backstreet Boys were my favorite band during my high school days,” said Tuty, 29, who was selling concert T-shirts at the front of the venue.

With the offer of a free ticket (a spare pass), Tuty accompanied me inside, beside herself at the opportunity to see her first concert.

“I have never been to a concert before … this is so exciting,” screamed the mother of two as she was being whisked inside to watch her former idols perform live.

The boys pleased their loyal fans with the unforgettable number one hits “Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)”, “As Long As You Love Me”, “I’ll Never Break Your Heart”, “I Want It That Way” and “Incomplete”.

They brought the show to an end with the 1997 hit “Backstreet’s Back”, with Nick Carter jumping down to stand at the stage barrier, where his female fans surged forward to lay their hands on him.

The boys left the stage briefly and came back for their encore and final song, “Shape of My Heart”, before bidding their Indonesian fans farewell.

All in all, the boys put on a great concert and I quite enjoyed the blast-from-the-past atmosphere. I was somewhat disappointed for the boys, though, that Jakarta was not able to offer a larger audience. Once again, it seems event organizers and sponsors failed to successfully promote international performers. That, coupled with unreasonable ticket prices — Rp 750,000 for festival (standing) and Rp 1,500,000 for VIP (sitting in the grandstand and much further from the stage than the festival ticket-holders) — saw the audience reach no more than 2,200.

After their performance at Plenary Hall, the Backstreet Boys headed to Malaysia for their next show. The remainder of the Asian leg of their tour will see them perform in China, Taiwan and Korea, before they head to Mexico and then Europe and the UK, where the tour will end in London on May 14.

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Posted: February 28th, 2008 under In The Press.
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