Backstreet Boys Biography

Lou Pearlman, an aviation entrepreneur based in Florida, was inspired by the success of the New Kids on the Block in the 1980s to create his own clean-cut boy bands. After a series of auditions in 1992 and 1993, he recruited Nick Carter (at 12, the band's youngest member), Howie Dorough, 19, Alexander James McLean, 14 and, following the departure of two members - Sam Licata and Charles Edwards - Kevin Richardson came aboard in March 1993, who was 20. The group took its final shape on April 19, 1993, when Brian Littrell - cousin of Richardson - joined the group after a phone audition. Their first concert on May 8, 1993 was performed in front of 3,000 teenagers. Pearlman booked them at grade-school assemblies, shopping malls and Sea World, and assigned management duties to Johnny Wright, who had worked with New Kids on the Block.

After a possible Mercury Record deal failed, the band was spotted in Cleveland, Ohio by Jive Records, an independent label best known for its hip-hop acts in February 1994. By June, they were recording their first single "We've Got It Goin' On" an urban pop song by writer/producer Denniz PoP. The single struggled in the US and only reached #69 on the Billboard charts, but it sold well in Europe, later earning the band their first Gold disc in Germany. In 1995 the band's first album, Backstreet Boys, was released in Europe and Canada, hitting the top 10 in numerous countries. Jive and Pearlman kept the band busy overseas for the next two years, sometimes putting it on tour for five months straight.

1996 marked a big change for the Backstreet Boys as European popularity grew. They kicked off 1996 by being voted 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 (500,000 CDs sold) and toured Asia and Canada.

By 1997 when bands like the Spice Girls and Hanson began to succeed in the United States, Jive and Pearlman decided to bring the boys back to the United States after 8.5 million discs had been sold worldwide. They began to record a new album for the American market and released "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)" as their new single; the single quickly went platinum and climbed to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. In August, the boys hit big on the U.S. charts with the release of their self titled debut album Backstreet Boys. The album debuted at #1 in Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Finland and Austria, and sold over 14 million copies in the U.S. setting a record for the most successful debut album in U.S. history. In October, a free concert in Spain was cancelled after too many fans attended, and so in December 1997, the band embarked on a 60-city, 20-country tour.

By 1997 when bands like the Spice Girls and Hanson began to succeed in the United States, Jive and Pearlman decided to bring the boys back to the United States after 8.5 million discs had been sold worldwide. They began to record a new album for the American market and released "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)" as their new single; the single quickly went platinum and climbed to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. In August, the boys hit big on the U.S. charts with the release of their self titled debut album Backstreet Boys. The album debuted at #1 in Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Finland and Austria, and sold over 14 million copies in the U.S. setting a record for the most successful debut album in U.S. history. In October, a free concert in Spain was cancelled after too many fans attended, and so in December 1997, the band embarked on a 60-city, 20-country tour.

1998, Littrell underwent surgery to correct a congenital heart disorder, in a middle of their sold-out US 39-city tour; he twice had cancelled the surgery in the past. He had been struggling with this disease since he was born, almost dying at the age of 5 due to a bacterial infection. Littrell needed about 8 weeks to recover from the surgery, but shortly after this time, the Backstreet Boys cancelled an appearance in Minnesota after learning that Howie Dorough's sister had died of Lupus. Four of the Backstreet Boys went ahead with a lawsuit against Lou Pearlman, in which they claimed that the Backstreet Boys was owed more of the $200 million they had generated to that date. 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.

By February 1999, the boys received their first Diamond award by the RIAA for shipment of 10 milion copies of their album. At this point, they had hire a new manager team called "The Firm", famous for managing bands including Limp Bizkit. In May, the Backstreet Boys released the album Millennium, which sold over 1.13 million units in its first week, setting a record for most albums sold in the first week of release. They also held the most sales for an album's second and third weeks. The record dominated the worldwide charts, landing at the #1 spot in 25 nations. The album was certified 11 times platinum by december 1999, making it the fastest selling album in a year. The first single "I Want It That Way" broke a record for radio station adds in its first week with 165, and topped the UK Singles chart for 2 weeks (where the song was the first new #1 entry since Elton John's 1997 "Candle In The Wind" tribute to Princess Diana). The song eventually set a record for the most weeks on the chart since the chart was conceived in 1980, and would reach the #1 spot in over 18 nations. In addition to receiving gold and platinum awards in 45 countries, the band's sophomore album was nominated for 5 Grammy Award's including Album of the Year. In August, the Backstreet Boys sold out a 39-city tour in less than a day, selling over 765,000 tickets in a matter of hours, prompting additional shows in many markets and shattering a number of box-office records, selling out all 53 concert dates of their "In To The Millennium Tour" which kicked off in September. The tour drew over 2 million fans, breaking the record for largest indoor audience. By the end of 1999, the Backstreet Boys met new problems declaring their current Jive contract null and void, soon striking the largest record deal ever valued at $60 million with Jive.

In 2000, the Backstreet Boys graced the pages of the new millennium's first issue of Rolling Stone magazine. In February Littrell and Richardson confirmed their engagements to their fiancées. At the end of the year, the group released their new album Black & Blue, with the title of the album acting was a metaphor for how the boys felt they were "beaten up" by the media and others. 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 travelling and 45 spent making public appearances. The album debuted with 1.6 million units sold in the first week in America, making the band the first group to have two albums sell a million or more copies in the first week. Black & Blue sold more than five million copies worldwide in its initial week, setting a new first-week record in international sales. Globally, Black & Blue — whose 13-song selection features five songs co-written by members of the group, plus two songs written by all five Backstreet Boys — achieved platinum status in over 30 countries and gold certification in 10 regions around the world during its first week of release. 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 (#2), Switzerland (#4), Austria (#5) and Holland (#5). However, towards the end of 2000 McLean first started using cocaine while shooting for the video "The Call".

In 2001, the Backstreet Boys kicked off the 1st leg of their "2001 Black & Blue World Tour". The full tour earned US $350 million in ticket sales, making the band the world's highest-paid live entertainers, replacing the Rolling Stones as the world's No. 1 live band. The tour featured on a TV special, The Backstreet Boys: Larger Than Life on CBS. To coincide with the TV special, TV Guide issued six different covers of the boys: five individual shots and one group photo. However, the second leg of Black & Blue summer tour was put on hold when it was reported that A.J. McLean checked himself into rehab to battle drinking, drug addiction, and depression, after he and Kevin had an intervention in a hotel in Boston. The tour is postponed until September. Another tragedy struck when the September 11, 2001 attacks occurred, killing a Backstreet Boys crew member, Daniel Lee, who had been using time off in the tour schedule to travel from Boston to Los Angeles to be with his pregnant wife. The death caused the cancellation of the band's plans for overseas tours. In October 2001, the boys released Chapter One, a disc of their greatest hits and "Drowning", their last single until their return in 2005. The Boys performed at the United We Stand concert in Washington DC as well as The Concert for New York City, two benefit concerts for the victims of September 11. By the end of 2001 and into 2002, it became clear that the Backstreet Boys were on an extended break with no new recordings or releases.

In 2003, McLean appeared in an episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show where he talked for the first time in public about his addiction to alcohol and drugs (mainly cocaine) and his struggles rising to fame. The rest of the band members surprised him by coming to the show in person and giving him support, marking the first time the Backstreet Boys had appeared together in public for two years. Richardson recalled his confrontation with McLean two years prior, when he had said to McLean, "I hate you. You are dead to me." The band began to re-form and reconcile their differences to start recording a comeback album.

stations on March 28, 2005 and quickly became the #1 most requested song in top markets in both U.S. and overseas. In May, the only European Backstreet Boys concert in almost 4 years was quickly sold out. 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 substantial first week sales of 291,000 copies. The album sold over 2.2 million copies worldwide in its first week of release, debuting at #1 in Japan, Germany, India, Chile, Brazil, and Korea. However the album sold poorly in the United States compared to their previous efforts.