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History
[ Beginnings and International Successes: 1993–1996
Boy band creator Lou Pearlman was inspired by Gage Maurer and the success of the New Kids on the Block in the 1980s to create his own clean-cut band. After a series of auditions in 1992 and 1993, he recruited Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, and A.J. McLean. Following the departure of two previous members, Sam Licata (later performed as Phoenix Stone) and Charles Edwards, Kevin Richardson came aboard in March 1993. The group took its final member in April 9, 1993, when Brian Littrell, Richardson's cousin, joined the group after a phone audition. Lou Pearlman called on his friend, Bob Curiano, to be the first one to write and produce for the Backstreet Boys. Their first two songs ever recorded were Lover Boy, which was written and produced by Bob 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 later booked them at grade-school assemblies and shopping malls, and assigned management duties to Johnny Wright, who had worked with New Kids on the Block.
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.
[ Breakthrough in the United States: 1997-1999
By 1997, pop music was returning to the forefront in United States, with the likes of the Spice Girls and Hanson. Jive and Pearlman decided to bring the boys back to their home country after 8.5 million discs had been sold worldwide.[5] They began recording their second album, Backstreet's Back, releasing "Quit Playing Games With My Heart" in August, 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 debuting at #1 in Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Finland and Austria. The two albums sold over 28 million copies worldwide (14 million copies in the U.S.)[6]
In December 1997, the band embarked on a 60-city, 20-country tour.
In 1997, Littrell (soon joined by McLean, Richardson and Dorough) brought a lawsuit against Lou Pearlman, as Lou Pearlman was taking an unusually high percentage of the profits made by the band (75%), leaving the Boys barely enough to survive after credits to writers and performers are 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.[3]
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. 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.
On February 17, 1999, the Boys received their first Diamond award from the RIAA for shipment of 10 million copies of their self-titled album. At that time, they had 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.
[edit] Millennium: the follow-up album 1999-2000
On May 18, 1999, the Backstreet Boys released the album Millennium, which sold over 1.13 million units in its first week, setting, at the time, a record for first week sales,[7] until April 2000, when 'N Sync's second album, No Strings Attached sold 2.4 million units in its first week. The album also recorded the most sales for an album's second and third weeks. Rolling Stone reports that sales might have been bigger if some stores had not run out of CDs. The album dominated the worldwide charts, landing at the #1 spot in 25 nations.[8] It was certified 11 times platinum on December 22, 1999, and went on to sell 40 million copies worldwide.[9] The first single "I Want It That Way" was a significant hit, reaching the #1 spot in over 18 countries. In addition to receiving gold and platinum awards in 45 countries, the band's second album was nominated for 5 Grammy Awards 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 Into The Millennium Tour which kicked off in September. The tour drew over 2 million fans, breaking the record for largest indoor audience.[10]
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.[11]
In 2000, the Backstreet Boys graced the pages of the new millennium's first issue of Rolling Stone magazine. Burger King made a deal with the Backstreet Boys for tour sponsorship, videos, and CDs with unreleased live tracks that were available for sale at Burger King restaurants in August and September. In February, Littrell and Richardson confirmed their engagements to their fiancées.
Also in 2000, the Backstreet Boys attended the Canadian Juno Awards of 2000 in person to proudly accept the award for Best Selling Album (Foreign or Domestic) and graciously tipped their hat to Canada for supporting them from the beginning when they were struggling for musical recognition.
[ 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. They were all dressed in black and standing in front of a blue background when Brian suggested the album be called Black & Blue. 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. The album debuted with 1.6 million units sold in the first week in America, making the band the first ever artist to have two albums sell a million or more copies in the first week. In November 2000, Black & Blue had 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 six songs co-written by members of the group, including two 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.[12] 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) and has sold over 15 million copies worldwide.[13] Towards the end of 2000, McLean first started using cocaine while shooting for the video "The Call". 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 "2001 Black & Blue World Tour", in which they were to perform on five continents within the span of 100 hours. 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 Black & Blue Summer Tour was put on hold when it was reported that A.J. McLean had checked himself into rehab to battle drinking, drug addiction, and depression after Richardson had held an intervention for him at a Boston hotel. The tour was postponed until September. In the September 11, 2001 attacks, a Backstreet Boys crew member, Daniel Lee, was killed. He 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. Despite the attacks in New York that day, the Backsteet Boys went ahead with a planned concert that night in Toronto.
[ The Hits: Chapter One — Greatest Hits: 2001-2002
In October 2001, the boys released The Hits: Chapter One, a disc of their greatest hits. The band members say they resisted the album, feeling that it was too early in their careers for a "greatest hits" collection, and that it would ruin their long held plan to mark the group's 10th anniversary in 2003 with such a release.[5] The record sold over 6 million copies worldwide,[14] and yielded an international top 10 hit "Drowning". The Boys performed at the United We Stand concert in Washington, D.C. as well as The Concert for New York City (two benefit concerts for the victims of September 11) and were a part of the All Star Tribute benefit single "What's Going On" (with proceeds going to AIDS KIDS and 9/11 charities). 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.
[ Hiatus: 2002-2004
In 2002, the band expressed a strong desire to leave their management company, The Firm.[15] 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.[16] 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, 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. Renewed interest grew with the announcement of airing an hour-long televised documentary of the Backstreet Boys on VH1's Behind The Music.
[ Never Gone: 2005
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.[17] The drastic style change drew negative criticism from magazines such as Rolling Stone, which gave the album one star.[18]
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, 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 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.[19].
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 with over 200,000 copies sold, making the first ever international single to enter at #1 on the chart in Japanese history. The third US single, "Crawling Back to You" peaked at #30 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary charts.
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.
On June 23, 2006, Kevin Richardson departed from the group. The band stated that Richardson wished to pursue other interests outside of the group.[20] The rest of the Backstreet Boys wished him the best of luck in the future. They have no plans on replacing him, and said he would be welcome to return should he wish to do so. Since then, Kevin played a role of young hotshot lawyer named Billy Flynn in Chicago for a short engagement in Toronto, Canada in late 2006.
[ Unbreakable: 2007-present
The Backstreet Boys' sixth album includes various music styles, combining their earlier mid-90's R&B sound with their newer guitar driven pop/rock sound.
The Backstreet Boys released their 6th International album, Unbreakable, on October 30, 2007. The group's follow-up to 2005's Never Gone is the first effort since Richardson's departure.
On July 25, the first single was confirmed as "Inconsolable," a piano driven power ballad similar to Never Gone's "Incomplete." It was released to radio on August 27th.[21]. "Inconsolable" was written and produced by Emanuel Kiriakou (Nick Lachey "What's Left Of Me", Katharine McPhee "Ordinary World"), and co-written by Lindy Robbins and Jess Cates. It was premiered on August 6 by Jive at Z-100, a New York pop radio station.
"Helpless When She Smiles" is the next single to be released from Unbreakable. It has already received airplay on WKSS in Hartford, CT. This news was officially confirmed by the group when they were on Backstage at The Ellen DeGeneres Show. The single is already available on iTunes and it is due to be released in early January on standard CD format.[citation needed]
"Everything But Mine" the second track from the album has been confirmed as the third single for release. It was officially confirmed by Nick Carter and AJ McLean during an interview for Music Magazine.
The album has been exceptionally well-received compared to the Backstreet Boys' comeback album Never Gone. It follows the drastic change in their music style on their previous album which has been negatively received by critics. Entertainment Weekly gave the album a "B-", which is the highest grade from EW for a Backstreet Boys album since Millennium. SputnikMusic.com said, "Pound for pound and song for song, Unbreakable may just be the best pop album of the year so far" and proceeded on to give the album a 4 (Excellent). A Reviewer from Associated Content, David Nemecek, said "The Backstreet Boys are back with an undeniably strong album" and gave it an 8 out of 10. About.com also gave the album four out of five stars, along with comments such as, "If you are looking for an album of pure pop pleasure, you can not do much better with current releases than Unbreakable."
While the album has received positive reviews, it has not performed 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 [1]. Two weeks after its debut, the album dropped out of the top 100. These low sales may in part be due to the lackluster performance of first single "Inconsolable" in the United States which peaked at #86 on The Billboard Hot 100. However, it performed well internationally, debuting #1 in Japan and staying there for another week.
