DENISE to AJ

What is a childhood memory that sticks in your mind?
When I was about 7 years old we were driving home from a theatre group rehearsal and it was dark and raining. All of a sudden Mom ran through a group of orange cone barricades and they flew over the car one by one. I was so scared that I sunk down into the seat and covered my eyes. When she finally stopped all I remember her saying was “I don’t remember those being there when we came this way this afternoon???”

Describe me as a mother in one sentence.
The greatest Mother in the world!

Do you have any regrets being raised by a single Mom and your Grandma?
Not at all! I always felt that I was raised as well as I could have been. I had a wonderful childhood.

Do you have any advice for kids being raised by single Moms?
Here goes: First, Mom is always right. Second, Be patient. Third, Moms can be Dads too, like throwing a baseball around. Four, Love them twice as much because they are doing two jobs.

AJ to DENISE

The funniest moment while being on tour with the Backstreet Boys?
We were in a movie theatre seeing “A Nightmare Before Christmas” and all the boys were there. You and I went to get some snacks and when we were walking to our seats in the dark you stopped and I walked into you from behind and all of your nachos and soda went flying then Kevin walked into me and everyone’s stuff went in the air. We laughed until we cried!!

What was the favorite part of your honeymoon?
Walking through the rain forest in the mountains of Puerto Rico. It was beautiful and I got to swim in a natural stream with a lovely waterfall.

What was your favorite job?
Working for a company called FUTUREKIDS. I taught children from age 4-18 how to use computers and write DOS. It was great fun and I loved the kids.

If you could change one thing about you and me, what would it be?
That we lived closer to each other and could see each other more often like we used to.

For Mother’s Day, interview your mother and have her interview you…you just might learn something new about one another!

Starshine Magazine

Joe Leary spent 24 seconds with Nick Carter and AJ McLean.

24: Do you ever try to put a number on how many times you’ve faced the cameras and microphones in interviews?

NC: We lost count a long time ago. We could guess, but I really don’t even know where to start.

AJ: It’s a lot … I mean whether it’s between print interviews or TV, photo shoots, radio interviews … thousands!

NC: I try to think of how many planes we’ve been on before and how many miles we’ve flown. It’s crazy, really - we’ve been blessed.

24: How savvy have you gotten in interviews over the years? Do you ever look back and think, “Why the hell did I say that?”

NC: Oh yeah … why the hell did I wear that? I mean, that happens … that goes through our minds all the time, but that’s the evolution and I think if you pay attention to yourself and watch yourself, you can learn something from yourself from the past and make it better in the future.

24: Canada was one of the early believers in the Backstreet Boys. Why do you think Canada got onboard before other nations did?

AJ: I think at the very beginning of our career - where music was - I think just the way of life here in Canada and the people’s mentality of music and the fans here were just a lot more open-minded to it. The U.S. is a little bit more fickle; they may love you one day and they may hate you the next day. There’s so much music now on radio of every different type of genre on one radio station at any given moment: You could hear T Pain and then you’ll hear Carrie Underwood. I think now, especially, everybody around the world is a lot more open-minded to really good music, but Canada definitely embraced us. You guys rock - period!

24: Let’s go back a dozen years or so when BSB first hit and launched as phenomenally. Did you have any idea that it might go the extent that it did?

NC: No. We just kind of rode the wave to see what would happen and we’re still in that same mind frame. We enjoy what we’re doing in the moment and I think when you enjoy it and you’re competitive and you’re happy, great things happen. I think our chemistry is amazing and has been for years, back then with each other and our bond, but you really don’t know. I think that’s what’s great about it because I feel like it’s a not a time to look back and say, “Oh, look at all of the things that we’ve done.” It’s a time to look forward and say, “What are we going to do next?” And that’s where we’re all at now.

24: Over the years you’ve obviously not only grown as human beings, but as artists. How are the 2008 Backstreet Boys different from the earlier incarnations?

AJ: The overall sound, the feeling of the group, the chemistry of the group, where we are, how we kind of exist together now, I mean, just the whole morality is just really, really positive and really good. We’re all hyped and we’re all ready to go back in the studio and make a brand new record. We’re all older now, so I think there’s a newfound respect between us all - we can almost finish each others statements now.

By Joe Leary
24 Hours Vancouver

During their thus far 15-year career, two of the Boys’ six albums–Backstreet Boys and Millennium– remain charted among the Top 40 most popular records ever produced, according to Amazon.com.

And even though the group’s popularity has dwindled since the 2001 release of Black and Blue, devoted fans from all over the world still swooned as the now-quartet took the stage Saturday night at the Pearl Concert Theater at The Palms hotel in Las Vegas.

Women–and a few men–of all ages packed the 2,500-person capacity venue with cameras in hand and outfits decked out with tribute to the Boys. Concert venue officials said as of Saturday morning, about 2,000 tickets had already been sold, and more were being bought right before the show.

When the doors opened, a stampede of women barged through the doors, all intent on making it in first so they could stand right up against the stage. And when the lights dimmed and the curtains dropped, their screams became unmerciful.

Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell and A.J. McLean jumped into a mock boxing ring with their robes and gloves and started the show with the song, “Larger Than Life.” And when they sang “Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely,” the boys gathered around a poker table and played with cards as they sang.

However, Carter, the youngest member of the group, had run up a fever of 103 degrees the day before, prompting management to cancel the Friday show in Phoenix, Ariz., according to the group’s official Web site. And throughout the concert, a clearly still ill Carter kept pushing his microphone down to cough.

And on a video chat with fans shortly before the show, McLean said he, too, was feeling under the weather and also on medication. However, his vivaciousness seemed to overcome any sign of physical weakness.

But Carter couldn’t hide it.

After straining to sing the first few songs, Carter opted out of singing his parts for the rest of the show and just sang along in the choruses and danced. Dorough– who already was singing the parts of former Backstreet Boys member Kevin– filled in for Carter. And when Dorough didn’t sing the parts, Carter let the fans sing them for him.

But despite the setbacks, the relaxed atmosphere of the show and the oral exchanges among themselves made the Boys seem much more real in comparison to their previous, more punctual concerts. And its intimate setting also allowed for great fan interaction.

When the Boys weren’t dancing, they were busy touching fans’ hands and joking around with them, sparking laughter among the crowd.

McLean, Dorough and Littrell also jumped off the stage for the “Lollipop Song,” where they kissed random fans. And McLean, who is known for his wild and free-spirited moves, made even the women old enough to be his mother scream and swoon.

The Boys also promoted themselves both as a group and solo artists.

McLean and Dorough, who are both working toward releasing their solo albums, each sang a track to showcase their styles, while Littrell continued to promote his 2006 solo album, Welcome Home.

McLean’s song, “Drive-by Love,” had a pop-rock feel with a catchy tune that could easily catch the attention of tweens and mainstream rock lovers. Dorough’s song, “She’s Like the Sun,” had distinct Spanish influence and was unique from than anything he had ever recorded with the group.

Littrell brought giggles to the crowd as he prepared to sing “Welcome Home,” a single off the Welcome Home disc, which sold more than 100,000 copies.

“I think there three or four of you here who have it,” Littrell joked with the crowd. And when the crowd screamed louder, he conceded, “All right. All right. Maybe five or six.”

Yet the biggest excitement of the night came when McLean let the fans in on a little secret–the group is scheduled to return to the studio Dec. 1 to continue working on their seventh record, which may be released in 2009.

“I want you to share this secret with everyone you know,” McLean told fans.

Overall, the concert proved the Boys were more than a pop-music-era fad and that they are both comfortable and confident in their current status as a quartet and solo artists.

Set List:

Larger than Life
Everyone
Any Other Way
You Can Let Go
Unmistakable
I Want It That Way
She’s Like The Sun (Howie solo)
Show Me The Meaning of Being Lonely
More Than That
Helpless When She Smiles
Trouble Is
Incomplete
Drive By Love (AJ solo)
Panic
Everything But Mine
Quit Playing Games With My Heart
As Long As Love Me
All I Have To Give
I’ll Never Break Your Heart
Inconsolable
Shape of My Heart
Welcome Home (Brian solo)
The One
Treat Me Right
The Call
Everybody

By Mena El-Sharkawi
November 24, 2008
My FOX Houston

For the first time since leaving the group in 2006, former Backstreet Boy Kevin Richardson joined the rest of the group onstage in Los Angeles Sunday night, on the last stop of their Unbreakable tour at the Palladium in Hollywood.

In a fan-made video that’s surfaced online, the audience erupts into deafening screams when Richardson emerges onstage to join the group for “Shape of My Heart,” from the group’s Black and Blue album. He’s seen goofing around with his former bandmates, and at one point even lifts Nick Carter’s shirt. The five are very chummy in the clip and seem to be feeding off of the audience’s energy; the screams render the first minute of the song completely inaudible in the clip.

A comment by the person who posted the video says: “There was not a dry eye on the audience. We all bawled our eyes out. I couldn’t believe right in front of my very eyes I was seeing this.”

The group appeared without Richardson during the “TRL” finale earlier this month.

The reunited Boys — Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell and AJ McLean — told MTV News in October they were skeptical that Richardson would ever come back to the group since he left it to pursue “new goals,” but insisted that the door was always open for Richardson to make his return. Dorough added that Richardson is in “such a good place right now,” raising a family and pursuing an acting career.

“In the beginning of the tour, we left a gap onstage where Kevin would be, and then it started closing up,” Carter said. “We love him to death. We have to move on. We have new goals and dreams.”

On Sunday night, Richardson filled the gap himself.

by Jocelyn Vena
November 24, 2008
Mtv

The last time the pop group came to Saskatoon they had yet to make it huge in the U.S., Nick Carter still hadn’t dated Paris Hilton and their fans were predominantly ages nine through 17. But 10 years later, if their concert at Credit Union Centre proved anything, the appetite for their catchy hits and synchronized dance moves hasn’t waned.

The fans are older but still overwhelmingly enthusiastic, wearing concerts T-shirts and holding up signs. One read: “I’m old enough now.”

Carter, Brian Littrell, A.J. MacLean and Howie Dorough — now a foursome after the departure of fifth member Kevin Richardson — entered the stage in a boxing ring. Dressed in silky robes each Boy was introduced and started shadow boxing around the ring. The gimmick, which included some excerpts of Eye of the Tiger, felt charmingly dated. The first two songs, Larger Than Life and Everyone, were both odes to the fans, who took no time to sing every word and exercise their freedom to lose their voices with ear-piercing screams.

The opening few songs included several well-executed dance interludes. One, to Kanye West’s Stronger, seemed like a bid to stay relevant. Fortunately, the boys — now mostly in their 30s — are actually better dancers than they were in the late 1990s. By the third song the sweat was pouring and all four were working hard for the well-deserved fan response.

The show had all the elements that make a pop concert entertaining. There were at least five outfit changes and several theatrical moments, including a fake poker game. The boys even jumped into the pit to touch hands with audience members. A former super fan, I had to fight the impulse to launch myself over several rows of girls when Littrell came over to my side of the stadium.

The song catalogue covered new material — Any Other Way, Inconsolable, You Can Let Go — and all the best-loved hits — Quit Playing Games, As Long As You Love Me, I Want it That Way and All I Have To Give.

Each member also had the chance to sing a solo piece, but those were mere appetizers compared to the better-known songs. The boys are strongest, vocally and in personality, as a group. Carter is still the pretty boy, MacLean is still the bad boy, Littrell is still the goofy one and Dorough . . . well, he’s there too. But they are all sharp singers whose chemistry together is evident.

The pop heyday of 10 years ago is over and the Backstreet Boys aren’t able to sell every last seat of the Credit Union Centre but they still seem grateful for loyal fans and proud of their success. Plus, with Littrell’s propensity to mug for the audience and Nick’s odd choice of a bow tie with one of his outfits, the boys don’t appear to take themselves too seriously. It’s not staggering musical genius but the entertainment value is through the roof.

Toronto’s Divine Brown opened for the Backstreet Boys. The crowd was receptive for the singer, whose soulfully angelic voice is responsible for the hit Old School Love. Her vocals were nimble and polished but overwhelming background music made it hard to appreciate her half-hour set fully. Bringing a vibe reminiscent of the 1950s and ’60s, Brown would feel far more at home on a stage at the SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival.

By Stephanie Classen
November 14, 2008
The StarPhoenix

There’s an oft-repeated bit of Scripture — usually reserved for commencement addresses and weddings — that speaks of putting away childish things once you become a man.

And while we certainly don’t want to tell the Backstreet Boys how to do their jobs, the Florida foursome — who brought their Unbreakable tour to MTS Centre last night — might want to consider giving the passage a look-see.

Obviously, it’s been some time since any of the Boys were really boys: Youngest member Nick Carter turns 29 in January, while eldest Howie Dorough just turned 35.

But the unfortunate name isn’t the only holdover from their mid-’90s glory days, when slick dance moves and Swedish-penned pop tunes (oh, and the financial backing of America’s biggest boy-band mogul) were all it took to reach the top of the charts.

They also find themselves locked in the same man-boy limbo where their music is concerned — trying to make the leap into adult-contemporary territory, but still beholden to the former teeny-boppers who made them famous in the first place.

For now, anyway, they’re doing their best to straddle the divide, and last night’s show proved they’re (mostly) pulling it off.

They certainly came out swinging — literally, in fact — clad in boxing gloves and capes, and shadowboxing to the strains of their monster hit Larger than Life (which had been mixed with one of the Rocky themes and a snippet of Kanye West’s Stronger).

The routine was kind of goofy, but the song remains as catchy as ever, and the momentum helped carry them through the less hook-laden follow-ups Everyone and Any Other Way.

On You Can Let Go, they finally quit with the dancing for a while, letting A.J. McLean (the former bad boy) and Brian Littrell (still the good boy) trade some serious harmonies from opposite corners of the stage.

Say what you want about the boy-band craze, but some of these guys can really sing, and after 15 years together, the Backstreet Boys have an undeniable vocal chemistry.

Alas, the effect was short-lived — they launched into one of those chair-dancing routines for Unmistakable — and by the time the opening of I Want It That Way (still one of the better pop ballads on the books) rolled around, the mass sing-along from the audience nearly drowned out their contributions.

After a solo turn from Dorough (each member got one; the less said, the better), the Boys reassembled around a poker table to pantomime a card game and croon Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely.

HIT THEIR STRIDE

And it was here that they really hit their stride: No laboured hopping around, no mugging for the cameras or the ladies in the crowd, just four guys who’ve been singing together for years milking a sombre pop song for all the pathos they could.

The only problem?

They couldn’t sit around the card table for the whole concert. That would’ve been boring, and besides, the fans paid to see them dance.

But it’s worth pointing out the show’s second-most impressive moment was also devoid of dance steps — when all four huddled around a garbage can fire for a street corner version of All I Have to Give.

Something to think about, maybe, as they continue the transition from Boys to men.

Ironically, Canuck R&B diva Divine Brown managed to squeeze as much soul into her half-hour opening set as the Boys did their entire show, skipping nimbly from the girl-group vibe of Lay It On the Line to the bass-heavy disco groove of Boogie Slide and Jump Start.

—

BACKSTREET BOYS
Where: MTS Centre
When: Wed., Nov. 12
With: Divine Brown
Sun Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5

By David Schmiechel
November 13, 2008
Winnipeg Sun

Can’t resist. Too weak. Here we go. Backstreet’s ba…

All right.

Now that that’s over — hey! Guess what? Multi-platinum (and famously manufactured) pop outfit The Backstreet Boys came back to the MTS Centre last night for, like, the first time since 2005.

This time, they’re down a Boy (”quiet one” Kevin Richardson bowed out in 2006) and confronting the harsh truth that nobody cares about their new music. Their latest, 2007’s Unbreakable, slid off the charts after two weeks.

But nostalgia is a thriving industry. Women of the Backstreet era (now in their mid-20s) still gladly open their wallets to see the Boys dance and croon their chest-thumpingly earnest ballads live.

And they still open their mouths to scream, too.

The eardrum blowout started at 8:30 p.m., when the lights rose on a centre-stage boxing ring. One by one, the Boys — Brian Littrell, Nick Carter, Howie Dorough and A.J. McLean — emerged Rocky-style in white satin dressing gowns and pugilist gloves.

That imagery was none too subtle — this is a boy band that takes a lickin’ and keeps on tickin’ — but opener Larger Than Life was still a knockout, with jump-and-jab choreography to match the theme.

Then the gloves came off, and the next outfit in a series came on. Motorcycle jackets and tattered Black Sabbath tees for Everyone, business casual for Incomplete.

The Boys’ fancy footwork and clean-cut appeal hasn’t changed a step since their 1998 apogee. Their voices are still good. But it was the audience that set this show on fire.

The zeal and loyalty in the seats last night was incredible. On You Can Let Go, virtually every arm in the arena waved in perfect unison. During I Want It That Way (and Quit Playing Games With My Heart, for that matter), the sing-along was so loud it drowned out the stars.

And every time Nick Carter — once the Backstreet baby, now a man with a checkered past — sang a lick, the decibels rocketed.

The Boys fed off of this fervor, and into it. “Winnipeg has the sexiest girls alive!” they exclaimed, sitting around a poker table for a kitschy performance of Show Me The Meaning of Being Lonely. I bet they say that to all the arenas, but the responding roar of approval blew the air out of the room.

Every Boy delivered a solo tune, which was received warmly but less familiarly. Littrell’s Welcome Home, which he strummed on an acoustic, was the best of these.

To close the regular set, the Boys whipped out Everybody (Backstreet’s Back), which had Dorough spinning so hard it was almost a mosh… and the entire bouncing audience followed suit.

Honestly? Their music is saccharine, their career flagging. But last night, in every enthusiastic step and grind, the Backstreet Boys showed a heartwarming respect for their audience. And that respect was returned in spades. Loud, loud, loud spades.

Toronto’s Divine Brown opened with a super-short collection of retro R&B from her latest, The Love Chronicles. Too bad the set was so brief — Brown’s classic soul voice is superb and her music is shakin’. She was as confident on the big stage as any pop diva… and she sings better than most of them, too.

An eardrum blowout
By Melissa Martin
November 12, 2008
Winnipeg Free Press

Later, they delivered the one-two knockout punch.

Former teen-pop sensations the Backstreet Boys had the gloves on at the John Labatt Centre last night, earning the screams of 5,200 fans by hitting the stage in boxing attire, complete with silky robes and leathery mitts.

The knockout arrived at the end of the 100-minute, hardworking show with a thunderous Everybody (Backstreet’s Back) — the band’s one true classic — as the main set finale. A sweet encore with a visit to Shape of My Heart produced quieter, but still pretty deafening screams.

BSB is now the foursome of Brian Littrell, Howie Dorough, Nick Carter and A.J. McLean after Littrell’s cousin, Kevin Richardson, bowed out in 2006. A little older and a little slower, those four still pack a pop vocal punch. They can still move around the stage, even if their choreography was smoother when they were the prototype boy band.

“They told us London was crazy,” one of the Boys shouted early in the show. “It’s because of you we have been together for 15 years.”

One of the best signs of the night claimed simply, “Fan since ‘96.” Many of the other fans were young females who missed BSB’s glory days in the 1990s, and made up for it by screaming and standing before the curtain slipped away and their heroes appeared. The Boys opened with Larger than Life, while working their routines in a faux ring that seemed to have feathery boas for ropes and maybe Kanye West for inspiration.

The song provided the cue for another good sign — “I hear you’re larger than life.” The Boys pretended to knock each other out near the end of the song, which only provoked the biggest bout of screaming to that point.

Hit singles like Quit Playing Games (With My Heart), Larger Than Life and I Want It That Way — which produced the first mass singalong of the night — made the Boys huge stars. Their choreography and stagework helped.

The boxing gear and the ring disappeared in time for the second number, when the Boys were in more familiar garb — slick sports coats and stylish jackets with T-shirts peeping out. A Black Sabbath logo or two could be seen, meaning the fans were in for some wilder looks and a lot of Smet label wear later in the night.

The boys changed costumes almost as often as Cher and Gwen Stefani, co-holders of the biggest wardrobe award for a John Labatt Centre gig.

Littrell was the first Boy to be introduced in the boxing ring. For the record, McLean’s fake boxing nickname is “The Jizzle” and he was the only to sport an ascot. Carter had a bowtie and spent a lot of time adjusting his metal belt.

For the record, there was considerable butt-wiggling and promises of “juicy kisses” for “all the sexy ladies.” The fans made sure the butt-wiggling never got old. The kisses were delivered as the Boys brushed up against the fans near the stage, mostly of the air smooch landing on a cheek category.

The cherub who was on stage for the finale was apparently Littrell’s son. He already has mastered his dad’s ability to wave ever so nicely.

All four Boys had solo spots. Littrell’s was a ballad called Welcome Home, which tied in with a video saluting U.S. armed forces and their loved ones.

Dorough had a slow, Latin-style number. Carter rolled around the stage during his solo.

McLean, the closet rocker in BSB, arrived for his solo flight by tearing across the stage. He blasted through Drive By Love, confirming that the fans were ready and willing to rock along with him.

Except for McLean’s blitzing number, the solo spots tended to show why the Boys haven’t shone as solo stars.

There is another reason they’re still together. The Backstreet Boys have battled through many real-life woes. A Sun Media survey details the most serious ones: Littrell was nearly sidelined by heart complications in 1998, Dorough lost his sister to lupus the same year, and McLean went public with drug and alcohol addictions in 2003.

Less tragically, Carter dated Paris Hilton, was charged with drunk driving and appeared in a short-lived reality show with his constantly squabbling siblings. He also has the misfortune to be related that odious little pest of a brother, Aaron Carter, unfondly remembered by this critic for staging a terrible concert at the Western Fair a few years back.

What makes Nick Carter and his pals in the Boys so much better than that? They sing better as a group than almost any other boy band, old or young (the R and B-flavoured acts are in a different class, but let’s compare apples with apples here). With a set list including Inconsolable, Incomplete and I’ll Be the One, they have a lock on anything with an “I.”

The Boys also have a sense of humour about their place in the pop universe after all these years. When it came time for the band introductions, the fine guitarist went into the riff from Michael Jackson’s Beat It. McLean took the cue for a little moonwalk. It was a nod, not a jab.

Canadian R and B star Divine Brown opened. “We need more energy here,” Brown said at one point.

Last night, the Backstreet Boys and their boisterous fans knew where to find it.

By James Reaney
November 09, 2008
London Free Press

The Backstreet Boys hope to come back from the musical wasteland with the help of the Unbreakable World Tour.

So far, with near sold-out shows in Europe, Asia and North America, the boys are faring pretty well. Concertgoers could almost close their eyes and pretend it was the 1990s again. Well almost.

Still, with gigs such as singing the national anthem at the 2008 World Series, it is not easy to ignore the fact the group has once more stepped into the spotlight.

Furthermore, if the Nov. 15 Grande Prairie concert lives up to Backstreet Boys’ Nick Carter’s fervent billing, attendees are in for a fantastic evening.

“We’re entertainers,” said Carter, speaking from his home in Los Angeles. “We enjoy being up on stage. If anybody who has ever been to a Backstreet Boys concert or hasn’t, maybe you should come out because you’re going to have a blast. It’s better than seeing any movie you could see now.”

This is the group’s first tour since its 2005 The Never Gone Tour, and the first without band member Kevin Richardson, who left the band in 2006 to start a family.

In 2007, the group released its sixth album, Unbreakable, and in February 2007 went on tour to promote it with dates in Japan. Right now, the boys are in the middle of the second leg of a North American tour.

“It’s going phenomenal,” said Carter. “We’ve been doing such a great job on the road and putting on such a great show. They keep wanting more.”

Carter, 28, the youngest in the group, added the Backstreet Boys have been selling out most venues they have played, working off an album that has received little radio air play.

“The fan base is extremely strong,” he said. “But we have a lot of older fans coming, younger faces and fans who are older and bringing their own families with them. It’s just a great environment.”

Carter said the group is tighter than ever and losing Richardson has made the group gel even further.

“We are a family and we are motivated, inspired and hungry as hell to get to the top,” said Carter. “And nothing is going to stop us. We are on a comeback trail. We know the response where we go and sing a national anthem in front of 60 million people at a major league baseball game. People are maybe shocked because they maybe didn’t think we sound the same or whatever it is. We’re going to do everything it takes to be the best we can be and to be better than we were before.”

Carter said attendees should expect to hear the old hits including I’ll Never Break Your Heart, Quit Playing Games and We’ve Got It Goin’ On, and the newer hits including Inconsolable and Helpless When She Smiles.

“What we did in the past was great, but this is a new era,” explained Carter. “This is a new group. We’re proud of the stuff we have done in the past and we will never forget it.”

Carter said the group has to move on and with that its sound has changed with time. After the tour, the boys will be back in the studio working on another album. Unbreakable, Carter said, is the beginning of a new phase or a rebirth for the group where they are going back to pop, R&B and dance.

“I feel like a lot of people aren’t on the train of the Backstreet Boys anymore,” he said, noting they have their dedicated fans. “We love them, but there are a lot of people who are like Backstreet Boys, whatever. That’s not current. That’s old. We’re going to paint another picture and put a new face on that group. And anybody who wants to be a part of it, now’s the time to get on the train.”

By Crystal Rhyno
November 06, 2008
Encore

Brian Litrell, Howie Dorough, A.J. McClean and Nick Carter have been touring since February to promote their latest CD, “Unbreakable.”

One of their final tour dates was played on Nov. 2 at the Wachovia Arena in Wilkes-Barre.

“I’ve been waiting years to see the boys, I grew up listening to them,” Lindsay Buckley, junior education major, said. “I’m a sucker for boy bands.”

The Backstreet Boys have been together since 1993 and are still going strong. “Unbreakable” was the Boys’ sixth studio album. It is the follow up album to their 2005 hit album, “Never Gone.” It is also the band’s first album attempt since the departure of former band member, Kevin Richardson.

Richardson left the group in June of 2006 to pursue other interests in his life.

“I’m not going to lie, I’m a little upset Kevin wasn’t part of the concert,” Barbara Cortellesa, junior education major, said. “He was definitely the sexiest member of the group.”

Despite the absence of Richardson, fans were still delighted by the groups’ 20 song set.

They began with some of their old school tunes ranging from “All I Have To Give” to “Incomplete.”

The boys all showcased some of the solo efforts that they have been working on. Litrell performed a country ballad from his album, “Welcome Home.” Carter sang an uptempo song, while Dorough showcased his voice with a romantic slow song.

McClean proved he’s still got sex appeal with a risqué performance of “Driveby Love,” a song from his upcoming solo album.

“Holy crap! A.J. was so freaking sexy,” Carolyn Sweeney, junior art history major at St. Joseph’s University, said. “He may be older, but he’s not showing any signs of age.”

Wilkes-Barre was only a minor stop on the band’s 98 show tour. Russia and South Africa were just some of the countries to host the band’s talent.

“I loved watching them. They had so much energy,” Buckley said.

The Boys finished up their set with an exciting performance of “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back),” complete with dance moves from the infamous music video. Just when fans thought the concert was over, BSB returned to the stage with a surprise encore of “Shape Of My Heart.”

“I screamed the loudest I’ve ever screamed when the boys came back out,” Sweeney said. “Plus, they sang my favorite song.”

Fans huddled out of the arena dripping with sweat and into the crisp fall evening. A smile graced each audience members faced as they rushed into their cars and turned up some Backstreet Boys tunes to relive the magic of the evening.

“That was one of the best concerts of my life,” Cortellesa said. “Backstreet’s back alright, but I don’t think they ever left.”

By Jake Verterano
November 06, 2008
The Loquiter