Aired: Sunday, 3/21/99 Live

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In part two of our "Countdown to the Millennium" series, Eyewitness News will give you an inside look at the nineteen year old lead singer of the Backstreet Boys, Nick Carter. Cute and cuddly from the outside, with fans that swoon for just a look at this boy, the young, blonde, six foot - one inch Carter may have appeal that no one even realizes.

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Back in November of last year when we sat down with Nick, we had a chance to discover some of his loves. Although most "hardcore" Nick fans would probably already know that his favorite food is "Taco Bell" and favorite drink is "Mountain Dew," or that his favorite band from the past is "Journey," you may not be aware that Carter says he's never truly been "in love."

Nick literally grew up on the world stage. He signed with Louis J. Pearlman, founder of Trans Continental Inc. of Orlando when he was only thirteen years old. Over the course of the last six years, Nick's life has been spent travelling the world over with his group, and perhaps spending the most vulnerable of his teenage years in the public eye. While your average Joe or Bob would probably crumble under the stress and constant criticism, Carter made a promise to himself long before he was a Backstreet Boy. He swore to always be "true to himself."

And by the looks of things, Nick has followed through with that promise. Before he was famous, Carter might have even fit into the category of being a "loner." Was it because he was mean, or a "geek", or hard to get along with? Absolutely not. Nick was unpopular because he just followed the beat of a different drummer, different from all his peers because while his classmates were participating in pep rallies and team sports, Nick was out taking dancing and singing lessons. We asked Nick if he ever looks back on those people, and wonders what they think of him now. His answer: "Well, I know I'm happy where my hard work led me to, and I just can hope that all those people are happy with themselves as well. I don't hold a grudge against them or anything because we were just kids, and that's the way kids are. Kids can be really hurtful and not even know it, and even though I remember points when I'd get upset, I never quit because of what they said, because I knew what I wanted for myself."

Perhaps the most ironic part is that even though Nick is undisputedly the most popular of the Backstreet Boys, he is probably also the most private. Nick told us that he likes to keep to himself most of the time. He doesn't drink, he doesn't smoke, and he even said he really doesn't like the whole "party scene." While on tour he'll go back to his hotel room to relax with a video game, while his fellow BSB's are likely to go and check out the local clubs. We wondered if it was because of his age, and his response was "no." "Basically I like to keep to myself, I've always been that way. It's the same thing about not taking off my shirt during our shows. My body is one of the few things that I have total control over. Age has nothing to do with the way I am, because in some countries in Europe, the drinking age is like 14 or 16 years old. If I wanted to go to the clubs and do that, I could, but its just not my sort of thing."

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So if you're wondering what the appeal was to Nick that you might not have known about already, It's that Nick Carter is surprisingly one of the most "down to earth" teenagers we've ever met. He credits his parents for raising him the right way, with love and religion, and always supporting him in during his rise to stardom. Even if Nick used to be known as the prankster of the Backstreet Boys, he surely has grown to become quite a fine young man. With a voice that can turn a frown to a smile in seconds for both women and men alike, and reports of a solo record in the works, Nickolas Gene Carter might possibly go down in history as being the youngest musician to begin his career, and the oldest one to end it.

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Transcript ©1999 Eyewitness News