Interviews
ROMANTIC THINGS THE BACKSTREET BOYS HAVE DONE ON VALENTINE'S
Starting with Lexington, Kentucky-born babe Brian, he has proven his wonferful wit is a surefire way to any girl's heart. "When I first moved to Florida, I met this girl [through school] and we started dating," the almost 23-year-old sets up. "I knew her locker combination, so I put some roses in there and little stick 'em cards and little massages and stuck them all over the walls." Kind of makes you want to give you locker combination away to the cutest boy in class, doesn't it? Just make sure there's plenty of room for any unexpected decorations.
As for the other Kentucky native of the group, Brian's cousin Kevin, 26, proved that the way to a girl's heart is through her stomach. "I got up at like 5 a.m. and got bagels with strawberry cream cheese, cut up fresh strawberries, poured a fresh glass of orange juice and filled a vase with fresh flowers," the tall, dark and handsome romantic describes. "I packed it all up and drove to the apartment of this girl I was dating, put rose petals all over the place and served her this breakfast on a tray." How's that for a tasty wake-up call?
Now, even though the topic here is romantic Valentine's Day stories from the Backstreet Boys' pasts, it would be a tragedy to leave out A.J. just because he's still waiting for his turn to demonstrate that he's got what it takes to make a girl swoon. "I haven't had a real opportunity to do anything really romantic - as romantic as I would like to," A.J., 20, reveals. "But I mean, I'm an all-out kind of person and I'm and old-fashioned romantic. I could do something really big and huge and overdone, but I haven't done it - yet" Knowing that this Backstreet Boy is the most extravagant shopper out of that five, that lucky girl, whoever she'll be, will certainly be in for a treat.
So while A.J. is still holding out for that special someone to shower with affection, Nick, the youngest ladies' man of the BSB bunch, recounts having readied for a romantic February 14 nearly every year! "In high school, I would give girls those little cards," the 18-year-old coyly shares with BOP. But despite his ever hopeful task of showering many girls with V-Day notes, Nick's charm hasn't won him a lasting Valentine - at least not yet. "I never really had a chance to have a serious relationship," the blond cutie laments. Constant travel as a performer can do that to you - but so can giving cards to more than one girl at a time!
If you think you have heard them all, wait 'til you hear about the most romantic scenario of the lot. Who else but humble honey Howie would go throught the steps to make a girl's Valentine's Day so special that just when you'd think it's over, there's more?! Make sure you're sitting down as you read through this one - it's sure to make your heart beat with envy!
"One time back in high school I was seeing this girl and I ended up taking her out for Valentine's," the 24-year-old sweetie begins. "I ordered flowers and everything. Big old Valentine's card. I invited her over to my house and convince my parents into letting me cook for her. I mean, like, a candlelight dinner. So I barbecued steaks and green beans."
You'd think that an intimate dinner would be enough to rate as a great date - but Howie had more in store! "And then afterwards...I thought this was kind of cool," he proudly recalls, "we went out to the airport where people park their cars and open the sun roofs and just watch the planes go by. It was really romantic, looking up at the stars." Sweetness! Howie's mother definitly brought him up right.
-------article from Bop magazine
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Backstreet Boys Rule The World" From Tigerbeat December'98
Brian couldn't be there, but the other members of Backstreet Boys - Howie Dorough, Kevin Richardson, Nick Carter, and A.J. McLean were in high spirits. And why not? Backstreet Boys had every right to be proud. After years of trying to break into the American market, the group's eponymous debut CD had gone four times platinum, firmly residing on the top 10 album charts for weeks. Backstreet Boys were finally bona fide starts at home with super successful singles such as "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" and "I'll Never Break Your Heart" heating up the airwaves across the counrty!
But their success as a group wasn't the only reason spirits were high the day Tiger Beat called. Brian Littrell, the BSB's own sporty spice, had come through heart surgery to correct a latent condition with flying colors. Everyone from his family, to his "brothers" in the group, to his fans, were greatly relieved. As the other guys made the interview rounds, he was home resting up for their tour.
So with Nick calling from poolside at his Tampa Bay area home and Kevin and A.J. phoning in from their new houses in Orlando, and Howie chatting from the heart of his parent's place, Tiger Beat got on with the questions. Read on!
Tiger Beat: What does it mean to you to finally be stars here in the US? Kevin: It's a chance for us to show all of our friends and family what we've been doing for the past four or five years we've been together. So, it's really just kind of a personal thing for us.
TB: How is Brian feeling?
Kevin: When I talked to him last he sounded great. He's doing really good. I was pretty scared when Brian went into the hospital. It's just like a wake up call to make you appriciate every day that you have and not take things for granted. I'm just thankful that he made it through and he's excited and ready to get back to work.
TB: Nick, how do you feel about your looks being compared to Leo DiCaprio?
Nick: You don't know how many times I've gotten that! I guess I kind of take it as a compliment. I mean, it's a compliment, but not one that I like. I'd rather them say, that's Nick Carter, that's not Leo, you know?
TB: With Geri leaving the Spice Girls this summer, we have to wonder if there's any chance of one of you leaving the Backstreet Boys. Is there?
A.J.: Since the group started up until now, it's always been five. And it will always be five. It's one for all and all for one. I don't think anyone is going anywhere fast. I think this is a long term thing. The five of us are like brothers and family. What the paying public wants to see is five members and that's just the way it's going to stay for a while.
TB: Here's a sort of wacky question. If you could meet anyone, past or present, who would you like to talk to?
Howie: I'd like to meet the Pope.
Kevin: I think I'd like to have a conversation with Elvis. I would just like to talk to him and get his feedback on what he went through and talk about music.
A.J.: I'd say Sammy Davis, Jr. He was one of my idols when I was growing up with his whole tap dancing act and the whole pack with him Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra. They were just really cool.
Nick: I was thinking about maybe an older President from the past, maybe like Lincoln. That'd be cool to talk to him.
TB: Nick, what's it like having your baby brother Aaron tagging along on tour?
Nick: I think it's great. Me and him are going to be spending a lot more time together than usual. He's a lot younger than me, so that's why I'm there to knock him down a few notches!
TB: Are you doing a lot of writing for your next album?
Kevin: I just got my home studio installed this past week and Nick just got his installed too. So whenever we come home now, all the ideas we have, we can put them down and get them on tape and send them to the record company. That's a lot of fun. I'm excited. I can't believe I've got a studio in my house now.
TB: Does the screaming from your fans at concerts bother you?
Howie: When we first started touring it was quite a shock to us how loud the crowd was. We couldn't really hear our own vocals on stage. Now, we've pretty much got a wall of sound around so we can hear ourselves. But there are parts of the show where it just gets so loud that you can't hear. Then there's certain points where everybody's quiet and they listen to your vocals. It's all good.
TB: How do you deal with the loneliness of being out on the road?
Howie: It's kind of weird for me. I went on a trip on behalf of the group down to South America during this time off. That's when it finally hit me, you know, the loneliness of not having the four other guys around me. You learn to appriciate something that you take for granted. But just having the five of us a s brothers, kind of out there on the road and looking out for each other and just being friends, that takes away a lot of the loneliness. And, AT&T (calling) cards help also!
TB: Although you're not all teenagers anymore, some people still insist on calling you teen idols. How does that make you feel?
A.J.: I don't think we really want to be classified as teen idols. We might get looked at that way just because of our ages and, I guess, the kind of image that we have. I think we just want people to respect us for our music first and then look at us however they want to look at us. I mean, we're not perfect. We're just a bunch of regular Joes that just want to do something that they love. If people look at us as just being normal, which is what we are, then that's cool. I don't know what really goes through a 12-year-old's mind or anything. I was there once myself but I don't know what goes through their heads looking at us now. If they want to look at us as being teen idols, it's cool. We're all about being positive but it's all about the music.
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