ARTICLES

(POP GROUP) Jump in whenever you want here: "Everybody, yeah . . . Rock your body . . . Backstreet's back, all right!" Give it up. You know the words. By the time the Backstreet Boys unleashed their unofficial theme song in March, they were well on their way to moving 8 million copies of their self-titled album and had put their Top 5 hit, "Quit Playing Games (with My Heart)," on the lips of millions of pubescent girls.

And when the Boys -- (from left) Kevin Richardson, 27, Howie Dorough, 25, A.J. McLean, 20, Brian Littrell, 23, and Nick Carter, 18 -- toured the U.S. this summer, bedlam was the disorder of the day. "It's getting crazy," admits Littrell. But at least it's home. The Orlando-based fab five had to go to Europe to find success with their 1995 debut album. "We like our families to be able to turn on the TV and see what we're doing," says Richardson. Even if it is lampooning themselves on this year's MTV Video Music Awards. "They've gone from big to bigger in the year I've known them," says former teen idol Deborah Gibson. "And they haven't changed a bit." Now at work on their next CD, the five even claim they all still get along. "None of us are going to take each other out yet," jokes Dorough. Or sell out. Vows Littrell: "I don't want a Backstreet Boys cereal."

BSB IN ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY!!! (most entertaining)

Mover over, Menudo; send the New Kids to another block. With 25 million albums sold worldwide, these are not your average BOYS next door.

"Sometimes you meet girls and they recognize you, but they won't say anything. They'll just giggle and scream and laugh and then just run away. I pray to God I get inside a girl's head one day and see, What in the WORLD are they thinking?"

So speaks Backstreet Boy AJ McLean, 20. And he brings up an excellent question. Not being teenage girls ourselves, we can't be absolutely sure what goes on inside those adolescent skulls. But here's an educated guess:

Omigod! I'm totally gonna pee in my pants. Right now. I'm gonna pee in my pants! AJ is standing right in front of me. He's sooo hot. But also a little scary, ya know? Cause he's the bad boy. He's got lotsa piercings and also a tattoo of a panda! Pandas are his favorite. God, I can't believe I forgot to bring the stuffed panda! That totally sucks. My mom says it was a waste of money. But she doesn't like my BSB posters or scrapbook or bandannas or pillows or unauthorized biographies, either. She's got no clue. Neither does my boyfriend. He'll listen to them but thinks they're gay. Yeah, right. He wishes!

Oh AJ! I'll Quit Playing Games with your Heart. That's the Boy's best song. I could listen to it a zillion times! I read that their CD--Backstreet Boys--sold, like, 25 million copies around the world. It's the third-best- selling album of the year, after the Titanic soundtrack and Celine Dion's album. Oh Leo, Leo, Leo. NO! Focus! It's AJ I Love.

Am I sexual? AJ, you don't have to ask! Okay, so I'm not. But I would be for him. You know who else I'd be sexual for? Some of those other hottie boy bands that copy BSB: N Sync, Five, Code Red. Dru Hill. Did I mention N' Sync? Justin is gorgeous! Okay, focus again. Need to stay loyal. BSB was my first love. They were the originals; the others are just wannabes.

Omigod! That girl over there just gave AJ her bra! I wish I'd thought of that--I'd give it to Nick. He's my real fave BSB 'cause we've got lots in common. We're both Aquarians, we both love video games, and he's 18, so more my age. Nick once said: "Everyone wants a girl with a perfect personality. It doesn't really matter how they look." He wouldn't mind my braces or...ooooh, there's Kevin! He's kinda old--like 26. But that's okay. I read in Teen Beat he's a "real softy" who'll cry over anything. He said he's "bashful.... I like it when a girl tells me she likes me." I like you! I like you! But I'd even go out with 25 year old Howie--Sweet D, I call him, 'cause he's the nicest--or 23 year old Brian (B-Rok). He hates green vegetables. Me, too! Let's not eat veggies together, Brian!

My older sister says the Backstreet Boys are just a fad, like when she used to listen to the New Kids on the Block. As if! Okay, so they both had the same manager. But BSB can sing. Even my teacher--and she's really old--thinks they're talented. Also, they're amazing dancers. Okay, the New Kids could dance too, but BSB are a million times cuter. They're more like that band my mom liked, the one with Sean Lennon's dad.

The Backstreet Boys are still plugging away at their new album, recording partly in their hometown of Orlando, Florida, and partly in Sweden. For their next effort, the Boys say they're attempting to write some of the songs themselves.

"There's a song that I co-wrote" Backstreet Boy Kevin Richardson told MTV News. "There's a song that Brian wrote , actually two songs that Brian wrote, and the rest of the guys are finishing their demos so we can all sit down and decide what we want to put on the album what we don't."

The new album is officially slated for release next April, but the lads themselves aren't betting on that just yet.

"Hopefully we'll have a single out by late January [or] early February. And hopefully [we'll] have an album out by, like, March," A.J. McLean said.

"But that's all hopefully. We don't get no dates," Howie Dorough interjected.

"It's all hopefully. We have a lot of recording to do left, just trying to make the album the best as we possibly can. So we're taking it slowly," A.J. finished.

The Boys are apparently determined to continue flogging their products right down to the final moments of 1998. The band will appear on the "Billboard Awards" on December 7th, and have also contracted to grace Dick Clark's annual New Year's Eve show on the 31st.