Nicknames: Frick, Seaver, Mr. Joker, B-rok
Birthplace: Lexington, Kentucky
Birthdate: February 20, 1975
Age: 24 years old
Height: 5' 8"
Weight: 140 pounds
Eye color: baby blue
Hair color: Light brown
Current Residence: Orlando, Florida
Zodiac sign: Pisces
Parents: mother Jackie and father Harold Jr.
Siblings: A brother, Harold III
Pets: A cat named Missy and a chihuahua named Tyke (Brian loves chihuahuas)
Worst fear: Heights
Musical Instrument: He plays the guitar
Fave color: blue
Cologne: Safari
Music: Luther Vandross, Boyz II Men, Shai, Jodeci, Take 6, Micheal English, and Micheal W. Smith
Movie: Star Wars, Sleepless In Seattle, While You Were Sleeping
Actors: Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock
TV show: Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
School subject: math
Food: Macaroni and cheese, or a cheese pizza (He loves cheese!)
Drink: Iced Tea
Book: Star Wars
Dream vacation: he would take him mom and dad to Australia or Hawaii.
Thought he would be: in the NBA, playing pro b-ball
Most prized possesion: B-rok necklace
Current Girlfriend: Leigh-Anne Wallace, actress, starring in an independant film called Olive
Juice. You can learn more about her and seepics of her if you click on the pic:
This is Brian with Tommy Smith, a member of the Backstreet band. The girl in the picture is Leigh-Anne.
Hobbies: Basketball, Golf, Waterskiing, Weight lifting, playing video games.
What the others say about him: "Our comedian,our little show off"
Most likely to say: "I guess"
Girl Qualities: He likes a girl who can treat him normally and not focus on his job. He also likes nice eyes.
Bad Habit: Biting his nails
Previous Experience: He used to sing and work at his church with Kevin, and he also worked at Long John Silver's
He is a Baptist, raised in a very religious family, and believes in sex after marriage...he doesn't even kiss a girl without knowing her well.
I describe myself like this:
I'm a comedian, make everyone laugh. I'm shy, but straightforward. I'm funny and easy to deal with. I'm a very sensitive character."
He was born with a heart defect, (a hole in his heart), he was always sick as a child and he remembers that whenever he got hurt, as small as the cut may be, his mom would be alarmed. He became very ill and had his first surgery at 4, and the doctors thought he was going to die. Luckily, he survived. He calls it "a miracle". He underwent surgery on May 8, 1998, after having put it off for 6 months, because he felt it was not in the best interest of the group.
He was the last boy to join the Backstreet Boys.
He has had no previous formal vocal training, which is surprising, considering the range of his voice.
He is best friends with Nick Carter, and they have been nicknamed "Frick" and "Frack" because of their close relationship, "we're like brothers"
I describe the other guys in the group like this:
Kevin: "Our big brother. He's serious, takes care of everyone. He works hard, understands this business and knows what can happen. He's both outward and predictable."
Nick: "He has grown much during the past year. He's also a comedian, a little joker who doesn't take everything as seriously as we do. He misses his teen years, it must be hard for him. He's the youngest and gets considered as our little brother. He tries to handle that. It isn't alwaya that easy. He's funny to be with, but he can, in the same way, be very serious. He's already a little business man, at 18!"
Howie:"Honest and Loyal. We are very close friends and we talk often. He's also very shy.
AJ: "He's absolutely not shy, he can talk to anyone. He's very straightforward."
ALONE WITH BRIAN:
-To be his best friend:
Talk about friendship and loyalty, that is what he values the most.
-To make him fall in love: Brian doesn't believe in love at first sight, so take it slowly, don't be too pushy.
Backstreet Boys have always maintained that they are one group with five lead singers. While each member of the group brings his own special talents to the mix, it's Brians heavenly voice which is most prominent on Backstreet Boys' greatest hits, including 'Quit Playin' Games (With My Heart)' and 'I'll Never Break Your Heart'.
If Nick is the face of Backstreet Boys, AJ the showman, Howie the sweetness and Kevin the professionalism, the Brian is the soul of the group.
Brian Thomas Littrell was born on 20 February 1975 in Lexington, Kentucky into a family which loved music and was very active in its local church. Both his parents, Harold Jr, who worked for computer giant IBM, and his mother Jackie, who volunteered her time to their local parish, sang at Sunday services. 'I grew up in a big Baptist church, and ever since I could walk I was singing,' he remembered. 'I sound alot like me dad. I hear my dad in me.'
Brian also has a brother, Harold III, who's threee years older. Brian remembers that when his cousin Kevin Richardson used to visit, he'd watc the two older kids 'play rock stars'. Kevin, he recalled, would sing, while Harold would pound the drums.
Brian joined the children's chorus at his church Sunday school. He sang his first solo - before a congregation of almost 1,500 people - when he was just six or seven years old. Although he recalls being quite nervous, he alsothoroughly enjoyed the attention. 'I'm very shy when it comes to meeting people,' he's said. 'But once I get to know a certain person, I can relax and then I turn into a ham'.
Brian developed his talents in school musicals such as Grease. During his adolescence he was also fortunate enough to come under the influence of Barry Turner, a music teacher at his school who helped him hone his rich style. 'I had a black voice teacher [from] seventh grade all through eleventh grade who musically influenced me,' Brian recalled. 'He kind of got to mould me.'
Brian also continued to sing at his church where his voice and stage presence were widely praised, but initially that fame didn't impress his school friends. In the classroom, he was just another one of the guys.
That changed in his junior year of high school, when Brian's participation in a talent show made his classmates - and Brian himself - realize the extent of his natural talent. He and a female friend chose to perform a spiritual song called 'Another Time, Another Place'. Brian's gorgeous vocals caused so much screaming among the female members of the audience that he couldn't hear himself! That experience, he says, was a total rush and left him craving more.
Still, Brian's firmly middle - class upbringing found him looking forward to collage as he reached the last of hid high - school years. When the fateful call from his cousin Kevin that brought him into Backstreet Boys arrived - pulling Brian out from his US History class - he was completely unprepared. 'I had no expectations because I really had no idea what I was getting myself into', he recalls. 'I was 18 years old. I was very close to graduating high school. I was offered singing scholarship to the University of Cincinnati Bible Collage.' Brian had his future already planned. 'I was going to go to Cincinnati, which is only 100 miles from exington, so I would be close to him, yet away from home', he recalled.
Although he was the last member to join Backstreet Boys, Brian's participation in the group has helped shape their popular R&B/pop sound. Influenced by favourite performers such as Luther Vandross, Boyz II Men, Take 6, and The Temptations, Brian's blue - eyed soul has been the foundation for some of their most popular songs.
Brian is also taking shape as a songwritier. He was the first member of Backstreet Boys to see one of his own tunes appear on one of their albums. 'That's What She Said' was released on their second European CD, Backstreet's Back. Although the song wasn't included on their debut CD in the United States, Brian introduced in to American fans as the highlight oh his solo spot on their summer 1998 tour.
While all five Backstreet Boys have taken a greater interest in songwriting as they approach their third CD, Brian has changed his work habits the most radically to find time to write. He's never been into clubbing or the sort of guy who likes late-night parties, but he used to spend a lot of time chatting on the phone, watching movies in his hotel room or playing video games with Nick far into the night. Now, he spends much more time setting his thoughts to music with his guitar or with the help of some of the musicians from the Backstreet Boys' backing band.
But no matter how hard he works on his music, Brian still makes time for fun. His fans know that this star athlete is never far away from a basketball. It's a sport that all of the mebers of Backstreet Boys enjoy, but on yhat Brian especially excels at. 'Athletics have always been an important part of my life', he said. 'I like making out [basketball] plays and I bring a basketball on the road. So any time we have, if we see a park of if the weather's nice, we can get out and play. It relieves the stress'.
The other Backstreet Boys christened Brian 'B-ROK'. 'Because he likes to play basketball, and they call basketballs rocks', explained his best buddy Nick.
Among the Backstreet Boys, Brian and Nick are inseperable, prompting one of their security detail to nickname them 'Frick and Frack' (Brian is Frick, Nick is Frack) The pair enjoy sports, girls, music, and movies. They also share a mischievous love of pranks and a similar sense of humour. They even have their own secret handshake. Although both are reputed to have somewhat short tempers, flare-ups between then never last more than a moment. In fact, more than one of their disputes was settled on the basketball court!
Brian calls Nick and the other members of the group his brothers, but he hasn't forgotten the folks he left behind in Kentucky. He calls home often and has flown his parents all over the world - most recently to Spain in 1998 - tp see his shows. His brother Harold has crossed thousands of miles of Europe with Backstreet Boys. 'I brought my brother out on tour once', recalled Brian with a grin. 'He wanted to meet all the girls!'.
No matter how many miles are between him and home, Brian always keeps with him the morals and good sense his family brought me up with a religious background'.he said. 'I try to stay focused on that and do my own thing.' One of Brian's favourite ways of winding down after a long day of interviews, photo sessions and meeting the crowds is by reading a bit from a book that has travelled with him around the globe. 'There's a book of proverbs from the Bible - it's a book that my parents gave me a little while ago,' he revealed. 'They're just quotes and sayings of the day to keep your feet on the ground and keep your thoughts together. It's nice to go back to your hotel room after a long crazy day and read a page or two'.
Brian devotion to his family and his faith was strengthened by a childhood illness that nearly ended in tragedy. Born with an undiagnosed murmur and a hole in his heart, Brian was always a happy athletic kid who never had any trouble keeping up the other children in the neigbourhood. At five, he took a tumble fron his Big Wheel tricycle that his doctors assumed signified the start of a bacterial infection that began circulating in his blood. Nevertheless, Brian seemes perfectly fit. A few weeks later at his grandparents' house, Brian was messing around with his older brother when he slipped and fell, sustaining a nasty bump to his head. Worried that he might have a concussion, his mother took him to the hospital where the docters discovered Brian's affliction.
Brian was admitted immediately and started on a course of medication that doctors doubted would cure him. The infection had gone to far, they said. The docors actually told Brian's parents to prepare themselves for the worst. But faith sustained his family as Brian remained in hospital for 2 months gradually recovering. Not only was it the lonliest time of his life, but he admits that he sometimes still had nightmares about it. The doctors called Brian recovery nothing short of a miracle. 'I think everyone is here for a reason', Brian has said. 'I think it's destiny why we're all here together'.
Since his childhood ordeal, Brian has submitted yearly to cardiac examinations to moniter his health. He has always understood that some day he might have to undergo the surgical procedure to close the small hole in his heart. Over the past years as a member of Backstreet Boys, Brian kept up with the others as they danced and sang for fans all over the world. But by early 1998, he'd begun to feel tired. When his doctors at his annual checkup recommended that he take time off for the operation, Brian finally agreed.
'It was just like a wake-up call to make you appreciate every day what you have and not take things for granted', said cousin Kevin just weeks after Brian's operation. The surgery, which took place on 8 May 1998, was extremely successful. Brian's doctors recommended that he be given six to eight weeks off to recuperate, begin physical therapy and allow the hospital to do tests to determine the success of the procedure.
On 8 July, Brian appeared on stage with Backstreet Boys in Charlotte, North Carolina for the start of their very first arena-scale tour in America. It was exactly the moment he'd been dreaming about all summer. 'I can be on stage in front of thousands of people and there's a point in the show - it doesn't matter how loud the audience is, but you can hear a pin drop on stage because you're in such a world,' he's said. "You're focused. You don't think about the lyrics ot what's going on on stage. You just glance out into the audience and the lights go out and the lighters or those little glow sticks come on. It's just such a sense of fulfilment inside'.
Despite his success with Backstreet Boys and even the physical odds he's overcome to get to the stage, Brian remains very modest, even humble. 'I question myself every show. "Why are these people here?" I never dreamed of being a big star or anything, but to be a singer, to do something I love, to go to work every day and do something I enjoy that's what I was looking for', he said. 'It's what you make of it. I mean, I'm no different that anyone else. Everyone has different qualities and everyone is here for a reason,'
The thrill of winning awards, recieving platinum albums ot counting the number of times he's seen his face on the cover magazines pales in comparison with the joy Brian gets from entertaining people. 'We want to be perceived as 5 guys who love to sing, love to perform and love to share the gifts of music that we have with the whole world,' he said.
Taken from "Backstreet Boys Confidential" By Angie Nichols
