Cause Celeb
Backstreet Boy hopes fame will help fight his home state's environmental battles
By Heather Svokos
HERALD-LEADER POP CULTURE WRITER
"You come out of the Daniel Boone National Forest at about 8,000 feet and on the horizon, instead of seeing green mountain-scapes and rocks and sandstone and limestone cliffs, all of a sudden you see, as if the mountain were a stick of butter, literally, it's like someone took a butter knife and sliced the entire top off of a mountain. All you see is rocks and dirt. It's like a moonscape. It's like you're looking at Mars."
This, from a guy whose public persona is more known for making young girls shriek and swoon than it is for waxing poetic on the evils of mountaintop removal.
But if you look just beneath the slick, bump-and-grind veneer of the eldest Backstreet Boy, you'll find a 30-year-old man with a solemn commitment to the environment.
Back in June, his interest in the cause earned him non-Backstreet headlines. It also stirred up an old debate: do celebrities and politics mix?
The brouhaha began when the Kentucky-reared pop star was added as a last-minute witness at a congressional hearing, and a U.S. senator announced he would boycott the hearing.
The issue before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee was mountaintop removal mining. The practice, which has become common in Kentucky and West Virginia, shears off the top of a ridge or mountain to expose a coal seam, pushing dirt and rock into nearby valleys and waterways.
Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, did indeed boycott the hearing, saying the last-minute inclusion of Richardson as a witness made a mockery of the committee and the issue.
"It's just a joke to think that this witness can provide members of the United States Senate with information on important geological and water quality issues," Voinovich said in June. "We're either serious about the issues or we're running a sideshow."
Richardson testified anyway, but the comments stung.
The musician grew up in Estill County, in the mountains of the Daniel Boone National Forest. For the last few years, he's been schooling himself on such issues as water quality and mountaintop removal strip mining. In December 2000, he started Just Within Reach, an environmental foundation. He's part of several other environmental initiatives, including one started with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. -- the Kentucky Riverkeeper, a fledgling organization for river restoration.
"I was really frustrated," Richardson said from Los Angeles, where he's now recording the new Backstreet Boys album. "It's a shame that he (Voinovich) didn't do more research on me before he made those comments -- I think he made himself look bad. He didn't know I grew up in Appalachian Kentucky, that I grew up in those Appalachian mountains, that my grandfather was a coal miner, and that I have a vested interest in that hearing.
"I have flown over those sites, I've seen the damage, and what it's doing to those mountain ranges in West Virginia and Kentucky and Tennessee. They're raping the Appalachian mountain range for profit."
Richardson, who owns a farm near Lexington, says it's also a shame Voinovich didn't attend the hearing.
"He could've cross-examined me. I'm not a scientist but I am an eye-witness. I had every right to be there as a native Kentuckian and a concerned citizen and the head of my own environmental foundation."
Voinovich's office didn't return a phone call seeking comment for this story.
Some personal reasons
The singer was motivated to start Just Within Reach partly because of his then-recent marriage to actress Kristin Willits. "We want to have children," he said at the foundation's launch in December 2000. "I want them to grow up healthy and have clean water to drink."
Instead of "sitting around on my butt worrying about problems," he said then, "I thought I'd use my status as a celebrity to ask more questions and maybe change things."
Just Within Reach is run by Richardson; his wife; his brother, Tim; and friends Jim and Vicki Hanna of Los Angeles.
Vicki Hanna sees nothing wrong with working the celebrity angle. "The way we see it, the regular citizens who live with it (mountaintop removal) have been trying to get the government to act for years and years," said Hanna, the foundation's director of programs and publicity. "So then they get a celebrity spokesperson and Kevin says: 'You're right, that is why I'm here.'
"Kevin has spent a lot of time the last two years educating himself on the topic. He wants the senator to quit talking so much about the celebrity thing and get to work on the issue."
'We have the laws'
And the issue, to Richardson, isn't about dismantling the coal industry.
"I realize that coal is an important part of the Eastern Kentucky economy, and I'm not trying to eliminate the coal business," he said. "What I'm trying to bring attention to is the lack of responsibility of the coal companies, who are destroying the water tables, destroying homes and communities, destroying people's lives."
When mountaintop removal pushes dirt into valleys, it creates "valley fill," and covers streams for miles. "The law says anytime you pollute a watersource, it is illegal," Richardson said.
Last May, a U.S. District Court judge in Charleston, W.Va., agreed. Richardson is part of another group -- Kentuckians for the Commonwealth -- whose lawsuit spurred Judge Charles Haden II to order a halt to new mining permits. His ruling is being appealed.
"We have the laws," Richardson said. "They just need to be enforced. But the Bush administration has provided the coal companies with a loophole, by asking the Army Corps of Engineers to redefine 'valley fill' so they can get around the Clean Water Act.
"There's a way to mine coal responsibly so it doesn't have as bad an environmental impact. The Environmental Protection Agency is not keeping an eye on anything."
The lament of the coal industry is that tighter regulations will cost jobs. "Haden's ruling will shut down mining in Appalachia, both surface and underground mining," Kentucky Coal Association President Bill Caylor said in May.
"That's not true," Richardson says. "If they take care of the environment and restore what they tore down, there will be more jobs and it'll leave the community with hope for other things. Literally, these mountains are being torn down. It's so sad. It doesn't have to be like that."
'People listen'
The Backstreet Boy might be a thorn in the side of detractors like Voinovich, but some, like Alan Banks, are thanking their lucky stars for Richardson's involvement.
Banks, director of the Center for Appalachian Studies at Eastern Kentucky University, got to know Richardson through the Kentucky Riverkeeper, a coalition dedicated to Kentucky River restoration, advocacy and education.
"It's been a great surprise that he has the level of commitment and compassion that he does," said Banks, who's also on the Riverkeeper board. "One thing I said to him, I said: 'Kevin, I really respect you as a Backstreet Boy, but I respect you a whole lot more as an eco-warrior.' And he just sort of puffed up, you know?"
It doesn't hurt that where Richardson goes, cameras follow. "He can talk about when he was growing up (in Kentucky) and what his mother taught him, and people listen," Banks said. "He helps give the whole issue legitimacy. He's just a powerful voice -- not necessarily for anything radical -- but for cherishing our natural resources, for following the law, for looking at the clean water act as a powerful weapon."
Despite Richardson's passion and knowledge, some will continue to dismiss him as the boy band singer who dabbles in a cause.
"A lot of people, whether it's on this issue, or anything, because I'm a Backstreet Boy, they assume I'm some young kid who has no clue about anything," he said. "I seem to be prejudged. I'm a 30-year-old man -- I'll be 31 in October. I've been to 37 countries around the world in the past 10 years with our group. I've seen a lot with my eyes."
That still won't matter to those who think politics are best left to politicians and "experts."
At the time of the June hearing, Voinovich said the trend of celebrities testifying was "disturbing" because it uses celebrity witnesses to gain media attention at the expense of substantive testimony.
"Politicians don't like it when celebrities show up in their designerwear and their glasses and expound on things," said actress Annie Potts, another celebrity Kentuckian, and a former spokesperson for the American Arthritis Foundation. "Politicians think: 'This is not within your ken. Hey, this is bureaucrats' business, for heaven's sake.'
"I know that there's a lot written about ours being a celebrity culture, but I think we're lucky to have people like him (Richardson)," Potts said. "This kid sounds like he knows what he's talking about. You know, they're heroes to a lot of kids, and kids will follow their example. So if he's an environmentalist, they'll want to look at that, too.
"I think it's very dangerous to criticize anybody for putting their time, money and heart into a good cause. I mean, what's to criticize there? I think they should be applauded."
Richardson's Backstreet Boy cousin, Brian Littrell, has his own cause, and his own foundation in partnership with St. Joseph Hospital: the Brian Littrell Healthy Heart Club for Kids. But Littrell's cause hasn't ruffled many feathers.
"He likes to keep his views kind of private, and we don't really discuss politics," Richardson said of his cousin. "This is kind of a battle of mine."
And one he plans to continue in the political arena, whether Voinovich and Co. like it or not.
His next strike? Coordinating flights over coal fields with Sens. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., and Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., who already have accepted his invitation, said Vicki Hanna of Just Within Reach.
Hanna added: "If Sen. Voinovich thinks that Kevin Richardson is going to shut up and go away, he's very badly mistaken and misinformed."
The Lost Boys: How a Pop Sensation Came Undone
By NEIL STRAUSS
From The New York Times: THE Backstreet Boys have sold more than 65 million albums around the world, a number that few pop acts have surpassed. In their prime, in the 90's, they were a pop juggernaut, breathing new life into MTV, the record business, children's radio, teen magazines and teenage purchasing power.
But along the way, they were surpassed by a very similar band with the same management, songwriting and production team: 'N Sync. As 'N Sync's star rose, the Backstreet Boys seemed to disappear. Music industry observers have offered scattered reasons: the Backstreet Boys lost their young audience when they tried to fashion a darker, more adult look; they alienated love-smitten fans when two group members married; they damaged their image when they admitted that the band member A. J. McLean had checked into rehab for alcohol abuse and depression.
But there is more to the story. Or more precisely, the Backstreet Boys' ups and downs are part of a larger story, one about the music industry today. It's about five young men put to work as pop puppets who develop minds and ideas of their own, then find out what can happen to long-term ambitions in a consolidating industry in which quarterly profits are crucial, professional relationships are not what they seem and pop groups are treated like disposable products.
The history of rock and roll is littered with broken bands and dashed hopes. But what distinguishes the Backstreet Boys' story is its scale, one involving deals worth as much as $100 million that the band members now say were a mistake, causing them to lose control of their careers.
"The business is over here," Kevin Richardson, at 29 the oldest group member, said recently, stretching his left hand out. "And the artistry," he continued, stretching out his right hand, "is over here."
The story begins with Lou Pearlman, an aviation entrepreneur based in Florida (and cousin of Art Garfunkel). Inspired by the success of the 80's heartthrobs New Kids on the Block, who happened to charter a plane from him, he decided to recruit and groom his own clean-cut boy bands. After a series of auditions in 1992 and 1993, he recruited Nick Carter (the youngest at 12), Howie Dorough, Mr. McLean and Mr. Richardson, who was 20 and whose cousin, Brian Littrell, soon completed the Backstreet Boys lineup. Mr. Pearlman booked them at grade-school assemblies, shopping malls and Sea World, and assigned management duties to Johnny Wright, who had worked with New Kids on the Block.
A year later, Jive Records, an independent label best known for its hip-hop acts, was coaxed into signing the Backsteet Boys. But the band's first single, "We've Got It Going On," sputtered in America, where its sweet, harmony-laden pop was out of step with the alternative rock of the time. So in 1995 the band's first album, "Backstreet Boys," was released in Europe and Canada, hitting the top 10 in numerous countries. Jive and Mr. Pearlman kept the band busy overseas for the next two years, sometimes putting it on tour for five months straight.
When teenybopper bands like the Spice Girls and Hanson began to succeed in the United States, Jive and Mr. Pearlman decided to bring the boys back. In the fall of 1997, an American version of "Backstreet Boys" was released and, over time, its popularity wore down skeptics at radio stations and MTV. When the album crossed the 10 million mark in sales, it heralded the cultural arrival of Generation Y.
"They were probably single-handedly responsible for the advent of `Total Request Live,' for Radio Disney, for Teen People becoming the force it has become, and, no doubt, for the explosion in teen purchasing power in America," said Barry Weiss, the president of Jive. "They pushed the envelope."
As with nearly all sudden pop sensations, a conflict soon grew between the band members, who wanted time off to relax and find perspective, and the business forces behind them, who wanted to keep the momentum going.
"The Backstreet Boys got so big they got tired," Mr. Pearlman said. "And after a while, it became not about managing them but reasoning with them."
Matters grew worse when a doctor recommended in the spring of 1998 that Mr. Littrell have surgery because of a leaky heart valve. "I remember management at the time saying, `Can't you postpone it so we can finish the tour?' " Mr. Richardson said. "And this just hurt Brian so much because he was like, `Dude, this is my heart.' " (Mr. Pearlman said that he had supported taking time off for the operation immediately.)
Meanwhile, Mr. Pearlman rolled out his next big boy band: 'N Sync. That summer, the Backstreet Boys decided not to accept an offer from Disney, which wanted to broadcast a concert special. Mr. Richardson said that he and his bandmates were exhausted and wanted to spend time with their families.
"That left the door open for 'N Sync," Mr. Pearlman said. "And 'N Sync walked through the door."
Mr. Richardson said that 'N Sync worked hard and deserved the breakthrough. The Backstreet Boys directed their anger at Mr. Pearlman and his management team, coming to believe that it was a conflict of interest for them to handle such mirror-image acts. "They were directing them to work with all the writers and producers that we worked with," Mr. Richardson said. "And they were using 'N Sync against us, saying, `Oh, if you guys don't do this gig, we'll just book 'N Sync.' "
In response to accusations from Mr. Pearlman and others that the band lost its drive, he said: "We tried to find a balance. We got tired of being taken advantage of. That's the bottom line."
So the band took its contracts to outside lawyers, who discovered that Mr. Pearlman had legally made himself a sixth member of the group, meaning that he was able to keep 17 percent of the money he distributed to the band after taking his 15 percent commission, according to court documents.
The Backstreet Boys filed suit in 1998, claiming that they had only received $300,000 since 1993 while Mr. Pearlman and their managers had reaped $10 million. In an interview, Mr. Pearlman defended his business practices, saying that he had spent $3 million on the Backstreet Boys before the band had earned a dime. He added that it is common practice in the music business for a company to earn its investment back before paying the artist.
As the battle intensified, the band found itself unable to proceed with a planned tour, Mr. Richardson said. "They locked our production equipment and stage and everything up and said, `You guys are supposed to do a tour, but you're not getting your equipment,' " he recalled.
The band reached a settlement that allowed Mr. Pearlman to retain, among other things, one-sixth of the band's profits.
It was around this time in 1999 that the Backstreet Boys, who were being managed by Mr. McLean's mother, held a meeting with executives of a two-year-old management company called the Firm, which represented bands like Korn and Limp Bizkit. Two executives from the Firm, Jeff Kwatinetz and Michael Green, showed up backstage at a concert in Orlando, Fla., and, after being kept waiting for an hour outside the group's dressing room, burst in and made their pitch.
The band members were impressed by these brash young executives who promised them greater control of their careers, a larger share of revenues and innovative promotion and merchandising. With the help of the Firm, the Backstreet Boys sued Mr. Pearlman several more times, until he renegotiated the settlement on terms more favorable to the band. Executives of the Firm said that the Backstreet Boys had bought out Mr. Pearlman's stake in the band, but Mr. Pearlman denied this.
The Backstreet Boys retained the Firm's own lawyer to represent them; later, they transferred legal duties to John Branca, who manages most of the Firm's top clients.
Here, commercially and personally, began a glory period for the Backstreet Boys. In 1999 their CD "Millennium" sold 1.1 million copies in its first week — more than any album before it. "Millennium" became the best-selling release of the year (more than nine million copies), while the accompanying tour raked in $37 million. Merchandise sales brought in millions more.
THE windfall was good for those around the group, too. It thrust Jive Records into the highly lucrative teen-pop market. (Impressed by its teen-pop sales, BMG, which already owned 20 percent of Jive's parent company, recently purchased the remainder for $3 billion, the most ever paid for an independent record company.)
In the meantime, according to executives who worked with the band, the Firm negotiated tens of millions of dollars in advance payments for recordings and performances from Jive and the concert promoter Clear Channel. This helped the management company finance its growth. It soon became a powerhouse in film and music, with a current staff of about 240 people. It acquired the sneaker company Pony, a chain of stuffed-animal stores and the merchandising rights to the cartoon aardvark Arthur. It also started buying other management companies, most notably Michael Ovitz's Artists Management Group earlier this year.
David Baram, the president and chief operating officer of the Firm, denied accusations — from rival managers, and from Aaron Ray, a former partner in the Firm — that the Firm was built off the backs of bands like the Backstreet Boys. "Our success is totally a function of never making short-term decisions for our artists," he said. "We've been fortunate enough to grow our business where we're not dependent on any particular commission check."
One thing at which the Firm excels is battling record labels on behalf of its acts. The executives who worked with the band say the Backstreet Boys had a heavily one-sided deal with Jive, which owned most of the band's merchandising, film and other rights. In addition, on Jive's books the Backstreet Boys still owed the label money, which meant that despite being the most successful band of their time, they weren't getting a penny in royalties from their record label, according to the band's past and current managers.
In a contract renegotiation, the Firm managed to loosen some of the label's restrictions on the band and secure a $65 million advance, a figure that many in the Backstreet Boys camp confirmed. (Though the band only received 30 percent of the money up front; the rest comes with album deliveries and sales bonuses.) Executives who worked with the band said that the Firm had made use of the Backstreet Boys' irritation at Jive's latest coup: the signing of 'N Sync, which had also sued Mr. Pearlman and found new representation.
The band's subsequent album, "Black and Blue," signaled the end of its glory days. "That record — and I'm not complaining or blaming anyone because it sold a lot of copies — for me personally, I wasn't happy with it," Mr. Richardson said. "I felt like we should have experimented more. But there was all this pressure and fear from our label and our management company."
Executives of the Firm said that the rest of the band had been happy with the album and voted to release it, especially since any further changes would have meant missing its Christmas-season release date. To promote the album, the Firm worked closely with Wal-Mart, MTV and Burger King, which paid several million dollars to sponsor the band. (According to executives close to the band, Jive Records, which was not included in the Burger King deal, made a separate deal for 'N Sync and Britney Spears with McDonald's, whose campaign beat Burger King's by about a week.)
In the end, "Black and Blue" actually beat the first-week sales of "Millennium," selling 1.6 million. (It went on to sell a total of 5.3 million.) But what should have been a triumph was hardly seen that way by the industry. That was because 'N Sync's new album, "No Strings Attached," had sold 2.4 million copies in its first week. The 'N Sync album followed a ubiquitous No. 1 single, "Bye Bye Bye"; the Backstreet Boys had not released such a successful single early.
"We made a lot of right decisions when we put the Millennium tour together," Mr. Richardson said, "but because of that success, people in our organization got comfortable and weren't being so cautious anymore."
Other factors were undermining the band. Executives working with the Backstreet Boys said band members had stopped getting along after the release of "Black and Blue." Executives with the Firm were also frustrated with the band for not working as hard as 'N Sync seemed to be, especially in making public appearances. Furthermore, Mr. Littrell's wife, Leighanne Wallace, who was critical of the Firm, began exerting a major influence over his decisions, according to executives close to the band, incurring resentment both within and outside the group.
The relationship with the Firm grew worse when the band began to work on its tour to support "Black and Blue." Clear Channel offered to buy the entire tour outright for $100 million, a figure the group's managers jumped at.
As it turned out, Mr. Richardson said, "it was a big mistake."
"When people were throwing that big number on the table, it was tempting, but we asked questions, we asked about ticket sales, we asked about the control aspect, and we were told not to worry," he said, referring to his management company. "And it hurt us."
To make money, he said, Clear Channel had to set extremely high ticket prices, shutting out many Backstreet Boys fans. A spokesman for Clear Channel said that the steep ticket prices had actually been pushed by the Firm, and that Clear Channel had fought for lower prices, telling the management company that the ticket costs were "obscenely high" and "detrimental to the band's career." (Mr. Baram of the Firm said that the final decision had rested with Clear Channel, and that ticket prices had been set that were comparable with tours by similar acts.)
Tickets did not go on sale until January 2001, months later than originally planned. The economy dipped and pop music sales began to sag, along with the entire boy-band phenomenon the Backstreet Boys had spearheaded. Ticket sales were less than expected, and the venues were scaled back from stadiums to arenas. Mr. Baram said that The Firm had made this decision, sacrificing millions of dollars in commissions, because playing to half-filled stadiums would have been greatly damaging to the band's image and career.
"When the tour went down to arenas, it was renegotiated so that it wasn't $100 million," Mr. Richardson said. "When 9/11 happened, and when A. J. went into rehab and we took two months off, that's another renegotiation. So that $100 million, that's not $100 million."
Again complicating the situation was 'N Sync, which put its tour tickets on sale a week before the Backstreet Boys did, a move the band interpreted as intentional on the part of 'N Sync's business associates.
In the end, out of what was supposed to be a deal worth $100 million, band members received $6 million to $7 million each, less than half of what they were expecting, according to executives involved in the deal.
From the band's perspective, the money wasn't the problem. The bigger problem was that such large deals, while lucrative for the band and the business people around it, were harmful to its members' long-term careers and the needs of its fans. And the worst was still to come. As 2001 came to a close, Jive Records had not released a blockbuster teen album. So it decided to rush a Christmas release of a Backstreet Boys greatest-hits CD.
The band members say they resisted, feeling that it was too early in their careers for such an album and that it would ruin their longheld plan to mark the group's 10th anniversary in 2003 with a greatest-hits release.
"Our management company was supportive and we weren't," Mr. Richardson said of the album. "And the record company was going to put it out anyway. So it's either promote, or fight with your label, don't promote it and risk it doing very badly. But ultimately, who is it that's going to get hurt? It's not going to hurt our label. It's going to hurt us."
Despite threats from the band, Jive Records put out the album after long debate. Mr. Weiss of Jive defended the label's decision, saying that the greatest-hits record sold nearly six million copies worldwide, yielded an international top 10 hit ("Drowning") and served to keep the group's profile up.
Mr. Weiss did not respond directly to many of the band's grievances. "If you look at the annals of the entire record industry," he said, "any expert would defy anybody to say that Jive didn't do the best job in the history of this kind of music."
However, Mr. Richardson and his current management said the band planned to commission an audit of its financial relationship with Jive. The band, he said, was still "unrecouped" — industry parlance for when a record company says that a band hasn't earned back the money the company has spent on it. With multi-million dollar advances against future sales (a move that Firm executives said made sense, considering how difficult it is, even for a band this big, to get royalties from a record label), there may be good reason the band wouldn't be receiving royalties yet.
"I'd rather not get into it," Mr. Weiss said about the royalty situation. "The Backstreet Boys do not have anything to worry about financially. These guys are set for life based on the money they've received from this label."
Last March, the Backstreet Boys had a group meeting because they felt that they weren't getting the personal attention they needed and had been used to before the Firm expanded. "They've built a huge, very powerful company, and they're good people," Mr. Richardson said. "But this past year, some bad decisions were made and some bad advice given."
With Mr. McLean and Mr. Littrell strongly advocating leaving the Firm, the band walked into the offices of the Firm to deliver an ultimatum. Much to the band members' surprise, the Firm did not put up much resistance to their leaving. The bigger shock came when the other group members found out that Nick Carter, arguably the most popular of them, had chosen to remain. The Firm told the group that it would manage his solo career, and the band stormed out.
Afterward, in an unexpected move, the group signed on to be managed simultaneously by two industry veterans, Howard Kaufman and Irving Azoff.
In the meantime, Jive is taking a great interest in Mr. Carter as well as in Justin Timberlake of 'N Sync, an apparent shifting of focus from groups, which are more costly and difficult to manage, to solo acts. With no blockbuster pop releases this year, the label, according to industry observers, has little choice but to bank on releasing a Nick Carter solo album by the end of the year. Mr. Weiss of Jive said that he considered the solo album, due to be released in October, ahead of the next Backstreet Boys album, "part and parcel of the reinvention of the Backstreet Boys as a whole."
Many industry observers, however, feel that these moves are detrimental — if not lethal — to the bands. "Nick wants to go solo, so does Justin," Mr. Pearlman said. "And if I was more a part of their careers, I'd ask: `Does this help the group? How does this help the other guys?' "
Currently, Mr. Carter is choosing among 35 songs he has recorded for his album. The rest of the band is recording demos without him, using a number of producers, including Babyface, Jermaine Dupri and Glen Ballard. The more rock-oriented material made with Mr. Ballard, who produced Alanis Morissette's albums, shows an evolving, maturing direction.
Mr. Azoff said that he had signed on to help the band members with their commitment to a long-term career. Whether that will happen remains to be seen, but Mr. Azoff is unconcerned with the current debate over tensions between the band and Mr. Carter. "Whether Nick is in the band or not, it doesn't frighten me," Mr. Azoff said. "The Eagles changed members three times, and it didn't hurt their career."
Transcript of Nick on Z100
Cubby: From the summer of 94, Warren G. and "Regulate". That was uh 94. So Nick Carter is here now. You were what 3?
Nick (laughs): Screw you man.
Cubby (laughs): My old buddy is back!
Nick: What's up dude?
Cubby: Nick Carter is in the house. Well well well. We have a lot to talk about.
Nick: Yeah we do.
Cubby: We're not going to be talking about Backstreet Boys.
Nick: No..
Cubby: I mean we can..
Nick: Yea of course.
Cubby: But really this is about Nick Carter
Nick (in funny voice): Just little me..
Cubby: Little old him all by himself.
Nick: Just me and you.
Cubby: Yeah!!
Nick: We should talk about you too.
Cubby: You want to talk about me too?
Nick: Yeah.
Cubby: I'll interview you.. you interview me.
Nick: Ok..
Cubby: But I'm going to start with you first. First of all it was good seeing you in June. You and Aaron at Z100 Zootopia..
Nick: Mmm hmm
Cubby: That was fun man
Nick: Oh yeah it was awesome.
Cubby: You guys still doing a lot of shows?
Nick: Yeah I mean I just bounced around here and there.. did some stuff with Aaron but right now he's on tour by himself.
Cubby: Right
Nick: And I'm getting ready to release the single..
Cubby: That is why you are here.
(Nick laughs)
Cubby: Uh here's what we're going to do folks. We're going to take a short break and then world premiere your brand new song called "Help me." I want to to talk about it, the video and everything about it. You know what ? I can't call you pork chop anymore.
Nick: No
Cubby: You've lost weight.
Nick (laughs): I've lost too much weight.
Cubby: How much did you lose?
Nick: I lost like uh.. 20 pounds in 2 months or something like that.
Cubby: Well did you do the Atkin plan?
Nick: 20 pounds in a month. I don't even know. I just started eating properly (laughs)
Cubby: Yeah because you were a junk food junkie..
Nick: No.. yeah I was big time.
Cubby: But everyone on the plane.. We went around the world together on the plane.. They were all calling you pork chop.
Nick: Yeah they were..
Cubby: And Kevin was like "Hey man.. just say pork chop to him" and you got all mad at me.
Nick (laughs): Yeah.. I'm not.. I'm not. I'm feeling better now.
Cubby: He's skinny chop now.
Nick: Yeah.
Cubby: Nick Carter.. hang on okay? We'll be back in 4 minutes and we will talk more with Nick. Z100.. We are live.
Cubby: It's Cubby and we're hanging out with the very thin Nick Carter. Welcome to Z100 man.
Nick: You're looking good yourself.
Cubby: Thank you very much.
Nick: You are..
Cubby: We got to get you a cot in here because you are up here all the time. Seriously you've been a lot here in the past 2 years. We appreciate it.
Nick: Yeah we have.. I was just here recently.
Cubby: So what's going on man? You have a brand new song. It's solo time.
Nick: Yeah.
Cubby: How long have you been working on this?
Nick: For the past.. well since February. I've been working my butt off. I recorded 37 songs and we had to decide from those 37 songs what would be the first single. I've been working really hard on it and it's been a really fun experience because I get to get a lot of stuff out that I've been holding in since I was a little kid.. You know touring around the world and things like that. I'm actually starting to write and figure out myself and kind find myself in a way. It's been an exp.. well that's how it's been for me.
Cubby: It's weird talking to you without Brian or somebody chiming in..
Nick (laughs): It's weird huh?
Cubby: Is this your first interview without the guys?
Nick: Well yeah oh radio..
Cubby: That's pretty cool right?
Nick: Yep. First time for everything..
Cubby: Now what's up with Backstreet Boys? You guys are fine right?
Nick: Yeah..
Cubby: Let's clear up any rumors. You guys aren't breaking up?
Nick: No everything is fine. I mean it's just taking a lot longer to work on an album for them so right now I'm going to be releasing some stuff for myself.
Cubby: Are you doing both?
Nick: Yeah.. I wanna definately do both.
Cubby: So do you have time for a personal life? Or are you just pretty much writing, doing your thing and BSB stuff and your thing ?
Nick: Well right now at this particular point.. I'm really concentrating on the stuff I wanted to do for so long by myself and that's what we've been doing.
Cubby: I want to talk to some die hard fans that have been on hold forever. This is Hailey.. Hi Hailey.
Harley: It's Harley.
Cubby: No I'm sorry Harley like the motorcycle.
Harley: Yeah something like that
Cubby: Harley..
Harley: What?
Cubby: You are on with Nick
Harley: Hi!
Nick: Hi Harley (he said it like Howie)
Harley: Oh my god. How are you?
Nick: I'm really good.
Harley: I just want to tell you I'm going to be 27 next week..
Nick: Mmm hmm.
Harley: I drag friends to concerts. We do everything and I get made fun of!
Nick: Why?
Harley: Because they say I'm 27 and I shouldn't be..
Nick: Oh my god..
Harley: It's alright though. You know what. I stand my ground.
Nick: Don't listen to them.
Harley: I will love you guys forever.
Nick: You can do whatever you want to do.
Cubby: Exactly. You have a question for Nick?
Harley: Yeah.. what was it like recording without them?
Nick: What was it like .. that's a good question. Just it was..
Cubby: Lonely?
Nick: Well it was little different because of course you don't have 4 other different opinions and different things and when you are in group.. You have to kind of give a little and take a little and it's not all you. You know? That's what makes a group but when it's by yourself, you can almost throw everything out at the table and see how it's going to be and it's kind of very experimental. That was the fun part because I have always been very big rock influenced all my life. Old rock n roll.. New rock n roll and so I wanted to add that element to the new music like to the pop and make it kind of like a pop rock type of element and it's a little new and different and fresh. So it's been really good to create and kind of come up with something different.
Harley: Yea when is it gonna be available?
Nick: I think October 29 is the release date right now for the album.
Harley: Cool.
Cubby: Thanks a lot Harley. So album in October.. Will people buy a single ? Will you put a single out?
Nick: I don't believe so in the US. I don't think so.. Outside of the US there will probably be a.. I don't know if it's commercial single.. yeah commercial single.
Cubby: I'll tell you what. You want to play it?
Nick: Let's do it.
Cubby: Are you nervous?
Nick: Yes (laughs) Don't do it . Wait hold on..
Cubby: Is this your first time..
Nick (laughing): Don't hit the button yet!
Cubby: Is this your first time hearing it on the radio?
Nick: Yes it is..
(Sound of a drum roll)
Nick: Oh my god. Drum roll and everything.
Cubby: Z100 world premiere music.. Nick Carter..
(Nick starts snickering)
Cubby: This is called "Help me."
(Nick starts laughing)
Cubby: What are you laughing at?
Nick (still laughing): Cause it's funny!!
Cubby: This is a big deal.
Nick (laughing): It's funny though.
Cubby: Nick Carter by himself!
Nick: I can't believe it.
Cubby: "Help me"
Music starts playing..
Nick: You're killing me.
Song ends..
Cubby: Z100 world premiere music right there. Nick Carter "Help me." You were getting misty eyed.
Nick: Yes I am. I'm about to start crying (busts out laughing).
Cubby: It this how you felt when "Quit playing games" when you first heard it that on the radio. Actually further back than that I guess.
Nick: Yeah.. "We've got it going on."
Cubby: Probably in Florida or something..
Nick: It's exciting. It's really exciting. I feel like.. Words can't explain..
Cubby: It was really cool to see you . Seriously. We were just playing it.. you were jumping around the studio. It's like you found out your wife had a baby or something. You were like "It's a boy! It's a boy"!!
(Nick laughing)
Cubby: Hey uh we got to get ready to pull the 5 o'clock whistle here in a second but people are holding.. Tina??
Tina: Hi
Cubby: What did you think of that brand new song and how amazing was it?
Tiina: I loved it. It was amazing. Congratulations Nick.
Nick: Thank you (laughing). I can't stop laughing.
Tina: Basically I just wanted to thank you for putting out such good music cause I've been a fan since 1997 and since then I've gone through a lot of hard obstacles.. I've had to overcome and your music just like helped.. You know how you did Bravo All Stars "Let the music heal your soul?"
Nick: Mmm hmm
Tina: Basically that's how it is... And it just puts me in such a good mood everyday and no matter how bad of a day I'm having.. It's amazing. It just like makes me forget about everything.
Nick: That's the reason . You are the reason why I like to make music. People like you..
Tina: Awww
Nick: Definitely
Tina: Why thank you.
Cubby: Group hug!
Tina: Awww. I wish I could hug you.
Cubby: Alright thanks for the call Tina. Alright Hilary?
Hilary: Hello?
Cubby: You are on with Nick.
Hilary (screams) : Oh my god! Nick!!
Cubby screams like a girl and Nick laughs..
Hilary: I'm so in love with you.
Cubby: How amazing is that brand new song "Help me?"
Hilary: I love it. I love you so much. You sound so hot singing it.
Nick (laughs): Thanks.
Cubby: What's your question?
Hilary: Will you be doing a signing when your cd comes out?
Nick: Will I be doing a signing?
Cubby: Yeah like at Virgin Megastore or something like that.
Nick: We might do that.
Hilary (screams): Oh my god. Then I can meet you again. I'm so happy. I love you.
Nick (laughs): Thanks for calling.
Hilary: Thank you so much. You made my life. Bye.
Cubby: Tiffany?
Tiffany (screams): Hey what's up??
Cubby: You are on with Nick.
Tiffany: Hey Nick!
Nick: Hi.
Tiffany: I'm downstairs Nick.
Nick: Oh you are?
Cubby: Oh god.. You just saw Nick and now you got to call? There are people who didn't even talk to him. We'll be down in a second Tiffany.
Nick: We'll see ya. I'll send Cubby down. (laughs)
Tiffany: I'm a expecting a big hug Nick.
Nick: What's that?
Tiffany: I'm expecting a big hug when you come down.
Nick: Ok I owe it to ya.
Cubby: We got 3 more phone calls and then we're blowing the 5 o'clock whistle. n. Is this Carrie?
Carrie: Yeah hi. Oh my god Nick I love you.
Nick: Oh wow. Thank you.
(Cubby laughs)
Nick: I don't know what to say..
Carrie: Wow. I'm so nervous. Wow. Your song is awesome.
Nick: You like it?
Carrie: It's awesome. I want to know.. What can we expect from you in the future? Anything newer?
Nick: An album. The album is coming out..
Cubby: And a video?
Nick: Yea a video. Thanks for reminding me. I'm getting ready to shoot the video in like a couple of weeks and hopefully MTV will play it.
Carrie: That's cool. And a tour or something?
Nick: Yeah.. maybe something like that..
Carrie: Oh that's awesome
Nick: I know I'm going to be doing.. I'm going to be going around to different places.
Carrie: That's awesome.
Cubby: If you just tuned in.. It's Z100. Nick Carter is here. And we're going to Carol. Carol, I hear you're calling long distance?
Carol: Yeah I am actually.
Cubby: Where about?
Carol: (says some city). It's about an hour north of Syracuse. He should remember. You did the state fair here one year.
Nick: Mmm hmm. That was a while back ago.
Carol: Yeah..
Cubby: You don't do state fairs anymore.
Nick: I might have to on this one!
Cubby: No I don't think you have to worry about that. Hey Carol. What's your question?
Carol: I wanted to know.. I haven't heard the album yet obviously but I wanted to know which of the songs on "Now or Never" was like his favorite and which one meant the most to him?
Nick: Uh well we haven't quite picked everyone yet but uhm.. There was this one song that I wrote called "I stand for you" and it's kind of like just a very free spirited song.. very open and just..
Carol: Kind of like you..
Nick: Yeah.. free spirted and open and kind of just like to do whatever I want to do.
Carol: Well I just want to say on behalf of the Nick Carter official support team.. It's an E-group that we're on..
Nick: Mmm hmm
Carol: And I just wanted to say thay we just are totally standing behind you and supporting you and we are waiting with ? for that album to come out. We think that you are awesome.
Nick: Thank you so much.
Carol: We love you.
Nick (laughs): I love you too. Everybody out there.
Cubby: It's been all business up till this point.
Nick: Yeah.
Cubby: Now the personal phone calls. Dawn what's your question?
Dawn: What's up Nick? Well being as though the last caller took my phone call.. I'm going to ask a different question. Now that kaos tattoo on your back. Did that hurt?
Nick: Yeah.. It was down my spine.
Dawn: Oh god.
Nick: But the most recent one I got was.. because I have my shark and my two Japanese symbols and I got this whole collage thing done on my whole entire arm so it like really hurt.
Cubby: Now dude you're going to be 90.. You're going to have that. You gonna be happy?
Nick: Yeah well you never know actually. Hopefully my grandchildren are going to be like "What the hell did you do grandpa??"
Cubby: Thanks for the call Dawn.
Dawn: I also wanted to tell him that he has a phenomenal voice
Nick: Thanks.
Cubby: Yeah well it's evident in that brand new song. That's for sure..
Nick: Thanks.
Dawn: Bye.
Cubby: Alright I want you do something for me alright?
Nick: What's that?
5 o'clock whistle starts..
Cubby: It's Cubby looking for Gissel ______ from New York, New York. Would you say Gissel?
Nick: Gissel.
Cubby: Yeah Gissel from New York, New York. One hour to call me and give me the phrase that pays. Nick Carter since you are here. Technically it's 4 after 5. It's 5:04. It's not really 5 o'clock.
Nick: Oh no we missed it!
Cubby: But if you could..
Nick: You want me to say it?
Cubby: Yeah I want you do the honors of doing something very important here at Z100.
Drum roll..
Cubby: Tell everybody what time it is.
Nick: It's 5 o'clock! It's the weekend! And it's quitting time baby!!!
Cubby: Let's play it one more time!!
"Help me" starts playing again
Nick: I'm going to kill you..
Cubby: Yeah!! Nick Carter!
Cubby: Z100. Nick Carter. There it is again...world premiere "Help me." What's that song about Nick?
Nick: It's about I need some help. I have mental problems. (laughs)
Cubby: I want you to say that in every interview you do. "What's that song about Nick?" It's about "I need help." "Thanks a lot. Thanks for coming". You wrote that song right?
Nick: No actually that was written by Matthew Girard.
Cubby: But you wrote lots of songs on the album right?
Nick: I wrote about 60% of the album.
Cubby: Wow.
Nick: 60.. 75.
Cubby: Well Nick Carter. I can't tell you what a day it's been. I mean I had no idea you were coming up here until about 2 hours ago and we got the song in our hands. You hand delivered it. You da man..
Nick: I can't.. I can't believe it's happening. I'm like "Oh my god" (pretends to cry)
Cubby: A message to the fans?
Nick: Message to the fans.. Uhm it's been since we've done anything or me personally or anything. Anybody who's been here and who's been supporting and stuck through it through all the hard times and all the good times. Thank you for still being here. Because I think the fans deserve all the respect. You know? Especially in my position.
Cubby: And go out and buy the cd..
Nick: Please. Please that would be cool. (laughs)
Cubby: And until it comes out.. request it. Nick Carter "Help me." Nick Carter.. thank you.
Nick: Thank you.
Cubby: Big round of applause. Thank you Nick Carter for coming to Z100
Nick: See ya!!!
Britney's 21st Will Happen At Nyla's
From New York Daily: Britney Spears has wooed spats-wearing impresario John Damon to hel revamp her restaurant NYLA. Britney wants to throw her 21st birthday bash there in Decemeber.
Britney Says Boredom Is Cool
From ITV: Pop princess Britney Spears has spoken of her new life out of the spotlight after deciding to take a break from the music business. Britney, 21, recently announced she was taking off six months amid reports that she was suffering from exhaustion. She is now spending time relaxing at her family home in Louisiana, and the previously workaholic star said she was finding it strange having nothing to do. "I've just got to the point where I can really allow myself to relax," she said in a magazine interview.
"The other day, I was in my room, and I was like 'I'm bored. This is what it's like to be bored!' And it was kind of cool. But I think it will only last for a week or two."
Britney, who has amassed a £40 million fortune, admitted she found it difficult being public property.
"I'm in complete denial that I am 'Britney Spears'. Do you understand what I'm saying? I'm just a human being," she said.
And the star claimed to be mystified about why people were so fascinated about whether or not she was still a virgin.
She said: "What's the big deal? I find it interesting that everyone finds it so interesting. It's bizarre."
The past few months have seen crises in both Britney's professional and personal lives. She was recently booed by fans in Mexico when she abandoned a concert after five songs, apparently because of bad weather. Earlier this year she got the same response in Britain at the premiere of her film Crossroads. After arriving late she refused to pose for photographers or greet the fans who had queued for hours to see her. She split from her long-term boyfriend, 'NSync's Justin Timberlake, and her parents also recently separated. Britney insisted her split with Timberlake was amicable and said it happened because they were moving in different directions.
"We're climbing two different mountains. His priorities are different from mine right now," she said. "It wasn't a bad break-up, we still talk all the time."
She added: "I go out to a club and people say 'Are you fine? Are you fine? And it's like, 'I'm here, aren't I?"' Timberlake was recently photographed in a Hollywood club with another woman and Britney admitted it was painful. "Of course it's gonna kind of hurt sometimes, and you wonder things. But you learn from it and grow. I'm trying to get to that point," she said.
She is getting used to the single life but doesn't feel ready to date anyone else just yet, although she confessed to a crush on Hugh Grant.
"Hugh Grant is so cute!" she said. "I think he's the hottest thing in the world." Britney is now back living with her mother and sister, Jamie Lynn, who is also being groomed for pop stardom.
She had a luxury mansion built in her home town of Kentwood while her father lives in the family's old house. Bizarrely, she revealed in the interview that she still shares a bed with her mother and Jamie Lynn.
Nick Carter's 'Help Me' To Be First Single From 'Now Or Never'
From Launch: Backstreet Boy Nick Carter is readying his debut album as a solo artist, Now Or Never, for worldwide release on October 29. The first single from the album, "Help Me," will officially debut at radio outlets and online on Tuesday (August 20). Matthew Gerrard ( Mandy Moore) and Michele Vice-Maslin co-wrote "Help Me", and Gerrard produced it. Vice-Maslin is best known for writing the chart-topping single "Get Over Yourself" for the short-lived female pop group, Eden's Crush.
Now Or Never features tracks written by Carter, The Matrix, Mark Taylor (Enrique Iglesias), Steve Mac (Westlife), and longtime Backstreet Boys ( news - web sites) collaborators, Max Martin and Rami.
Carter told LAUNCH that fans can expect the songs on the album to be a blend of both rock and pop. "I've always been a big rock person, I've always loved rock music," he admitted. "I grew up to rock music since I was a little kid with my parents, so what I wanted to do was definitely put that together with pop music and make maybe a new type of rock/pop thing."
The 22-year-old singer also noted that he didn't want to stray too far away from the pop-flavored songs that Backstreet Boys fans are used to. "Well, I've been doing pop music with the Backstreet Boys for awhile--pop songs with a little bit of a folk-feel with them, and other things that are a little bit of R&B flavored," Carter explained.
-- Jason Gelman, New York and Darryl Morden, Los Angeles
New Aaron Carter Contest!
Wheeling Contest
From The Official Aaron Carter Website: OK, this one is short notice but I'm going to try and get more contests out here. This is show #5 of a 5 show stretch, so thankfully we have 2 days off, so I'm feeling generous...
Let's see... what should I come up with... Hey I know: The person who shows up to the Will Call window at the Ticket Office with the most decorated "Aaron Carter" outfit gets Meet and Greet passes. For example, in Green Bay I saw a fan with Aaron pictures covering her overalls completely. You don't have to go to that extreme, but a little creativity goes a long, long way!
I can only do a few so make sure I see you!! Look for the Blue F hat, and we're good to go!
Andy
More Exclusive Britney Pics!
Here's some pics of Brit and Laura Lynn shopping in Beverly Hills, Brit and Fe at the VMAs 1999 & Brit and Jamie-Lynn in Burnaby! A big thank you to Britney Spears Unlimited!
The 2003 Britney Spears Calendar!
Here are two scans of Britney's 2003 Calendar. They are scans of the front and back. If you take a look on the back, you see all the Britney photos that are featured in the calendar for every month. Some are rare. A big thankyou to Britney Spears Unlimited! Click to enlarge!
