Germany's Band

Before America caught Backstreet fever, Central Europe was hot for the Boys!

The Backstreet boys know what it's like to struggle for success. Their first single, "We've Got it Goin' On," was released in October of 1995 in the United States - and it went absolutely nowhere on the charts. American audiences were still caught in the grunge-rock vortex and weren't ready for up-tempo pop. Europe, however, was more pop-friendly, so BSB's managers decided to export the Boys' unique sound to an overseas market.

The first folks to take notice were the British, whose top music magazine - Smash Hits - named the guys the "Best Newcomers" of '95. But the group's first major uccess came in Germany, where their second single, "I'll Never Break You Heart," earned the quintet their first gold record. When they heard about the single's success, Kevin and Brian reportedly broke down and cried with joy, and the others were on the verge of doing the same. Many critics had doubted the Backstreet Boys; many had said they'd never make it. Now, German music fans had proven all the naysayers wrong. Said Kevin at the time, "This is a dream come true for all of us."

To show their thanks to their German fans, the Boys embarked on a two-week concert tour of the country in August 1997. The shows were the first to include what has become a Backstreet Boys staple: a wide variety of pyrotechnics, video graphics and innovative dance routines. The sudience went nuts. The enthusiasm did not go unnoticed by the country's media, and many magazines and entertainment TV programs informally adopted the group.

German fans, having been the first to embrace the group as their own, have even worried that the Boys' international success would cause them to forget the country that propelled them from struggling group to superstardom. Not so, says Kevin.

"We're not gonna forget the people who found us first," Backstreet's oldest member told Live & Kicking magazine. "They'll always be important to us. The thing is, right now there's so much going on for us that we can't be everywhere at once."