Richardson: Vocal about a personal issue. (Shawn Thew - AFP)

• Backstreet Boy Kevin Richardson made his Capitol Hill debut yesterday, helping Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Reps. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) and Connie Morella (R-Md.) introduce the Eliminate Colorectal Cancer Act.

"I'm used to talking about music more than I am about political matters and getting bills passed, but this is a subject that's close to my heart," the 29-year-old heartthrob told us. His dad, Jerald Wayne Richardson, died in 1991 at age 49 of the cancer, but might have been saved if the law had required insurance companies to pay for expensive colorectal cancer screenings. "If found in the early stages, 91 percent of cases are curable," Kevin said. "By the time they diagnosed my father, there was a tumor the size of a large orange in his abdomen. A lot of people can't afford the $1,500 or $2,000 it costs for this screening."

Cause Celeb Richardson has started his own environmental foundation, Just Within Reach. "I recently had dinner with Erin Brockovich," he said. "She's going to educate me on some things, and we're going to team up and do some things hopefully." He added: "She's a great woman. She's intense. She's a firecracker."