A.J. McLean is back on the street, doing fine

By Elysa Gardner, USA TODAY

"I've got a great job and a great life. I feel great, and I look great — not to sound conceited, but I think I look pretty damn good." That's how the Backstreet Boys' A.J. McLean sums up his "new outlook" these days. It has been two months since McLean, 23, completed a rehabilitation program for depression and substance abuse. On July 9, his bandmates announced they would put off concert dates until Aug. 7 so that McLean could undergo treatment, then further postponed the tour to allow him more recovery time.

But since Aug. 24, McLean has been forging ahead at full speed — performing with Backstreet, working on new material and preparing to promote the band's latest CD, The Hits: Chapter One, which arrives Tuesday.

Fellow Backstreet member Kevin Richardson admits he was "concerned about A.J. jumping right back on the road. The doctors recommended he take a month to just get reacclimated into a normal lifestyle. But we were facing potential lawsuits. When someone in the group has to go into rehab, tour insurance doesn't cover you."

Luckily, Richardson's fears were unfounded. "A.J. has been able to find creative ways to occupy his extra time. When he's on stage, he's goin' at 100 miles an hour — so when he gets off, sometimes he doesn't know what to do with himself. He used to go to clubs, and that's where he'd get into trouble."

McLean says that trouble stemmed from "alcohol, cocaine and massive depression. I only dabbled in cocaine — alcohol was the main problem. I was drinking at 9 in the morning — having a shot of Jack (Daniel's) to get me going. I became distant from all my loved ones. I was seeing a shrink, but it wasn't helping."

A confrontation with Richardson proved the last straw. "The group was in Boston, and I had promised I would go with the fellas to throw the first pitch in this minor-league baseball game. But I had partied too hard the night before and didn't feel like getting up. Kevin got upset and bashed the door in my room, calling me all kinds of names. Then the fellas and I had a conversation; everyone cried. We made a few phone calls, and I got on a plane to Tucson, Ariz., and admitted myself for treatment."

McLean says his relationship with the other Backstreet Boys is now "even better than it was before the drinking." His personal life also is looking up, thanks in part to girlfriend Sarah Martin, another singer whom he met at a karaoke bar before becoming sober. "She stopped drinking, too, while I was in rehab and has been very supportive. We just got a place together in Los Angeles."

The couple also recently acquired a puppy, which they named, fittingly, Serenity.

"I thank God every day," McLean says. "Life is good."