• "People followed our careers and joined the fan clubs five or six years before we even released an album in America!" - Nick

• "They were buying our European imports just to hear our music. These same fans are still with us, I see them at the shows. I remember the first show I played as a Backstreet Boy - May 8, 1993. We performed a 15-minute set at SeaWorld in Orlando for 5,000 eighth graders, and the crowed went crazy. I felt like a big shot with girls changing my name and asking me for autographs." - Brian

• "We were in Germany, and we had just premiered our first video. Later that same day, I was walking through a clothes store (what a surprise - RD) and this girl freaked out. All she could say was, 'Backstreet Boy! Backstreet Boy!' She came up to me crying and gave me a big hug. She must have called her friends, because the next thing I knew there were 30 girls at our hotel!" - AJ

You've believed in them when no one else has:

• "Sometimes the political stuff of this business can get the bst of you. But being onstage in front of our fans and looking into their faces, they light you up." - Brian

• "Their support is like them saying, 'We believe in you'." - Kevin

• "We're still struggling to get recognized in the industry as true artists." - Howie

• "'Everyone' is basically a chant song for the fans about things they've helped us get through. We wouldn't be performing without their support. They make our albums and videos number one. Our fans have really made us who we are" - Brian

You love them all equally (well- at least now!):

• "At first it was like we were Nick Carter and the Backstreet Boys. Everyone really liked Nick, because he was the youngest, so we'd pinch his cheeks and say, 'Aww! You're the cutest Backstreet Boy.'" - Brian

• "A lot of Latin fans love Howie, and most of the 'sistas' really like me. It's fun looking into the audience and seeing fans dressed like me in studded jeans, Playboy-bunny shirts, and cowboy hats. The two all-American blonds, Nick and Brian, get attention from all of the girls. And Kevin has the girl's MOMS winking at him." - AJ

• "Out of sight, out of mind, you know." - Howie

• "NSYNC and 98 degrees stepped into our limelight, ad we doubted whether we still had it. There's that insecurity you've not going to have the same popularity you did a few years ago." - AJ interrupts

• "I was like, 'Uh-oh, this is a bad sign'", (about 15 girls showing up to a radio show). "But they had only made the announcements for our appearances late the night before we showed up, so we tried not to worry too much." - Howie

• "Then we went to TRL to debut' Shape of My Heart' and we were blown away! I stared out the studio windows, because it was unreal. It was just as overwhelming as the first time a crowd gathered for us. It turned out to be the wildest event in Times Square besides New Year's Eve" - Brian (more than 6,000 fans shut down Times Square)

You go to crazy measures to meet them:

• "Once, two fans climbed over a barbedwire fence and shimmied up two stories on a drainage pole to meet us. We walked into our dressing room and there they were, sitting on the couch with their pants all ripped. It's really strange how far people will go to meet us." - Brian

• "Our manager reached to grab something out of his bag, and he felt a leg. Two girls had been hiding in the back of the bus the whole time!" - Brian

• "I've had people just walk up and knock on my door" - Kevin

• "When I'm having dinner with my family at a restaurant, people ask for so many autographs that my food gets cold and I don't have a chance to speak to any of my relatives. Sometimes my family will step in and say 'Please let him finish his meal, and then he'll sign autographs.'" - Howie

You keep them grounded:

• "Meeting with kids from the Make-A-Wish-Foundation has meant a lot to me, because my father died of cancer. I was angry for such a long time that he died at such a young age, but I realize now that at least he had 49 good years. Not everyone gets that chance." - Kevin

• "It's an amazing feeling to see fans in the hospital who say our music is helping them recover. You realize you're really touching someone's life. That's the whole reason I'm in this business." - Nick

• "We also receive loads of letters from fans whose parents are going through divorces or who have close friends who have died. They say they listen to our music and it helps them escape their pain for a while." - Kevin

Nick's 4 Biggest Turn - Ons:

Personalities: I like a girl who can share quiet times with me.

Clothes: Sometimes girls dress up, and you can tell it's not really them. To me, jeans and a nice top are really hot.

Dates: Swimming in crystal-clear water.

Body Parts: Lips, eyes, hands, legs - all beautiful. I love women! I think they're the prettiest things on the planet.

You've pulled them up from their personal low points:

• "I told the crowd about Caroline's death and that I was performing because our fans mean so much to me. They all had tears in their eyes. It was so moving. They really helped me get through my loss." - Howie (about a performance in Argentina a few hours after Caroline's funeral)

• "I got so many cards and flowers. People donated to my heart foundation [the Brian Littrell Endowment Fund for Pediatric Cardiology] to raise money for children who need heart transplants and health insurance. That was so important to me, because growing up, my parents couldn't get health coverage for me because of my heart defect. If anything tragic had happened, they wouldn't have been able to pay for my funeral. That's why I created the foundation" - Brian

• "I get chills thinking about it (fans cheering 8 weeks after his operation), because that show proved that fans would never leave my side." - Brian

Howie's 4 Biggest Turn-Ons:

Personalities: When a woman has a good head on her shoulders and a career, that's a real turn-on.

Clothes: I love seeing girls in shirts that show their stomachs. A nice, fit stomach is so sexy.

Dates: Dinner on a sailboat while listening to music.

Body Parts: Brian stole my answer! I love a woman's neck.

You know EVERYTHING about 'em:

• "Our fans know as much about us as our own moms, which is pretty scary. They've taken so much time out of their lives to learn about a person they may not ever meet." - AJ

• "I can ask fans where we're going to be in a few days, and they always know." - Howie (about us secret agent fans who always know where they're gonna be...heehee - RD)

• "When we're onstage, we're entertainers, and we put on a show. But during our downtime, we don't try to be something we're not. What you see is what you get." - Howie (are you kidding me?? He says that as if it is a bad thing...geesh!! what you see is what you get... - RD)

Brian's 4 Biggest Turn-Ons:

Personalities: I find goal-oriented girls attractive, because they put their heart and soul into what they do.

Clothes: It's not so much what she's wearing, but how she wears it. If she's comfortable, she'll be attractive.

Dates: Dinner on a pontoon in the middle of the ocean.

Body Parts: I love the neck, because that's the area I like to kiss the most.

You always show you care:

• "Everyday is like Christmas. We get stuffed animals, jewelry, video games, and cool figurines. I've decorated my house with a lot of fans' gifts." - Howie (oh how I hope my star jar is somewhere in that house!!!! - RD)

• "In Buenos Aires, Argentina, boxes of macaroni and cheese were thrown onstage because they knew I love it. One hit me right in the rib cage - those boxes are heavier than they look!" - Brian

• "My favorite gifts are BSB scrapbooks. The girls spend so much time putting them together to make them look perfect. It's fun to go through them, because our schedules are so hectic that we lose sight of what we've done." - Brian

• "They also give us things, like crosses, that have been in their families for generations. We don't want to accept them, but the girls don't take no for an answer. It's cool that they think of us as their family." - Nick

AJ's 4 Biggest Turn-Ons:

Personalities: Someone who's blunt is very sexy. I think it's really cool if she can tell me, "Hey, I think you're hot."

Clothes: I like jeans and a tank top on girls. I'd much rather use my imagination than see a girl's cleavage.

Dates: A sunset picnic on a rooftop with two lawn chairs and a bottle of champagne.

Body Parts: A girl with long fingernails drives me crazy, because they feel so nice when she's rubbing your back. I also like lips, because I'm really into kissing. Kissing's a lot nicer and more romantic than sex - and it lasts a whole lot longer.

You respect their relationships:

• "When Brian and Kevin announced they were getting married, I was a little worried. I figured fans would either take it well and be happy for them or be hurt. But I think it's important to let fans know we're not hiding anything from them. We have lives. We are human beings. I'm not dating anyone now, but when I was, I didn't want to talk too much about my relationship because I didn'tknow how long it was going to last. I won't discuss a romance unless it gets really serious." - Howie (anyone up for the job?? - RD)

• "When Brian and I made our engagements public, we saw signs in the audience that said, 'We're so happy for you. Congratulations, Kevin and Brian.' Occasionally, we'd see a sign that said, 'Marry me instead.' But I think our fans really want us to be happy." - Kevin

• "She's really shy, so I've tried to shelter her from the spotlight as much as possible. I came into the hotel the other day and fans outside told me they met my wife and she was so nice and sweet. I said, 'That's my girl!' I like to think they're buying our records because they like the music, not because they hope they can marry us!" - Kevin

• *MATURE FAN CLUB ALERT!!!* Brian and his wife, Leighanne, also received tons of congratulatory notes and gifts on their wedding. BSB's Mature Fan Club members sent them an arrangement of silk flowers. Says Brian, "At the end of each petal there were pieces of candy. That was very sweet." GO MFC!!!!

• "The fans have devoted about 90 websites to my girlfriend, Amanda. Someday down the road when we get married, I think our fans will be happy for us. I want to invite about 4,000 of them to the wedding to let them experience a really close, personal thing in my life." - AJ

• "My mom has some of my favorite recipes up on my website, so I hope my future wife will check it out and be able to cook as well as my mom can!" - Howie

Kevin's 4 Biggest Turn-Ons:

Personalities: Intelligence and sophistication are very sexy.

Clothes: I like a girl who dresses sexy, not trashy.

Dates: An Italian dinner and a gondola ride in Venice, Italy.

Body Parts: A nice smile.

You dig their solo gigs:

• Nick manages an alternative-pop band from Tampa called Born Into Kaos. "They're 18 to 21 and sound like Stone Temple Pilots meets Creed. My best friend is actually the guitar player." - Nick

• Soon, AJ will morph back into his alter ego, Johnny No Name, to record an album. His solo tour earned $100,000 for VH1's Save the Music Foundation.

• Hollywood's calling Howie, ho will pursue more acting gigs ("It has begun" - RD) and start gathering clients for HowieDoIt Productions. His first artist is his big sister Pollyanna. Together, they've raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for lupus in honor of their sister, Caroline, who died from the disease.

• Brian and Kevin will be putting their energy itno BSB's new record label while getting used to being newlyweds.

Well, that's it! The Boys are Back and better than ever...continue to Keep that Backstreet Pride Alive!!!