Today people all over the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia know that Nick Carter, Kevin Richardson, Brian Littrell, Howie Dorough and A.J. McLean are members of the super group Backstreet Boys. Thanks to their worldwide hit "Quit Playin' Games(With My Heart)" they've stopped traffic in New York's Times Square and been picked out by fans in London's Piccadilly Circus! They've watched girls faint at their shows in Hong Kong and almost had their van over turned by zealous mobs in Montreal, Canada. Such worldwide hysteria was definitely not the case only a few years ago.
The early 90s found Florida-reared teenagers A.J., Howie and Nick all striving for careers in entertainment. A.J. had studied dance-everything from jazz to ballet-for years, and was an accomplished puppeteer who'd worked on a cable TV series. Howie first hit the theater stage as a grammar school-age child and had appeared in the Hollywood hits Parenthood and Cop And A Half. Nick, meanwhile, had been a featured vocalist for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' halftime during the 1991 and 1992 seasons and had won the 1992 New Original Amateur hour.
"Me and A.J. met up with each other in Orlando through a talent competition," remembers Howie. "We had a vocal coach that I used to work with, at the time, his vocal coach. He introduced the two of us." Being Orlando-based performers, it's no surprise that Howie and A.J. eventually met up with Nick at an audition. These three new friends began singing together for fun, but it quickly became apparent that their sound was pretty exciting.
Meanwhile, Kevin Richardson, a native of Lexington, Kentucky, had moved down to Orlando to pursue a dream of his own. Working days at Disney MGM Studios playing Aladdin for the tourists, Kevin spent his nights working on his music career. Eventually, a friend told him about a vocal group searching for new members. "There were two other members who didn't work out and I replaced one of them," Kevin recalls. "Then, we needed another member. Brian's my cousin, and I called him up and he came down to Florida...and he auditioned." Brian, who'd been singing in church his entire life, was a perfect addition to the group which they named after the Backstreet Market, a popular Florida shopping spot.
As a fivesome, Backstreet Boys started working on their amazing harmonies, choreographing dance moves (A.J. was particularly helpful in that respect) and playing every venue-from school dances to state fairs-that would have them. Gradually, they began to build a good reputation and a following. Their persistence paid off when they caught the ear of the executives at Jive Records. "We were able to sing for them a cappella and we did some more shows and they came out and saw our show. That's how we got a record deal," remembers Kevin.
The release of their first single "We've Got It Goin' On," lead to a hot 100 single in the U.S. but totally exploded in Canada and Western Europe! Soon girls in countries all over the world know the names of the Boys and could sing every word to their songs. "Backstreet Boys", their debut CD, racked up quadruple platinum sales in Canada, double platinum honors in Germany and much of Asia and the list goes on and on. The group was even awarded the prestigious Viewers Select Award, beating out world favourites Oasis, Spice Girls, Boyzone and Jamiroquai, for the MTV Europe honor. That set the stage for their homecoming-the release of the long-awaited CD in the United States on August 12, 1997
