The Backstreet Boys' brand new album Black And Blue is released across the globe today and the Boys have been speaking exclusively to worldpop about their mammoth 100 hour, six continent trip to promote the record.

Kevin Richardson told worldpop that the group came up with the idea of travelling across six continents in just four days because they wanted to do something that had never been done before. 'For our last album we had a mock countdown to the millennium in Times Square in New York,' Richardson explained, 'so we were figuring out a way we could do something cool for this album.

'We haven't been to South East Asia and Australia since 1995,' he continued, 'so we wanted to see the people who have continued to support us out there.'

Since leaving Stockholm after performing at the MTV Awards, Backstreet Boys have travelled to Tokyo, Sydney, Cape Town and Rio De Janeiro, and worldpop's very own Michelle Garnett is the only journalist to accompany them every step of the way. The Boys are travelling on a privately hired Boeing 767, captained by Danny Burke, the pilot who used to fly Elvis Presley on trans-global engagements.

When you're travelling 26,000 miles in four days and spending 55 out of 100 hours on a plane, comfort becomes a top priority. Not that that's a problem for the BSBs. The Backstreet jet boasts a spacious bedroom complete with vibrating double bed, a lounge big enough for the Boys to play football in, leather walled toilets and a fully-stocked kitchen. 'It's immaculate, beautiful, a dream come true,' gushed AJ McLean. 'It has a whole dining-room table with silver service and the most delicious food served up by a personal chef.' And with a choice of no less than nine deserts each day, worldpop will also be sorry to say farewell to this home from home.

'We've never travelled in this kind of luxury before,' added Howie Dorough. 'It's a shame we can only afford this for four days!' Brian Littrell even described the plane as the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen, apart from his wife of course!

Backstreet Boys' trans-continental trip comes to an end tomorrow when they jet into their sixth destination, New York. But Backstreet fans can enjoy more BSB exclusives on worldpop with a week of interviews, reviews and live footage to celebrate the release of Black And Blue. Check out our exclusive video interview with the Boys on site tomorrow.

Black And Blue, the BSBs' fourth album, is out now