The Backstreet Boys' Kevin Richarson believes pop is dying -- because of all the cheap imitations in the charts.

The American teen idol insists his band are the real thing, but decent pop is fading away because performers keep copying each other's styles.

He says, "I think music is losing its authenticity. When we first came to Britain in 1995 they threw us in this melting pot of boy bands 'coz we're a vocal group. We sing five-part harmony, we sing a cappella, we write our own songs and some of us play instruments - I've played piano since I was nine.

"Yet I feel we were likened to a lot of bands in which maybe one guy sang and the other guys didn't. To me that's sad and it discredits what we're trying to do.

"I think George Michael and Bono are right -- pop music is about good, beautiful songs with great hooks. But we have to say something with the music as well. Don't give people a pretty package with no substance inside. They open it up expecting something great, but there's nothing." -- WENN