The location for this historic event wasn't what you'd expect in the land of limousines and movie stars. Instead, the video producers chose a quiet site in a warehouse district located between the suburbs of Baldwin Hills and Culver City. Although the area looks peaceful, once you venture inside Stage 2 of Century City Studios it's non-stop action and energy of the Backstreet Boys' variety.

"This is a performance video, a narrative where they are focusing on the guys' individual personalities," says Jive Records video commissioner Linda Simmons as she walks Tiger Beat around the elaborate set. She explains that each of the guys will be performing their portion of the videon on a unique set designed to highlight their personal interestes. "Nick, for instance, his set-up is like his game room - Nintendo, Japanimation figures and all kinds of things like that. Howie - he's more like a businessman and music man strumming on his guitar. AJ's set is a little bit more sleek more sophisticated and high-tech. That is kind of his personality . AJ is the funky one of the group. Brian's set-up in a little bit more earthy, kind of an Indian feel - the red earth and white wood furniture. Kevin's set [contains] a mixture of African and Edwardian artwork."

It's obvious that the video for "I'll Never Break Your Heart" is the most elaborate production the guys have done to date. However, unlike past videos where their awesome dance moves took center stage, the new video takes a moment to put each Backstreet Boy in the spotlight. "We really wanted to focus on the guys, develop their personalities with beautiful close-ups of them. Let the fans see what they're really like," explains Linda.

The video is scheduled to be filmed over two extremely hectic days. Tiger Beat arrives in time to catch some of the last moments of Howie's portion of the shoot. Just as Linda said, the set is filled with guitars and has a sharp, modern feel. The video is also being filmed in both English and Spanish - a first for Backstreet Boys and something that Howie has wanted to do for a very long time now. "I've tried to influence the guys to translate a couple of our songs to Spanish," he says. "I think it's personal being I'm part Spanish because my mom's Puerto Rican. It's part of my blood and I want to reach out to everybody out there."

AJ, who's cut his hair short and dyed it blond for the video, stops by. "I'm still learning the words for the Spanish version - wish me luck!" he says with a sheepish grun. "This was the first time we ever sang any of our music in anything besides English." Howie and AJ explain that they've also been asked to record versions of their songs in Italian, Dutch, German and a few Asian languages. "It's kind of a challenge for us," says AJ.

Now it's ick's turn to film his close-ups in his red custom-designed room. He's very intense while he mouths the words to "I'll Never Break Your Heart" and he looks absolutely gorgeous! Also watching the proceedings s a 15-year-old model named Jessica Mion, who's been hired to play Nick's "girlfriend" in the video. She explains, "each of the singers has a 'girlfriend' that they kind of got in a fight with and at the end we make up with them. That's the scene I'm doing with him." Although she admits she's not a huge music person (although she does like BsB), the pretty blond teenager is thrilled to be working on the video. "It's really cool," she says. "[Backstreet Boys] are really down-to-earth, more-so then you'd expect. And I'm especially excited because I'm just getting started in this industry, so it's really neat."

When Nick takes a break from performing, we get a moment to ask him what it feels like to be a part of the most famous guy group on the charts these days. "I haven't really felt it yet," he says with a laugh. "It hasn't really taken effect. It takes a while and time is what we've got."

Suddenly, Nick's called back to do another tkake. As we watch, Brian stops by to say hello. What does he think of Backstreet Boys' conquest of America? "It's exciting, really exciting," he says. "It's something that we've always wanted and it's nice to have a story to tell when you come back home to everybody - to say we finally did it. We made it!"

Later on, Tiger Beat runs into the last BSB, Kevin, as he eats lunch with a bunch of his LA friends that he's invited to the set. The most notoriously intense Backstreet Boys has an easy smile these days now that his group's future in the United States is assured. He says that he's tired, but very happy. "We've just finished up a European tour and right now we're shooting a video for our fourth single!" he exclaims. "So far, we've had three top five singles in the US, which is not bad. So, we're really excited to be having the success here that we've had all over the world."

Far too quickly, Kevin gets pulled away by a production assistant who reminds him he needs time to get into wardrobe for the last scene tey're filming today. It's the gropu portion of the video where all five guys are singing together on a set that includes a futuristic-looking tunnel. Fatima, the choreographer who's worked with the guys on previous videos like "As Long As You Love Me," is on hand again. Although she explains that this video's dance moves aren't as intricate as their other videos, there's still a little razzle dazzle for her to go over with the guys before filming starts.

The filming goes smoothly. The guys, all dressed in black clothes of their own unique style, look as gorgeous as we've ever seeen them. Watching them film is a great prelude to the amazing show they plan to bring all over the United States and Canada this summer. During a break, outgoing AJ pops by to entuse about Backstreet Boys' upcoming tour. "Like this, it's going to be a bigger production than ever," he promises. "The tour lasts from July 8th through September, covering the east coast, midwest and west cost. It's our first arena tour and it's going to be a real energetic, action-packed show. Lots of good music, a six-piece live band and me and the rest of the Boys. It's going to be a crazy, all-around good time and, hopefully, everyone will enjoy it."

On that not, it's time to say good-bye to the guys, although they still have several more hours of filming to do before they're allowed to call it a wrap. Where do they get all this energy from? It's been a truly exciting day.

- Tiger Beat

September 1998