KEVIN RICHARDSON: We're shooting a video for our third single, "I'll Never Break Your Heart," which is actually our forth single in the US. Wow, our fourth single!
TEEN BEAT: The cartoon drawings of you guys on the set are so cool. They're like super heroes. What can you tell us about them?
NICK CARTER: I've been creating a Backstreet Boys comic book. We are thinking of doing a movie based on it where we are comic book characters, kind of like Batman & Robin.
BRIAN LITTRELL: That would be so cool! It would be realistic fiction.
TEEN BEAT: Nick, did you draw the ones hanging on the wall here?
NICK: Nooo. No, the artist is right there. [He points over to professional cartoonist Shahiv Ali] He does all kinds of cool stuff.
TEEN BEAT: What have you been doing besides getting ready for this video?
AJ McLEAN: I just bought a house. We just got back from a European tour and we're getting ready to go on tour in the US starting July 8th. We got to take some time out to do press, recording for the next album.
TEEN BEAT: What can fans expect from the tour?
AJ: Bigger shows, bigger production! The tour lasts from July 8th to September. It's covering the east coast, midwest and west coast. There are a lot of shows. It's our first arena tour. It's going to be a real energetic, action packed show - good music, six-piece live band. It's going to a crazy, all-around good time!
TEEN BEAT: How do you feel about playing all these concerts in big arenas?
KEVIN: This tour that is coming up now is almost completely sold out. We sold out Radio City Music Hall in New York in like 12 minutes! In Detroit we sold out two arenas! This tour is going really well for us.
AJ: In the early stages, the pre-stages, they've been selling tickets and it's doing really well. I'm really excited about it!
TEEN BEAT: How are you handling the group's fame?
NICK: It hasn't really taken effect on me. I haven't felt it yet. It takes a while and time is what we've got.
BRIAN: It's exciting, really exciting! It's something that we've always wanted and it's nice to have a story to tell hwne you come back home to everybody. Wow, just to say we finally did it! We did it.
TEEN BEAT: Are you, in any way, surprised by the level of success you've achieved?
AJ: Oh, yeah! but I couldn't be happier. Hopefully things will keep going like a locomotive and it all just keeps going and pressing on and just never stops! Every time we leave and come back to the US something always seems to be bigger and better. We are getting more TV shows too. Now we are up to four million records. It's just like, wow! You don't know what to expect next.
HOWIE DOROUGH: When we got together, we all dreamed about being very successful in what we do. It's amazing!
KEVIN: So far we've had three top five singles in the US, which is not bad! So, we are really excited to be having the success we've had all over the world happening here in the US as well.
BRIAN: It's been a long wait for us to get here and start to have some success in America and once this happened it's taken off. It's rapidly happening and it's very suprising to us.
TEEN BEAT: What effect do you hope to have on your fans?
HOWIE: We have fans of all ages, all races, all sexes. Just to turn on the radio in your car and listen to our songs and have them move you. Not to label us as old or young, white or black. Just to listen to the music and let it speak for itself. Hopefully, we can move people with our music and bring some happiness into other people's lives.
TEEN BEAT: What's your ultimate goal as a group?
HOWIE: There are several groups that we look up to, like Boyz II Men, New Edition, and earlier groups back in the day like Earth, Wind & Fire and the Temptations. We just hope to emulate their success and have our music known all over the world, all the countries of it.
BRIAN: There are a lot of things we still want to achieve as a group. A lot of goals and a lot of... many more albums, many more videos.
TEEN BEAT: Years from now, what do you want people to remember you for?
AJ: Basically the fact that we have nothing to hide. Ther eis nothing false about the Backstreet Boys. Everything is legit. That we are a vocal/harmony group, not a "boy band." We are known throughout Canada and Europe, and somehat here now too, as a real vocal/harmony group - kind of like the old doo-wop Temptations groups. We emulate stuff like that. We want people to know that our first priority is good music. That's what people like first and we are doing our job.
- Teen Beat
October 1998