Probably best of all for the group, though, is the fact that 23-year-old vocalist Brian Littrell is still alive and well. Littrell underwent two and a half hours of open-heart surgery earlier in the year to correct a congenital heart defect.

Now that Littrell's back on his feet, the singer told MTV News that he's putting a new premium on staying healthy.

"The one thing I've learned," Littrell said, "is that when we need to eat, I just have to say, 'Leave me alone. I'm sorry, leave me alone. I want to eat. Because the doctor said I've got to eat.' Because at the age of 23, the doctors were even finding fatty deposits in one of my arteries ... because of all the McDonald's that we eat out on the road."

- MTV News Gallery

August 7, 1998