A.J. McLean, already an accomplished puppeteer with a rold on the Nickelodeon show "Welcome Freshmen," met Howard Dorough who had appeared in a few films including "Parenthood" and "Cop and a Half" during a local talent competition in Orlando, their hometown. Enter Nick Carter. As unlikely as it seems, he heard the two young men singing acapella during an audition and decided to join in creating a trio.

After deciding that the formation of a rhythm and blues group was something that the trio wanted to accomplish, they were in search of management. It was Louis Pearlman who suggested that they expand the group to five members.

Meanwhile, Kevin Richardson, a native of Lexington, Kentucky had moved to Orlando to work at Disney World, first as a tour guide and then playing Aladdin for tourists. But Kevin dreamed of starting a music group as he frequented most local music hang-outs, armed with his keyboards and a thirst for songwriting. Once he heard about the formation of the Orlando based band he auditioned and was, at long last, a part of the soon-to-be-famous group. Brian Littrell, the last to join the Backstreet Boys, was a long time choir vocalist and a shoe-in to the now popular group, since he is Richardson's cousin.

Years later, they have just released their second LP, "Backstreet's Back," which they hope will do as well as their debut release in 1995. The debut LP, which yielded the boys' five smash singles, was titled "We've Got It Going On." It has since gone multi-platinum in many countries the five-star global success? If you ask the boys they'll tell you simply: "Our fans are the reason for everything!"

Now that they have had a big time U.S. hit with the song "Quit Playin' Games (With My Heart)," and more recently with "As Long As You Love Me," another best-selling LP and videos on MTV, there are plans to publish a Backstreet Boys-inspired comic book which should be available as soon as late summer.

"It won't be totally outrageous," says Nick, the comic's creator. "It's going to be very dark and 'Spwn' like," explains A.J. who also indicated that the group hopes to drum up a big-budget movie interest in the project by contacting directors like Tim Burton.

With their powerful stage presence and amazing vocals, it isn't hard to image that this group will be around for many years, spinning webs of song for their numerous and expansive fan base.

- Celebrity Series Presents

June 1998