Stop listening to all that gossip about your favorite Backstreet Boys saying hasta la vista to the music scene. It ain't happenin'! Yeah, they may have had some ups and downs lately in the music mangement department, but that has no effect on whether or not these Orlando, Florida-based hotties will keep pumping out great hits like "I'll Never Break Your Heart" and "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)," which you'll find on their awesome 1997 album. On, and if you're thinking that the Boys might be breaking up to pursue solo careers, allow BOP to once and for all let the truth be told.
"The Backstreet Boys will still be going," Howie Dorough, 25, affirms when asked where he sees himself five years from now. "Whether we will be as strong in the public as we are right now, I'm not exactly sure. A couple of us might be doing producing, a couple of us might do solo stuff, kind of like what Boyz II Men have done, taking a little time out. They're still together, but they're doing solo stuff, too." Now that doesn't sound too bad, does it? After all, if the guys decide to follow their own solo paths while keeping their BSB roots intact, that only means five times as much music to enjoy!
According to the oldest member of the group, Kevinm Richardson, he can't imagine a life without music - "We're always going to be in contact with each other," Kevin, 27, explains. "We're always going to be a part of each other's lives because we've shared so much. As for me, music will always be a part of my life somehow, whether I'm writing or producing for other people or still an artist. We want long careers in the business, all of us do."
Considering how fickle the biz actually is, staking out long careers in the music industry is not always an easy task to accomplish. You see it all the tiem: One-hit wonders on the top of the charts one day, history the next. But with the positive attitudes these fine five adhere to, longevity is on their side. "Nowadays, that doesn't happen with groups," 18-year-old Nick Carter laments about the staying power of pop groups. "We want to make that all wrong. We want to change all that and make everyboyd believe that there are real singers out there. We're all a group to be a group. We enjoy what we're doing, and as long as you enjoy what you are doing, you can last forever."
down the road... down the aisle?
So you've hear some of them commit to keeping their BSB bonds through think and thin, but have they taken into account what would happen if one of them, say, got married? "I think everyboyd in this group has thought about that," Nick says. "[But] right now, we all enjoy being single. Maybe in the future. That's definitely something to look forward to."
Adds 23-year-old Brian Littrell, "I'd like to be married and have a roof over my head and just all those things that really money can't buy. I'm from Kentucky, what can I say? But at the same time, I would still be a Backstreet Boy."
Believe it or not, even the biggest flirt of the bunch has pondered over what life would be like if he were to tie the know, too. "I'll get married if I find somebody who totally clicks with me," A.J. McLean, who turns 21 next month, reveals. "I mean, I'm not a really picky person. I'm not. I know that beggars can't be choosers, but you know, if she just stumbles across here and we just click, then we click."
It's hard to imagine any of these beautiful Backstreet bachelors wearing wedding bands, especially when their single status (and their singles!) makes them so attractive, not to mention KEvin's deep, green eyes, Howie's muscular physique, Nick's sweet smile, A.J.'s exciting style, Brian's teddy-bear personality...ahh, the list goes on! But thankfully for now, for all five Backstreet Boys, their first and foremost priority is to continue winning your hearts while staying on top of the charts.
from center stage to the silver screen?
"our music world would still be happening," Brian assures us, even if they were to get married. "Maybe we wouldn't tour as often, but I still see us touring five, 10 years from now, doing reunion tours or what not. But we never like to say, 'Okay, that's it,' because I think that's like shooting yourself in the foot."
They say they'll never break up (or break your heart for that matter), but one thing that's been breaking up a lot of you fans recently is whether or not the Boys intend to do a movie. "I wouldn't mind even getting back into acting a little bit myself," Howie hints.
However, it doesn't sound as if the Backstreet Boys are going to be seen on the silver screen any time soon - though they certainly enjoyed the elaborate production that was their "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" video. "There has been talk about [a film]," Howie adds, "but we haven't really decided on doing one yet because our music careers are really taking off now and we're really concentraing on that. Maybe in the future." Oh, the joy of the unknown!
Well, there you have it. Now you can dispel all the break-up myths and lose any of those crazy ideas you ahve about them already being married, moving on, what have you. If these testimonies of truth straight from their melody-making mouths do not convince you that the Backstreet Boys are here to stay, then there's nothing more BOP can do. Like A.J. says, they might explore the exciting world of solo projects in the years to come, but "the group will never break up."
- BOP
February 1999