Get your own Free Home Page(All-Stars, April 1999)
Even as their three-month, 50-concert summer tour wound down, the Backstreet Boys kept right on truckin'. This month they popped up on the Billboard Music Awards. But, what's really been keeping their hands tied, is prepartion for the next album. This is no easy task considering what's at stake.
BSB's American debut (a combination of their first two international releases) has produced four hit songs, en route to spending over a year on the Billboard 200 Album Chart and achieving certified diamond status (five times platinum). Following up such a successful debut puts a tremendous amount of pressure on Brian Littrell, Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, A.J. McLean, and Kevin Richardson. After all, fans and critics alike expect nothing short a smash from the fab five. "Most of the pressure is just what we put on ourselves," Kevin tols us. "We always want to just keep progressing, making bettermusic, better videos, putting on better shows, and keep growing."
"There are a lot of things we still want to achieve as a group," Brian added. "A lot of goals and a lot more albums, many more videos."
The Boys have learned so much about time in the studio, at rehearsal and up onstage. And with the recent death of one of their key producers, Denniz Pop, coupled with the fact that BSB has parted ways with their management, you can expect them to have much more of a hand in making their second record. "The new album will definitely be a growth period for us. Vocal challenges, different producers--we're going to try to broaden our range," A.J. explained. "Everything has been working out great for us for these first two albums. We're not going to make any drastic changes quite yet. The Backstreet Boys have a long way to go."
This may be true as far as longevity, but as far as talent and ambition, the Boys have gone to great lengths to add instruments to their repertoire--Nick plays drums, Kevin plays piano, and Brian, Howie, and A.J. are learning instruments themselves. They've also been trying their hands at producing and song writing. "During the downtime of Brian's surgery, some of us took time to do some writing," Howie told us. "I did some writing with Gary Baker. Kevn and A.J. are going to be doing some writing, and Nick is doing some on his own also. So, we're definitely gearing towards writing a lot more material for the next album."
You can also expect to hear some new voices on the next album. "We've already received a couple of demos from the Bee Gees and there's a possibility that we'll work with Teddy Riley from Blackstreet," Kevin said. If all goes as planned, the Backstreet Boys' new CD should be out in the spring.
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