- Confession footage, Kevin Richardson, Day 190
Kevin sits down in front of the camera, waves at Chris. "Morning."
"Morning."
"I saw the Emmy nominations, congrats." His voice is soft, and he is keeping his gaze steady on the floor.
"Thanks."
"You deserve it."
Chris' snort can be heard from off-camera. "Thanks. So how are you doing, Kev?"
"Alright, tired."
"You've been fighting with the guys a lot lately." Chris tries to get him started talking.
Kevin nods slowly. "Things have been uncomfortable."
"They think you're having an affair."
He glares off camera. "I don't want to talk about that."
"Kevin..."
"Chris, I'm serious, I'm not talking about it."
"Want to talk about what you did with the $300 you borrowed from me?" The accusational tone in her voice is difficult to ignore.
"What are you suggesting?"
"Just not quite sure I buy the limo story."
"I told you, I was out of cash, how many times have you run out."
"Not at 5 am I haven't." She replies.
"You're a lightweight." He sneers. "So I like to party, what's wrong with that."
"Shouldn't a married man stay home with his wife?"
"Not when his wife left him, no."
"Why did she leave, Kevin?"
He looks directly into the camera, eyes glassy and bright. "I told you no. You ask me that one more time and this is over."
Chris sighs. "What's with you Kevin, how can I do a confession if you won't talk about anything."
"Ask me something."
"How are things with Brian?" She tries a different route.
"Brian won't be happy until Kristen comes back, but that's his problem, not mine."
"He's just worried about you."
"He shouldn't worry so much." Kevin shakes his head. "It's my life, I can live it just fine."
"He doesn't want to see you upset."
"I'm not upset."
"Most people in your position would be."
"I'm not most people."
Chris groans. "Look, Kevin, if you're not going keep up like this we might as well stop here, this is pointless."
He looks off camera, shrugs. "Sorry. Just not feeling real talkative."
"Whatever."
-- end confession footage
*************************************************
A Day in the Life Of.. . Day 191 Portland
Chris arrived at rehearsal to find Howie and AJ sitting on the stage, deep in conversation. They stopped when they saw her and waved her over. "If I'm interrupting, I can come back," she told them, not wanting to be a bother.
"You're never an interruption, baby," AJ grabbed her and sat her down on his lap, grinning. "Have a seat."
She laughed and pulled his hat off, putting it on her head. "Thanks."
"Looks good on you," Howie laughed. "Better on you than on AJ."
"Thanks, D." AJ replied sarcastically.
"So what were you guys talking about?" Chris asked.
Howie grew serious. "Whether or not things have gotten better since AJ kinda brought it all out into the open."
"Have they?"
Howie shrugged. "For me, yeah, no doubt."
"For me too," AJ nodded. "Me and D have been hanging a lot lately, keeping each other sane."
"It looks like you and Nicky have been doing the same," Howie observed. "Which leaves Brian and Kevin."
AJ adjusted his hat on Chris' head. "Brian's been chasing down Kevin every chance he has."
"Kevin's gotten worse." Chris said softly.
Howie nodded. "That's what we were just getting to."
"Do you have any idea what could be going on with him?" AJ asked Chris seriously.
Chris looked at them both closely. She had a theory. A very loose theory that could possibly explain all the things that Kevin had bee doing lately. But it wasn't worth mentioning at this point, especially not with the cameras around. She had to be sure. "No idea."
"2 more months." Howie sighed.
AJ looked up as a basketball bounced into the arena, "Nick must be here." Sure enough, Nick and Brian both charged in, running after the ball, followed by a slightly exasperated looking Kevin.
Nick grabbed the ball first and started dribbling up the aisle, laughing when Brian tried to trip him. "Foul!"
"No foul, we're not even on a court," Brian shoved Nick into a seat and grabbed the ball, jumping up on stage with it.
"No dribbling on stage!" Kevin yelled at Brian, sounding like an angry father scolding a child.
Brian stuck his tongue out at Kevin and lobbed the ball to Nick, laughing at Kevin's scowl. "Sorry dad."
Nick passed the ball to Howie, shaking his head when the ball ended up rolling along on the floor. "Nice catch."
"Lousy pass, Kaos." Howie replied with a smile.
"Comfy, Chris?" Nick grinned, spotting her sitting on AJ's lap, wearing his hat.
"The hat kinda smells," She laughed, "but he makes a decent seat, albeit a little bony."
"Bony?" AJ growled, standing up quickly, sending Chris tumbling to the floor. "Look at these muscles, baby." He flexed his arms and patted his abs.
"Remember, she's used to sleeping with Nicky, he's got a little extra padding." Kevin told AJ.
Nick shot Kevin a hurt look before giving Chris a hand and pulling her to her feet. "I make a good pillow."
"A great pillow." Chris smiled, hugging him. She hadn't missed the expression on Nick's face...why didn't Kevin ever seem to realize how much the things he said hurt other people?
"Hello children, are we ready to practice now?" Fatima called, making her way onto the stage.
"Yes mom," they all replied, and another rehearsal was on.
********************************************
A Day in the Life Of... Day 194 Salt Lake City
"Morning!" Brian joined Chris, Nick, Howie and AJ at breakfast in the hotel restaurant, dressed in a suit and tie, smiling from ear to ear.
"What's with you?" AJ grumbled, pouring himself more coffee. "We have a day off, and look where we are. The land of decaf."
"It's Easter Sunday, AJ, smile." Brian sat down and reached for the coffee. "I'm going to church, you're all more than welcome to join me?" He hated spending holidays away from his family more than anything, and he was trying to be as cheerful about it as possible.
"No thanks," Chris shook her head. "Sunday means work for me. Although I would kill for a real cup of coffee."
"I have a game I'm working my way through," Nick explained, "I gotta see how it ends." A video game would be more likely to keep his mind off his family and where he should be today than a church, where there would be lots of happy families to make him miss his.
"Um, thanks, but no thanks, Brian," AJ waved off. "It's a day off, ya know?"
"I'll go with you, sure." Howie accepted with a smile. Might as well get out and do something today, it was Easter, after all.
"Where's Kevin?" Brian asked, looking around the restaurant.
Nick shook his head, "haven't seen him this morning."
Brian sighed. "I'd hoped he would come to church with me."
"Check Julia's room." Nick pushed away from the table and stood up. "I'll see y'all later."
"He ok?" Brian asked Chris, watching Nick walk away.
She shook her head. "No. He's been getting quiet again, he's not eating....he's so hurt, so upset."
"Do you know why?"
Chris nodded. "His family. Well, mostly, this whole mess with Kevin isn't helping any, you know he always saw Kevin as something of a rock. But he was hanging in there, he was doing ok until his mother had to turn on him like that."
"You know he still hasn't told me what happened." Brian said softly. "He gets upset about it every time I ask."
"He hasn't told anyone other than you," AJ added. "Just that his mom's a bitch, but that's nothing new."
"You'll see it when we screen the show tonight." Once again, they were airing personal, private moments for the world to see. This time, Nick's breakdown in Chris' room over his visit with his family. Chris covered her face with her hands and closed her eyes. "I hate this."
"What?" Brian asked, putting his arm comfortingly around her back. "We know you're here to do a job, Chrissy."
She shook her head. "You didn't see Nick that night, you'll see, it has no place on television. His brother's been watching the show, god, Nick shouldn't have to worry about Aaron hearing things he tells me in private."
"Nick's been dealing with publicity for a very long time Chris, he'll be ok." AJ reassured her. "He's used to this."
"I guess." Chris said. "It's an awful thing to get used to."
"How are you doing?" Brian rubbed her arm, concerned. "You're so worried about Nick, but what about you?"
She shrugged. "I'm ok." She was actually something of a wreck, keeping so many secrets about Kevin and Julia was beginning to get to her, but she was not about to explain that in front of any of the guys with their accompanying cameras.
He looked at her closely, not believing her. "You know you can always talk to me."
Chris nodded meekly. Yeah right, and the rest of America with the cameras there. "I know Bri, thanks."
"Or me." Howie grinned.
"Me too." AJ had to add.
Chris laughed. "Thanks guys, I really mean it."
"Such a touching moment," Brian faked a sniffle and hugged Chris. "Come on, group hug!"
Howie and AJ reached across the table obligingly, laughing as Brian pulled them all into a big hug. "Down, B-Rok."
"Hugs are good." Brian grinned, letting everyone sit back down. "We should all hug more often."
"Ok, Brian, I know sunflowers are next, so stop it." AJ groaned. There was a limit to how much cheer he could take.
"I'll stop, I'll stop."
"Thanks."
"But Happy Easter!"
"Yeah, Happy Easter, Brian."
******************************************
"And here we have yet another episode." Chris put the tape in the VCR and pressed play, watching the opener roll. "I'll be in the other room," she excused herself and went into the kitchen of the suite, closing the door behind her.
She sat down at the table with her laptop, and set in to get some solid work done. She had e-mails to return, forms to file, releases to edit...
"You're not watching?" Julia let herself into the room, surprised to find Chris there.
Chris shook her head. "I need to catch up on some paperwork."
"It's a great episode."
"It's not just an episode." Chris had seen the episode already, had signed off on it as always. She just hoped once again, that Nick would understand. "It's Nick's life. Howie's life, Brian's life...these are people."
"It's still really good." Julia opened the refrigerator and peeked in. "There's nothing in here."
"We're in Salt Lake City, they're not about to be able to stock it with beer."
"Oh."
"You don't have tapes to review?"
"I always have tapes to review," Julia laughed. "Why, should I be looking for something in particular?"
Chris shrugged. "Not that I know of." She wondered if Julia had hidden any more tapes since Chris had returned the ones she'd found.
"Thought any more about what you're gonna do when the tour's over?" Julia slid into a seat across from Chris.
"No." Chris looked up in surprise. "The tour isn't over yet."
"Nobody's offered you a job or anything?" Julia raised her eyebrow suspiciously.
"Of course not, Julia, I'm under contract to MTV." Chris looked at her in frustration. "What are you getting at?"
"It's just strange, you're nominated for an Emmy and all, you'd think people would come running."
Chris looked at her carefully. She had gotten a few e-mails hinting at possible projects in the future, including some feelers from movie studios, but nothing she would consider a serious offer. Not that she would mention one to Julia, if there was one... "It's just a nomination."
"A nomination means a lot."
"What's your point, Julia?"
"Just curious." She shrugged. "You're going to be a big star now."
Chris laughed bitterly. "I don't want to be a star."
"Lucky you." She laughed. "And you keep churning out these Emmy winning episodes, full of heartbreak and anguish. You're great at getting Nicky to open up like that."
Chris' eyes narrowed. "I don't talk to Nick for the good of the show."
"It certainly helps, it wouldn't be so touching if he was crying on Brian's shoulder." Julia grinned. "Now, if you were to fuck Nick on camera, then our ratings would go through the roof."
Chris stood up, eyes blazing. "Nick, Brian, they're very real people, not things we can manipulate for the sake of our ratings."
"Come on Chrissy, get laid, get a 50 share, everybody benefits." Julia sneered, enjoying the effect her words were having on Chris. It was fun to get her pissed off, every once in a while.
"Why don't you just show some of the footage of you and Kevin having sex, Jules? Or are you only willing to air Nick's dirty laundry, not Kev's?"
"What did you say?" Julia stood up, staring at Chris.
"You heard me," Chris was almost shouting now. "You think I don't believe you never caught any of your affair with Kevin on tape? Where's the footage, Julia? What'd you do with it?"
"We go into the bathroom, I told you. Anyway, nobody gives a fuck about Kevin, it's Nick the blond one they care about, the cutie of the group. You sleeping with him would be perfect for sweeps week, Chrissy, just think about it!" Julia's eyes danced as she spoke.
"Fuck you." Chris hissed, feeling her hands ball into fists. God, if she could just fire Julia and be done with it...but the tour wasn't over yet. "How dare you..."
"Nick's a big boy, Chris, I'm sure he would love just one night." Julia laughed. "Or maybe I'll just sleep with him then, it could be fun, he's cute... And I hear he gets around, he probably wouldn't turn me down, would he."
"I don't think you have a clue what I would do, Julia." Nick was standing in the doorway, arms crossed.
**********************************
Julia stared at Nick, and at Kevin in the room beyond him. "Whatever you heard...we were just kidding around...."
"I heard a lot." Nick said softly, looking at Chris.
"I think you'd better leave, Julia." Brian stood up and joined Nick in the doorway. They'd heard it all.
Chris glared at Julia. This wasn't the friend she knew...this wasn't a friend at all. "Get out."
"Fine," Julia walked to the door, "I'll see you all later." She left, slamming the door behind her.
Chris stared at the door, wondering exactly what had just happened. She let Nick take her hand and pull her back into the other room, settling down on the couch next to her. Once they were seated, she covered her face with her hands, feeling tears come to her eyes as she digested what had just happened.
Nick stroked her hair softly, and whispered in her ear, "don't let her upset you, she's not worth it."
Chris looked up and shook her head, wiping her eyes. "It's not just that...not just what she said..it's that she's right."
"She's not right, Chris." Brian argued. "What she said was heartless and cold..."
"And right." Chris couldn't look at Nick, she couldn't bear to see the expression in his eyes. "If I was to sleep with Nick on camera, our ratings would go through the roof. Every time Nick and I have a heart to heart, our ratings go up."
"So what?" Nick said, shifting his body to face her on the couch. "Chrissy..."
"What good of a friend am I to you, if because of me you're exposing all this to the world?" She stood up and stepped away from him, pushing his arms away when they reached for her. "No, Nick, Julia's right. MTV sent me in here because they KNEW what it would mean to the show. I can't let them do that..."
"No!" Nick was getting really upset now, his eyes bright. "She can't be right."
Chris shook her head and turned to leave, "I'll see you guys later."
"Don't go," Nick tried to grab her, but she shook him off. When the door closed behind her Nick turned back to stare at Brian, his blue eyes wide open. "What the fuck just happened here?"
"Julia's not acting like herself." Brian said softly. "You're not acting like yourself either." He stared at Kevin. "What's going on?"
"What just happened here had nothing to do with me, cuz," Kevin stood up, waving his hands. "I'm out of here, you can pick up the little Nicky pieces."
Nick stared at Kevin, feeling like he'd just been punched in the stomach. "Little Nicky pieces? Is that all I am to you? You sound like Julia."
"Julia knows what's best for business, that's all, Nick." Kevin laughed, and patted Nick on the head. "I'll see you later, little brother."
Nick pushed Kevin towards the door. "Don't you dare call me brother."
Kevin left with another laugh, ignoring Brian's pleas to stay.
Nick crumpled into the sofa when the door closed, burying his head in his arms. "What the fuck just happened?" he mumbled again forlornly.
"I'm not quite sure, Nick." Brian said softly, sitting next to him on the sofa. "What's been going on?"
"With what?"
"You, Frack, I can't believe you didn't tell me about what your mom said..."
"I couldn't say it again," Nick said stubbornly. "I'd said it once, I knew they'd air it, you'd see it then."
"I'm sure she didn't mean it."
"Have you ever known my mother to say anything she didn't mean?"
Brian sighed and hugged Nick. "She was just upset."
"Doesn't matter now." Nick sighed. "It's Easter Sunday, and she refused to talk to me. That tells you pretty plainly how she feels, doesn't it."
"She wouldn't talk to you?"
Nick shook his head, biting his lip, trying not to cry in front of Brian. "Nope. I got to talk to everyone else, at least."
"I'm so sorry, Nick, Chris was right, she's a fool."
"She's still my mother!" Nick cried out, pushing Brian away when he attempted another hug. "No, don't."
"What?"
"I don't want to lose it, man, come on, don't." Nick was shaking his head quickly, staring at the floor. "Why did Chrissy leave?" He could talk to her. Just not Brian...not now...Brian got far too upset.
"You should go talk to her."
"Why would she think she hasn't been a good friend to me?" Nick asked Brian.
"She feels bad for doing her job, for putting your talks on the air."
"I know she's just doing what she has to do."
Brian tried to understand. "You heard Julia, the show is better because of your relationship with Chris. Maybe she feels a little guilty about that."
Nick shook his head. "It's not like I meant to fall in love with her, she shouldn't feel guilty for that."
"Tell her that, then." Brian urged his friend. "Chris just lost one friend tonight, she could probably really use another."
"You're talking about Julia," Nick wanted to double check.
"Yes." Brian laughed and smacked Nick's back. "Go to her, make sure she's ok."
"Thanks Frick."
"Anytime, Frack."
Nick made his way to Chris' room and knocked on the door, smiling ear to ear when the door opened. "Talk?"
Chris looked at Nick and sighed. She'd been unable to stop crying, and had been curled up in bed in her PJ's and Mickey's, wallowing in some self-pity. "I guess." She walked back to the bed and crawled back under the covers, leaving Nick to close the door. "You sure you want to talk to me? You say it to me, it's bound to end up on tv."
"Chris, what is with you," Nick sat down on the bed with a sigh. "The cameras are following me around, remember? I know how to deal with them, don't worry about me."
Chris covered her face with her hands as she started to cry again, feeling like everything was wrong. "You heard Julia."
Nick put his hand under her chin and pulled her face up to his. "Chrissy, it doesn't matter what she said."
"You don't care at all that she's right?" Chris wiped the tears running down her face and grimaced.
"I know, you hate crying." Nick smiled slightly, grabbing a box of tissues from the nightstand for her. "Here."
Chris accepted the tissues with a nod. "So answer me."
"Do I care that Julia's right?"
"Yup."
"No."
"No." Chris repeated doubtfully.
"No!" Nick grabbed her wrists and held her tight, looking at her. "Chris, whatever I do and don't say to you I do or don't say because I want to. Not because of anybody anywhere who may or may not someday see what I did or didn't say. You matter to me a hell of a lot more than any of that. Julia included."
Chris stared at him. "I just...how can you feel any sense of privacy..."
"What makes you think I ever truly did?" Nick looked at her closely, before letting her wrists go. "Chrissy, I always knew why you were here, why those cameras were here."
"I guess I forgot." Chris sighed. "Julia..."
"Don't worry about Julia now," Nick shifted closer to her on the bed, pulling her into his chest. "Just relax."
She felt herself slipping into the familiar comfort of his embrace, her body melding into his. "Nick....are you ok? She said a lot...Kevin too..."
Nick made a strange sound, somewhere between a gasp and a sob, and tightened his arms around her. "I'm better now that I'm here with you."
Chris buried her nose in his chest and inhaled the smell of him, enjoying the familiarity. "Something's with both of them, Nicky, don't take it personally."
"What's with them?" He asked softly, dreading the answer.
Chris shook her head. She wouldn't say it. Not until she was positive. "I'm not sure yet."
Nick held her quietly. He had a pretty good feeling he knew what Chris was so afraid to say, he wasn't as naive as she thought he was at times. "So you won't take what Julia said personally either."
Chris chuckled softly. "Twist my words around."
"You bet." He grinned and rubbed her back, smiling when she unconsciously pressed herself against him. "Happy Easter, by the way."
"Happy Easter to you too." Chris smiled. "I'm afraid I don't have any eggs..."
"Neither do I." Nick shrugged. "We have a night off, that's better than eggs."
Chris nodded. "Very true." She sighed. "Good night, Nicky."
"Sweet dreams, Chrissy."
*********************************************
A Day in the Life Of... Day 206 Denver - Orlando
Time Magazine, May Issue (Street Date April 15th)
A Time Magazine Feature: In Bed with the Backstreet Boys
By Bill McGuire
What do you get when you combine one pop band, two MTV News producers, a ton of cameras, and a just a bit of sexual tension? A hit television show, as MTV is discovering with its runaway series, "A Day in the Life Of.." Time Magazine spent some time on the road with the show and the Backstreet Boys' tour, discovering that life on tour isn't so different from real life, just with very, very long work hours.
"A Day in the Life Of..." quickly set itself apart from other 'reality-based' shows with its initial episode and title. This show was not about a contrived group. This was a real band, a real tour, and this would be what really happened. A novel idea, but as many critics pointed out prior to the show's debut, where do you find the content when there isn't a gimmick? Some game or something going on to keep the tension high. MTV Director of Programming Mike Riley tells it best, "we knew that we wanted to do a REAL reality show. The Real World and all of its spin-offs only tell part of the story, primarily because all of these people are together for the sole purpose of being filmed. We needed to bring our cameras into a place cameras hadn't been before. And we needed the right personalities to drive the show." (See sidebar)
Enter the Backstreet Boys. Riley was a long time pal of Backstreet Boy Kevin Richardson, and he immediately called him up with the idea. "My first thought was, 'you must be insane.'" Richardson recalls. "Nothing could have repulsed me more than the idea of putting my entire life on camera. We had so little privacy as it was already, giving up that little bit by choice was pretty hard to stomach. But once I calmed down and actually started to listen to what Mike had to say, it made sense."
"Kevin had been complaining for years about the 'image problem' he saw the Backstreet Boys as having," Riley explains. "This was the perfect opportunity to change that image. Show the world the Backstreet Boys as they really are, in a format 'everyman' would watch. Nobody would ever see them the same way again."
"The hardest part in putting the series together was selling the concept of the show to the rest of the Backstreet Boys," Richardson confesses. "As I said, we all had so little privacy already, and some of the guys are extremely private." What finally sold them on the idea? "We were sick of being written off as a band with no talent solely because we were made up of 5 men who danced when they sang. People didn't even bother listening to our music, they'd just take one look at us and make up their minds."
"We really had no idea what the show was going to be like when we first started," the show's Executive Producer, Christen Johnson, explains. "We had a basic one-sheet on what the network wanted, but it really wasn't until that first night we sat down to review the footage we'd shot when we really got a feeling on what we would be able to do. I was very worried, going into it, that we wouldn't have enough material to fill a show every week, but the guys have proved themselves more than adequate in that respect."
"Once we saw what kind of stuff we were catching on camera we knew we could do an episode a week, no problem. These guys were stories screaming to be told." Associate Producer Julia Morris grins. "Each one of them can carry an episode. You need larger than life personalities like that to drive a show like this, no pun intended."
"We went from worrying we wouldn't have enough material, to worrying about how we would find the time to review all the material." Johnson remembers.
"And then Chris decided she couldn't keep reviewing footage anymore." Morris nods.
"It was just getting too personal, I was becoming friends with the guys, listening to them pour their hearts out in confessionals. It felt wrong to then turn around and watch them like a voyeur." Says Johnson. "I definitely didn't expect to see myself on the show as much as I do, but I guess that was bound to happen. The whole idea had been to show the Backstreet Boys through the eyes of an outsider, mine. The whole experience is new for me, as it is to every viewer. We're doing that, but I think I didn't expect the whole thing to effect me personally as much as it has."
The show has shown many of the Boys caught in compromising positions, as well as their emotional downtimes. Not much has been spared, and the emotional impact has been stunning. Who knew that seeing real people feel real things could pack such a punch?
"Sure I've had sex in front of the camera." Backstreet Boy AJ McLean laughs. "Why the hell not. It's not like they're going to air it like some porn crap. We're careful not to show anything, and under covers, but it's not like I'm gonna pretend I'm not sleeping with my girlfriend. I'm human."
"I think I act a little differently, knowing the cameras are there and all," Richardson considers. "I know I've caught myself scratching in nasty places and stopping and thinking, you know, there's a camera in the ceiling. But I've already gone and scratched, so it's too late for that... It took a while to get to that point, where I'd forget momentarily, but I'm there now."
"That first day with the cameras, god, that was awful." The youngest Backstreet Boy, Nick Carter, remembers. "Everywhere I looked, all I could see was a camera in my face. I tried to go out for a swim, even, and the cameras followed me. I felt like I was in prison, like I couldn't escape." He laughs, shrugs it off. "It got better after a while."
"Chris, Julia, and the cameras have really just become the 6th, 7th, and 8th members of the Backstreet Boys." Brian Littrell, Backstreet Boy and Richardson's younger cousin, jokes. "We don't notice them around so much anymore, we're as used to seeing them as we are each other. And both Chris and Julia have become really good friends of ours."
More than just friends, in some instances, Carter and Johnson (see inset) are always setting hearts aflutter with their flirtations, and Morris has been rumored to have hooked up with both Richardson and McLean on occasion. As the old soap opera saying goes, nothing like some bedhopping to help the ratings, but remember, this isn't scripted, which makes it a thousand times better.
The romantic angles aside, the show has explored topics and areas nobody expected it to, including rape and drug abuse, opening these subjects up to viewers everywhere. The Backstreet Boys are truly a cross-section of American's population, and with the 2 women thrown in to even out the mix, almost anyone can find someone on the show to identify with. One week Nick will be trying to find love in the arms of a groupie (only to end up crying in Chris' bed that night), while Brian deals with his fiancée' being thousands of miles away. Kevin, who got married shortly before the show's premiere, has been going through freshman marital woes on the show, and Howie Dorough's been a living psychology textbook, as he goes through all the classic stages of grief in dealing with his sister's death , including chemical dependence. All the while they're dealing with fans who stalk their every move and force them to barricade themselves in their hotel rooms, night after night.
Then there's the music. Let's not forget, under all of this, the Backstreet Boys are musicians and performers. It's not uncommon to see any one of the Boys curled up in a corner with a pad of paper working on a song at anytime, and Nick's been spending a lot of time lately with his new guitar (Brian bought it for him for his birthday, as viewers of the show saw). Kevin's always tinkling with a piano somewhere, and AJ and Brian tend to burst into song at any moment. The show has succeeded in introducing hoards of new fans to the Backstreet Boys' music, evidenced by their most recent album's return to the Billboard Top 10, nearly a year after its initial release (the album spent nearly two months on the Top 10 the first time around).
The last element that must not be forgotten is that this is a tour. Which means, that nearly every night, no matter what happened during the day, the Boys are on stage, pleasing thousands of fans, wherever they are.
And that is probably the most striking thing about this show. Not only is it an interesting, entertaining (and educational, in some respects) television series, but it's giving us an amazing insight into the world of superstardom. Viewers of the show get to watch the Backstreet Boys go through the same things the rest of us do. Problems with girlfriends, grief over loved ones, problems with families, lack of sleep, sore muscles, the usual. But the rest of us get to come home and sleep when we're done with a long day. Every single night, these guys go on stage, and sing to an arena of thousands. No matter what has happened to them that day, no matter who they're mad at, upset with, no matter how much pain they're in, they are on stage every single night with a smile on their face.
Chris Johnson tries to explain it, "Julia and I were trying to figure out what exactly it is that we've learned about being a celebrity, being a Backstreet Boy. I think part of it is that we thought touring would be fun. That getting up on stage would be a ton of fun to do every night, and that would be that. While it is definitely a ton of fun to get up on stage every night, life doesn't just stop just because you're on tour. And that's the hard part...that somehow, among the insanity of touring, we're supposed to keep living our lives. It's a lot to juggle."
"Everyone always assumes celebrities are happy." Julia Morris offers. "Something about seeing someone on television, you know they're different than you, you assume it's they don't get as down and depressed as everyone else. But they do, and I guess we're showing you that."
The initial promo for the show told us "Everything is different when you're a celebrity." The question was put to Chris Johnson. What has the show shown us to be the big difference between the celebrities, the Backstreet Boys of the world, and the rest of us?
"They can do something we know we can't. Everyone always likes to believe they're like they're favorite celebrity. Well guess what? We're not like them." Johnson has been performing on stage with the Boys since the early days of the tour, dancing one song each night. "Not only do I not have as much talent in my entire body as any one of them has in their pinky, but they can tour." So life as a rock star isn't for her? "No way. I'm on stage for all of 5 minutes every night, and, sometimes I'm amazed I can pull that off. I don't know how these guys do it, but they do. They're the strongest 5 people I've ever met in my life."
"Touring's not so bad," AJ McLean argues. "That's the one thing that's kinda getting to me about this show. People are watching us, thinking these poor guys, they've got it so bad, lets feel sorry for them. I love to tour, ok? We all do. Not a one of us would be doing this if we didn't, we're definitely not doing the show because we want sympathy for doing our jobs."
Howie puts it plainly, "I miss my friends when I'm on the road, sure, but this is what I do." And as for exposing it to the world? "Nobody sits and questions who the Backstreet Boys are anymore. They all know. Ultimately, that has to be a good thing."
Johnson has done a skillful job at showing both the good times and bad on tour, without turning the series into exploitative television. The footage from the day is nicely supplemented with narrative from the Boys themselves, in the familiar 'confession' style the Real World has made so famous. With the main characters themselves explaining the story as it goes along, there is a very 'real' element to what is being seen. "I've been nervous a few times, that we were crossing a line with some of things we've aired, but overall, I'm very proud with the show so far," Johnson smiles as she recalls the series.
Johnson's also learned a hefty lesson in how a reporter can sometimes become the story, when she was the subject of an episode in January involving the attack on her New Year's Eve. "What happened New Year's," she shudders as she recalls, "was terrible. And seeing it again on the show didn't help. But we did promise to show viewers absolutely everything that happens on the tour, and that did happen on the tour, so it was aired." Viewers did indeed love the show, flooding the network with sympathy cards and gifts for Johnson.
The tour is over in two more months, what does the future hold for the Backstreet Boys?
"We're going to take a long break," Littrell looks forward to the tour's end, and his wedding. "After my honeymoon, we'll head back into the studio, start work on another album."
And as for Johnson?
"I have no idea." She confesses with a sigh. "I can barely see as far ahead as next week, much less two months from now. This tour is all I know."
"A Day in the Life Of..." may have set out as a 'behind the scenes' look at a pop group, but it has become much more, a fascinating portrait of the life of a celebrity. By presenting the viewer with both the five very different Backstreet Boys and two 'other' characters (Chris and Julia), they are forced to draw comparisons. We see Chris and Julia running from the things the Backstreet Boys love so much, the cameras, the fans, the spotlight. We see them hating the things the Boys love, including the tour itself. We learn that unlike what we're told as children, not everyone can grow up to be anything.
It takes a very specific person to be a star. Chris and Julia don't have what it takes, and we watch them struggle with that fact every day on tour. This reporter definitely doesn't have it. Do you? Catch "A Day in the Life of..." on MTV, Monday nights at 10:00pm, running until June.
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