The couple exchanged vows at Estill County Cathedral Domain, the church camp that Richardson's late father, Jerald, once ran. Richardson's brother, Tim, a local minister, presided over the nuptials while brother Jerald Jr. acted as the best man. It was a "beautiful, simple ceremony," Tim Richardson told the Lexington Herald-Leader, adding that the wedding was stalkarazzi-free and lacked the usual accoutrements of a posh celebrity get-together.
"Remove all the glamour and the fact that he's a Backstreet Boy, that they're in the entertainment industry, [and] they're just two people who love each other." Richardson, 27 met Willits, also 27 and a dancer, eight years ago in a cafeteria while both worked at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. "We've been through a lot together, but she knew me when I was a Ninja Turtle," Richardson told MTV News in February, noting that they're both in the business and understand one another. "She was a dancer, she's been on Broadway, done lots of things...being in the business, she has an appreciation for it."
Richardson shocked fans when he announced their engagement on Valentine's Day, the same day Richardson's cousin and fellow Backstreeter Brian Litrell also disclosed his intention to walk down the aisle with actress Leighanne Wallace (the couple have yet to set a date).
We got this entire article out of yahoo, and we are relieved that he did not get hitched in Vegas.
LUPUS CHARITY ~ Backstreet Boy Howie D. raised over $100,000 at his Lupus 2000 benefit held Sunday night at Universal Studios in Orlando. The event benefited the Lupus Foundation and its ongoing research of the chronic autoimmune disorder which claimed the life of Howie's sister, Caroline Dorough, who died of the disease in 1998. Howie enlisted the help of his Backstreet buddy A.J. McLean at the benefit, as the two duetted on a cover of the Commodores' "Brick House." "There's a lot of people that weren't able to come," Howie explained to MTV News. "They've donated some stuff, like Mariah Carey's donating an outfit from one of her videos. I've got a shawl, kind of scarf-ish thing from Shania Twain, and Shaquille O'Neal is giving us one of his shoes, which I'm going to try to stick both of my feet in before I auction it off, and a basketball. I've actually brought some stuff as well, some of the earlier stuff that we've worn in the Backstreet concerts." [Real video available at MTV] For the record, Carey kicked in the outfit from her "Heartbreaker" video, while two dinners with Howie D. sold at the auction for $15,500 each. The very busy Howie D. also jumps into the club business as a co-owner of an Orlando nightspot called Club Tabu which has its grand opening this Thursday night. "My sister passed away two years ago," Dorough said. "Instead of taking this as a negative, really sad thing, I`m trying to turn it into a positive. I know that`s what she would have wanted." The event, which featured about 15 acts and drew 800 people, raised more than $100,000 at the groove at Universal`s CityWalk. Howie sang a duet with his sister, Pollanna, of a version he rewrote of Candle in the Wind. "It`s a very emotional night for me," Howie said. Howie said he attended Backstreet Boys member Kevin Richardson`s intimate wedding in Lexington, Ky., last Saturday. But they didn`t sing. "Kevin was crying too much, so he couldn`t sing. He`s a very emotional guy. All of us were very emotional there. He`s like a brother," Howie said. The grand finale featured A.J. McLean taking the stage with all the performers, including Tito Puente Jr., Deborah Gibson and Wayne Brady, singing Brick House. Another big hit of the evening was Barry Williams. You haven`t heard anything until you`ve heard Greg Brady of The Brady Bunch belt out We are the Champions. Deborah Gibson said she was happy to perform because she met Howie when he was going through all the turmoil of his sister`s recent death. Gibson is working on a VH-1 movie that`s a black comedy about her pop-princess experiences.
~ From Backstreet Boy to Bad Rock Boy A.J. McLean rages in solo show To be an authentic rock & roll rebel, Johnny No Name needs a real identity. Instead, as Backstreet Boy A.J. McLean demonstrated in his outing of his alter-ego Monday night at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles (the first of a nine-stop tour benefiting VH-1's Save the Music), Johnny's only half-conceived, with bits of A.J. still poking through. Recalling the Garth Brooks/Chris Gaines split personality, McLean wants Johnny to represent his rock side. "I'm a totally different person," he said, explaining that A.J. was backstage somewhere getting a good laugh about all of this. Then, demanding the audience recognize his other self, he bellowed, in Kid Rockian fashion, "I'm going to ask you one more time, Los Angeles...What's my naaaame?" But that totally different person didn't fully emerge, as he wasted much of the opportunity by arranging half of the hour-long set around tepid ballads and Backstreet B-sides. And songs that Johnny would have been more than happy to sing straight through -- such as Methods of Mayhem's raunchy "Get Naked" -- found themselves abbreviated and censored for A.J.'s preteen audience. Sauntering onstage in a matching brown cowboy hat and trench coat, McLean was handcuffed and escorted by a security guard wearing a shirt marked "Police" -- for as part of Johnny's bad-boy mystique, he's only allowed to perform when on probation. Johnny's other defining character trait is an odd, mangled accent. Johnny's supposed to be a Brit from Nashville, so McLean mixed Austin Powers-isms with a slight cowboy drawl: "Y'all be cool, be real, and be-haaave, baby!" McLean, ahem, No Name got off to an interesting start with a cover of Stone Temple Pilot's "Down," pounding his stomach to the beat and tracing his finger suggestively along his crotch line. To Johnny, all rock songs -- be they political or not -- are about sex. "It's all in the pelvis," he later explained. But Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name" was sapped of its original intent by McLean's pelvic thrusts. Swiveling his hips, Johnny lifted his shirt to show the space between his stomach and his underwear, and would teasingly start to take off his jacket, only to show just a glimpse of shoulder and armpit. "I have a surprise for you later," he joked, "and no, my pants are staying on." After these first two songs, he changed to an all-white over-sized suit that proved easier for him to show some skin. But by this time, the songs he chose to cover didn't require sexier readings. Tonic's "If You Could Only See" was deflated of its romantic yearning as the backing band -- mostly borrowed from the Backstreet Boys' touring ensemble -- tried to toughen it up with a heavier, more distorted guitar sound. Same with "Open Up Your Eyes," which was oddly fraught with drama, as he wailed out the chorus. Johnny No Name as a concept would have worked better perhaps if Johnny truly dictated the show. Unfortunately, A.J. McLean slipped out too often, songs he had written for the Backstreet Boys, such as "If You Only Knew What I Knew," broke up the momentum of any rock numbers. A take on "Hey Mr. DJ (Keep Playing That Song)" seemed out of place. Only a snippet of "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" made any musical sense, since it extrapolated off the dense, deep bassline of Wild Cherry's "Play That Funky Music, White Boy" and came back to the song in perfect timing. Once fellow Backstreet Boy Howie Dorough joined him for an encore of "Brick House," the transformation back into A.J. was so complete that he didn't even use his nom de rock anymore. The merging of the two personas was most apparent during a rendition of "Bad to the Bone" -- playing off A.J.'s nickname "Bone" -- where he got the preteen girls squealing by gesturing a sort of "come here" motion rapidly and repeatedly with his fingers. Their piercing, shrilling screams -- which threatened to overpower his vocals -- came at every juncture, whether he stood still, sang or picked up a guitar. Though McLean can play both saxophone and keyboards, as Johnny No Name, he said, he couldn't really play any instrument but a two-stringed guitar. Strung casually low on his hips, he used that more as a prop to allow him certain rock postures. Changing the lyrics, he sang, "A.J.'s bad to the bone." Didn't he mean Johnny? No matter, no one was keeping track anymore. JENNIFER VINEYARD
BREAKUP (March 29, 2000) ~ AJ McLean, meanwhile, revealed that he is finding it tough to talk about his split from Amanda. "It's kinda weird. It just didn't work out the way we both saw it to be. Since we separated I haven't really talked to her that much 'coz she's busy with her own career and she's dating someone so if she's happy then she's happy but don't get me wrong -- there are times when I miss her. Not a day goes by when I'm not thinking about the breakup, but it's better not to talk to her 'coz it makes it easier on both of us." The singer, who also goes under the alter ego of Johnny No-Name, is hopeful that Amanda, who is now dating another man, may return to him to rekindle their friendship. "She's in a better place, I'm in a better place but you never know, we may get back together. We've broken up for 3 or 4 months before and gotten back together, so who knows?" McLean may still be feeling sore from the failure of his relationship, but that hasn't stopped him from moving on and searching for a new partner. "I don't think there is any one better than her but I'm keeping my eyes open. If a girl comes by and knocks me off my feet then so be it."
Backstreet Boy AJ's Boozing Hell November 24, 2000 Backstreet Boy AJ McLean has admitted to a vicious battle with alcohol and depression. The "Black And Blue" hunk found the pressure of fame too much to bear, and turned to booze for comfort. He explains, "The minibar at the hotels is paid for by the record company, and after the show I'd sit up there in my room. I couldn't go down to the bar. There were too many fans downstairs. "I'd just sit there and drink a shot of Jack Daniels or a beer, whatever." Constant boozing, intrusive fans, and a hectic schedule took their toll on AJ -- he had a breakdown last month, and felt so depressed he lost control while sitting in his car outside a pool hall in Orlando, Florida. He says, "I started crying and I couldn't stop. I just started freaking out, thinking about my relationship with my girlfriend Amanda, and if it was going to last when I went on the road. Was my mum going to be okay? And all this other stuff. "I sat there for about 30 minutes and cried and yelled and swore at the world." -- WENN