You?re not alone.
Backstreet mania knows no bounds. There?s the time two girls hid
in a storage space of the tour
bus. And the time European fans actually climbed over a barbed-wire
fence just to get into the Boys
dressing room. But no one can one-up the girl who gave AJ McLean,
20, two diamond rings that
he later found out were the parents? wedding bands. Don?t worry,
he doesn?t wear them. They?re in
a safe-deposit box should the fan - who must have been grounded
for life - want to get them back
from him. AJ, the life of a Backstreet Boy...
?Some of these girls do crazy things,? says AJ, the Backstreet
Boys? unofficial spokesman (AKA
the one with the hoop earrings). ?They even go up to our hotel
rooms after we check out and grab
socks or boxers we accidentally left behind. Then they?;; whip
out our underwear (at a concert or an
in-store appearance) and asks us to autograph ?em, and we?re like,
?How did you get these???
Hunky guys who sing about the L word in ways that ?real? guys
can?t even express have always
inspired fierce fanatical behavior from girls. Plus, with this
bunch, there?s a type of boy for every
girl: Brian Littrell, 22, is the jock; Nick Carter, 18, is a baby-faced
Leo (DiCaprio) look-alike; and
Kevin Richardson, 26, is the dark, mysterious one. Howie Dorough,
or Howie D., 24, lends a
Latin groove, and AJ provides the crucial hip-hop vibe.
The Flordia-based group - which had been breaking attendance records
in Europe and Canada for a
couple of years - finally hit the big time in the United States
last summer with the hit ?Quit Playing
Games (With My Heart)? and more recent songs like ?As Long As
You Love Me? and
?Backstreet?s Back?. Now they have one of the nation?s top-selling
albums, Backstreet Boys; a
recently sold-out tour; a Thriller-like extended video for ?Backstreet?s
Back? on MTV; and plans to
publish a Backstreet Boys - inspired comic book by late summer
or early fall.
?It won?t be totally wack,? promises Nick, the comic creator.
?It?s going to be dark and
Spawn-like,? explains AJ. He also hints that they?re hoping to
drum up big-budget movie interest in
the project by contacting directors like Tim Burton (Batman) and
Steven Spielberg.
In the meantime, the Backstreet Boys are writing and producing
songs for their second album, and
learning how to play instruments (Brian and Howie, guitars; AJ,
bass; Kevin, keys; and Nick,
drums). What about girlfriends? ?We don?t have them, because we
don?t have the time,? says Nick.
Looks like that?s not going to change anytime soon.
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