* When are you guys coming back to Australia?
Actually, we’re planning on coming back there during our world tour which is starting at the beginning of next year. I think we’re going to go over to Europe for about a month and then we might take about two weeks downtime and then we might go to South East Asia and Australia to go on tour. So look for us, I’d say probably around April or May.

* What do you remember most about your trip down under a couple of years ago? TV HITS took you guys to a zoo!
Yes! I definitely remember when we were over in Australia we went to the zoo and they had some koala bears and we played with the kangaroos. It was very cool. I remember Australia was a very beautiful place and when we left there we all said we wanted to come back for a vacation. I just remember it being a combination of California and England - the way people talked and the scenery. It reminded me of back home. Also, very beautiful people.

* Have you started work on your next album?
Yes, were in the process of getting the next album together. We’ve got two months of downtime at the moment - Brian has just completed his surgery which was very successful and he’s recuperating. The rest of us are doing some songwriting and we’re getting together with different producers. I think in September, October and early November we’re going to record the songs for our next album. Hopefully it should be out by the end of the year.

* Why do you think the Backstreet Boys have remained popular for so long when other boy bands have broken up?
I think our success is due to constantly striving to put out good music. We are constantly trying to take ourselves to the next level even when it comes to doing videos. Our video for "Backstreet’s Back" was our own idea. WE have a lot of goals that we still want to accomplish and we’re not letting go until we achieve them all.

* What’s your relationship with other American boy bands like ‘N Sync?
‘N Sync is on the same management company as ours. And actually a couple of us knew each other before, you know, before we all got together. I actually went to school with Chris, the oldest member. We went to college together and we went to choir together so we knew each other really well. The guys were in several different groups before, so we all met each other somehow.

* How does it feel to perform in front of thousands of fans every night on tour?
For our last tour through Europe, throughout Germany, Switzerland and Austria, we did over 30 000 every night and that was great. To see so many dedicated fans who come out to our shows night after night, we just felt like we were on top of the world during that time.

* So how do you keep your feet on the ground?
I wear heavy shoes! <laughs> No, just joking. It’s pretty easy for us, we have good family backgrounds. They’re very supportive to us. We all come from good wholesome families and we just keep each other in check, you know. We’re just like everybody else in the world, we’re just people who love to make music.

* Do you live at home with your family?
Yeah, I still live at home. I was at one time living with Brian and Kevin, we had an apartment together but it was right at the beginning. But then we started taking off on tours and I was paying rent for nothing, so I finally decided to move back home with my family seeing as though I was never home as it was.

* Do you help out at home?
Every onece in a while, I do chores, I don’t know if you’d call them chores, I just try to help whenever I can which isn’t much because I was hardly ever home. But I guess when my sister asks me to help her out with something or my dad asks me to help him with the yard, I’ll try to.

* Can you cook?
Yeah, I mean I don’t do too much of cooking nowadays because we’re gone so much. But I mainly cook breakfast stuff. I like cooking the bacon and eggs and the omelettes and stuff. I can cook a killer hamburger once in a while.

* Do any of you guys have girlfriends?
That would be a really nice thing to have, but unfortunately right now our schedules are just too crazy I don’t think any of us would be able to find a serious girlfriend. I mean, we do date and see people around the world but it is nothing really serious right now because the music is our love and we just don’t have the time.

* If you were to have a nickname, like the Spice Girls, what would it be?
You know, I didn’t really choose this nickname, the guys chose it for me, but they call me Sweet D, they just say it because I have a big heart. I just care about people and with Howie D, they just change it to Sweet D.

* Is there anything you want to say to your Aussie fans?
I guess I’d just like to say to our Australian fans thank you so much for keeping all you support up there for us. I know it’s been a while since we’ve seen you guys and we really feel sorry about that but we’re trying to get to every country as soon as possible. But we definitely have you guys in our hearts and in our minds, and we hope to see you in our upcoming world tour. So keep the Backstreet pride alive! *TVH

* Brian has had a heart condition since he was a kid. A year ago, his heart began leaking blood , so earlier this year, Brian decided to undergo surgery to correct the condition. After the successful operation in May, Brian’s having two months off and will then join the guys to record a new album. He swears that he is fine and thanks all TV HITS readers for their cards and letters, saying it may just take a few months before he can go jump around on stage as much as the other boys. So there!