Backstreet Boys Bow to Bennett

When the Backstreet Boys were asked to make a guest appearance on Tony Bennett Storytellers, the five-member R&B group jumped at the chance. "We felt very honored," admits the band's oldest member, Kevin Richardson. "I mean, he's a legend." The 27-year-old listed to Bennett's Christmas albums growing up. "[He] said, 'This reminds me of when I did something with the Beatles, and I'm getting a really good feeling about you guys, if that means anything.'"

In additiong to performing three of their hits on Storytellers (simulcast on VH1 and Nickelodeon on November 29, 8 PM/ET), the Boys provided background vocals to Bennett's "Swinging on a Star." "We got together around the grand piano and worked out some harmonies, some oohs and aahs. I felt like I was in a time warp," Richardson recalls.

Bennett is not the only icon with whom the Backstreet Boys are teaming up: They're also taping a segment for Dick Clark's New Year's Eve special. And they will perform at the Billboard Awards (airing live from Las Vegas, December 7, on Fox), where they will probably sint their newest release, "All I Have to Give," the fifth single from their self-titled debut album. The follow-up to that album is in the works; the group recently returned from Stockholm, Sweden, where they spent two weeks in a recording studio. Nick Carter, the youngest Boy at 18, says fans can expect more of the same: "It's the Backstreet sound. Why try to fix something when it's not broken?"

--Annabel Vered

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