(Toronto Star, unknown date)
Those newer kids on the block known as The Backstreet Boys may have to change their name to The Bay Street Boys or The Wall Street Boys, given all the success they've been experiencing lately.
When we last checked with these five fresh-scrubbed, Florida-based teen dreams they were preparing to perform for a sell-out house of 2000 screaming, mostly pre-teen fans at The Warehouse.
Eleven weeks later, their debut album as racked up an additional 200,000 Canadian sales, putting their number at a stellar 600,000 sold to date. And their upcoming concert Saturday night is another sell-out, this time at the 10,000-plus seat Maple Leave Gardens concert bowl.
And they still haven't released their album in the U.s.. So guys, what gives?
"It'll be out in the summer," says 21-year-old Backstreeter Brian 'B-Rok' Littrell.
"Because we're so popular in Canada and especially in Quebec, along with Europe, we've decided to continue touring in those areas and concentrate on the States in the summer.
"We actually released our first single 'We've Got it Goin' On' in September '95 in the U.S., but it only got to number 60 on the charts. 1995 probably wasn't the right time for us at home, because everything was rap and grunge. Now, there's more pop music with The Spice Girls and that sort of thing."
Backstreet Boys, with their videogenic looks, G-rated bump 'n' grind dance moves and radio-friendly tunes, may indeed by these year's male counterpart to the cookie-cutter pop being sold by Britain's Spice Girls.
As for all the packaging and marketing behind the Boys, Littrell is unfazed. He's similarly unworried about joing New Kids on the Block, Tommy Page, and countless other teen idols who have gone from pop heroes to pop zeroes in the space of little more than 15 minutes.
"As long as wee keep focused on our music, we'll do well," he says. "We want to grow old in this business like [vocal group] New Edition. We've got to be ourselves. Backstreet Boys stand for making smart decisions and not allowing yourself to be manufactured."
Littrell's bio describes him as a Pisces whose favorite food is macaroni and cheese and whose biggest fear is heights. Does this include the heights of fame?
"Oh, no. Everything's lookin on the up and up. As long as we keep our heads on straight, we'll be fine."
Toronto Star
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