Backstreet Boys

Girls' Life February/March 1996

The way this group got together was not nearly so orchestrated as the songs they sing. It started when young solo performers Nick Carter, A.J. McLean and Howie Dorough were constantly running into each other at auditions in and around Orlando, Fla. As they sat around waiting to be called, they would often harmonize an old Temptations hit or two just to pass the time.

Meanwhile in Lexington, Ky., Kevin Richardson was disillusioned by his work with a local band. So he hit the road and headed for Orlando, where he got a job as a tour guide at Disney World.

Kevin heard about these three guys who harmonize all the time and set out to meet them. They teamed up but needed one more member to round out the group. Kevin called his cousin Brian Littrell, who hopped on a plane the next day.

Once together, word got out, and producers jumped in to harness the sound and set it to some tracks. The result? The five of them fit like a glove to form an energetic lineup of hip-hop harmony and grind. The Backstreet Boys' debut album is avaliable on Jive Records.