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Bop--September '97
How has megastardom affected the Backstreet Boys?
Listen in as they tell BOP how their lives have changed.
The Backstreet Boys unanimously agree that ever since they hit stardom with their catchy tunes "Quit Playin' Games(With My Heart)" and "We've Got It Goin' On" from their 1995 self-titled Eurpean debut, their lives are significantly different from the way they once were. Now, the Oralndo, Florida-based quintet of QTs--Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, A.J. McLean and Kevin Richardson--can do many things they could only dream of in the past, like travel around the world, get treated like royalty , buy gifts for their loved ones and sing to their hearts' content in front of huge crowds of fans. So, what do they have to say about their fame?
The Perks
Probably the biggest change in the Backstreet Boys' lives since achieving fame is that they have done some serous globetrotting. The five talented performers are constantly in motion, traveling on the road from country to country, bringing their music and charisma to their faithful fans. A.J., 19, tells BOP that before the Backstreet Boys formed, he didn't get to visit the foreign countries he now frequently sees with their different cultures and people. "Back then, I couldn't travel the world just like it was nothing," he says.
Because of the incredible success the band has had, A.J. and the gang can now travel to any place they need to go to without worrying about it. For example, when we hooked up with the boys in West Hollywood, California, right before Mothers' Day, both Kevin and Brian said they were going to drop everything and catch a red-eye flight to Kentucky to surprise their moms for the special day. For these boys, hopping on planes is now as easy as riding a bike. If they want to be somewhere, it's like--poof--they are there.
Aside from traveling anywhere he needs to without worrying abuot the cost, 23-year-old Howie says he loves the royal treatment that comes with being a celebrity. Before he became a star, he says, "I couldn't get backstage passes to other people's concerts." And now that's a cinch! As a Backstreet Boys, Howie gets the total V.I.P. treatment wherever he goes--and when his favorite bands are playing, this comes in very handy.
A.J., excited to keep telling us about the things that have changed now htat he's famous, adds that he now gets to buy all the things he couldn't afford in his pre-star days. "I couldn't buy myself nice little treats,"A.J. says. And 22-year-old Brian, fully aware of how earning a lot of money has changed his life, agrees. "[My life] is a lot better that four or five years ago," Brian says. "[Now] I am not stressing about making that next payment."
Before Brian was singing with the Backstreet Boys, he held a string of jobs, none of which he is missing at all these days. "I was working at fast-food restaurants, you know, for four or five years ago," says B-Rok. And now, ironically, even if he wanted to, he couldn't go back to those places. "Well I mean, we can't go to McDonald's and eat," he says, thinking of the many times they have nearly been mobbed by fans at the Golden Arches.
But for the Backstreet Boys, the greatest perks of stardom aren't the material things that they have received. They tell us that they absolutely love that they can give so much of what they have to their loved ones. A.J., for example, is totally psyched that he can give many gifts to his family. Before becoming a celebrity, "I couldn't buy my family nice Christmas presents," he says. And that has definitley changed. He, as well as his quinted counterparts, get to play Santa Claus around the holidyas. Last Christmas, for example, Kevin went all out! "For Christmas I bought both my brothers TAG watches" the 24-year-old says, adding, "I am buying my mom's house for her, so she dosen't have to make the payments on it." Now is that ultra-sweet or what?
The Pits
The Backstreet Boys understand that it takes a lot of hard work to maintain their level of success. And although Kevin says he is very happy with they way things have turned out for the band, he says that maintaining the level of success they've reached, especially in Europe, requires 100 percent of their time and energy. "We don't have a lot of free time, and that's something you miss," Kevin says. "We work from the time we get up to the time we go to sleep, usually." Seventeen- year-old Nick tells BOP about the Backstreet Boys' grueling work schedule.
Sometimes Kevin wishes that he could have some peace before and after the high-energy, hour-and-a-half show they put on. Instead, when they are off stage, they are still doing the things that need to be done for an overall successful day. There are interviews, fan meet-and-greets, sound checks and other shindigs they need to attend. So, Kevin says,he misses "just not having to have the freedom to do things that I have always wanted to do, but I don't have the time right now to do it."
However, the act that there is very little time to reap the benefits of their work dosen't bother Kevin or the other boys. "Eventually I will [have time]," he says. And they would never trade the demands of success ofr a few moments of peace and quiet, especially not Nick. He says that he is definitely enjoying their rise to the top. Yet the perks are not the real reason he keeps performing. For Nick, the most important thing is that he is following his life's dram. "I can do something that I have been wanting to do all my life. And that's to be a singer," says the blond cutie. And that's worth every minute of his day!
© 1997 jess_brok@hotmail.com
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