The Backstreet Boys are a Grammy-nominated American vocal group. They were launched by boy band producer Lou Pearlman, and have been together since April 20, 1993. They have 13 Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and have sold over 100 million albums worldwide, making them one of the biggest selling artists of all time,and best selling boy band/vocal group of all time. According to US Billboard 200 making the boyband the first group since Sade to have their first seven albums reach top 10 on the chart.Their earlier songs still remain very popular among younger audiences. By their return in 2005 their sound had changed, incorporating only live instruments (some of which they play) and a more guitar and piano driven pop-rock sound. After the 2005-2006 tour, original member Kevin Richardson left the group on June 23, 2006, to start a family, but the four-piece refused to rule out a possible return for the singer. The now four-member group consists of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell and A. J. McLean. The quartet has since released two albums, the most recent on October 6, 2009, titled This Is Us , which went back to pop music, although is still considerably different from their classic sound, with This Is Us being more R&B.
Band history
Backstreet Boys - beginnings and early success: 1992–1996
Lou Pearlman, who had been inspired by New Kids on the Block in 1989, decided to create his own clean-cut boy band. After newspaper advertisements and auditions from June 1992 to early 1993, he recruited A. J. McLean in August 1992, Nick Carter in October, and Howie Dorough in December, who eventually met each other in several auditions and became friends. Following the departure of three previous members, Burk Parsons (pursued a career in ministry), Sam Licata (later performing as Phoenix Stone) and Charles Edwards, Kevin Richardson came on board in March 1993. He met the other guys through a co-worker, and the four decided to form a group, naming themselves after an Orlando flea market. The group took its final member on April 9, 1993, when Brian Littrell, Richardson's cousin, joined the group after a phone audition. Pearlman had spent around $3.5 million of fraudulently obtained money (he has been convicted of operating a Ponzi scheme during this time frame) on his search to form the group, and then spent more to launch their career. They officially became a group on April 19, 1993.
Afterward Pearlman called on Bob Curiano to write and produce for the Backstreet Boys. Their first two songs recorded were "Lover Boy", written and produced by Curiano, and "Get Ready", a cover tune. The hit, "Lover Boy" was inspired by Ana Legen, Bob Curiano's, first teenage crush. Their first concert, on July 8, 1993, was performed for 3,000 teenagers at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida. Pearlman booked them at grade-school assemblies and shopping malls, and assigned management duties to Johnny Wright and Donna Wright, who had worked with New Kids on the Block. Recording for their debut album officially began in the fall of 1994 and finished a few weeks prior to their European album's release in 1996. In the first few months of recording for Jive Records they worked in mainly Florida studios. They notably recorded during these late months of 1994, the ballad "I'll Never Find Someone Like You" and the track "Every Time I Close My Eyes" with Eric Foster White, as well some other songs. By mis-communication, "I'll Never Find Someone Like You" was given to Keith Martin after they recorded it and released as a single in February 1995, barring them copyrighting their version. In June 1995, they were sent to Stockholm, Sweden for a week to record at Cheiron Studios with producers Denniz Pop and Max Martin. Out of the recording sessions came We've Got It Goin' On, Quit Playing Games (With My Heart), and I Wanna Be With You.
The first single chosen to be released was We've Got It Goin' On released to radio in late August 1995. The song was a minor success, which resulted in promotion being shifted to Europe. The single did well on several European charts, which sent them on a summer tour there. They finished recording in April 1996 and filmed their second music video, Get Down (You're the One for Me) in Germany as well. On May 6, 1996, their debut was internationally, except in the USA and Canada.
European popularity grew, and the Backstreet Boys kicked off 1996 being voted the No. 1 international group by TV viewers in Germany - "I'll Never Break Your Heart" went gold there and hit No. 1 in Austria. The group earned their first platinum record in Germany and toured Asia and Canada. They became one of the most successful debut artists in the world.
Backstreet's Back and Millennium - breakthrough and stardom: 1997-1999
Jive Records and Pearlman decided to bring the boys back to their home country. They began recording their second album in January 1997, Backstreet's Back , releasing "Quit Playing Games With My Heart" in June. They also recorded the song, If You Stay, for the Booty Call soundtrack in January 1997. Coinciding with the release of their second international album, the band released a self-titled album in the US which collected songs from both international albums. They hit big on the U.S. charts and debuted at No .1 in Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Finland and Austria. The two albums sold more than 28 million copies worldwide (14 million copies in the U.S.)
In December 1997, the band embarked on a 60-city, 20-country tour. In September 1998 the group began work on their next album. Work on Millennium began in September 1998, with recording taking place from October 3, 1998 to March 1, 1999 in multiple cities. A sneak preview of the tracks "The One", "Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely", and "I Need You Tonight" was released on November 17, 1998 on the A Night Out with the Backstreet Boys concert video, as well as on the All I Have To Give U.S. single in December 1998. Preceded by the worldwide hit single "I Want It That Way", anticipation for Millennium was high. On May 18, 1999, Millennium was released. The day of the album's release, the Backstreet Boys made a heavily publicized appearance on MTV's Total Request Live. Millennium entered the Billboard 200 at #1, where it remained for 10 non-consecutive weeks. It sold 1,134,000 copies in its first week of release, breaking the previous Nielsen SoundScan record held by Garth Brooks for single-week record sales. Millennium sold nearly 500,000 copies in the U.S. on its first day alone, setting a record for first-day sales. This record was subsequently overtaken in 2000 by Britney Spears, and then again by 'N Sync with No Strings Attached . Four singles were released from Millennium : "I Want It That Way", "Larger Than Life", "Show Me The Meaning Of Being Lonely", and "The One".
Millennium became the best-selling album of 1999 in the U.S., selling 9,445,732 albums. Millennium remained on the Billboard chart for 93 weeks, eventually selling over 12 million copies in the United States and being certified 13 times platinum. As of the end of December 2008, the album stands as the fourth best selling album in the US of the SoundScan era. In 2003 it was also reported as being the fourth biggest seller for Music Club sales in the US over the past 14 years with sales of 1.59 million. In Canada, the album is seventh biggest selling album since 1995 in the Canadian Soundscan sales era up to end of December 2007. The album has sold over 40 million copies worldwide.
Impressed by the success of the Backstreet Boys, Sony BMG, which already owned 20 percent of Jive's parent company, purchased the remainder for $3 billion, the most ever paid for an independent record company. In the meantime, The Firm negotiated tens of millions of dollars in advance payments for recordings and performances from Jive and the concert promoter Clear Channel. Also by the end of 1999, the Backstreet Boys faced new problems declaring their current Jive contract null and void, soon striking one of the largest record deals ever valued at $60 million with Jive.
Black & Blue : 2000–2001
In November 2000, the group released a new album, Black & Blue , with the idea of the title of the album coming from Brian as the boys were in Los Angeles for a photoshoot. To promote the release of Black & Blue , the boys traveled around the world in 100 hours to Sweden, Japan, Australia, South Africa, Brazil, and the US; 55 of the hours were spent traveling and 45 were spent making public appearances. The album debuted with 1.9 million units sold in the first week in America, making the band the first ever artist to have two albums sell a million or more copies in the first week. Black & Blue had sold more than five million copies worldwide in its initial week, setting a new first-week record in international sales. Globally, Black & Blue — whose 13-song selection features six songs co-written by members of the group, including two written by all five Backstreet Boys — achieved platinum status in over 30 countries and gold certification in 10 regions around the world during its first week of release. In the first week of release, Black & Blue' s first single "Shape of My Heart" was played on 170 out of 171 of the Top 40 stations in the U.S. Meanwhile overseas, the song immediately jumped into the Top Five in Sweden (#1), Norway (#1), Canada (#1), Germany (#1), Switzerland (#1)
Backstreet Boys Official Site
... Oriental Trading Company Presents Kristi Yamaguchi & Friends Starring The Backstreet Boys ... Terms & Conditions; Contact Us; Advertise; MySpace; Facebook; Twitter; YouTube; iLike
YouTube - backstreet boys - everybody (backstreet' s back)
backstreet boys - everybody (backstreet' s back) ... MySpace ... YouTube on Your Site: Press Room: Partnerships: Community ...
Register : Backstreet Boys
New to the site? Create an account. Email: Password: ... Advertise; MySpace; Facebook; Twitter; YouTube; iLike; Last.fm; © 2009 Backstreet Boys. Powered by ground (ctrl).
The Official Backstreet Boys Site | The Backstreet Boys Official Site
Jive records official site. Offers screensavers, pictures, sound and video files, news, and biographies.
Backstreet Boys Tour Dates, Backstreet Boys Concert Schedule | Tickets ...
[MySpace] Backstreet Boys on MySpace [Official Site] Backstreet Boys Official Site ... Post Backstreet Boys tour dates on your MySpace, blog, or website. They will be ...
NICK CARTER Spanish FanClub
Site Stats ... Backstreet Boys Twitter Backstreet Boys Official Youtube Page Official Nick Carter Site Nick Carter MySpace
MySpace - Got Backstreet? - 25 - Female - Bossier City, Louisiana ...
If myspace won't let you use the tags below to get the ... my myx page to get them directly from the site! ... for listen the new sound of the new album of the backstreet boys ...
MySpace - backstreet_site - 22 - Female - IT - myspace.com/backstreet ...
MySpace profile for backstreet_site with pictures, videos, personal blog, interests, information ... Katerina&Veronika_Backstreet boys' Angels ...
Backstreet Boys - mp3 hits download full albums in mp3 - This Is Us ...
You can download Backstreet Boys’ hits in mp3 from our site. External links: Backstreet Boys Official Site Backstreet Boys on Wiki Backstreet Boys on MySpace Backstreet ...
Backstreet Boys Tickets - Backstreet Boys Concert Tickets and Dates ...
Backstreet Boys tickets and tour dates at LiveNation.com. Find Backstreet Boys ... Backstreet Boys Facebook Page; Backstreet Boys Official Site; Backstreet Boys Myspace Page