Stop listening to all that gossip about your favorite Backstreet Boys saying hasta la vista to the music scene. It ain't happenin'! Yeah, they may have had some ups and downs lately in the music management department, but that has no effect on whether or not the Orlando, Florida-based hotties will keep pumping out great hits like I'll Never Break Your Heart and Everybody (Backstreet's Back), which you'll find on their awesome 1997 album. Oh, and if you're thinking that the Boys might be breaking up to pursue solo careers, allow BOP once and for all let the truth be told.
"The Backstreet Boys will still be going," Howie Dorough, 25, affirms when asked where he sees himself five years from now. "Whether we will be as strong in the public as we are right now, I'm not exactly sure. A couple of us might be producing, a couple of us might do some solo stuff, kind of like what Boyz II Men have done, taking a little time out. They're still together but they're doing solo stuff too." Now that doesn't sound too bad, does it? After all, if the guys decide to follow their own solo paths while keeping their BSB roots intact, that only means five times as much music to enjoy!
According to the oldest member of the group, Kevin Richardson, he can't imagine a life without music or without the Backstreet Boys. We're always going to be in contact with each other," Kevin, 27, explains. "We're always going to be a part of each other's lives because we've shared so much. As for me, music will always be a part of my life somehow, whether I'm writing or producing for other people or still an artist. We want long careers in the business, all of us do."
Considering how fickle the biz actually is, staking out long careers in the music industry is not always an easy task to accomplish. You see it all the time: One-hit wonders in the top of the charts one day, history the next. But with the positive attitudes these fine five adhere to, longevity is on their side. "Nowadays, that doesn't happen with groups," 18-year-old Nick Carter laments about the staying power of pop groups. "We want to make that all wrong. We want to change all that and make everybody believe that there are real singers out there. We're all a group to be a group. We enjoy what we're doing, and as long as you enjoy what you're doing, you can last forever."
down the road... down the aisle?
So you've heard some of them commit to keeping their BSB bonds through thick and thin, but have they taken into account what would happen if one of them, say, got married? "I think everybody is this group has thought about that," Nick says. "[But] right now, we all enjoy being single. Maybe in the future. That's definitely something to look forward to."
Adds 23-year-old Brian Littrell, "I'd like to be married and have a roof over my head and just all those things that really money can't buy. I'm from Kentucky, what can I say? But at the same time, I would still be a Backstreet Boy."
Believe it or not, even the biggest flirt of the bunch has pondered over what life would be like if he were to tie the knot, too. "I'll get married if I find somebody who totally clicks with me," A.J. McLean, who turns 21 next month, reveals. "I mean, I'm not a really picky person. I'm not. I know that beggars can't be choosers, but you know, if she just stumbles across here and we just click, then we click."
It's hard to imagine any of these beautiful Backstreet bachelors wearing wedding bands, especially when their single status (and their singles!) makes them so attractive, not to mention Kevin's deep, green eyes, Howie's muscular physique, Nick's sweet smile, A.J.'s exciting style, Brian's teddy-bear personality... ahh, the list goes on! But thankfully for now, for all five Backstreet Boys, their first and foremost priority is to continue winning your hearts while staying on top of the charts.
