Just to tell ya:
10/11/01-At the Backstreet Boys concert last night when they were introducing the band, they started playing 'Bye, Bye, Bye' and Nick and A.J. started dancing to it. Then Nick is like "I'm sorry. I apologize. But it's all in good fun, ya know?!"
10/10/01-'N Sync, BSBs Unite! 'N Sync and Backstreet Boys are just two of the headliners teaming up for "United We Stand," an all-star benefit concert scheduled for October 21st at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. Michael Jackson, Aaron Carter, Al Green, Ricky Martin, Kiss, Aerosmith, James Brown and Mick Jagger are among the other artists performing. Clear Channel Entertainment will produce the show, and more artists are expected to be announced in the coming days. Proceeds from the "United We Stand" show will go towards the Salvation Army, the Pentagon Relief Fund and the American Red Cross Relief Fund to benefit the recovery efforts in New York City and Washington. Tickets for the show go on sale October 12th.
7/14/01-'NSYNC Express Support For Backstreet Boy's Struggle. "I wish the guy the best. I hope he pulls it together." — J.C. Chasez
Backstreet Boy A.J. McLean's revelations of depression and alcohol abuse shook the pop world at its foundations, and perhaps no one can better understand the pressures of being in a multiplatinum pop group than the members of 'NSYNC.
While J.C. Chasez didn't claim to fully relate to McLean's plight, he did offer his condolences.
"I really don't know what to say about that, except for, you know, I hope he gets better," Chasez said in a telephone press conference Friday (July 13). "It's kind of sad that he's got a problem like that, and I wish the guy the best. I hope he pulls it together. At least he's admitted to himself that he has a problem. And that's pretty much the first step."
"Our prayers are with him," Lance Bass added.
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7/13/01-Johnny Wright commented on the AJ McLean situation to TRL saying, "Although I no longer have a professional relationship with A.J., my personal relationship still remains very strong. I consider him apart of my family and I am very proud of A.J. for reconizing he needs help. Not only myself but all five members of *NSYNC send our thoughts and prayers."
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7/9/01-I just want to be serious for a second and say GOOD LUCK to AJ, he's doing the right thing by getting help:
The Backstreet Boys have postponed the next month of their Black & Blue world tour to allow the group's A.J. McLean to get treatment for alcohol abuse, depression and anxiety. The other four members of the group told MTV News on Monday (July 9) that they will postpone all dates of their tour until an August 7 show in Vancouver, British Columbia. In the meantime, McLean will seek help at an unspecified rehabilitation center, according to the group, who shared McLean's plight with tearful fans on "TRL" Monday afternoon.
"[A.J.] came to us yesterday and said, 'Guys, I need help,'" group member Brian Littrell told MTV News. "I looked at him in the eyes and said, 'I'm proud of you.' That's the first time he said it to any of us: 'Guys, I have a problem, and I wanna better myself and better the group and better our situation.'"
The group's rescheduled dates are expected to run from September 4 at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, to September 28 at Skyreach Centre in Edmonton, Alberta. But the Backstreet Boys said they contemplated postponing tour dates as early as opening night in Orlando on June 8.
"We approached [A.J.] in Orlando when we felt it was going to influence the tour," Nick Carter said. "I was worried about him vocally, I was worried about him physically. He has a lot of duties when it comes to performing. We wanted the fans to get the best show possible."
Early Monday afternoon, before the group announced McLean's treatment plans, a publicist for the Backstreet Boys told the Associated Press that they were canceling the remainder of their five-show run in Boston because Carter injured his right hand. The group was scheduled to play in Boston's FleetCenter Monday night. That cancellation gave McLean a chance to reflect on his situation and tell his bandmates he couldn't continue with the tour, BSB's Howie Dorough said.
Carter, who wore a brace on his right hand on Monday, was distraught during an MTV News interview just before the group's "TRL" appearance. In a tear-choked voice, Carter said he expected McLean to overcome his problems. "I think he's going to do it. I do," he said. "I don't think there is an end to this group until one of us dies." But Dorough said that the Backstreet Boys could continue without McLean, at least temporarily, if his problems continue.
"We're betting on A.J. to come back. We want him to, because we don't feel that the Backstreet Boys are the Backstreet Boys without A.J. ... [But] if he needs more time — if we have to possibly revisit the idea of continuing on tour and us kind of covering for him, we might have to do that at that time," Dorough said. "His life, his health is more important than this."
McLean's problems had been affecting his performances, his bandmates said. "We're a little more critical [than the fans]," Carter said. "We remember how his voice used to sound when he got his rest." "It was affecting his show," Littrell added. "It took him awhile to be man enough, to come to us and say, 'Listen guys, I have a problem that I need to take care of.' It was important to us as a group to catch it now because we're worried about his safety and his wellbeing. You could hear a horror story on the news about something he'd done, and we didn't want to take that chance. We didn't want to allow him that opportunity."
Counselors came on tour with the group to help McLean, but he continued his behavior, according to his bandmates. "We would have some dinner and maybe have a few cocktails at dinner. ... It would be late, and after that he would go off on his own," Kevin Richardson said. "He didn't just want to go back to the room and go to bed. He wanted to continue. He was becoming a vampire."
McLean was deeply affected by the recent death of his grandmother, according to his bandmates, who attributed some of his problems to that loss.
For Rescheduled Backstreet Boys tour dates check in at mtv.com
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7/7/01-'N Sync, however, has so far managed to hold its own. Its new single, "Pop"
-- a track from "Celebrity" co-written by Timberlake -- soared up the radio airplay charts and almost immediately became the No. 1 song on MTV's "Total Request Live." And in advance of "Celebrity," a collection of material composed and produced mostly by 'N Sync's members, the band has been playing to sell-out crowds in stadiums since May.
"The one that's got some issues is Backstreet Boys," says one tour promoter. "'N Sync has been fairly bullet-proof."
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7/1/01-10 BACKSTREET BOYS More Than This. Another mid-tempo ballad: this is the sound of a band who can't wait for it all to be over.
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7/1/01-''Right now, if you disappear for too long, you kind of get forgotten,'' confirms 'N Sync's Lance Bass. ''Or someone will easily step in and go, 'Okay, I can do it!''' He should know, since his own group stepped in on the genre's now old-timers, the Backstreet Boys. Last fall, ''Black & Blue'' sold nearly a million fewer copies in its first week than 'N Sync's record 2.4 million selling ''No Strings Attached'' did. That hardly made ''Blue'''s 1.6 million a flop, but the group has since downscaled its next tour from stadiums to arenas. They're reportedly
aiming smaller so the group can be closer to its fans.
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6/27/01-*NSYNC Break Record! It looks like *NSYNC have well and truly won the current battle of the boy bands, as they are tipped to break their own first week sales record of 2.4 million with the release of their "Celebrity" album in July.
Justin Timberlake and the boys have also been sold out hundreds of dates on their U.S. Pop Odyssey tour, while former boy band kings, the Backstreet Boys, are finding it difficult to fill seats, according to reports. Even U.S. radio stations have admitted that they have been given loads of Backstreet Boys tickets to give away because, as one radio DJ revealed, "no one wants to buy them."
Meanwhile in the U.S. singles chart, *NSYNC's "Pop," the first track plucked from their eagerly anticipated album, is currently resting at No. 19, while the Backstreet Boys' "More Than That" is lagging behind at No. 27.
Such is the hype surrounding the release of *NSYNC's new album, the follow-up to "No Strings Attached," that Rolling Stone magazine have announced that each of the five members of the boy band have their own individual cover for its July issue.
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6/8/01-The following came from a chat with Melinda, a member of Wright Entertainment Group. Keep in mind she has only worked with the New Kids On The Block, the BackStreet Boys, and 'N sync:
DishDiva: jrt_in_The_shower says: How are the guys in person? Are they nice as they seem on t.v or do they just act that way?
melinda_live: They are as nice as they seem on TV. I am not making that up.
melinda_live: That is what sets them apart from another boy group I used to work with but I am not naming any names. (laughs)
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6/6/01-*NSYNC rocketed up the Lycos 50 this week as their US tour rolls along. Climbing 15 spots to 16 on the list, mirroring the groups rise before No Strings Attached was released last year. The Backstreet Boys were nowhere to be found on the Top 50 list.
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4/20/01-I wanna show you a little something I noticed. Take a look!!!
From BillBoard 200 Chart
The first number is where the album is This Week.
The second number is where the album was Last Week.
The third number is the number of Weeks the album was on the Charts.
71 55 18 Backstreet Boys: Black & Blue
72 54 26 Mystikal: Let's Get Ready
73 68 21 Godsmack: Awake
74 64 82 Dixie Chicks: Fly
75 63 53 'N Sync: No Strings Attached
***BSB is going down fast!!!
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3/16/01-Did I miss something??? What is up with this???
Limp Bizkit:
"Hello?"
"Hi it's me, listen I'm gonna be late tonight I'm chasing the sun, oh no! My battery is running low, if you can hear me, we're going to a place narby alright? Gotta go!"
Backstreet Boys:
Hello?
Hi it's me whats up baby? I'm sorry listen I'm gonna be late tonight so don't stay up and wait for me ok?
Where are you? What?? Say... say that again.
Hello?
You're really dropping out, I think my battery must be low. Listen if you can hear me we're going to this place nearby, all right? Gotta go.
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3/7/01-The feud between the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC may have gotten worse as the Star reports Lance Bass threatened to pull out of On the L if Kevin Richardson were cast. Lance is the star and producer of the film.
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2/16/00-The BSB tour recently opened to mixed reviews in Florida: the band looks "disinterested" and "bored"; and are showing environmental awareness videos. Oh dear.
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2/13/00-*NSYNC Wins Celebrity Death Match. On MTV's Celebrity Death Match last night and the main event was *N Sync vs. BSB. Since they were already dead, Nick had to got down to haties and bring them back to earth. Well, 1st he was meditating, then looking into a crystal ball for a sign, then he went into a stall in the bathroom and the devil came out of the toilet and gave the boy bands to CDM because they boys were getting on his nerves any ways. So... the fight at 1st BSB was winning then N Sync starts to get in the lead then BSB transforms into one big BSBeast, kinda like Power Rangers, and they started to win, but Justin and Chris pull and electrical cord and electricuted the BSBeast and it blows up killing the BSB! So N Sync wins! Go Guys!
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2/5/01-P!NK Prefers *NSYNC. A local radio station here in miami, 100.7*Y-100, was interviewing Pink and asking her questions like, "Friends or Survivor?"(she said Friends). Well, when asked "Backstreet Boys or NSync?", she immediately answered 'NSync!" It maybe because she toured with them or just because she has good taste.
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2/4/01-The Backstreet Boy's Nick Carter took a shot at *NSYNC when they talked to MTV's John Norris about competing in the Grammys against *NSYNC's Bye Bye Bye for best Pop Performance - Group saying, "You're competing with the same producers. When they write for 'NSYNC, their stuff is a little more dance-oriented. It's a little less vocally challenging, I guess you could say. It's just two different styles on the radio."
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1/31/01-Amy Reiter reports *NSYNC and 98 Degrees were on their best behavior at the Maxim party last Friday, where instead of drinking and dancing with the Maxim girls, the guys where using the Sony PlayStation kiosk instead. Lance did take a shot at the Backstreet Boys when he was asked what he thought of the rival band performing at the Super Bowl, saying "There's another band performing besides us?"
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1/31/01-From what Kevin Richardson is quoted as saying, it appears the Backstreet Boys were asked to perform at halftime of the Super Bowl before *NSYNC was, but he reveals, "We wanted to go in, sing the anthem, then kick back with a beer and watch the game. Who needs the stress of waiting to sing? You'd miss half the game."
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1/23/01-Bass is sorry about the rivalry that's developed with another group, their Orlando-based former pals Backstreet Boys. Both groups are signed to the same music company, Zomba Music, which last year moved the 'N SYNC to Jive Records, the same label as the Backstreet Boys. The result has been lawsuits and charges by the Boys that they have not received the same favorable treatment as 'N Sync.
"It's too bad," says Bass. "They've had some unfair things to happen to them, which has kind of made them act mean to us."
What I get from that is Backstreet is suing because 'N SYNC is better.
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1/19/01-On The National Enquirer Uncovered, they said that AJ and Howie of the Backstreet Boys were at a nightclub where they performed 'N Sync's 'Bye Bye Bye.' And apparently, they were sort of mocking them. The Enquirer folk made some remark about 'N Sync selling more albums so the BSB should lay off.
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1/18/01-Lets see here! BSB this week Jan. 14th-20th was at the position of number 18 after 8 weeks on the Billboard music charts, falling two spots from last week. 'N SYNC on the other hand is still at 26 after 43 weeks. All I'm trying to say is BSB is falling, and falling fast! Wounder WHY???
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1/16/01-According to US Weekly, BSB's Howie D. and A.J. McLean followed up a recent karaoke bar performance of "Brickhouse" with an encore you might have heard of: *NSYNC's "Bye Bye Bye." Witnesses say Howie and A.J. brought an LA bar down with the bass-heavy ditty, which they belted out while mocking the song's signature dance moves. Yeah, your "Larger Than Life" choreography was so much cooler, guys.
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1/11/00-Backstreet Boys Dismiss Rivalry. The Backstreet Boys won the battle this time. While they and rivals 'N Sync took home an award, the Boys grabbed the more prestigious Favorite Band, Duo, or Group prize, while 'N Sync won Internet Artist of the Year. The gracious quintet chose not to rub it in backstage, however.
"It's not really a rivalry," said Howie Dorough. "I went to a football game with ['N Sync member] Chris [Kirkpatrick] — a Tampa Bay, St. Louis football game. … There is no rivalry anymore."
"Like we've said many times," added Kevin Richardson. "It's just, in the beginning, the way it all started out, our management company, how it all came to be, who we used to be with, who they used to be with, that whole thing, that was hard to deal with."
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1/6/01-MTVasia.com has more whining from Backstreet Boy's Kevin Richardson as he grouses, "We feel the sound we had created with Max and Dennis at Cheiron Studios in Stockholm has been kind of diluted -- what with Britney and *NSYNC -- and now it's no longer our sound. It's a lot of other people's sound and that's frustrating for us. And that is why we are experimenting more with our own production and working with people like Baby Face and Rodney Jenkins."
Let me just add 'N SYNC worked with Baby Face before the Backstreet Boys!!
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12/30/00-MTVasia.com is reporting bitter comments from the Backstreet Boys' Kevin Richardson on Lou Pearlman as he complains, "It's not *NSYNC itself but where *NSYNC comes from that digs me, digs me, digs me -- and gets me, still and to this day. Mr Pearlman was always speaking loyalty, and preaching loyalty, saying, 'I love you guys, you're like my sons.' And I'd lost my father to cancer. So I looked at Lou like a father figure. But I was naive, and he's a liar. We'll always remember him for helping us get started. But we'll also remember him for screwing us blind and building another group behind our backs."
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12/30/00-"I don't think we ever felt like we were in their shadow," 'NSYNC's Justin Timberlake told MTV News' Brian McFayden of overtaking Backstreet's record. "We have our own thing going on. It's just that with this album title, we took such a bold approach that people started to recognize it."
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12/30/00-Dissing 'NSYNC! Fightin' words from Backstreet Boys' Kevin Richardson, "I think if there wasn't a Backstreet Boys, there wouldn't have been an 'NSYNC. Our management company created 'NSYNC in our image once we were successful. We went to all the same producers on all the same tours and met all the same people. In the end, it was like all the doors we kicked open, they just walked through."
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12/30/00-Here is what a fan had to say about the battle between 'N SYNC and BSB. "Personally I think all you so called fans are the caused of the rumors stating BSB and Nsync hate each other. It seems as you guys don't really watch Nsync when they are on T.V because when the billboards ended the one with the long hair of the BSB (I think his name is Howie) ran on stage and Joey and him left the stage goofing around and hugging. I think all you so called fans totally cross the line and have no respect towards their personal lives.
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12/30/00-There are lots of boybands, and the biggest threat comes from 'N Sync who also are on the same record company as you are. How do you feel with that competition?
Nick: Hmm, it wouldn’t be so strange if we feel that they take after us. But competition? That’s something that the media fight hard for to keep up. We don’t fight. We have been around for such a long time now, so it doesn’t matter if there come some new players. We have seen many bands come and go. We’re here to stay!
Kevin: We don’t have anything against the guys in N Sync personally, but there are some circumstances that are pretty weird. Our old management started N Sync behind our backs! While we were working hard in Europe to keep all the doors open there and in USA, they could just ride on our wave. The management repeated everything they had done with us, with them. They got the same songwriters and the same producers. They were even foreband to the same artists that we had been. They got very much for free. Now we have changed management and record company, but we hardly got signed on Zomba Records before N Sync also got signed there. That’s actually pretty weird. I remember that we used to eat on a restaurant in Orlando called The Outback Steakhouse. One of the servants always used to talk with us and he said that he also sang, and that he dreamed of that he once would be a part of a band like Backstreet Boys. He had called up our manager. That was Chris Kirkpatrick- he’s in N Sync now. Great for him, he’s got talent and deserves all success. But he should know that if there hadn’t been Backstreet Boys, there hadn’t been any 'Nsync.
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12/29/00-From the Heart. Backstreet Boys’ A.J. McLean and ‘N Sync’s Joey Fatone are putting aside any professional rivalry today to join other music and sports superstars at downtown Orlando’s Tabu nightclub to help a young pop singer’s father in his battle against cancer. Brad Fischetti of LFO, Erik Estrada of O-Town, former Orlando Magic player Gerald Wilkins, former World Series champion pitcher Frank Viola and eight-time PGA Tour winner Scott Hoch will also be on hand for the fund-raiser for Juan Corominas, father of 3rd Faze’s Minia Corominas. 3rd Faze will join Jaze, Precious, Natural, D Black, TJ and other performers onstage from 4 to 8 p.m. today. Signed items from the celebrities will be sold at Tabu today, and other items will be auctioned online at eBay next week. A minimum $5 donation is required for admission. For more information, call 407-648-8363.
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12/29/00-*NSYNC Voted #3 Lamest BoyBand Video on MuchMusic. On MuchMusic they were playing the cheesiest videos of the year, and some of the cheesiest whinners and virgins. (Britney was in that category.) It's hosted by Ed the sock and was hilarious. Anyways, N sync got #3 cheesiest boyband for the video "This I promise you" where Ed who hates all pop music practically commented on "Justin's lame attempt for a gotee" "Jc's pajama pants" "Chris and Joey and their bubbles" it was pretty funny for N Sync trashing. Oh and if you wanna know.. BSB were voted #1 for Shape Of My Heart... you should of heard what Ed had to say about them.
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12/29/00-*NSYNC To Be BIGGER in 2001. On the Montel show he had this VERY reliable pyschic on named Sylvia Brown. Montel asked her what about *NSync in 2001, and she said that she see's them going way over the top in 2001 and will be even bigger than they are now! So it looks like the BSB won't be having there wish coming true so soon after all! We sure won't be saying Bye Bye Bye to this "Boy Band!"
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12/27/00-Music Buzz Year End. People.com: BOY BAND OF THE YEAR. 'Until this year, 'N Sync had to settle for taking a backseat to Backstreet. But with the March release of their second disc, No Strings Attached -- which sold a record 2.4 million copies in its first week alone. Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, Lance Bass, Chris Kirkpatrick and Joey Fatone became men among boy bands. And by year's end they were the ones saying "Bye Bye Bye" to the teen-heartthrob competition.
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12/23/00-Leading the pack of year end sales figures is 'N Sync. According to the Recording Industry Association of America, the folks who dole out the gold, platinum, and diamond records that hang on the stars' walls, 'N Sync's No Strings Attached was the best-selling title released in 2000. The disc racked up sales of more than 10 million copies, making it 'N Sync's second diamond-certified (signifying shipments of 10 million units) album in a row. Coming in third, the Backstreet Boys recent chart topper, Black & Blue, with 8 million copies under its belt, was simultaneously certified gold, platinum, and eight-times multiplatinum in December, its first month of release.
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12/10/00-Heavyweight Boy Band Wars Rage On. Two members of the BACKSTREET BOYS, Kevin Richardson and Nick Carter, have made a verbal attack against 'Nsync. The boys claim in the latest issue of Live And Kicking magazine that their band have had to do all the grafting, while their rivals have just followed their lead. They are also bitter that their management company created ‘Nsync while the Backstreet Boys were on a world tour. Nick raged, “I think if there wasn’t a Backstreet Boys there wouldn’t have been an ‘Nsync. No one has any idea how hard we had to work in Europe to make it.” Kevin added, “We don’t have anything against them personally but it is annoying to me how they came to be.” “Our management company created ‘Nsync in our image once we were successful.” He continued, “They went to all the same producers, on all the same tours and met all the same people. In the end it was like all the doors we kicked open, they just walked through.” Certainly ‘Nsync have been successful – picking up four US Billboard awards earlier this week. Their ‘No Strings Attached’ album also shifted 2.4 million copies in its first week of release, a record for the fastest selling album.
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12/6/00-The Backstreet Boys overtook *NSYNC on the Lycos 50 for the first time in months, prompting them to comment, "Two weeks after releasing Black and Blue, the Backstreet Boys go ahead of boy band rivals 'N Sync for the first time since February 8. The Backstreet Boys got a bump in searches from fans looking for tickets for their recently announced world tour. Still, it shows 'N Sync's popularity that they are still neck-and-neck with the Backstreet Boys even though their album is eight months old.
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12/5/00-So There Isn't a Rivalry? Late Saturday night on E! news weekend they went into a story about rivalries between bsb and nsync. The guys were great and very nice. They said that there were no hard feelings between them. There were clips of fans dissing bsb and they gave the sales totals for last week. BSB didn't beat Nsync in sales but who really thought they would? They also showed AJ when he made that statement about crushing Nsync."
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11/29/00-Backstreet Boys Black & Blue Can't Break *NSYNC Record The Backstreet Boys' third Jive album "Black & Blue" didn't break the first-week sales record of 2.4 million copies set by fellow Jive act 'N Sync's "No Strings Attached" earlier this year. But the set did move nearly 1.6 million units this week according to SoundScan, easily debuting at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 and besting the 1.13 million copies the Boys' "Millennium" album sold in its debut week last year.
The only other album in front of the Backstreet Boys' new set in terms of first-week sales is Eminem's "The Marshall Mathers LP" (Web/Aftermath/Interscope), which sold 1.76 million copies earlier this year.
"Black & Blue" was buoyed by a huge promotional blitz at Wal-Mart stores. The retailer was the sole U.S. merchant to stock a version of the album with the bonus track "What Makes You So Different (Makes You So Beautiful)," and last Tuesday carried a special satellite broadcast performance from the group on its Web site and in the entertainment centers of 2,000 of its stores.
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11/29/00-More and more evidence is emerging that *NSYNC's 2.4 million first week US album sales record will stand, with Musicland Director of Marketing admitting to TVGuide.com "My guess is it'll do 60 to 70 percent of what they did, It's still a huge album, though."
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11/26/00-Black & Blue is expected to exceed rival boy band NSYNC's North American record for first-week sales of 2.4 million, set in March by No Strings Attached. The two groups are based in Orlando, Fla., and share the same record label, Jive-Zomba. "I BET WE CAN BREAK THEIR RECORS AND OUR RECORD COMBINED IN THE FIRST WEEK OUT," Backstreet Boy A.J. McLean told Teen PEOPLE. Backstreet Boys have sold 55 million albums worldwide in just three years. More than five million copies of Black & Blue -- not to be confused with the 1976 Rolling Stones album of the same name -- are being shipped in the U.S., with an additional 500,000 copies in Canada. Even NSYNC's Lance Bass predicts Black & Blue will top No Strings. "THEY WILL BREAK THE RECORD. I MEAN, IT'S THE BIGGEST SHOPPING WEEK OF THE YEAR," Bass told The Toronto Sun in an exclusive Canadian print interview last week when NSYNC was here for two sold-out SkyDome shows. "THE DAY AFTER THANKSGIVING IS THE BIGGEST SHOPPING DAY OF THE YEAR. IT DOESN'T BOTHER US. WE WERE SURPRISED THAT WE BROKE THEIR RECORD (1.3 million of BSB's 1999 album Millennium in its first week). BUT I THINK PEOPLE FOCUS TOO MUCH ON THAT." Black & Blue features 13 new songs, including a ballad written by Canadian Dan Hill. To promote the new record, Backstreet Boys are on a whirlwind, 100-hour promotional tour of six cities on six continents. NSYNC's Bass already has heard Black & Blue and says his rivals have a more adult-contemporary sound. "IT'S WAY MORE BALLAD-Y," Bass said. "I LOVE THE FIRST NEW SONG (Shape Of My Heart) THEY RELEASED ... I THINK THEY'RE JUST TRYING TO CHANGE THIER MARKET TOO MUCH. IT WASN'T AS FUN AS I THOUGHT IT'D BE."
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11/25/00-Backstreet Boys Poised to Top 2 Million in First Week Sales. B00005056C Backstreet Boys boosters who've been on pins and needles waiting for the early returns on the Boys' album Black and Blue can breathe a (qualified) sigh of relief. Mega-chains Musicland and Target report that the disc flew out of stores in near-record quantities on Tuesday; Best Buy, which has been selling the disc for $9.98 (in a repeat of its successful Limp Bizkit price break) led the charge on Day One, moving approximately 80,000 copies. Based on first-day figures from these retailers, Inside projects that Black and Blue should clear the 2-million-copy mark before the sales week is over, but may fall short (if selling upwards of 2 million copies can be described as ''falling short'') of the record set by Backstreet nemeses 'N Sync, whose No Strings Attached sold 2.4 million copies during its first week. Still, the Boys should probably hold off on making that concession phone call to 'N Sync headquarters. Rack jobbers Anderson Merchandisers and the Handleman Company, which supply music to Wal-Mart's 2,500 stores, have yet to report their first-day numbers on Black and Blue, and since Wal-Mart has been selling the disc with an exclusive bonus track, those numbers are expected to boost the Boys' sales stats significantly. More importantly, when it comes to breaking 'N Sync's record, the calendar is in Backstreet's favor. Black and Blue dropped just before the start of a long holiday weekend, one that happens to include the busiest shopping day of the year. School's out, and if Backstreet fans (or their parents) put Black and Blue on their holiday shopping lists, they could still hand the Boys the win. Either way, much like the natty leather ensembles the Boys have been sporting at public appearances lately, Black and Blue will undoubtedly have major coattails, bringing big crowds into stores and making a traditionally big weekend at retail even bigger. Teen pop: Good for the record business, good for America.
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11/17/00-BSB's Kevin Says Bye Bye Bye To *NSYNC. On TRL yesterday (November 16, 2000)... they were asking these BSB fans some questions a/b BSB's preferences and one of the questions were...(from Kevin) "If there was one song that you wish you'd never have to hear again what would it be? A)"Who Let The Dogs out?" B) "BYE BYE BYE" C) "My Heart Will Go One" and Kevin said, "If there was one song that I wish I'd never have to hear again I would say,(in a girlie voice) 'Bye Bye Bye'"
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BSBs Howie D talk about the rivalry between BSB and 'N SYNC he says "it's just like the New York Yankees and the New York Mets.
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Given the familiar ground that they have seemed to share throughout their careers, it is perhaps no surprise that rumors of negative feelings between the Backstreet Boys and 'NSYNC have dogged the Boys for some time.
The Boys have long been rumored to have some negative feelings regarding the encroachment of 'NSYNC on their boy band turf, especially since both bands were created by teen pop guru Louis J. Pearlman and they briefly shared manager Johnny Wright. 'NSYNC even jumped ship to Backstreet's Jive Records in September of last year.
The Boys have remained quiet in the past about any conflict, even during 'NSYNC's recent legal woes with Lou Pearlman (who Backstreet waged their own legal clash with in 1998). However, the Boys addressed the issue with MTV News' John Norris last week and talked about the 'NSYNC shadow that always seems to fall across their own limelight.
"It's more frustrating on the creative side, like, who you choose to write music with, who you choose to work with and produce your record, who you choose to direct your videos," Backstreet's Kevin Richardson told Norris. "I mean, it's like, 'Find your own identity.'"
"If we talk about things and communicate ideas we want to do, we turn on the TV and it would be done, because of the fact that at that moment in time of our careers, we were being represented by the same people," Backstreet's Brian Littrell added. "We remember, at the Billboard Awards in Vegas, that time when Garth [Brooks] flew out and we turned and we said, 'We want to do that,' and then somebody else is doing it."
"We just... we try hard to be different," Backstreet's Nick Carter said. "We try to have a straight path. Then we see something happening, then we try to go the other way, then all of a sudden somebody starts following us, you know what I'm saying?"
While the topic is a bit of a sore subject, the Boys say they try not to dwell on it. "What we want to do is not look at other people," Richardson said. "We want to look forward and onward towards what we want to do, and that's what we've been doing in the past, and we're not worried about anybody else and what they're doing. We're focusing on us."
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"In '93, if groups sold a few records in Europe, so be it," says McPherson, the Epic executive who had signed Backstreet with Jive Records. "But Johnny was ahead of his time on this, and it benefitted not only the Backstreet Boys but everything else that followed."
While overseas with the Backstreet Boys in '95, Wright heard rumblings of a new boy band in Orlando and suggested to Pearlman that they sign the group. Some six weeks later, following Wright's European strategy, the rookie act named 'N Sync had the No. 1 song in Germany and was on its way.
Then came trouble. In 1997, now well-entrenched at the top, the Backstreet Boys met in Canada with Wright and told him he would have to make changes:
"They wanted me to cut my commission in half. I had no problem with that. But they also wanted me to get rid of my other partners -- Donna and Lou," Wright says, "They wanted me to spend more time with them on the road, and the biggest thing was they wanted me to drop 'N Sync. None of those were things I could do."
So Wright said no to his act, and one week later, he got a letter from the group's attorney firing him. Wright walked away from untold millions in his split with Backstreet, one year away from their record-smashing Millennium album. He cast his lot with unproven 'N Sync. But in 1998, the act, propelled by its debut album and a Disney special (which Backstreet passed on) achieved parallel status to the Boys'.
"I don't care if 'N Sync never would have had the success they did," he says. "I enjoyed being with them. That's what it was all about. We just got blessed to be where we are right now."
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