BLABBERMOUTH!!!
"Wanna know loads of Backstreet Boys secrets?" whispered a certain Bsb in our ear. So here, exclusivly for TOTP are those Backstreet revelations in fll. And just who was our informer? Step forward AJ... Which Backstreet Boy has a secret wild side? Definitly Brian. I see all his different moods because I share a house with him. He's at his wildest when he and Nick get together. they both act really crazy, especially if they've been drinking loads of Coke, cos the caffeine makes then hyper! Sometimes in interviews they act like the class clowns, making farting noises and fooling around!
Which one of you is the party animal?--- Oh no, I've been found out! It's me! (Howie nods vigorously in agreement.) At least, I'm the one who persuades everyone else to party. We're just back from Spain, where we stayed out all night on our last day, going from club to club, then having a party back at the hotel until ten the next morning. You do have to force yourself to stay awake, but it's worth it. I passed out on the plane though!
Does anyone sneak out of your hotel at night?--- No, but I have been very tempted. I'd go, too, but if I found myself in trouble or ended up in a fight without any security people around I'd have my butt kicked, and I'm not looking to have my butt kickedany time.
Who is the vainest Backstreet?--- Phhrrrtt! That would have to be Howie! He's a, ahem, visual perfectionist. he likes to look good, man. I guess it always pays to be cautious, and at least it's better than leaving the room looking terrible. But I'm glad we don't share a room when we're travelling, so that I don't have to fight him for the mirror.
Which Backstreets fight the most?--- (Looks hurt.) We don't fight! (Thinks hard.) I s'pose things can happen between Nick and Kevin because there's such a big age gap. They have different views on things, but phew, it was worse when Nick was younger! There would be arguments about all sorts of things -what to wear, what music to play, what football team is the best... but it never came to blows -thank goodness!
Describe an ideal future Mrs Backstreet Boy...--- Jeez, this is a tough one! (Wibbles for ages.) I'll choose someone for Kevin, right? it would be someone resourceful, who can relate to him and has the same very sensible way of thinking. Heck, I dunno who'd she be! I certainly don't always know what he's thinking, let alone what he's looking for.
Who has the worst reputation with the Laydees then?--- Wayhey! Do you mean the best reputaion? We all have our share of a reputation with the laydees, oooh yeah! I guess I'm the one everyone tries to talk out of things in clubs. Do they manage? Ha! No, I do what I like. I'm out of control! Your mum goes on tour with you. Don't you ever wish she wasn't around to see what you're up to? Erm, maybe! I act the same on tour as I do at home, except that I can get away with more at home because I'm on my own. I don't have to worry about security or anybody else.
What's the most likely to cause trouble on the tour bus?--- Probably what we're gonna wear on stage. It's a black or white thing - three of us will want to wear black and two will want to wear white. Luckily, though, we always vote on everything democratically. Otherwise we'd fight and accomplish nothing.
Who was the last person to crack under pressure?--- Oh gee, that has to be Brian! Lemme tell you, Brian really had enough yesterday, and i'm not kidding! He suddenly turned round and said 'Hey, you know what, you gatta give us more time off. We've been working too damn hard! We're all gonna go nuts!' Did he shout? Of course. If the Backstreet Boys aren't happy, we don't mumble in a corner, believe me. We say it out loud!
Who phones home most?--- Oh, well that is Howie without o doubt. He calls home every day. Whenever you need him, he's on the phone (adopts on-for-the-night telephone pose) and you can bet your boots that he's on for a longwhile!
Who would you say in the most stylish and individual-looking member of the Backstreet Boys?--- (Long pause) Mmmm. Do you want my honest opinion? Well, it has to be me then. But only when it comes to wearing really weird outfits. I would say I'm probably very abstract when it comes to clothing. I don't like to wear something anyone on the street would actually wear - I like to look different and stand out in the crowd. Yes, I'd say I'm an individual when it comes to clothes. I always tend to go for the abstract, crazy look.
Who's always grumbling about being ill?--- That would be Kevin but (pause) he dose have the worst ailments. At the moment he has strep throat [a singer's infection] and a sinus infection. He's a good paitient if it's something he can deal with. If it's more serious - like he had his appendix out - well, let's just say he complains a little more.
Do any of you have bad handwriting?--- Nick's writing is the worst. It's really scratchy. He tries to write joined-up and all curly but t comes out a mess. howie tries joined-up writng too, but the problem is that it's unreadable.
Which Backstreet would you be scared to borrow clothes from?--- (Look of terror crosses AJ's face.) I'd never borrow Kevin's clothes. If I were to ask if I could borrow something he'd be like, 'Yeah, sure you can borrow it. Just don't crease it. Don't lose it. Don't spill anything down the front...' Aaaargh!
Tempers must fray from time to time. Who loses theirs quickest?--- Erm, myself, Nick and kevin all have out moments! In fact, Nick lost his temper a few days ago when he was playing video games and lost to Brian. He was shouting and screaming - erm - bad words. Definitly badwords.
Which of you is the best listener?--- If we have any problems with the band or family we go to Howie. he's always there to listen and give advice. I'm least likely to go to Nick for advice. Now, that's not because he doesn't know stuff - I'm sure he does, but he's younger than me! I want someone with experience.
Which Backstreet is the most uptight?--- Oh, that's Kevin. Sometimes we try to get to chill a little, but you can't really say too much cos it's just his nature. I guess you could say our Kevin pays attention to detail. Very close attention.
Who has the shortest attention span?--- It has to be Nick, without a doubt. Sometimes in Photo shoots or interviews he'll begin to lose interest - but he's only young. We all put with him cos he'll grow up soon enough. It's just that we're still waiting...
Who leaves the hotel room in the biggest mess?--- Usually nick. On the last tour we went on, his room looked like it had been hit by a tornado. Clothes everywhere, video games, his console, food, candy bars, everything. it could be called the comfortable, lived in look - but only if you could actually find the bed.
What do you find most frustrating about being a Backstreet?--- (With a 'most sincerly' smile.) It's not frustrating at all. We get along remarkably well, we're brothers and we help each other. (Howie jumps in.) Being with AJ everyday is frustrating, man! It's hard! (AJ looks hurt) Gee, thanks for that, friend. I'm gonna follow you home tonight, Howie. I'm gonna getcha...
Okay, lets get real. No matter how cute or talented a guy is, if he can't make you laugh he ain't no Prince Charming .With that in mind , you'll be psyched to know that's thers's no reason to take the poster of backstreet boys off your wAlls. We hung out with the guys and we found out that on top of being totally talented and charming they have yet another crush-worthy trait: they definitely know how to laugh.
According to the Boys, 22-year-old Brian is the funniest guy in the quintet. Even though they spend every hour of every day working hard together, with Brian around, there is never a dull moment. Nick says that he has such a wacky sense of humor that it's hard not to laugh with him. "Brian is basically a nut," Nick, 17, tells BB. "He's very, very, very, very funny, off the wall !" Although Brian knows he can totally crack people up, he thinks that it definitely takes two to tango. And he loves it when Nick's being funny. "Nick is very goofy. We probably get along the best out of everybody," Brian says. But Brian and Nick are not the only funny duo in the band. Twenty-three-year old Howie and 19-year-old A.J. say they have their frequent laugh attacks too. They are so close that they love picking on each other. "We crack on each other all the time," Howie says. A.J. agrees: "We're on each other all the time. But we don't take it personally. There'll be timews when it goes a little too far and we get personal and then we go, 'All right, that's enough.' But if it's just joking, we just go off." Unlike his bandmates, Kevin describes himself as the serious, not silly, type. "When I am working, I'm really serious about what I'm doing," the 24-year-old says. "I guesss because I am the oldes, I tend to accept a lot of the responsibility." But no matter how hard Kevin tries to keep focused and not fool around, he can't resist laughing when his bandmate-cousin Brian starts cracking jokes. "When Brian gets going, he can have me almost crying," he admits. And Kevin can't totally deny that he's not silly, too. After all, his previous job as a Ninja Turtle at Orlando's Disney World was all about making little kids laugh. So Kevin, Mr. Serious? Naw, we don't buy that!
Backstreet And Clothes
When it comes to dressing up for a photo session or dressing down to hang out with friends, the Backstreet Boys never seem to have a problem showing off their unique sense of style. However, in keeping up with the constant promotion of their self-titled CD's chart-topping hit "Quit Playin Games (with my heart)," bandmates Kevin Richardson, A.J. McLean, Brian Littrell, Nick Carter, and Howie Dorough tell BB that the clothes they love to wear aren't always the clothes they get to wear in front of the camera.
"One time we did a photo shoot with some European magazines, and they made us dress in costumes, like Halloween costumes, but they were really, really corny," 18-year-old Nick shares about one fashion disaster. "There was one that Brian picked out, a Batman outfit, and we called him Rat Boy because his ears were pointing way out." Dressing up like superheroes outside of the Halloween season isn't the only problem the guys have encountered while traveling the road to popularity. In a Canadian photo session, Nick swears they had to wear almost nothing at all! "We were in our underwear," he gasps. "No, it was not just underwear," 23-year-old Brian cuts in. "It was T-shirts and shorts. It was just a little bit weird." It just goes to show you that there is always an element of surprise when someone else does the shopping. That's why the boys like to shop together for clothes they like whenever they get a break from their hectic schedules.
When it comes to shopping for Howie, the 20-year-old tell BB that he's "more of a dressier, stylish kind of person. I like to wear club-wear when I go out dancing and stuff. Sometimes I wear the tight kind of retro shirts and jeans that are closer to fitting me then those humongous pants." But that doesn't go for all the guys. A.J. likes his clothes "too big" as opposed to Howie's more tailored approach. A.J. admits his clothing is "extra, extra large," and just because he fits into a size 30 pants doesn't mean that that's what he'll choose to wear. Instead, the 19-year-old tell BB, he's more likely to belt up to a size 36! As for the oldest a capella artist of the bunch, 26-year-old Kevin's taste for clothes has ventured more on the mature side. There's always room for football jerseys and jeans in Kevin's closet, but that's not all you'll see him sporting. "If it's a more formal affair, then I'll wear linen or a blazer and a shirt to look a little nicer," he says.
"A lot of the time, the other guys trade clothes and lend them to each other," Howie says, "but I'm kind of more particular." So that explains why you might see Nick wearing a particular shirt in one photo and then see that same shirt worn by A.J. in the next. But this group wardrobe tactic only applies if the shirt wasn't stolen! "I don't give them back. I have his clothes, his clothes, his clothes...," A.J. devilishly says as he points to each of his fellow group members around the room. "See! that's exactly why I don't always give out stuff," Howie retorts.
It's hard to imagine a time when Nick, Kevin, Howie, Brian and A.J. weren't huge successes being totally idolized by girls around the world. But there was a time when these cuties were the kind of regular guys you might have spotted at the mall or drooled over in class -- and they had the same day-to-day hassles and heartbreaks as you!
With their way-romantic hit songs "As Long As You Love Me" and "Quit Playin Games (With My Heart)" topping the charts, it would be easy to put Backstreet Boys babes Nick Carter, Kevin Richardson, Brian Littrell, Howie Dorough and A.J. McLean on a superstar pedestal. But you better believe that before they were household names, these fab five guys were going through the same growing-up stuff that everybody does. And even though they're way-cool now, it wasn't any easier for them than it is for anyone else.
Don't buy it? Well, Nick sure can set you straight. Even though he was as adorable in junior high as he is now, he was completely dissed by his classmates. "I had a pretty hard time in school," the blond and beautiful 18-year-old tells BB. "I was doing a lot of acting and stuff like that and I always had to leave school. All the kids would wonder why I left. I wasn't quite respected by any of them because they were jealous." Ouch!
A.J. probably wouldn't have won any popularite contests either - with his schedule, he wouldn't have had time to enter one! "I was doing a lot of musical theater and modeling and I was in school as well," the 20-year-old babe recalls. "I was in regular school and I was in FADA, which is the Florida Academy of Dramatic Arts. I did everything." Even though A.J. was majorly busy, that didn't mean he didn't have the time to fall in love. The only problem was, the girls he craved woulnd't give him the time of day! "It happened all the time," A.J. groans. "Back in high school, I can think back on how there were a lot of girls that I really liked that didn't want anything to do with me." Of course, you know those gals are kicking themselves now - and don't feel too bad for A.J. On the bright side, going solo just meant the future superstar had a little more time to practice his singing. You see, before he became a Backstreet Boy, A.J. was more interested in moving to the music than singing to it. "I did the singing thing just to have something to fall back on in case the dancing thing didn't work out," A.J. admits to BB. Sounds like it was a good thing that when his chance to join the group came around, A.J. had spent more time working on his back-up plan than he had dating!
A.J. isn't the only one who discovered it was easier to strut his stuff on stage than go one-on-one with his classmates. Howie had his hard times in school, too. Even though he's an outgoing guy nowadays, the Orlando, Florida native wasn't always that way. In fact, Howie feels that part of the reason he was so shy as a kid was that he spent so much time performing, he didn't have time to shape up his social skills! "I had kind of an awkward childhood," the 24-year-old hottie confesses. "I've been in the business since I was 6 years old, so my free time, after school or during weekends or whatever, was always tied up doing auditions, plays or voice lessons. I didn't really get into dating until my last couple years of high school." Speaking of bummers, even when Howie wasn't performing or practicing, he still didn't get much of a chance to slack. Like most other kids, he had to spend his time off from school earning a paycheck. "I was working during the summertime at Universal Studios," he tells BB.
Of course, Howie wasn't the only future Backstreet Boy who was working for a living. Brian had his fair share of jobs, too. "Ever since I was 15, I've been working," the just-turned-23-year-old shares. Even though blue-eyed Brian was just a teenager, the jobs he landed weren't necessarily easy ones. "One of my first jobs was working at a church that I went to, organizing the sanctuary when people would have weddings," he says. Not only would Brian set up the church and make arrangements, but he would sing, too! Performing at a wedding is a big responsibility, so it's no wonder that Brian's so cool and collected on stage these days. Sadly, not all of the jobs Brian had let him show off his natural talents. Just before he joined the Backstreet Boys, Brian groans, he was working "part-time at Long John Silvers."
If feeding folks fish sounds like hard work, though, listen to what Kevin almost found himself doing after high school. "When I graduated from high school in Kentucky, I enlisted in the Air Force," the 26-year-old remembers. Kevin, who had also worked at a fast-food restaurant and even picked tobacco to make money, had dreams of becoming a pilot someday. But as luck would have it, Kevin got involved with a local band in Kentucky just before he was supposed to report for duty. The green-eyed babe was stuck with a tough decision - should he give the band a chance or follow his flyboy dreams? "I asked the recruiter if I could get a little more time to see how the band was going to work out, and he said, 'No, you have to go now or you don't go at all,' " Kevin recalls. Of course, you can guess what Kevin said! "I was like, 'Fine. Then I'm not going to go, because I want to see how this works out,' " he shares. "This was my number one love, music." Even though that band didn't work out, it was Kevin's first step toward fame. And Kevin did see some of his Air Force dreams come true - he travels all around the world and he's even been able to take some flying lessons!
So, if you were wondering how all five of these swell guys could be so sincere and sweet, just remember that they used to be just plain old regular Joes - they certainly do!
And the crucial boxers vs. briefs debate? Boxers were the unanimous choice.
"Except maybe when we're on stage," joked A.J.
