[ old news archives. . . ]
Sunday, January 28, 2001
Backstreet Boys give teen girls a Super Bowl Concert at Dome draws huge crowd, relentless screams
Shane Harrison - Staff M
It's Super Bowl weekend, but it wasn't football that brought tens of
thousands of
screaming girls, their parents and few reluctant-looking boyfriends to the
Georgia
Dome.
It was five Orlando song-and-dance men, the Backstreet Boys.
The hordes at the Dome didn't look much like your average football crowd,
either.
Largely teenage and female, like 13-year-old Alison Harte, who'd traveled
all the
way from Tallahassee with her younger sister, Alex, and mother, Barbara.
It was a girls' night out for the trio. The whole family had made its way
north for
the show, but the girls' younger brother and dad were nowhere in sight.
"We have a 3-year-old, too," says the girls' mother. "He's out with Daddy.
They're
doing their own thing."
Inside the Dome, opening acts Krystal and Nelly helped pump up the volume
coming from the crowd. (A promised appearance by Houston-based R&B trio
Destiny's Child was canceled.)
Every audience scream sent young girls careening through the passageways
of the
venue, worried that they might miss even a second. That screaming was
relentless.
Just the filmed image of Nick Carter (the dreamy, blond one) inspired a
piercing
din.
When the Boys reached the stage at approximately 9:15 p.m., it was with a
deafening bang.
The explosive flashpots during fan valentines "Everyone" and "Larger Than
Life"
promised spectacle over musicality, but the show soon took on a more
low-key
feel. At least as low key as these slickly choreographed, megawatt boy-band
shows get.
The songs from the group's latest album, "Black and Blue," worked
surprisingly
well in concert, lending a dash of maturity to the set list.
When you could hear them above the leather-lunged fans, the Boys provided a
slick, but satisfying evening's entertainment.
Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sunday, January 28, 2001
Saturday, January 27, 2001
Scream away: The Boys are back in town
Shane Harrison - Staff
"Black and Blue," the Backstreet Boys' most recent album, sold a disappointing 1.6 million in its first week of release.
Disappointing?
Not for anyone else. But the pressure was on to match the sales of 'N Sync ("No Strings Attached" moved 2.4 million copies its first week). No matter how the bands or their fans downplay the rivalry, it's as transparent as Britney Spears' wardrobe.
Also different this time out: Backstreet Boy Brian Littrell married Mariettan Leighanne Wallace in September --- a fact that broke lots of teenage hearts worldwide --- and the couple set up house north of Atlanta. So Saturday's Georgia Dome show is a kind of homecoming.
Overall, "Black and Blue" is selling pretty spectacularly. No one will go broke selling more than 8 million in two months. The album was a bit of a bummer in another way, though. It can't hold a glow-stick to the group's previous offering, "Millennium." The single "The Call" is easily the highlight. Still, expect an entertaining spectacle, lots of screaming and quite a few decent tunes when the Boys hit the stage at the Dome. It might not be art --- but it's got a good beat and you can dance to it.
Backstreet Boys Kick Off Worldwide Black & Blue Tour 2001
With Triumphant Sold-Out Shows In Ft. Lauderdale The Backstreet Boys kicked off their massive worldwide "Black & Blue Tour 2001" this week in front of a hysterical sold-out audience of more than 15,000 fans at the National Car Rental Center arena in Ft. Lauderdale, FL (the first of three shows there). Jam-packed with hits, twists and turns, the show is elaborately mounted and conceived, with the most spectacular staging and design ever at a BackStreet Boys show. The production features awe-inspiring pyrotechnics, a multi-level stage and multiple video screens as well as side-of-the-stage runways that enable the group to get even closer to their fans. It is a multi-media presentation with innovative sound, lights and interactive video footage that intensifies the bond between BackStreet Boys and their fans.
The group performed songs which covered their precedent-setting eight-year career. Highlights of the show included "All I Have To Give," "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)," "Quit Playing Games With My Heart," "Show Me The Meaning Of Being Lonely" and "I Want It That Way" as well as "Shape Of My Heart," "Get Another Boyfriend" and "The Call," the latest single from the new Black & Blue CD. The first leg of the world tour will run through March 18 in San Diego, CA, encompassing 36 shows in 23 cities. After this run, the group will tour overseas before returning to North America for a string of stadium shows in summer 2001 and concluding with shows in the Pacific Rim, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
Backstreet Boys--presently recognized as the biggest pop group in the world--have sold more than 55 million albums in less than three years. The group's new album Black & Blue--their fourth release--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 five songs co-written by members of the group plus two songs solely penned by all five Backstreet Boys--has achieved platinum status in 22 countries and gold certification in 10 regions around the world in its first week of release. At the same time, in the U.S. Backstreet Boys--Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, AJ McLean and Kevin Richardson--have set a new precedent by becoming the first artist in SoundScan history to ever achieve million-plus first-week sales with back-to-back albums.
Backstreet Boys Break Record in Mexico
Backstreet Boys break record - 220,000 Mexicans will attend four concerts The phenomenon that is the Backstreet Boys and they B&B tour, brought Mexico City to a complete haul, where originally they were only going to have one concert, but because of their demand, they added two more dates.
By adding these two dates Aj, Nick, Howie, Brian & Kevin broke a new record for massive concerts in Mexico, being that only stars like Paul McCartney, Pink Floyd, Madonna, David Bowie, Kiss, Metallica, Santana, Ricky Martin, U2, & Rolling Stones had sold out concerts at this venue.
Other stars like Michael Jackson and Gloria Estefan have had about 100,000 fans in the Aztec Stadium but a lot of the fans there got free tickets through promotions and contests ran by their record companies and publicists.
They are selling like hot cakes
The BSB are the first to have sold 165,000 tickets in one tour for the "Foro Sol" venue, which has a capacity for 55,000 per concert.
Another interesting fact about the band and their B&B tour is the time in which the tickets were sold. Their devoted fans needed only 24 hours to have all 3 dates sold out, which is a total of 165,000 tickets sold.
This is a record for the biggest city in the world
Due to this record breaking news a spokesperson for Ocesa (the promoter) hinted that most likely there will another date added for March 26 being that the March 25th concert is almost sold out. If this was the case the U.S. band will have a total of 220,000 Mexicans attend 4 concerts, which is a record and success for any artist in the worlds' biggest city.
Luis Miguel is the only Mexican singer to have come close to this record when he had 200,000 fans in his concerts in 20 consecutive dates at the Auditorio Nacional (National Auditorium). There are very few other acts that have come close to this record.
The call's Premiere
Needless to mention is that the fan frenzy caused by the creators of All I Have To Give, In The Spotlight With the Backstreet Boys y Black & Blue, whom are a very popular band with Mexicans of all ages, is really a phenomenon. Their fan had a chance to listen to the world premier of the call when they purchased their tickets.
Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Friday, January 26, 2001
Source: bboys.com
Thursday, January 25, 2001
Black & Blue: A larger-than-life show from the Backstreet Boys
By Sean Piccoli, Sun-Sentinel Pop Music Writer
The heroes of our tale, the Backstreet Boys, are fighting against the very forces of nature -- and apparently winning.
Time, exposure, familiarity, an aging audience -- none of the elements that normally wear down a pop phenomenon seem to dent these Orlando-groomed entertainers. The Backstreet Boys opened yet another world tour, this time on Monday night at the National Car Rental Center, and again were greeted by a screaming crowd that remains largely young, female and chaperoned.
The quintet drew from South Florida's vast pool of teen-pop enthusiasts to sell out the first of three nights at the National (some tickets remain for Tuesday and Wednesday's shows. Though sales of the group's albums have tapered a bit from the record-setting levels that carried them into the new millennium, little that happened on stage or off gave any hint that after eight years, the Boys are staring into the abyss of audience fatigue.
There were predictions to the contrary, of course.
"The older they get the less interested they become," said Pam Good of Plantation, speaking of young fans including the 14-year-old daughter she accompanied.
Omar Hernandez, an on-air personality for pop station Y-100, guessed that perhaps the torch of teen-pop adulation might be passed to another group, such as O-Town, the "new" crew groomed for success on their very own network television show.
"You can sort of feel the pulse breaking in a different direction," said Hernandez.
The BSB crowd was having none of it. Calling themselves fans for life, 17-year-olds Daulah Sosa and Vanessa Larrazabal came all the way from Caracas, Venezuela, to attend their first Backstreet Boys concert. Never mind that the flight was "horrible," that Sosa hates flying, and that she was shivering outside the arena in weather Caracans rarely get -- no trip or sacrifice was too much.
"I can't explain it," said Sosa, in gently accented English. "Their music has gotten us through a lot and I wish I could let them know."
Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, A.J. McLean and Kevin Richardson no doubt got the message, en masse, from the earsplitting noise coming their way. The show began as a battle -- amplified stage audio versus the combined strength of some 15,000 raised voices -- that would be fought all evening to a draw.
On a set shaped vaguely like a massive single eye, the concert began with a video reel showing the decimation of the planet by meteors -- a stick in the eye, perhaps, for every critic who ever said that teen-pop mania signaled the end of civilization. Live fireworks and flashpots buzzed the arena as meteors on the screen smashed into mother Earth.
And there, coming through the proverbial wreckage and pillars of dry ice, were the Boys. They broke into songs from a new album, Black and Blue and the previous millions-seller, Millennium, singing live lead vocals and five-part refrains no doubt buttressed by taped tracks. The music pouring off the stage was a bulldozing wave -- loud, large and recognizable as something radio has played and played, but short on anything like detail.
Even the Boys' better songs, such as I Want It That Way, saw their prettier features -- swooping key changes and harmonies -- got washed out in a mix that hunkered down on the mid-range frequencies and squeezed just about everything else out of hearing.
But enough of the song always poked through to get the audience singing along. And the Boys proved adept as ever at the phonetics of puppy love: "You are my fi-ire/The one deee-siiii-re" they crooned with grand emphasis.
Though the Boys didn't have to sweat to keep the audience engaged, they blew through songs, costumes and dance moves with a rigor that is, granted, more rehearsed than inspired. Turning gratitude into a kind-of-song-and-dance routine has become part of the Backstreet act.
"People everywhere can't you see, can't you see/How your love's affecting our reality?" went the chorus of Larger Than Life, and that formula of direct-address to the fan with the disposable dollar and the undying love was repeated on other songs.
And don't think the fans don't respond.
Adam Cooper, a Weston teen-ager working the program-vendor booth at the show, said he had cleared $8,000 easily on Monday night -- twice what his booth might take in at most shows.
Tiffany Connors, 17, of Pompano Beach, was not toting any Backstreet merchandise but said the band could nevertheless count on her devotion for the long haul. Asked when she might tire of the Boys, she replied, "I hope that day never comes."
Source: Sun Sentinel
Tuesday, January 23, 2001
Backstreet Boys Kick Off World Tour
By ALEX VEIGA, Associated Press Writer
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) - Eager to reclaim their place atop the pile of boy bands, the Backstreet Boys opened their world tour with a show mixing harmony driven pop and dance with playful asides that worked fans into a frenzy.
The Boys - Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, A.J. McLean and Kevin Richardson - delivered a 90-minute, 21-song set Monday, made up of songs from their latest album ``Black & Blue,'' and two previous records, ``Millennium'' and ``Backstreet Boys.''
``It's hot in here tonight,'' Richardson told the crowd. ``It's good to be back in the saddle again in front of all you people, and it's good to feel your love.''
Thousands of blue glow stick-twirling fans, mostly adolescent girls, joined baby boomers and their children for the first of 36 North American concerts. The Boys return to the United States for a second tour in August.
Staci Zavattaro, 17, brought her 47-year-old mother Nancy to the show as a Valentine's Day gift.
``She's sort of a closet fan,'' Zavattaro said.
The group, backed by a six-piece band and nine dancers, kicked off the show with ``Everyone,'' off ``Black & Blue.'' They swiftly followed that with ``Larger Than Life,'' one of their big hits off 1999's ``Millennium,'' and then slipped into a mellower gear with several R&B ballads.
During their dance numbers, the band performed some light choreography, but for the most part let a supporting crew of nine dancers show off their routines.
The show-stopper came about 10 songs into the set, when the group invited the audience to watch during one of their half-dozen wardrobe changes.
``Do You like these outfits we're wearing now?'' McLean asked. ``Why don't you guys come down into our dressing rooms and watch us change?''
The audience erupted, and the Boys, one by one, piled into a wardrobe ``trunk'' and disappeared beneath the stage. A backdrop doubling as a projection screen showed the group changing shirts and hamming it up.
The Boys emerged to perform a few ballads, including ``How Did I Fall In Love With You?'' and ``Time,'' extending their arms and pointing randomly at the audience, many of whom tried to get closer.
``I'm not going to sleep tonight,'' said Nenette Dameus, 15, of Fort Lauderdale.
The Backstreet Boys closed the show with three dance-heavy numbers, ``Backstreet's Back,'' off their debut album, ``Get Another Boyfriend'' and the ``The Call,'' before vanishing and returning for one encore, ``Shape of My Heart.''
Backstreet Boys Put On Larger-Than-Life Tour Opener
SUNRISE, Florida — The Backstreet Boys kicked off their Black & Blue world tour Monday night with a bang — dozens of bangs, as fireworks and flash pots exploded inside the National Car Rental Center.
An "Armageddon"-like video of Earth being pelted by asteroids played on a giant round projection screen, in the center of a glittered black backdrop that resembled a galaxy. The rapid-fire pyrotechnics included red flares that shot from the rafters and blew up in mid-air, and blue blowtorch-like flames that shot from the stage.
The sold-out audience of 15,000 — mostly made up of teenage girls and their middle-aged moms — screamed with delight as each bang racheted up the frenzy.
The payoff: The Boys, clad in uniforms of long black leather coats and pants, rising up out of the dry-ice smoke on five columns, saluted their faithful before coming back down to earth and ripping into "Everyone," from their latest album, Black & Blue.
They followed that with a seamless transition into "Larger Than Life," from their 1999 release, Millennium. Backstreet — Brian Littrell, A.J. McLean, Howie Dorough, Kevin Richardson and Nick Carter — added muscle to the stage show with 10 dancers and a seven-piece band.
The opening promised a larger-than-life spectacle was about to unfold. And the Boys — who hail from Orlando, Florida, and have reigned the past few years as an international boy-band sensation — didn't disappoint. The 18-song set, almost two hours, was heavy on songs from Black & Blue and Millennium, along with a handful of crowd favorites from Backstreet Boys.
The show, the first of a three-night sold-out stand in South Florida, was relatively glitch-free for a tour opener. It was heavily choreographed, and the crowd screamed approval with every synchronized dance routine and every staged sketch.
The one trouble spot in the production: the sound mix. Thunderous, pounding bass at times rolled right over the Boys' infectious, soaring five-part harmonies.
The Boys worked it hard from the stage, repeatedly making extra efforts to get closer to the audience. The show featured a midconcert segment during which video cameras followed the band under the stage into its dressing room to let the audience see one of the six costume changes in progress. After some adolescent hijinks, including a Silly String and water-gun fight, the arena went black.
When the lights came up the band was on a much smaller, round stage at the rear of the floor seats and behind the soundboard, where the Boys sang their hit "I'll Never Break Your Heart."
"It was like a dream to be that close to them,’" said Elys Viera, 15, of Miami, who was helping her friend Vivian Rey, of Hialeah, Florida, celebrate her 14th birthday.
"I cried," Rey said of her close encounter. "They are so perfect. So cute and so sweet."
They, like others in the crowd, largely dismissed recent speculation that maybe the Boys — whose oldest members are in their late 20s now — are losing their multiplatinum super boy-band appeal. Though Black & Blue failed to match the first-week sales success of 'NSYNC's No Strings Attached and spent just two weeks in the #1 spot on Billboard's pop albums chart, the screaming crowd showed no signs of flagging devotion. And the band showed no hints of weariness or that the act is wearing thin.
If their worldview is becoming broader with maturity, Backstreet seem determined to take their young fans along. In the midst of sometimes treacly, sometimes oversweeping pop, the Boys got political with "The Answer to Our Life." They sang the tune while a video played images of endangered owls, bald eagles and whales, scenes of pollution pouring from smokestacks and drainage pipes, and old-growth forests being bulldozed.
Richardson introduced the song, saying it had a "save the world kind of vibe."
"Watch the screens," he said. "It's a wake-up call."
--Lisa Arthur
Source: Yahoo!
Source: MTV
Sunday, January 21, 2001
Asian Fan Conference and BSB Mania
Wanna have a chance to see the BACKSTREET BOYS' in concert and attend an Asian Fan Conference in Tacoma, Washington, USA? Join the Backstreet Boys online contest at Soundbuzz.com and see if you would be one of the 2 lucky winners!
A special Asian BACKSTREET BOYS' Fan Conference for lucky contest winners around the region will be held in Tacoma, WA on February 25th. Check out your local press and media for contests that you can participate in, and you could win the chance to see the Boys in concert and attend the fan conference!
BACKSTREET BOYS is still packing the heat in Japan! "Black & Blue" is #5 (4) on the Oricon International Music Sales chart this week. The album is now 3x PLATINUM in Japan. And with the hype surrounding their latest album, their previous release "Millennium" has officially surpassed the 1 million sales mark in the country - making it 5x PLATINUM!
* This week, the commercial single "Shape Of My Heart" is still at #1 (1) on Japan's Oricon International Music Tracks chart! The track has also kept their #1 spot on Tokyo FM's "Cosmo Pops Best 10" for 6 consecutive weeks, and is also #1 on six radio stations across Japan, including major ones like Tokyo FM, ZIP FM and Bay FM! *
BACKSTREET BOYS ranked high in Japan's Year 2000 chart round-up! "Black and Blue" was #18 on the Oricon Album International Music Sales Chart 2000, and two BSB songs was in the Top 20 positions on the Oricon Single International Music Sales Chart 2000. "Shape Of My Heart" is at #7 and "The One" is at #20. On the U-sen International Chart 2000, "I Want It That Way" is at #5. BACKSTREET BOYS' "Black & Blue" is currently at #18 (15) on the Billboard chart. The album has shipped about 8 million and has sold nearly 3 million copies in the States.
"Shape of My Heart" remains a hit in Taiwan - being #1 at Taiwan's UFO, ICRT and Kiss FM charts! The song is also #1 on Malaysia's Cats Radio, Radio Kota Kinabalu and RTM Tourism Langkawi stations!
Source: Zomba Singapore
Wednesday, January 10, 2001
Backstreet Boys Talk 'N Sync And More Backstage At The AMAs
After the Backstreet Boys won the award for favorite pop rock band, duo, or group at the American Music Awards Monday (January 8), they were asked by reporters, as usual, whether there is any rivalry between them their Jive labelmates 'N Sync.
Singer Howie Dorough replied, "I went to college with Chris [Kirkpatrick]. I think the media unfortunately makes it try to be more of a rivalry [sic] so we'll be at each other, but in reality, there's enough for all of us out there."
Nick Carter clarified further, "Well, it's not really a rivalry, man. I went to a football game with Chris [Kirkpatrick], a Tampa Bay/St. Louis football game, so there is no rivalry anymore...pretty much."
Kevin Richardson chimed in, "Like we've said many times, 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."
Richardson was asked his opinion on the difference between the American Music Awards and the Grammys. "I think the Grammys are more of an industry-type thing, and the American Music Awards are more like a people's choice."
Richardson and Carter noted that the AMAs are still important. "I think this means a whole heck of a lot," said Richardson, "because if you're not pleasing your fans ..."
"They'll tell you," Carter chimed in.
Richardson added, "I mean, without them we wouldn't be here, and they're the important thing."
The Backstreet Boys were also questioned about what they want to achieve this year. A.J. McLean said the group is ready to tackle 2001. "We've got a brand new tour to look forward to," he said. "We've got a lot of goals and high expectations, and hopefully we'll come to some more award shows and win some more awards."
Carter, on the other hand, said the Boys are aiming simply for, "One word-- respect."
With their AMA win, a Grammy nomination for best pop performance by a duo or group with vocal, and their eight-times platinum album, Black & Blue, the Backstreet Boys won't have to look far to find it.
--Jason Gelman, New York, and Neal Weiss, Los Angeles
Britney and BSB Nick in radio ruck
Britney Spears is supposedly livid with Backstreet Boys' Nick Carter after he allegedly humiliated her live on radio over the Christmas holidays.
According to sources in the States, Carter was hosting a radio show in Florida and opted to play a prank on the girlfriend of his music rival, Justin Timberlake from 'N Sync. Carter phoned up Britney's Louisiana home and when the pair were hooked up listeners heard him firing questions at her about her Silicon Valley, slang for breast implants.
The call was thought at first to be a spoof laid on by the radio station but insiders are now claiming that Britney is planning her revenge.
Meanwhile the award-winning star, who is set to present the Grammy Awards next month, told worldpop that her little sister Jamie Lyn is not so eager to be hot on the heels of her own success. Indeed when Britney asked her kid sis to perform with her at the Grammys in the role of the young girl at the beginning of the act Jamie Lyn turned her down. Recalling her exact reply Britney confessed to worldpop exactly what her sister's reaction was: 'She said, 'You know, if I do that, the next day all these producers will be calling me! I'm just not ready to deal with that,''
Britney does however admit that her sister is determined to make it in the spotlight in the future. 'She is crazy,' says Britney, 'She'll tell you flat out that she is the biggest star there is!'
Source: Launch
Source: Worldpop
Friday, January 5, 2001
Green Backstreet Boy
BSB on call for new video
Backstreet Boys are going for all-out action in their video for their next release, The Call.
The guys spent four nights shooting into the early hours in Los Angeles, working up a sweat acting out a series of energetic moves in the highly-anticipated promo.
In the video, which appears to be a big move away from the laidback feel of Shape Of My Heart, Kevin Richardson is shown leaping through a window to escape from a girl while AJ McLean, whose hair is back to black again after his experiment with blue dye, throws himself out of a moving car. Howie Dorough, sporting burgundy stripes in his hair, is seen dangling from a pole.
The group, who released their fourth album (third American album) Black & Blue in November - accompanied by worldpop on a four-day promo trip across six continents - have opted not to use the album version of The Call in the video. Instead they've decided to go with one of the versions remixed by OutKast who also appear in the video.
Meanwhile the guys are gearing up for their world tour which kicks off at Fort Laudervale, Florida on 22 January and will feature Krystal, the first artist to be signed to their own label. AJ is currently producing and managing a new singer called Tracey but there is no news yet as to when her material will be showcased. Backstreet Boys are also set to appear at the US Superbowl on 28 January where the band will sing the American national anthem.
The Call is released on 5 February. Look out for a brand new AJ interview on worldpop coming soon and take a trip down memory lane with worldpop's Backstreet Boy week featuring video interviews, album playback and insider info.
Backstreet Boys To Face TV Quiz Grilling
The BACKSTREET BOYS are set to appear on the US TV version of the phenomenally successful quiz show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.
Presumably already multi-millionaires thanks to their huge record sales, the quintet will donate any prize money won to Just Within Reach: An Earth Foundation, the new environmental charity set up by the group’s Kevin Richardson. Talking about the charity Richardson has commented: "I thought I’d use my status as a celebrity to ask more questions and change things.”
The big question now is whether the Backstreet Boys can emerge from the quiz as pop’s premier brainboxes. The last charity celebrity episode of the show, broadcast in November, was won by Puff Daddy, who answered 12 questions correctly to benefit his chosen charity to the tune of £90,000.
click on picture for bigger size
Black and Blue...and Green Backstreet Boy Kevin Richardson got a hand from his wife, Kristin, when he announced the formation of a foundation to educate people about environmental issues. Richardson is starting Just Within Reach: An Earth Foundation in his home state of Kentucky and hopes to eventually take it worldwide
Source: Worldpop
Source: Music365
Wednesday, January 3, 2001
Grammy Nomination
Backstreet Boys are nominated in the catogory Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal for the song "Show Me The Meaing Of Being Lonley". I have no idea if they have more nominations, I hope they do. But I couldn´t find them in any other catogory on grammy.com
from grammy.com:
Winners in the 500+ nominations from the 100 categories will be revealed for the first time during the 43rd Annual GRAMMY Awards telecast on February 21, 2001. The three-hour show will originate from Staples Center in Los Angeles and be broadcast on CBS-TV at 8 p.m. (EST/PST). The show will reach a worldwide audience of nearly 2 billion people in 180 countries.
Showcasing the eclecticism of musical excellence in 2000, a diverse array of performers, producers and other creative professionals garnered multiple nominations for the 43rd Annual GRAMMY Awards. The announcement was made on January 3 at a press conference held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. Musical artists including Destiny's Child, Sheryl Crow, David Foster, Dave Koz, Shelby Lynne, Nelly, 'N Sync's J.C. Chasez, Sisqo and Toni Braxton were on-hand to reveal the nominees for the coveted awards.
Tuesday, January 2, 2001
Backstreet - black, blue and green
The Backstreet Boys' Kevin Richardson used the Christmas holidays to confirm his earlier announcement that he is forming a foundation which will focus on environmental issues in his hometown of Lexington in Kentucky, USA. The organisation Just Within Reach: An Earth Foundation, will be based in Kentucky but Richardson plans to expand the foundation worldwide.
'Instead of sitting around on my butt worrying about problems, I thought I'd use my status as a celebrity to ask more questions and maybe change things,' says Kevin, 29, who lives in Los Angeles but bought a farm near Lexington six months ago. 'I feel like our environment ties in to a lot of problems we have with our health today.'
The organisation's abbreviation, JWR, is taken from the initials of his late father, Jerald Wayne Richardson, who died of cancer in 1991. Kevin will donate money to cover operational expenses and the foundation will be run by the singer, his wife Kristin and his brother Tim. The Backstreet Boys are scheduled to appear on the US edition of TV quiz show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and Kevin plans to donate his share of any prize money to his new foundation.
Kevin first spoke of his environmental plans to worldpop on the band's promotional trip across six continents in just four days. During their brief stop in Sydney, Australia the lads revealed their dismay over the controversy surrounding the US presidential elections and proclaimed that Kevin would make an ideal future candidate. 'He's so focused that if he wants it bad enough he could most probably have it,' said Kevin's cousin and BSB band mate Brian Littrell before adding, 'You learn a lot in the record business about the political world and about making the right decisions. You also learn about power.'
The band already support a number of charities including the Lupus Memorial Foundation - in memory of Howie's sister Caroline who died from the illness - and the Brian Littrell Endowment, dedicated to heart research following Brian's struggle from a heart complaint and subsequent surgery two years ago. The band's first live appearance of 2001 will be at the US Super Bowl in Florida on 28 January when the boys will sing the US National Anthem before the game.
Meanwhile Backstreet's A.J. McLean and 'N Sync's Joey Fatone have put their differences aside and joined assorted music and sports celebrities in the US to help the father of Third Faze singer Minia Corominias in his battle against cancer. AJ and Joey are among celebrities who have donated personal items for an auction to raise money.
Source: Worldpop