Source: The Sun Online
ELTON JOHN and the Backstreet Boys are teaming up for a duet which they will premiere at next month's Party In The Park, I can reveal.
Their performance will be one of the highlights of the star-studded gig at Hyde Park on July 9.
If it goes well, Elton and the boys hope to release a single, possibly for charity.
They will perform three songs - Elton's classic Philadelphia Freedom, the boys' No1 I Want It That Way and Friends Never Say Goodbye, from movie The Road To Eldorado - tipped as the single.
Elton told me: "I'm absolutely thrilled to be performing at this year's Party In The Park. It's a fantastic event and I'm really looking forward to going on stage in front of 100,000 people with the Backstreet Boys."
The Orlando-based group are also over the moon. Singer Nick Carter says: "We can't wait to perform with Elton at Party In The Park.
"We've heard it's one of the biggest open-air music events in the world and it'll be great playing to so many of our fans in the UK."
Organisers Capital Radio have tried to keep their ace card under wraps as a surprise for the fans but one insider told me: "It's a great coup for Capital. Elton and the Backstreet Boys are international names. Their performance will obviously be one of the highlights of the day."
The boys have been supporters of the Elton John Aids Foundation - and they joined him on stage at the Grammys earlier this year. That was when Elton joked that he had slept with all the boy bands.
Elton added: "Performing with the Backstreet Boys was such a thrill at the Grammys.
"I'm really looking forward to doing it again. Those boys can sing their a***s off."
Other acts lined up to play at Party In The Park include Westlife, Ronan Keating, All Saints, Five with Queen, Stephen Gately, Bon Jovi, Billie, Kylie Minogue and The Corrs.
Source: wallofsound
A spokesperson for the Orlando quintet has confirmed that Backstreet Boy Kevin Richardson married his longtime girlfriend, dancer Kristin Willits, in a private ceremony in Lexington, Ky., Saturday. All four of Richardson's bandmates were in attendance.
The two had been seeing each other for eight years. They met when both were employed at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla. "We've been through a lot together, but she knew me when I was a Ninja Turtle," Richardson said to MTV News in February.
Richardson announced the engagement to Willits on Valentine's Day, the same day that his cousin and fellow BSB, Brian Littrell, disclosed his plan to walk down the aisle with actress Leighanne Wallace. Littrell has yet to set a date for his own happy day.
Boys ready to hit recording studio
Source: MTV
The Backstreet Boys have hung up their dancing shoes, for the time being, and are ready to head back into the studio. The big day, July 1, will see the Boys hit a studio in Sweden with producer Max Martin to officially begin work on their next album. The new album should hit stores sometime in November, but fans who can't wait that long may want to pick up the first official Backstreet Boys photo book. The book, due out on July 5, will feature candid snapshots taken by the group's official photographer, Andre Csillag.
Source: WorldPop
Backstreet Boy Howie Dorough is to team up with Grammy award-winning producer Babyface for a track on the forthcoming Backstreet album.
Fellow BSB, AJ McLean, told MTV, 'We're actually just writing right now. Howie's working with Babyface.' Babyface has worked with the likes of Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and Michael Jackson in the past.
Meanwhile AJ also confirmed that the other Backstreet Boys are also busy recording the album, while he takes a break before rejoining the group on 1 July. His solo tour of US clubs, under the guise of Johnny No Name, has raised $150,000 for the Save The Music campaign to buy musical instruments for schools in the US which cannot afford them.
He also confirmed that Nick Carter plays drums on the new album while Kevin Richardson plays piano, as he did on its predecessor, Millennium. The album will feature country, R&B, hip-hop and rock and roll tracks as well as their usual pop themes.
Source: MTV
|
| Backstreet Boys' A.J. McLean RealVideo |
"We're actually just writing right now," McLean told Carson Daly during a surprise visit to MTV's "Total Request Live" on Monday.
"Howie [Dorough]'s working with Babyface," [RealVideo] on some songs for the project, A.J. added, noting that the album will incorporate rock, R&B, hip-hop, and even some country.
McLean also revealed that Backstreet's Nick Carter and Kevin Richardson will be displaying their talents on drums and piano, respectively, on the album. McLean is slated to rejoin his fellow Boys in the studio on July 1.
The new Backstreet effort, the follow-up to 1999's "Millennium," is expected to hit stores in mid-September.
A.J. has been using his studio downtime to raise money and awareness for VH1's Save The Music campaign. So far, McLean and his "Johnny No Name" alter ego have raised more than $150,000 for the campaign through a series of solo appearances.
-- Roger Coletti
 |
| A.J.īs new look |
Source: Orlando Sentinel
Looks like the Backstreet Boys' A.J. McLean finally got fed up with being referred to as the group's "weird hair guy." He shaved his ever-so-cutting-edge locks so close this time, he's bauld. And that, I believe, is another first in the Boy Band World. I'm thinking it was either a lost bet, a summer whim or a multimillion-dollar merchandising deal for a new A.J.-head, pencil-top eraser set.
You can see for yourself June 25 at bandmate Howie "Still Hairy" Dorough's Lupus 2000 benenfit.
Leslie Doolittle
Sentinal Columnist
BSB End Boy Band Debate
Source: Worldpop
Backstreets end boy band debate Backstreet Boys have closed the argument raging between themselves, 'N Sync and other new kids on the boy band block - while stating that the term boy band can no longer be applied to them.
'There are so many other groups like us I can't even count them all on both my hands and feet!' AJ laughed. 'There's just so many now but we were the first ...'
Discussing the subject of their widely reported feud with 'N Sync, Howie underplays their achievements but was even-handed in his summary: 'I expected them to break our record [for fastest-selling CD]. I guess they came out at the perfect time. It was all in the same record company, everything was a perfect set-up. If they didn't do it then something must have been wrong.'
On the boy band tag, AJ continues: 'We never once considered ourselves a boy band. We've always considered ourselves to be a vocal harmony group - a true singing group. Because we're not boys any more, you know, and it's like, when you're younger I can understand being called a boy band but once you reach a certain point you're not a boy band any more.'
Whether AJ will be pushing for the band to change their name remains to be seen...
Source: Infobeat
(Launch) - John Michael Montgomery, Backstreet Boys Howie Dorough and A.J. McLean and several other celebrities are set to perform at a charity concert event dubbed Lupus 2000. The event will take place at a dance club called The Groove, located within Universal Studios City Walk in Orlando, Fla., on June 25. The event will benefit the Caroline Dorough Cochran Lupus Memorial Foundation. Dorough's sister Caroline died in 1998 from complications from the chronic disease, in which the immune system treats the body's own tissue as a foreign substance and produces antibodies to fight it. Ticket prices for the event will range from $75 for general admission to $200 for a "Gold Star" package. General admission includes participation in the silent auction, light appetizers, cash bar and the show on the main floor at The Groove. The "Gold Star" package will include participation in the silent auction, appetizers, open bar, priority entrance, a VIP section and interaction with the musical guests. The ticket sale date will be announced as soon as it is confirmed. For more information, e-mail lupusinfo@net4u.net.
BSB and *Nsync still feuding?
Source: Jam!
They may have the same fans, the same number of group members, and the same creator, but that doesn't mean the Backstreet Boys and *Nsync have to get along.
The latest in the much publicized feud between the two boy bands is the rumour that Backstreet planned to release "Don't Want You Back" as their third single from "Millennium" but found themselves frantically searching for a different song to push when they heard *Nsync's "Bye,Bye,Bye" and realiszed the two songs sounded too much alike.
So, Backstreet and MTV organized a plan that allowed their fans to pick the next single, which resulted in "The One", The New York Post reports.
The Backstreet Boys made it big before *Nsync and are rumoured to feel that *Nsync just followed in the footsteps and coasted on Backstreet's success.
"They hate each other," one record company executive told The Post. "The Backstreet Boys are working on a new album they'll release in October, and they are doing everything they can to break *NSYNC's record sales. That's what their focus is now."
The two groups are also rumoured to whine that their record label, Jive Records, favours one group over the other, although a Jive spokesperson told The Post that all the rumours are exaggerated.
"The rivalry between the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC has been blown out of proportion by the media," she said. "Jive looks forward to the release of the new Backstreet Boys album in October."
In more Backstreet news, Nick Carter is getting rid of his furniture.
The blond Backstreet Boy divided his coach into three pieces, autographed them, and put them up on an auction block to benefit Tampa Children's Hospital, MTV reports.
The middle section of the coach sold for $650, one end went for $500, and the other for $450.
Boys and Their Bands Battle On
Source: Page Six
By RICHARD JOHNSON
with Paula Froelich and Chris Wilson
THE battle of the boy bands is so competitive, the Backstreet Boys had to shelve a single because it sounded too similar to a hit by their reviled rivals, *NSYNC.
The Backstreeters, we hear, wanted to release "Don't Want You Back" as the third single off "Millennium," but scrambled to pick a new tune once *NSYNC's soundalike smash "Bye, Bye, Bye" started ruling the airwaves.
Instead, the Boys cooked up a scheme with MTV to let their fans pick their latest single, "The One," which is now burning up the charts, say sources.
The single snafu is the latest wrinkle in a long-running feud between the platinum-selling pin-up groups, who were hatched by the same Orlando teen-pop svengali, Lou Pearlman, share the same hitmaking Swedish producers, and record for the same label, Jive.
The glaring similarities have caused members of the Backstreet Boys, who hit it big before *NSYNC, to grumble that their labelmates have copied their style and siphoned off their fans.
"They hate each other," one record company executive told us. "The Backstreet Boys are working on a new album they'll release in October, and they are doing everything they can to break *NSYNC's record sales. That's what their focus is now."
Geronimo, a deejay and music director for the city's top dance station, WKTU, confirmed there is a long-standing loathing between the two groups.
"They don't like to talk about it, but it's true," he told us. "A lot of their songs sound similar and they were created by the same guy. I know that the Backstreet Boys really want their album to sell after *NSYNC's ["No Strings Attached"] did so well."
It's a safe bet that if *NSYNC smashed records with their latest CD, Backstreet will follow suit. Both groups rely heavily on producers at Stockholm's Cherein Studios, Max Martin, Andreas Carlsson and Kristian Lundin.
Jive Records execs are caught in the middle. Both Backstreet and *NSYNC privately complain that the other is getting better label support and promotion, say sources. But a Jive spokesperson says that the groups merely have "a friendly little rivalry."
"The rivalry between the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC has been blown out of proportion by the media," she said. "Jive looks forward to the release of the new Backstreet Boys album in October."
Backstreet's Nick Unloads Couch, Preps New Album
Source: MTV
Three lucky, deep-pocketed fans will soon be able to lounge the Backstreet Boys way after shelling out a combined $1,600 for portions of a couch once owned by the group's Nick Carter.
Carter put three pieces of his sectional sofa on the online auction block on Sunday for the benefit of the Tampa Children's Hospital. The Backstreet blond autographed the noteworthy furniture before putting it on the block with the help of Tampa's Brandon Ford and WFTS ABC Channel 28.
In the realm of boy band bidding, the items went for a relative song, as the sofa's middle section went to Fawn from Albuquerque for $650; one end went to Holly from Savannah, Georgia for $500; and the other end went to Stacy from Allen Park, Michigan for $450.
The auction was the brainchild of Brandon Ford honcho Paul Levin, a neighbor and friend of Carter's who encouraged the singer to put his furniture on the auction block.
On a more musical note, Carter and his Backstreet counterparts are expected to release their next album in mid-September.
-- Tina Johnson,
with additional reporting by Robert Mancini
New Backstreet photos
Source: AllPop
Tuesday, May 30, 2000
Everyone wants a piece of the Backstreet Boys and everyone, including ex-girlfriends, think they can give fans the scoop on the pop super-group. But, the Backstreet Boys have their own ideas about what photos their fans should see, so they've approved "Backstreet Boys: The Official Book".
According to the group's official website, the 128-page hardcover book is a photographic scrapbook that contains almost 300 colour photos.
The pictures were taken by Andre Csillag, who is the group's official photographer. The book will mark the first time some of his photos have been made available to the public.
"Backstreet Boys: The Official Book" is scheduled to go on sale on Tuesday, July 5, 2000, and Delacorte Press is expecting a huge demand so they're going to make 500,000 copies of it during the first printing of the book.
"Because the members of Backstreet Boys are ordinarily extremely private people, I am quite pleased to be able to open up this photo album and offer the fans a glimpse into this private world," Andre said.
Each of the five group members -- AJ, Kevin, Brian, Nick and Howie -- participated in the making of the book, and each photo in the picture scrapbook features a caption written by one of the boys.
"'Backstreet Boys: The Official Book' is the official book, from our perspective with our input," AJ said. "I think it is high time that we give back to our fans what they honestly deserve -- which is to be closer to us and to be a part of our lives as much as we are a part of theirs."
--AllPop