Source: Infobeat

(Launch) - Members of the Backstreet Boys will embark on several solo projects after the group's current sold-out Into the Millennium North American tour wraps up. A.J. McLean is preparing to head out on a 10-city solo tour under the pseudonym Johnny No-Name. The singer has several solo dates lined up, starting with a March 27 performance at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles. Singer Mindi Abair and girl-group Nobody's Angel will open for McLean. Abair opened for McLean (as Johnny Suede) at a benefit concert for VH1 Save The Music Jan. 9 at the Hard Rock in Orlando, Fla. McLean has reportedly since changed his name from "Suede" to "No-Name" due to copyright problems. Meanwhile, Backstreet Boy Howie Dorough has just signed on to write the music for and guest star in a sitcom television pilot titled "Love They Neighbor" in Orlando, reports the Orlando Sentinel. The pilot - which features "The Jeffersons" star Sherman Hemsley - will be produced and filmed April 16-27 at Century III at Universal Studios Florida.

*Top Grossing North American Concerts*

1 - BACKSTREET BOYS, JUNGLE BROTHERS, WILLA - Louisiana Superdome-New Orleans. (Feb. 26). Total Sales $2,286,582.
2 - BACKSTREET BOYS, JUNGLE BROTHERS, WILLA - Tropicana Field-St. Petersburg, Fla. (Feb. 24). Total Sales $1,964,243.
3 - CROSBY, STILLS, NASH & YOUNG - Pepsi Center-Denver. (Feb. 23). Total Sales $1,283,133.
4 - BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - Jordan Center-University Park, Pa. (Feb. 28). Total Sales $1,015,163.
5 - CROSBY, STILLS, NASH & YOUNG - MGM Grand-Las Vegas. (Feb. 19). Total Sales $956,325.
6 - CROSBY, STILLS, NASH & YOUNG - America West Arena-Phoenix. (Feb. 21). Total Sales $845,916.
7 - BACKSTREET BOYS, JUNGLE BROTHERS, WILLA - Erwin Center-Austin, Texas. (March 5). Total Sales $720,348.
8 - CHER, LOU BEGA, C NOTE - Bi-Lo Center-Greenville, S.C. (Feb. 29). Total Sales $662,795.
9 - CHER, LOU BEGA, C NOTE - Raleigh Arena-Raleigh, N.C. (Feb. 26). Total Sales $654,915.
10 - CHER, LOU BEGA, C NOTE - MCI Center-Washington, D.C. (Feb. 27). Total Sales $648,067.

Source: JAM! Music By JANE STEVENSON -- Toronto Sun

THE BACKSTREET BOYS
SkyDome, Toronto
Wednesday, March 15, 2000

The Backstreet Boys wowed 35,000 screaming fans at SkyDome last night. -- Craig Robertson, SUN

TORONTO -- "Oh my God, we're back again," sang Backstreet Boys member A.J. McLean last night at SkyDome during the showstopping number, Everybody (Backstreet's Back). Funny, I was thinking the exact same thing.

But there they were in concert -- the Backstreet Boys -- a mere five months after playing the same show at the same venue.

The return engagement was heartily welcomed by Toronto fans -- 35,000 of them, in fact -- who screamed hysterically, waved banners and jumped up and down for the entire two-hour performance.

There was some added significance to the concert, given last night's show was the official end of the Backstreet Boys' hugely successful Millennium tour, so-called for their pop album of the same name, which has sold 30 million copies worldwide.

For their part, the fresh-faced Florida fivesome -- McLean, Brian Littrell, Howie Dorough, Kevin Richardson and Nick Carter -- made some some minor adjustments this time out.

There was a slight change in costumes -- more futuristic, the Boys claimed -- to perhaps reflect their comic book superhero counterparts created by Carter and Stan Lee (Spiderman).

The first installment in the comic book series was being sold at the Backstreet Boys shows or on the Internet at www.backstreetproject.com. Before the show began, there was a preview on four video screens -- above their in-the-round stage -- of the animated version, which is scheduled to be shown on the Net only, starting in June.

But back to the concert -- an over-the-top, highly choreographed and costumed affair that involved the Boys making their entrance on neon-lit, suspended boogie boards to the sound of the Star Wars' theme and ear-piercing screams.

That was followed by lots of bright lights, smoke, flames, silver confetti and plenty of emoting on the Boys' part, particularly during their individual chats with the crowd.

"This is the last show of our Millennium tour, and I guess we picked Toronto because we love you all so much," said Carter. "Since this is the last show, you might see some crazy things on stage."

Like maybe McLean's bad yellow and blue hair-dye job? Kidding. (Anyway, he eventually covered it up with a black leather cowboy hat during Don't Wanna Lose You Now, only to toss into the crowd during the next song, Quit Playing Games With My Heart, a tune that ended with the five Boys suspended over the audience on invisible wires.)

Meanwhile, Littrell said he was feeling a little in awe of the large gathering.

"We've done about 170 shows on the Millennium tour, and standing in front of an audience like this, I get the jitters like it's the very first time," he said.

But there were no sign of nerves on the part of any of the Boys, who were backed by a six-person band and 10 dancers.

And, unlike last time, Carter -- who sings lead on most of the songs along with Littrell -- didn't lose his voice towards the end of the show.

He even got behind the drum kit for Back To Your Heart, while Richardson played a white piano on a raised platform above the stage.

Otherwise, the Backstreet Boys got downright goofy at times, making fun of their own dance moves during As Long As You Love Me.

They also appeared for the big encore number, I Want It That Way, in various stages of undress -- McLean bare chested, Richardson in a blue robe and Dorough with his long, wavy hair out of its perennial ponytail.

"We're going back into the laboratory to make a new album," said Richardson earlier in the evening. "You might not see us for a while, but that doesn't mean we're not working. So don't forget about us."

As if any Backstreet Boys fan could.

Source: The State News

By CHAD SWIATECKI

The State News

Howie, AJ, Brian, Kevin and Nick. Ordinary names to most, but for the thousands of Backstreet Boys fans who flocked to Breslin Student Events Center on Monday night to see the group live, they’re more than names.

They’re monikers that have taken on a whole new meaning since the group took America by storm in 1997.

A talk with fans who began waiting outside Breslin before 4 p.m. in 30 degree weather shows why the group has become the most popular in America.

“This is the biggest day of my life,” said 14-year-old Cammie Weber of Rives Junction, Mich. “I’ve been talking about it for days, and these (tickets) were all I wanted for Christmas.”

Since she first discovered the group in the pages of Teen Magazine four years ago, Weber said she’s been an avid fan, covering the walls of her bedroom with posters of the group and collecting every type of “BSB” memorabilia she can get her hands on.

“I saw them, and I thought they were awesome,” she said, clutching a handmade “I love Backstreet Boys” poster. “I’ve got so many posters on my wall that I don’t have anymore room, and I want my parents to expand it.”

Weber, her mother Faye Weber and 11-year-old sister Briana Weber were lucky enough to get tickets for face value of $45. But many scalpers outside Breslin were commanding upwards of $200 per ticket for fans who had to see the group’s Into the Millennium Tour.

Though Dimondale resident Tony Aguillon was looking to unload a ticket intended for his 9-year-old daughter Haley, who couldn’t use it because she had to go to school the next day, he said he wasn’t looking to prosper financially from his commodity.

“I just want to make my money back, so I’m looking for $100. My little girls love them and I like them, too.

“Image-wise, they’re not as bad as most groups out there. I don’t think music with derogatory language is what children should be listening to.”

The screaming, deafening in its volume, began 30 minutes before the Orlando group took the stage. As soon as huge video monitors, positioned above the five-sided stage located in the center of the arena, began showing videos and cartoon renderings of the group, the floodgates opened to release waves of anticipation that had been building in the mostly female, teenage crowd for months.

For them, this was not just a concert. It was an event on par with a football junkie’s dream trip to the Super Bowl.

Sailing in above the crowd on suspended boards, the five stars were bathed in applause as they took the stage, marched around and launched in to the opening lines of “Larger Than Life.”

For two hours they held their audience in rapt attention, jamming though “Backstreet’s Back” and crooning majestically to “Quit Playing Games With My Heart.”

By the time they closed with their biggest single, “I Want It That Way,” the amazed crowd, hoarse from screaming, had gotten more than its money’s worth.

Fowler resident Charlotte Wendell and her 8-year-old daughter Lora Hoch, who got to the arena early for the concert, had anticipated it since getting their tickets in February.

“This has been a long day for her, and she didn’t want to sleep last night,” Wendel said of her daughter. “She’s been a fan of a couple years and likes Nick the best.”

Though the concert didn’t conclude until after 10 p.m., well past Hoch’s normal bedtime, Wendell said she wasn’t concerned about letting her be a night owl for one evening.

The group’s meteoric rise to fame has led to a huge increase in the popularity of boy-dominated pop groups, said Jason Addams, program director at WHZZ (101.7-FM) in Lansing.

“Right now there are about 15 different groups with two to five boys in them that are popular,” he said.

Whether the group will be able to maintain its tremendous pop in years to come is something Addams is skeptical about.

“History says they won’t be able to do it, because every other one has gone away because of audience backlash,” he said.

Source: The Toronto Sun

March 12, 2000

The Backstreet Boys' fame is stronger than ever

By KIERAN GRANT -- Toronto Sun

"Backstreet Boys have been passed a magical torch that hasn't dimmed since the fall of New Kids On The Block. They continue a proud tradition that dates back to such luminaries as Menudo and The Bay City Rollers ... Only five minutes until the next sensation."

-- Toronto Sun, Jan. 6, 1997

So I wrote in these very pages the day after the Backstreet Boys played their first Toronto concert in front of 2,000 fans at the Warehouse.

Yes, as the famous song-and-dance band's loyal legion of letter-writing fans would be quick to point out, my prediction proved false.

Five minutes have come and gone. Actually, 1,663,200 minutes have come and gone.

The Backstreet Boys play the SkyDome this Wednesday, in what will be their sixth soldout Toronto concert visit.

In the meantime, the group's three albums, including last year's Millennium, have all surpassed diamond status (one million copies sold) in Canada alone.

Symptomatic of their extended lease on limelight, they've matured from a cookie-cutter pop act to a fluffy but surprisingly distinctive singing group, just as their gortex sportswear has been ditched for suits.

The quintet -- Kevin Richardson, A.J. McLean, Brian Littrell, Nick Carter and Howie Dorough -- have come full-circle in their journey from bubblegum upstarts to music-biz commodity. They netted four nominations at this year's Grammys, including one for best album (Millennium), and were invited to perform for the award-show telecast.

They didn't win anything, mind you. And it's not like the Grammys were ever a hub of credibility for artists. Neither is the cover of Rolling Stone, for that matter.

Still, the trophy nods were almost symbolic that the world's flagship boy-band had hit creative puberty and graduated to a new-found success with a wider audience.

One of the Boys, Richardson, ominously predicted that three years ago during the Backstreet Boys' first Sun interview.

"We see ourselves eventually becoming an adult contemporary R&B band," Richardson said. "Our music isn't for a specific audience."

Granted, the singer also compared his group to the Beatles, a cardinal sin in the eyes of the music press -- not that there ever has been any love lost between BSB and their critics.

Obviously, I wasn't the only scribe to underestimate the group's lasting power when they first danced off the conveyor belt at Orlando, Fla.'s Trans Continental Company in 1996. That's the same hit-making plant -- and, interestingly, part-owner of the Chippendales strip-joint chain -- that within two years would churn out 'NSYNC, Britney Spears and LFO, among others.

Supplying the early hits for BSB, 'NSYNC and Spears was the late Swedish songwriter Denniz Pop, who died of cancer in 1998.

Comparisons to New Kids On The Block -- the late-'80s prototype for virtually all song-and-dance boy-bands to follow -- were practically universal for BSB.

Derided as "showroom dummies," "pre-fab pop stars," "Chippendales for pre-teens," they seemed designed for the sole purpose of being a flash-in-the-pan sensation.

The group's first conquests in the mid-1990s read like a war map of Europe in 1940: Germany, Belgium, France. Their debut hit single, We've Got It Goin' On, was a smash overseas before the group had even finished making its first album.

Then the Backstreet Boys broke into Quebec and Canada in '97.

In a pattern that would later be repeated by 'NSYNC, they took their time before rolling clean over their U.S. homeland.

So even the staunchest of BSB critics must have cracked an egg-faced smile and shrugged last spring when Millennium, an album that saw the group dabbling in songwriting for the first time, started to illicit grudging three- and four-star reviews.

"The perspective on most teen or boy bands is that they have their five minutes and their hit single, and then they disappear when their fans reach puberty," says Jane Tattersall, National Marketing Manager at Zomba/Jive Records, the Canadian distributor for the Backstreet Boys' label.

"But when the pop market is saturated with a certain kind of music like it has been these past few years, one or two bands transcend the genre. It's like how Madonna is still around, but no one remembers the hundreds of other pop acts from that time."

Exan Auyoung, co-host of YTV's teen-pop-driven Hit List show and witness to BSB's Toronto debut gig back in '97, has a simpler explanation for the group's Grammy nomination.

"It's because they are selling records," Auyoung says. "Kids can really relate to these teen groups, and they're the ones with the buying power (for CDs) these days. It's a huge boom. You have siblings in the same household who each have their own copies of the Britney Spears album.

"I wonder what the backlash will be."

Just as the Backstreet Boys have outgrown their teen-pop pigeon-hole, so too have they moved on professionally.

Unhappy sharing the House That BSB Built with other acts, in 1998 they sued Trans Continental boss Lou Pearlman -- a settlement was eventually reached -- and fired manager Johnny Wright. ('NSYNC and Wright later jumped ship for a deal with Jive, resulting in a lawsuit from Pearlman and former record company RCA. That also was settled.)

Richardson and Littrell, now 28 and 24 according to company documents, are set to break millions of young hearts when they both marry this year.

Potential solo success beckons, too. McLean has made noises about launching a side-career under the banner Johnny Suede, for it would let him be the wildman he's not allowed to be in BSB.

And so, as the Backstreet Boys' appeal spreads from 13-year-old school kids to a potentially less fickle audience of Top-40 radio listeners and R&B fans -- and a growing following in the gay community -- one has to wonder if more Millenniums are to come.

More than a million minutes after my first prediction, all bets are off.

THE BACKSTREET BOYS FILE

- "All five of us are big hams. We love the attention. Everybody who interviews us asks about the negative side, about being labelled as poster boys. As long as we make good music, we'll have no problem with having a long career."

-- Kevin Richardson, March 1997

- "We weren't happy before. Personally, I felt like I was getting up on stage because we had to. Now we want to."

-- A.J. McLean, May 1999

- "Canada had a lot to do with America catching on. It started to leak down and America couldn't hold back no longer."

-- Howie Dorough, May 1999

- "We don't want people to become sick of hearing about us. Once music becomes successful, it's like every record company has to get their version of that. But the only way for us to quiet our critics is to keep putting records out. We're not trying to please the critics, we're just trying to please ourselves."

-- Kevin Richardson, May 1999

Boys Take Top Honors at the 2000 Juno Awards

Source: JAM! Showbiz

p> Backstreet Boys "Millennium" took top honors as the best-selling foreign or domestic album. Backstreeters Howie Dorough and A.J. McLean's appearance to accept their prize brought some of the loudest shrieks heard all night from the crowd some estimated at 15,000.

"Canada was the first country to accept us with open arms. We're always very grateful to you guys and you'll always have a special place in our hearts," Dorough said after the presentation.

McLean said backstage once the Boys' finish their current tour, he will be embarking on a solo tour for his harder-edged Johnny Suede side project (renamed Johnny No-Name, due to copyright problems). More immediately, the full band will be dropping in on Howard Stern's radio show April 11.

"We met Howard Stern at our after party after the Grammys ... He invited us to his show, he thought we had a good sense of humor," he said. The Backstreet Boys new album, meanwhile, will be out in the fall and will likely include the band members playing their own instruments more.

MCY.com Internet PPV Details

Source: MCY.com Webcasts

You're about to stream the first-ever Cyber Webcast of a live, Backstreet Boys concert! MCY is giving you the chance to get your hands on exclusive, live footage of BSB tearing up the stage! Choose between 5 different pay-per-view packages: packages 1 - 4, each offering approx. 30 minutes of concert footage of the BSB's performing your favorite songs live, each with 60 minutes of viewing time to fastforward, rewind or simply watch the show twice.

Want to see the entire BSB performance? No problem! Package #5 is the entire BSB show, 120 minutes of BSB excitement, yours to watch again and again for a period of 72 hours! That's three days of nothing but the boys!

And that's not all. With any package you purchase, MCY is also giving you access to exclusive pictures and video interviews of the Backstreet Boys in our very special Backstage section!

MCY has made it simple for you to be part of the action. When you're ready to watch your concert, all you'll need is one of the player applications for a guaranteed good time. We recommend using the Windows Media Player.. *

Package #1: "Here We Are" $3.99

• BSB's Welcome Fans
• "As Long As You Love Me"
• BSB's Speak About Their Career
• "Don't Want To Lose You"
• "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)"

Package #2:"Where Are The Mom's" $3.99

• Kevin, AJ & Brian Speak About The Internet and The PPV Event
• "Don't Want You Back"
• Howie Speaks About Community On The Internet
• "Intro to The Perfect Fan"
• Brian Speaks About The Mature Fan Club
• "The Perfect Fan"
• AJ Speaks About The Fans
• "Piano Performance by Kevin"

Package #3: "Spanish Eyes" $3.99

• Kevin Speaks About Millennium
• "Spanish Eyes"
• "I'll Never Break Your Heart"
• "No One Else Comes Close"
• AJ Speaks About Goals For The BSB's
• "All I Have To Give"
• "Show Me the Meaning Of Being Lonely"

Package #4:"Larger Than Life" $3.99

• "Larger Than Life"
• "Get Down (You're The One For Me)"
• Howie Speaks About The BSB's Legacy
• "I'll Be The One"
• Kevin Speaks About Making Music For The Fans
• "It's Gotta Be You"
• "I Want It That Way"

Package #5: Millenium 2000 $6.99

• Full Concert and All Interviews by the Backstreet Boys

BSB wins at Juno Awards 2000

For pictures go HERE

BSB won the award for BEST SELLING ALBUM (FOREIGN OR DOMESTIC) for Millennium at The Juno Awards 2000 held in Toronto, Canada Sunday night!

This is from an article about the Juno Award in The Toronto Star and it was a little Backstreet in it:

Crowd pleasers the Backstreet Boys' A.J. McLean and Howie Dorough, who accepted the Juno for best-selling domestic or international album for their million-selling Millenium album, acknowledged Canada's role as their gateway to U.S. success. ``Canada was the first country to accept us with open arms,'' said Dorough. ``It will always have a special place in our hearts.''

McLean, professing his fanhood for Rage Against the Machine and ``that whole punk/trip-hop thing,'' also provided the lone genuine backstage giggle of the evening when a reporter asked a facetious question about whether the Boys would thus be signing on for the punk-and-extreme-sports-centric Warped tour next summer.

``What's that?'' asked McLean, turning to Dorough with a befuddled look on his face. After a quick explanation from the crowd, McLean said the Boys would consider it, adding that the boy-group hoped to broaden its musical palette on its next record.

Source: The Hamilton Spectator

MARY K. NOLAN
The Spectator

Poor Nick. It seems polygamy is in his future, and he isn't even one of the two newly betrothed Backstreet Boys. Yet legions of adoring, hyperventilating female fans have set their sights on the blond, blue-eyed "hottie," BSB's youngest member, as husband material.

In school notebooks and secret diaries and breathless whispers, they're already practising how their name will look and sound with his -- Tiffany Carter, Amanda Carter, Michelle Carter, Katie Carter, Sarah Carter -- you get the idea.

Blessed with the same initials as her crush, 15-year-old Nicole Corby won't even have to change the monograms on the towels. And just imagine how good "Season's Greetings from Nick and Nicky" will look on the Christmas cards.

A generation and more ago, girls were filling their notebooks with similar schmaltzy stuff -- "Linda Osmond," "Donna McCartney," "Susan Nelson" -- the same, only different. They grew up, got married, usually took on some ordinary guy's surname and now look back on their teen heartthrobs with adult amusement and complete empathy.

For Nicole's mom, Lorie Corby, it was Bobby Sherman and David Cassidy. She understands her daughter's idle doodlings of "Nicole and Nicholas Carter," and the teen's youthful obsession doesn't worry her in the least.

"It's not necessarily a bad thing, as long as the important things are there, too," says Corby, who'd rate her daughter as "a 12, 15, maybe 21" on a fan rabidity scale of 1 to 10.

Nicole's room is plastered with BSB posters, she cries at their concerts (Tuesday's will be her third), knows every scrap of information about the boys, lives on their websites, has all the CDs, videos and special releases, and clips everything she can find for her BSB scrapbooks.

But she also has lots of friends, holds a part-time job, dances competitively, and gets good marks in her Grade 9 subjects at Hill Park Secondary School, notes Corby.

And what's for parents not to like about the band?, she asks. They're a relatively innocuous group of young men playing eminently danceable music with non-violent, non-profane lyrics.

"Some day you grow up to the reality of it and move on," Corby says wistfully. "She knows the difference between reality and fantasy. I think when you finally lose all that, it's kind of sad."

Baby boomers remember their parents going ballistic over various "long-haired punks" and decrying "that awful music." Yet parents of BSB fans not only tolerate the music, but facilitate their kid's preoccupation by helping out financially, lining up for tickets, encouraging them to play their music and becoming fans themselves.

Mary Ann Repa, for instance, spent much of her daughter's recent ringette game out in the car, listening to see if 10-year-old Sarah's name was announced in an Energy 108 contest for BSB tickets. The Stoney Creek girl isn't going to the concert, but is half hoping a ticket might somehow materialize. She loves their music, listens to the band's Millennium CD "all night," and has posted a few pictures from Tiger Beat in her room.

"I've told her, 'If you love them that much, start saving for the next time,' " says Repa, who considers the craze harmless. "We had David Cassidy when I was a kid. And my girlfriends were all Monkees fans. One group in high school actually had a make-believe birthday party for one of the Bay City Rollers."

It would be cause for worry if a child's obsession grew to the point of exclusion of all other interests, speculates Tina Elder, whose daughter Courtney is counting the days to the concert.

'They're not going out and experiencing the lifestyles of rock stars, but they're experiencing them vicariously.'

Music professor Susan Fast

The 15-year-old Westdale student has been a zealous fan since day one and, says her mom, "There's nothing she doesn't know about them."

"It almost sounds really pathetic," says Elder, "but it doesn't bother me at all. She's not listening to (heavy rockers) Korn or Rob Zombie -- these are pretty clean cut, wholesome kids."

It's not an expensive pastime, either. Courtney buys all the magazines with her own money, CDs are a one-time expense, and concert tickets, while costly, are infrequent purchases.

"I don't know how long it will last. I suppose if it went on too long, I might get concerned, but at the age she is now, it's what she's into. It's a healthy interest, and she has lots of other interests and an active social life.

"It was the Osmonds for me, but not to this degree," recalls Elder. "But this is fine. I can't say I mind at all."

Nor should she, Dr. Susan Fast says.

The associate professor of music at McMaster University thinks "it's a fairly healthy thing.

"It allows both boys and girls to imagine worlds beyond their own experience and to play around with ideas in a reasonably safe way. They're not going out and experiencing the lifestyles of rock stars, but they're experiencing them vicariously. All art allows us to do that."

Fast, whose specialty is pop music, has researched fan behaviour for her studies on Led Zeppelin. Some hit middle age with their obsessions completely intact, she found, but generally, people grow out of it.

"I'd say people older are not obsessed in quite the same way," says Fast, whose own idols were Zeppelin's Robert Plant and rocker David Bowie.

"That completely overwhelming feeling is not there. They grow up, get into a relationship and have to face their own realities. That line between reality and fantasy grows bigger.

"There was some inkling of possibility that I'd marry Robert Plant," she admits with a laugh and a mock warning not to "put that in the paper."

A young person's obsession with a rock group or star can be sexual, in a completely innocent, sub-conscious way, or alarmingly overt.

"Aside from wanting to marry them or have sex with them, they're also imagining they are these people and experiencing that kind of success and adoration.

"What's so attractive, maybe especially among young girls, is that what you see of these people is so incredibly controlled that your imagination has to fill in the rest. You have to imagine what one of the Backstreet Boys would be like cooking scrambled eggs."

Alarm bells should sound, however, if the infatuation becomes fixation, she says. "I think if there isn't a balance going on in a young person's life, there's a danger."

Karen O'Brien's daughter Emma, 10, is laughing in the background as her mom admits to being Monkees crazy as a teen.

"I had all their posters and everything," says the Dundas mother, who'll be escorting her five-year-old daughter Lucy and a little friend to the "clean-cut boys'" concert, while another mom takes her own daughter and O'Brien's Emma.

"They're not serious, serious fans, but even if they were, it wouldn't be anything to worry about -- not unless I was being asked to drive all over the country to concerts."

Karen Best is thinking back to her Monkees days, too, as she and her daughters, Cassandra, 15, and Kathryn, 10, prepare for their Backstreet girls night out at Copps. The pair did the wristband thing, standing in line at Eastgate Square to nail good seats.

Best didn't have all the posters and paraphernalia her daughters have, and never saw the objects of her affection in person, but she had all the Monkees records and understands her girls' passion for the Boys.

"It's not a bad thing and I don't notice anything extreme," says the Caledonia journalist.

"Their music is pleasant to listen to and the lyrics aren't full of swearing and threatening like some of them. They're easy to listen to, which is good, because I'm hearing it all the time."

Source: MTV

37% of the over 300,000 people who voted at MTV.com for the next Backstreet Boys single chose "The One". Close on its heals at #2 was "Don't Want You Back" with 36%. "It's Gotta Be You" finished in third place with 27%. It should be noted that "Don't Want You Back" was leading all week until Nick Carter called into TRL to let viewers know that "The One" was his favorite track. Until then, "The One" was behind with only 30% of the vote.

Source: MTVi Group Press Release

Thursday March 9, 3:36 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release

NEW YORK--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--March 9, 2000--More than 150,000 MTV Viewers and MTV.com users have already voted online to decide the next single and video from the Backstreet Boys as part of ``@MTV Week.''

Voting for the single and video will continue on MTV.com through Friday, March 10th, when MTV will announce the winning song during ``Total Request Live.'' The three songs in contention are ``The One,'' ``Don't Want You Back'' and ``It's Gotta Be You.''

``@MTV Week'' features daily, live music performances on MTV along with viewer-programmed video blocks chosen by MTV.com users. Artists who have performed in the MTV studios include Hanson, Eve, 'NSYNC, The Smashing Pumpkins, and The Hot Boys. On Friday, March 10th AC/DC will make their first live American TV performance since the late 70's. In addition, MTV.com is featuring exclusive online chats, never-before-seen video from artists and an interactive music video directed by The Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan.

About The MTVi Group

The MTVi Group is the world's leading Internet music content company featuring a comprehensive collection of music destinations on the Internet. The MTVi Group's 18 worldwide destinations include MTV.com, VH1.com, and SonicNet.com. The MTVi Group is a unit of MTV Networks, which is owned by Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA - news, VIA.B - news). Headquartered in downtown New York, The MTVi Group has satellite offices in San Francisco, CA. Liberty Digital (NYSE: LMG.A - news and LMG.B - news) holds a minority stake in The MTVi Group. For more information please visit The MTVi Group corporate Web site (www.mtvigroup.com)

Man! I Feel Like A Diva

Source: VH1 - News From The Wire

By C. Bottomley

The Backstreet Boys, Sting, Enrique Iglesias, D'Angelo and voice of the valleys Tom Jones have all been confirmed as performers on the VH1 special Men Strike Back. It seems the guys feel their manhood has been threatened by the proliferation of divas over the past two years. The show will be broadcast on VH1 on Tuesday, April 18 at 9 PM ET.

The concert promises to be as memorable as any Divas event - and it will have added testosterone, too. The atmosphere of Madison Square Garden will be rich with expensive after-shave when the show tapes at the New York venue's theater. As the special will be on VH1 one week after the VH1 Divas 2000: A Tribute to Diana Ross, audiences will have a chance to compare the male singers of the species with their female counterparts.

Eyes and tongues will be glued to the screen when the Backstreet Boys take the stage. Their first two albums have sold 50 million copies worldwide and Nick, Kevin, Howie, Brian, and A.J. are five of the most ogled faces on the planet. Brian and Kevin recently broke several thousand hearts when they announced their impending engagements to their long-term girlfriends. No wonder their latest single is "Show me the Meaning of Being Lonely."

Sting isn't lonely, no matter what he might have sung with the Police. The bass-spanking singer has reportedly kept his No. 1 Diva, Trudie Styler, happy with his tantric sex practices. He's also helped save the rainforests, sold millions of copies of solo albums like Brand New Day, and memorably died as Feyd in the classic 1984 film Dune.

D'Angelo's midriff and belly button (he's an innee) will be familiar to VH1 users from his revealing video for "Untitled (How Does It Feel)." The sultry soul superstar recently went to No. 1 with his sophomore album Voodoo. D'Angelo has already become one of the most lauded singers of the new millennia for his falsetto vocals and classy arrangements.

Enrique Iglesias is one of the hottest Latin stars today, if you discount a certain Mr. Martin. His anguished vocals made a No. 1 hit of "Bailamos;" he's sold 17 million albums worldwide; and he's rather tasty looking. But are his soccer skills as good as his famous dad's? Maybe someone will throw a ball onstage so we can find out.

And what can you say about Tom Jones? Only that he is a legend. And like every legend, the "It's Not Unusual" singer has the usual new release. Reload features Jones singing it up with such starry luminaries as Robbie Williams, the Cardigans, Van Morrison and the Stereophonics. Sounds interesting.

Did we get it right? Tell our news desk what you think about the male divas. Just send an email to newsmaker@vh1mail.com. Then set your video recorders and don't move from that sofa. Men Strike Back is coming to your TV set on Tuesday, April 18 at 9 PM ET/PT. You have been warned.

TEXAS SCHOOL: "BACKSTREET'S BAD, ALRIGHT!"
By Rob Kemp

Source: VH1 - News From The Wire

Aren't those Backstreet Boys nice? VH1.com's granny and the ladies we play bingo with at church every Tuesday all agree that Nick, Brian, A.J., Kevin and Howie are fine, upstanding young men. All the girls' screams deafening Times Square workers every day at 4 PM outside of TRL concur. Our informal consensus holds that Backstreet, and all their hits, would never suggest untoward behavior.

But officials at the Sunnybrook Christian Academy in San Antonio,Texas don't think so. Four students - two high school age, two junior high school age - at the private school have been suspended for attending a Backstreet Boys concert at San Antonio's Alamodome on March 1. A.J.'s onstage writhing and Nick's rhetorical query "Am I sexual?" in the anthem "Backstreet's Back" contradicts the school's policy opposing "involvement in inappropriate music [or] dancing."

School administrator Trudie Perez elaborated the Academy's philosophy on Wednesday. "Our conduct must be moral and upright 24 hours a day. Students are expected to adhere to school regulations against such behavior as swearing and drinking even after the school bell has rung for the day."

Three students served their one-day suspension, but the fourth, senior Jason Trejo, resolved to leave the school. Perez said Trejo was enrolled at Sunnybrook by his stepfather, but when his mother was asked to sign a contract acknowledging the school's principles, she pulled him out.

The incident does not appear to have affected Sunnybrook's policy. Perez states that "inappropriate music would be anything that would promote values that would be contrary to Biblical values. We promote abstinence until marriage, so any music that would have any type of sexual content would be deemed inappropriate."

Barring any incipient uproar (a la the recently rescinded ban on interracial dating at Bob Jones University), perhaps the famously devout Brian Littrell could defend the intentions of his group. VH1.com wonders what hitmakers could meet Sunnybrook's morally sound definition. Bob Carlisle, he of "Butterfly Kisses," makes the grade, as does defunct, ludicrous Christian metallions Stryper. Then there's Hildegard of Bingen, the 14th century nun given to composing monophonic Gregorian chants. Otherwise, VH1.com is stumped. Pat Boone, sadly, is out, since the longtime Baptist entertainer made that big band/heavy metal album No More Mr. Nice Guy.

But sundry pop performers have long run afoul of Sunnybrook's standards: Perez reckoned that students had been suspended for attending inappropriate concerts since 1983. An incident that had not made the news was the suspension of a student that had been infected by the devilish gyrations we all know abound at Ricky Martin shows.

Free-speech activist Nina Crowley, executive director for the Massachusetts Music Industry Coalition is having none of it, telling SonicNet.com that she'd never heard of school strictures as inflexible as Sunnybrook's. "It totally takes all choice about your kids' cultural experience out of your hands, 24 hours a day," she said, going on to speculate on the motives of parents willing to send their children to such a restrictive school. "So many people are looking for somebody else to morally guide their child. What better way to do that than to have someone dictate to them around the clock?"

San Antonio has been a testing ground for what pop artists can get away with ever since Ozzy Osbourne relieved himself on the Alamo 18 years ago. And more recently, a few Texas public school districts held Marilyn Manson Awareness training. The Crime Prevention Resource Center, the Fort Worth nonprofit group that organized the events, sent guidelines to schools suggesting that devotees of Manson and other "scary" rock and metal bands should be regarded as gang members.

As yet, the Backstreet organization has not commented on this latest contretemps, but they have spoken out against counterfeit tickets and backstage passes being proffered on eBay. "The Backstreet Boys would like to inform you that there are people who are selling counterfeit tickets and backstage passes for Backstreet Boys concerts on eBay," reads a message to fans on the Boys' official Web site (www.backstreetboys.com). "This is in no way affiliated or condoned by the Backstreet Boys."

"The Backstreet Boys want you to be very careful in considering these false offers. Individuals are wasting large sums of money on these tickets and passes because they are bogus. Please be aware and know that backstage passes are never sold for Backstreet Boys shows by anyone, ever." There, we told you that Backstreet were good chaps.

Post-Dispatch Review: 3/7/00, St. Louis, MO

Source: The St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Backstreet Boys draw crowd of 68,000 screaming fans to Dome

By Kevin C. Johnson

Post-Dispatch Pop Music Critic

The St. Louis branch of the Backstreet Boys' vast nation of fans came out in full force to the Trans World Dome on Tuesday night for the long-awaited return of the most popular pop group in the world.

And it's long-awaited status was barely diminished by the fact the group just sold out the Kiel Center four months ago.

"They're so hot. The music is good and they're awesome," said exuberant 14-year-old fan Kaitlin Jakel of Edwardsville, offering a simplistic yet to-the-point and popular opinion of the Backstreet Boys phenomenon.

Jakel was one of 68,000 fans filling the Dome Tuesday at a concert this close to selling out. Folks at Contemporary Productions, the local promoter of the show, called the event one of the biggest concerts this town has ever seen (the last concert to play the Dome was a country lineup featuring George Strait, Tim McGraw and John Michael Montgomery. That show didn't sell out, despite intense marketing).

Sensitive eardrums had no place at the Backstreet Boys concert, though the screaming began long before the group even hit the stage just before 9 p.m. Enthusiasm for the group spilled over onto the opening acts despite the fact most of the fans probably have never even heard of the oddly booked, old-school rappers the Jungle Brothers or the lightweight Jennifer Lopez-wannabe Willa.

The concert, expected to last two hours, seemed to mimic the group's last recent appearance here, at least in its opening moments. During an extended, ceremonial prologue that was as pompous as it was flashy, Nick Carter, Howard "Howie D." Dorough, Brian Littrell, Kevin Richardson and Alexander James "A.J." McLean emerged amid much pomp and circumstance (complete with trumpet sounds and torches), gliding out over the stage on glowing boards while wearing futuristic suits.

After marching to each side of the stage, where they longingly stared at the crowd in each section, blazing-red pyrotechnics ushered in the opening song "Larger Than Life" from the blockbuster "Millennium" CD, while other upbeat songs such as "Get Down (You're the One for Me)" and "The One" followed.

And there was no going wrong as far as these screaming fans were concerned when it came to the Backstreet Boys, the latest flavor in a long line of frenzy-inducing boy groups that has included New Kids on the Block, the Jackson 5, the Beatles and the Monkees.

Jenny Owens, 14; Jessica Alton, 12; and sisters Aylssa Dial, 17 and Leah Dial, 15, all of Springfield, all had one thing to say about the Backstreet Boys last night - "they're so hot!" They attended with the Dial girls' cousin, 10-year-old Austin Klobe, attending his first concert, and Klobe's father, Tom, both of Ballwin.

The older Klobe called the scene was something else. "I've seen a lot of concerts, plenty of Kiss and Celine Dion, but I've never seen anything like this before."

"They're good at everything. I just love them," says Penny Smith, 14, of Edwardsville. Many fans came bearing homemade signs with messages like "Backstreet Boys Rule," "I Love Nick," and "Nick Won't You Marry Me?" A number of vehicles were also decorated with temporary paint touting a variety of Backstreet Boys messages.

Though the majority of those in attendance were teen girls and young women, there was also a number of mother-daughter teams and even father-daughter couplings.

Shanetta Lofton of St. Louis bought her two children, 13-year-old Christopher and 11-year-old LaKendra, concert tickets as a Christmas present, though she didn't buy one for herself. "I thought I'd let them grow up a little bit," she said of her children's first-ever concert.

Fans had mixed feelings for a bit of the biggest news to come out of the Backstreet camp in a while - the news that both Richardson and Littrell were recently engaged to be married. "It's a bummer. I didn't want them to be married," said Jakel. Smith said, "That got me so upset. It was supposed to be me. I got my hopes up and they let me down." And Alton quipped, "They weren't the hot ones anyway."

Don't Want You Back is still in the lead for the next single. Behind is It's Gotta Be You, and then The One. Keeping voting on TRL. Nick called up TRL today. He did not sound all that awake. He said he thinks he is in Cleveland. And he just talked to Carson about the singles. NICK ALSO SAID THEY HAD AN IDEA FOR "THE ONE" ALREADY.

The Backstreet Boys come to Cleveland

Source: Cleveland Live

The Backstreet Boys, one of pop's leading "boy bands" will be playing at Gund Arena on March 9. With more than 28 million albums sold worldwide, this band is ready to make Cleveland-area girls swoon.

Source: Associated Press Texas Wire News

SAN ANTONIO (AP) - A private Christian school has suspended four students for attending a Backstreet Boys concert.

Sunnybrook Christian Academy issued the suspensions late last week because the students broke a school rule barring ``involvement with inappropriate music,'' school administrator Trudie Perez said Tuesday.

The Backstreet Boys, a popular teen-age band, played to a packed crowd at the Alamodome last Wednesday night. Once school officials confirmed some students had attended, they gave them one-day suspensions.

Two students completed their suspensions and were back in school Friday. Another will complete hers upon returning from an out-of-town trip with her family.

A fourth student, high school senior Jason Trejo, and his family are complaining about the school's policy.

Trejo was enrolled in the school more than two years ago by a former stepfather he was living with, Perez said.

Trejo's mother, with whom he now lives, complained about the music policy and refused to sign a statement saying she agrees with it and other school rules, Perez said, adding that his mother has filled out papers to withdraw him from the private school.

``I pointed out, he has to abide by our rules if he's going to be here,'' the administrator said. ``We did not expel him. He was withdrawn.''

John Bernal, Jason Trejo's stepfather, said the boy's mother refuses to sign a statement agreeing with the school policy. The family maintains the policy on inappropriate music says nothing about concerts.

The Christian school forbids ``involvement'' with music groups such as the Backstreet Boys because of some song lyrics, Perez said.

``They have some good music, but some of the music, I have been told, has certain sexual references,'' Perez said. She cited the band's song lyrics, ``Are you sexual?'' and ``I want to touch your body all night.''

``That's not the message that we want to convey to our young people,'' Perez said. ``We send the message of sexual abstinence.''

The school has 315 students in kindergarten through 12th grade.

Trejo, who is scheduled to graduate in three months, may have to finish the year at a public school, his family said.

Fans Cast Their Votes For the Next Backstreet Boys Single and Video At MTV.com

Source: Yahoo News

NEW YORK--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--March 7, 2000--MTV Viewers and MTV.com users now have the chance to decide the next single and video from the Backstreet Boys during ``@MTV Week,'' airing through March 10th. The weeklong, convergent music experience features special programming both on-air and online at MTV.com.

Backstreet Boys fans can log on to www.MTV.com and vote for one of three choices to be the fourth single and video from their 12X platinum Jive release, Millennium. The three songs in contention are ``The One,'' ``Don't Want You Back'' and ``It's Gotta Be You.'' Throughout the week, the Backstreet Boys will call into MTV's ``Total Request Live'' to find out how the voting is going. On Friday, March 10, MTV will announce the winner during ``Total Request Live.'' The Backstreet Boys will then shoot a video for the winning song.

``@MTV Week'' features daily, live music performances on MTV along with viewer-programmed video blocks chosen by MTV.com users. Artists slated to perform include Hanson, Eve, *NSYNC, The Smashing Pumpkins, The Hot Boys, AC/DC and others. In addition, MTV.com is featuring exclusive online chats, never-before-seen video from artists and an interactive music video directed by The Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan.

Larger Than Life was #5 on the top 20 most expensive videos. Quit Playing Games With My Heart cost $300,000 to do. Here's the lowdown on the LTL video:
Cryptonite Chamber [beginning of video]: $20,000
Surfboard Scene w/ Brian: $90,000
Kevin's Part: $40,000
Nick's Part: $1,500
AJ's Suit: $10,000
3-D Animation Models: $45,000
Costumes: $56,000
Tumble Rig [?]: $2,500
Shot of the Spaceship: $70,000
Weightless Effects: $40,000
Art Department: $310,000
Camera Works: $15,000
Choreography: $25,000
Dancer's Beverages: $3,000
Mop' N Glo [?]: $6.99
Space Sequence: $180,000
Dance Costumes: $12,000
Fly Crew to Set: $150,000
Cost Per Day: $525,000
Director's Cut: $150,000
Special Effects: $600,000
Total: $2,100,000

Source: The Dallas Morning News

Wonder Boys
Production values soar during Backstreet show

03/04/2000

By Teresa Gubbins / The Dallas Morning News

Cheryl Diaz Meyer / DMN The Backstreet Boys perform for a sold-out crowd Friday at Reunion Arena.

Pop music has officially become the stuff of Broadway, as proved stunningly by the Backstreet Boys on Friday at Reunion Arena during the first of two sold-out shows.

It used to be that the most insulting thing you could say about an act was that its members lip-synced their songs. But like many of their teen-pop comrades, the Backstreet gang rendered the issue moot by simply out-dancing and out-performing it altogether.

The show was as sophisticated and theatrical as it comes, paced more like a Broadway show than a concert. There were at least five costume changes, and a series of breathtaking dance numbers that employed unusual props such as folding chairs. Somewhere in the middle of it all were a couple of harmony-intensive voice-only songs to prove that the Boys can and sometimes really do sing.

As a Broadway production, it fell short on content, with no story line and not even much meat to the lyrics. The focal points were the dance numbers and close-ups of the band's faces, impressively displayed on video screens over the stage.

Before the Boys emerged, the thousands of girls and their parents in the audience sat happily in the arena, their screams coming in waves, like those you hear when a roller coaster makes its rounds. Thrilled to be part of the event, they eagerly participated in endless cycles of "the wave." Every time a technician onstage moved, they screamed. Every time the video screens flickered, they screamed. Four girls holding hands skipped across the main floor, all wearing identical Backstreet Boys T-shirts.

For Mallory Jones, 9, the concert was a birthday present from her mother, Sheila Bushee, 33. The twosome drove up from Clifton, Texas, near Waco, reprising a similar trip they made last year for 'N Sync.

Emily Johnson and Stephen Osborne, both 20, of College Station, Texas, were jubilant that her father was able to get them tickets.

"We're the only college students here tonight!" Ms. Johnson said.

The show opened with great drama. As the notes to the Chambers Brothers' "Time Has Come Today" tolled, the quintet emerged from a box at one end of the stage with a puff of smoke. Suspended by wires, with boogie boards attached to their feet, they slowly, precariously "flew" through the air. Landing onstage, they engaged in a prolonged "changing of the guard" - lots of salutes and whatnot - with the theme from Star Wars playing in the background.

The stage was in-the-round, pentagonally shaped, its icy-blue color scheme reflecting the design of the Boys' current CD, Millennium - the one that's sold 11 million copies. Wearing Batman-style chest pieces, backed by five pairs of dancers and six musicians, they began with "Larger Than Life," in which all skipped joyously around the stage, as if they were on a huge human merry-go-round.

On "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" the production was fabulous: The entire team wore white, and everyone danced with an uninhibited, vivacious bounce that was breathtaking to watch. The best part: The dancers truly looked like they were having fun.

As long as you don't think of them as musicians, the Backstreet Boys are actually quite likable. And as showmen, they were spectacular, raising the level of what constitutes a pop music event.

Source: LA times

Singer Nick Carter of the pop group the Backstreet Boys and his parents, Robert and Jane Carter, have purchased a 10,000-square-foot home on 100 acres in the Santa Ynez Valley for $3.3 million.

The family, which also has a home on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, recently settled into their Santa Ynez Valley residence, which they bought in the fall. The singer, 20, has been on the road and in other states most recently.

Since the quintet was formed in 1993, the group became the world's biggest-selling boy band in 1999 with its album "Millennium."

Built about nine years ago, the Santa Ynez Valley home has a small lake, swimming pool, tennis court, barn and guest apartment.

Diana Anderson of Fred Sands, Santa Ynez Valley, had the listing, and Diane Sanders of Re/Max, Palos Verdes, represented the Carters.

Source: The Dallas Morning News

03/02/2000
By Spike Gillespie / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News

Crystal Walsh, 19, of Tyler is driving to Dallas for the BSB show. This is the first concert for the food-server by day/retail clerk by night.

"I've maxed out all my credit cards," she confesses, and she's not just talking about ticket cost. "I bought new clothes, new luggage, and I'm staying at a hotel." She's trying very hard to stay calm, just in case (please, God) she happens to bump into the Boys in person. But, she admits, "I'd probably pass out." Her favorite boy is Nick. Her favorite song is "As Long as You Love Me."

Kimberly Owen, 31, is a respiratory therapist in San Francisco. She's already been to two BSB shows this year in San Jose, Calif. She's flying to Texas for the San Antonio show and then hopping on another plane to go to the Dallas shows.

She'll be attending the show with Crystal Walsh, whom she met online in a BSB chat room. "I started liking them in May '98 when I saw their video for 'Everybody.'

"I'm one of their older fans. An opportunity arose through Crystal to go see them in Texas and I thought, 'Why not?' " What do her peers think about her infatuation with the Boys? "They playfully tease me. Most of my friends like their music but would never go see them. I dragged my roommate to a show and she said, 'If anyone asks, I'm your chaperon.' "

Kate Empson, 16, is a high school student in El Paso. This is her first concert. A ticket, travel and a shopping spree in Dallas to buy an outfit for the show were a birthday gift from her parents. She's flying in for the event with her mom and her sister.

"I am very, very, very excited. They are one of my favorite groups ever." Her favorite Boy is a toss-up between Nick and Brian. Favorite song? "I like them all." If she meets them, she says, "That would be, like, the best thing ever. I would probably die."

"I can't think of any don'ts because it's so exciting."

Jen Johnson, 17, is a Dallas high school student. Her mom got her a BSB ticket for Christmas. Her favorite BSB is Nick. "He has an awesome voice." Favorite song? Their new single, "Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely." Jen's been to several arena shows: "A bunch of Hanson shows, Aerosmith, and I've seen the Backstreet Boys once before."

Brittany Odem, 12, is a student in Dallas who really, really, REALLY wishes she could go to the show. But she isn't. "I tried to win tickets on the radio. I called in lots. But it was, like - everybody's trying to win. It was really hard to win them." Nick is her favorite BSB and "Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely" is her favorite song. She's been listening to BSB "ever since their first CD came out - in '97, I think." If she were going, here's what she would (and wouldn't) do.

Source: San Antonio Express-News

Music: They're larger than life

Backstreet Boys hit superhero status

By Hector Saldana
Express-News Staff Writer
hsaldana@express-news.net

When you've sold 40 million records and been nominated for several Grammys, that's huge. When you've got your own comic book, too, well, that's larger than life.

The Backstreet Boys' thrilling entrance at the Alamodome on Wednesday is meant to reinforce the new Marvel Comics-style image on the second leg of their "Into the Millennium Tour."

The first thing fans will see (when the lights finally go down) is their singing group floating in formation on neon surfboards, high above a space-age octagonal stage surfing superheroes straight out of their newly launched Stan Lee comic book, "The Backstreet Project" all to the tune of "Star Wars" and 40,000 screams.

Like a mutation of Jonny Quest, the Power Rangers and Batman, the Backstreet Boys will storm the stage in their colorful, muscle-rippled molded outfits to sing the opening number, "Larger Than Life," backed by their six-piece band and 10 dancers.

It is strobe lights-and-smoke exhilaration unlike any other. Fire even shoots up from the stage floor. And when singer A.J. McLean asks, "Are you ready to party?" there's no turning back at this concert-in-the-round.

Tickets are still available for the Backstreet Boys Alamodome appearance. More than 40,000 fans are expected. Rap/scratch duo the Jungle Brothers will open the show to ratchet up the electricity.

Strictly by the numbers, the multiplatinum Backstreet Boys are the biggest pop group in the world today. "Millennium" sold a record 1.1 million units in its first week of release in May. Worldwide, the hit album's sales are nearing 30 million.

However, ask any of the millions of young girls who absolutely love them, and they'll tell you that they're simply "cute and wild."

Their names and personalities are well known to their loyal legion. Howard "Howie D." Dorough is the sweet one; McLean is the rebel; Kevin Richardson is the serious, handsome older guy; Nick Carter is the sexy golden boy, and at 19, the baby of the group; and Brian "B-Rok" Littrell is the earnest balladeer.

People magazine named Richardson, a former Ninja Turtle at Disneyland, its "sexiest pop star" last year. At Wednesday's spectacular, he'll be the only Backstreet Boy to play an instrument when he solos on a white grand piano that descends out of the sky.

The Backstreet Boys made history last weekend when they performed for more than 70,000 fans at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Inside, teen-agers held up handmade signs with messages like "I Love Nick," "I'm Legal," "Nick Naked," "A.J. I'm Pregnant," "Marry Me, A.J."

Several costume changes will see the boys switch from action-hero garb to black leather. And later, into white silk, ties and vests, "Guys and Dolls"-style pinstripe suits and fedoras and casual, hip utilitarian gear.

Of course, nothing can keep wild child A.J. from going shirtless occasionally, blowing kisses to the audience and shaking his booty.

During "Don't Want You Back," the boys will strut tough and grimace like they really mean it. They'll make sweet and cuddly on "The Perfect Fan" when they invite five moms and daughters up onstage and hold hands (Littrell wrote this one for his mother).

Most impressive is when the Backstreet Boys appear after a costume change to sing "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)" while flying on trapeze harnesses in five different directions overhead and managing somersaults, too.

All the while, everyone in the place is singing and screaming along. Everyone should bring ear protection because this one's going to be loud A.J. and Nick win in the pandemonium-inducing category.

"The Backstreet Project" comic book is available exclusively at concert venues or online at www.backstreetproject.com. As singing and dancing superheroes, Howie has telepathy, Kevin has superhuman strength, A.J. is the ultimate marksman, Brian can jump over buildings and Nick has Ninja powers.

The show closes with the band's latest Top 20 single, "Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely," and everyone will have to wait for the last encore number to hear the smash hit "I Want It That Way."

There is hope for those who can't make Wednesday's concert.

Beginning March 15 through July 31, New York-based online retailer MCY.com will offer a pay-per-view Webcast of the first two shows of the sold-out tour, along with backstage interviews at www.mcy.com.

Backstreet love affair

Source: San Antonio Express-News

Boys stand out from the bubble gum brat pack

(Last updated Tuesday, Feb 29, 2000)

By Hector Saldańa
hsaldana@express-news.net
Express-News Staff Writer

How big are the Backstreet Boys? The answer may lie in the titles of a couple of their latest songs - "Larger Than Life" and "No One Else Comes Close."

The Backstreet Boys are at the forefront of one of the most amazing teen pop assaults on the charts ever, a platinum-hued trend that includes Britney Spears, best new artist Grammy winner Christina Aguilera and 'N Sync.

Combined, these acts sold nearly 25 million albums last year. "Millennium," "... Baby One More Time," "Christina Aguilera" and "'N Sync" landed at the No. 1, 2, 9 and 11 slots, respectively, for best-selling albums of 1999.

If it hadn't been for Cher's "Believe," Aguilera's "Genie in a Bottle" would have been the top-selling single last year. Other newcomers selling lots of singles were LFO and Jessica Simpson.

Billboard magazine called 1999 the year of the teen idol.

But there seems to be something about the Backstreet Boys, who perform tonight at the Alamodome, that sets them apart in this bubblegum brat pack. And it's not just adolescent girls who thinks so.

Even respected Village Voice rock critic Robert Christgau admitted he was "converted" last July to the Backstreet Boys, proclaiming "these guys do righteous work" and "definitely don't suck."

Epic Records senior vice president Dave McPherson,? who signed the Backstreet Boys in 1993, said the group ultimately is about quality. His latest discovery is 15-year-old Mandy Moore. "I think that the Backstreet Boys and Mandy Moore are the artists of the future," McPherson said.

"Maybe what they're doing is categorized as teen pop or whatever, but just as Madonna came outyears ago with 'Lucky Star,' I don't think people knew she'd be around in 20 years, but she is."

McPherson said it was difficult, at first, for the Backstreet Boys to overcome what he called the "Yechh! factor" at MTV and publications such as Rolling Stone magazine, but that "talent and great songs" won out.

"No one really wanted to deal with what we call pop music now," he said, adding that radio play broke down the barriers. "The Backstreet Boys definitely spearheaded the movement. At the time they got into the game, there was no one else."

That the "boy band" playing field may be getting a little too crowded even for the Backstreet Boys became evident when BSB singer Kevin Richardson told MTV recently what he thinks of nearest rivals 'N Sync — "I mean, it's like, 'Find your own identity.'"

Expect that rivalry to heat up when 'N Sync's "No Strings Attached" arrives in stores March 21.

Christgau, the Village Voice critic, said his 14-year-old daughter dragged him to a Backstreet Boys concert, and (surprise) he liked them. But that doesn't mean he holds all teenybopper pop in the same regard.

The rock critic has studied the teen scene enough to judge 'N Sync "wimpier" than the Backstreet Boys and proclaim "I Want It That Way" a great record that will stand the test of time.

"I don't like most teen pop, and I don't think most of good music, and I'm not at all convinced it's good for the people who listen to it," said Christgau, 57.

However, for his teen-age daughter, Christgau acknowledges, "'N Sync is like a metaphor with which to discuss all of life."

Sex appeal aside, talent and great songs — plus a crucial boost from MTV's "Total Request Live" — are the real power of the Backstreet Boys, McPherson said.

"These artists will all evolve if they're talented. Those that aren't will fall by the wayside," he says. "These artists will do great things and change with the times and not necessarily keep them stuck in the teen genre — and who knows how long that will last."

And the Backstreet Boys' appeal extends beyond teens, he add- ed. "My mom likes 'Quit Play- ing Games (With My Heart).' There's 40-year-olds buying their records."

But will they admit it? And if they do, will anyone hear them over all the screaming?

"The best way to say it is it's a pop explosion. It's really been an incredible landscape that we've seen grow extremely fast and loud and it is not going to die anytime soon," said Tom Calderone, MTV senior vice president of music and talent programming. "It's pretty intense."

Calderone calls the youth trend "empowering" for artists and fans alike. The theory being that "when you're singing songs about things that mean a lot, it's always easier to hear it from a peer."

"Total Request Live" may be ground zero for the Backstreet Boys boom, but the group also is blowing up on the Internet. Graying readers of Rolling Stone learned that when the Boys shanghaied the magazine's year-end music poll, which was conducted online for the first time in 1999.

MCY.com, a New York-based company that Webcasts concerts on a pay-per-view basis, is sponsoring the "Into the Millennium" tour.

The company partnered with Microsoft in December to Webcast Paul McCartney's return to the Cavern Club, and it will air a Backstreet Boys concert on its Web site, www.mcy.com, beginning March 15.

"This is really the first teen pop concert we've done," said Clay Czelusniak, publicity director at MCY.com, who predicts the Backstreet Boys eventually will get more online hits than McCartney.

"The Backstreet Boys are a money machine. There's nobody bigger out there," Czelusniak said. "Everything that has to do with pop music and kids nowadays revolves around the Backstreet Boys and these teen bands, and that's one reason why MCY went and pursued them."

The Backstreet Boys, besides being the No. 1-selling act in the country, are also the No. 1-searched band on the Internet. Limp Bizkit comes in second place, and Britney Spears is No. 3.

The buzz for the Backstreet Boys' Alamodome show is tremendous, says morning radio host Dean Novak at KXXM-FM "The Mix."

"The anticipation is equal to, if not more, than 'N Sync. These tickets were gobbled up even faster," Novak said.

The screams were loud for 'N Sync last August. They'll be louder tonight.

"You don't get much more energy in one place than packing the Alamodome with young people waiting for the Backstreet Boys to hit the stage," Novak said.

Music: Boys will be boys; battle

Source: San Antonio Express-News

Thursday, Feb 24, 2000

The Backstreet Boys vs. 'N Sync? To borrow from the old "Saturday Night Live" bit, "Quien es mas macho?" Arguments can be made for both platinum-selling supergroups.

Both dazzle with slick dance moves during light hip-hop and R&B numbers and pop ballads, doused with puppy love and fueled by the perpetual screams of their teen and pre-teen audience. Both show their tender sides in concert by pulling lucky young fans onstage for a personal serenade. Heavy-duty sound effects, video screens for close-ups and pyrotechnics complete their total conquest live.

However, there are some subtle (and not so subtle) differences that even a scream meter might miss.

Record sales: The Backstreet Boys' "Millennium" tops 11 million in sales in the United States. "'N Sync" sales are at 10 million. "Millennium" reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and is currently No. 12. "'N Sync" peaked at No. 2 and is currently No. 69 after 99 weeks on the charts.

Chart watch, radio: The Backstreet Boys are at No. 12 with their latest single, "Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely." On their heels at No. 13 is 'N Sync with "Bye, Bye, Bye." However, 'N Sync is making the greatest gains in radio airplay with this first single from the upcoming album, "No Strings Attached," due March 21. "Bye, Bye, Bye" is the No. 1 most added song at pop radio with 200 stations putting the song into rotation in one week — a new record. The Backstreet Boys held the old record of 145 for "I Want It That Way."

Grammy: The Backstreet Boys received five Grammy nominations this year, including Record of the Year for "I Want It That Way," Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Pop Album and Best Vocal Performance By Duo or Group with Vocal. 'N Sync was up for Grammys in two categories. "Music of My Heart" with Gloria Estefan was nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals;" they had a shot at Best Country Collaboration with Vocals for "God Must Have Spent a Little More Time on You" with Alabama. However, both groups were flattened by the Carlos Santana Express and came home empty-handed Wednesday night.

Who wrote what: "Millennium" featured songs by heavyweight producers Robert John "Mutt" Lange, Max Martin, Kristian Lundin, Andreas Carlsson and BSB singer Brian Littrell. 'N Sync's new album will offer songs from Diane Warren, Richard Marx, She'kspere and Teddy Riley. TLC's Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes appears with 'N Sync on "Space Cowboy."

On stage: The Backstreet Boys ride in on boogie boards suspended by cables to the "Star Wars" theme. At the Alamodome last August, 'N Sync was hoisted to the stage like jewel thieves spoofing "Mission Impossible," music and all.

Local champ: 'N Sync drew 25,000 fans; more than 40,000 will be at the 'Dome on Wednesday for the Backstreet Boys.

— Hector Saldańa