16: You guys are so popular right now- are you overwhelmed by it all?
NICK: It hasn't really taken effect with me. I haven't felt it yet.
KEV: We're really excited to be having this success in the United States.
BRIAN: It's exciting, but we still have a lot of goals to achieve. Many more albums... many more videos.
HOWIE: We waited so long for this, and now that it's happened, it's really taken off. It's happened so rapidly and it was very suprising to us. We thought once we came over here it would take a while for our names to be known, but our singles have hit very well here on the charts. And for our fans, it's like, we've been a household name.
16: You're performing in huge arenas throughout the U.S. How do you feel about that?
HOWIE: We can't beleive it! We sold out Radio City Music Hall in New York City in like, 12 minutes. In Detroit we sold out two arenas- the tickets are really selling out and we're so excited about it.
16: What can people except when they come to see one of your concerts?
A.J.: Bigger shows, bigger production. The tour lasts until September, and its covering the East Coast, Midwest, West Coast- there are a lot of shows. We put on a real action packed show- good music, six-piece live band. It's going to be a crazy, all-around good time. Hopefully everyone will enjoy it.
16: We understand you're going to be recording more of your songs in Spanish?
HOWIE: I've tried to influence the guys into translating our songs because it's personal- being that I'm part Spanish and my mom's Puerto Rican. It's part of my blood, and I want to reach out to everyone out there. So we're actually shooting two videos for "I'll Never Break Your Heart,"-one in English and one in Spanish. I think that we'll find a lot of new loyal fans out there.
A.J.: Recording in other languages is kind of cool, kind of a challenge for us. It allows fans to have a little something from us. Who knows what language we might sing next?
16:What would you like to say about your music?
HOWIE: I just hope people listen to our music and let it speak for itself. Hopefully we can move people with our music and bring some happiness into people's lives.
A.J.: The thing about our music is, we have nothing to hide. There is nothing false about BSB. We are a vocal/harmony group, not just a "Boy Group" or "Boy Band." We want people to know our first priority is really good music.
16: Have you started working on the next albums?
A.J.: Definitely- we're all writing songs all the time. The new album will be a growth period for us. We are going to try to go a little further with vocal challenges. We're going to try to broaden our range. But we're not going to make any drastic changes quite yet. The Backstreet Boys have a long way to go- this is only our third album. And it's going to be very good.
What's been the best part of reaching your level of success?
A.J.: I don't want this to come out wrong, but I'll say it anyway: to get little rewards here and there for the work we've done. Getting Gold and Platinum records. Having the opportunity to give our families really nice Christmas presents- to give back to our family and friends who've been there since we wre little toddlers. And to be able to give back to our fans. It's a big life cycle. It's a big circle and it just grows.
BRIAN: Seeing how happy the fans are, hearing them tell us how much our music means to them- you can't beat that. We really get to see the effect our music has on other people.
16: When you were younger and dreaming of what your future would hold, what did you wish for?
HOWIE: I guess we'd all dreamed about being successful in whatever we did. There have been several groups whose success we wanted to emulate- Boyz II Men, New Edition, and earlier groups, like the Temptations and Earth Wind and Fire. To have our music known all over the world- that was a pretty big wish!
16: Have you treated yourself to anything special lately?
KEVIN: I bought house. I finally have a place to hang my hat. I bought a place with some friends of mine.
