Date: July 28, 2001
Source: San Jose Contra Costa Times
Submitted by: Dawn
THERE ARE a lot of Backstreet Boys fans out there with the date Aug. 13 circled on their calendars. And they're probably not going to like what I have to say in this column.
Aug. 13, of course, is the date the Backstreet Boys are scheduled to perform at the Compaq Center in San Jose. The date has not changed, even though the group announced on MTV July 9 that band member AJ McLean had entered a rehab program to deal with clinical depression, alcohol abuse and anxiety attacks.
The New York Daily News reported that McLean, the so-called "bad boy" member of the band, had been having troubles for a month or so -- to the point that the singer's mom and a professional counselor had joined him on tour. He reportedly went "over the edge" after the death of his grandmother.
Comeback trail
According to the band's Web site and concert tour promoters, the band is slated to resume the tour on Aug. 7 -- just about a month after he began rehab -- if he is deemed ready to perform.
If the comeback materializes, you can bet AJ and his mates will receive a hero's welcome from their adoring fans, and a ton of scrutiny from the bright lights and clicking cameras of the press. It would, without question, be a courageous effort.
And, to my mind, a foolish and reckless one. Guys, don't do it. Call the tour off and let AJ deal adequately with his demons.
I say this acknowledging up front that I have no special insights into what AJ is going through. I don't know what kind of facility he's in, and neither the band nor its Jive Records label is commenting on how his treatment is progressing.
But does anyone think that alcohol abuse and clinical depression are problems one can vanquish in a single month? Face it, the entertainment business is littered with folks who've paid the price for assuming they could lick a substance-abuse problem with a one-month flea-dip kind of treatment. Trouble is, by the time they find out it isn't that easy, their lives and careers have gotten even further off-course.
Scads of stress
Of course, the pressure to push on must be tremendous. For one thing, there are all those millions of dollars in concert revenues at stake, not to mention the tangled web of endorsement and sponsorship deals. Then there's that ticking-clock factor. It's no secret that if fame were a golf course, the Backstreet Boys would be well on their way through the back nine. These guys might have been the first and best of the neo-boy-band wave, but 'N Sync has grabbed the throne. The Backstreeters are more men than boys now, and their songs have been turning up on the dreaded adult contemporary singles chart. Plus, music insiders say the boy-band wave itself is seriously cresting.
In short, this tour could be the Backstreeters' last -- or at least the last one that matters.
Given that scenario, I suppose one could argue that McLean should jump back on stage because he and the band "owe it to their fans." But I'm betting AJ's young fans -- and the parents of those young fans -- would rather deal with the disappointment of a canceled concert than risk the heartbreak of watching a young, charismatic entertainer self-destruct in front of the whole world.
Besides, I can't think of a worse message to send to kids than the idea that things like clinical depression are mere annoyances to be flicked off your skin rather than serious problems to be confronted head-on and for as long as it takes. And don't even get me started on how dangerous that "invincibility of youth" myth has become.
I'm still optimistic, because the band and its handlers have said the tour won't resume unless McLean is able. Let's hope the right people are making this call.
The band members have an out. I hope they take it.
Randy McMullen is editor of Friday TimeOut. He can be reached by phone (925-943-8262), fax (925-943-8362) or e-mail (rmcmulle@cctimes.com).
