Tune Talk With The
Backstreet Boys
Check it out: Just when your ravenous appetite for new Backstreet
Boys music was starting to scream “FEED ME!”, Nick, Kev, Brian, AJ and
Howie whipped a brand-new batch of beats.
Bon appetit!
Mmmmm, with their 1997 self-titled CD the Backstreet Boys have
given you plenty of delish treats to munch on every time you get a craving for
tasty, terrific tunes. But we’re totally tuned in to your tummy if it stated to
growl for more goodies—it has been nearly two years since BSB’s feastly
first album! And if you think you were getting antsy, these songsters
were starving to get into the studio to lay down their new material. “We
were so ready to go,” cutie Nick Carter, 19, explains. “Yeah,” 27-year-old
Kevin Richardson adds, “I don’t think we could have waited any longer.”
After all, these dedicated darlings did start out way back in 1995,
when they released their first European single, “We’ve Got It Goin’ On.” Then
a year later, they released their self-titled debut CD in Europe. That’s
almost four years of working on the same ole (well, to them at least) stuff!
You can see why the guys were exploding with ideas when they finally
jetted to a studio in Stockholm, Sweden (where they completed over half of their
album) to record their latest mouth-watering creation, Millennium, which
hit stores last week! “I think it’s taken us to the next level,”
25-year-old Howie Dorough declares about their scrumptious new CD, which
includes their debut single, “I Want It That Way.”
Best of all, beams Brian Littrell, 24, comparing this album to their
last one, “This time I think we were a lot more focused on what we wanted to
achieve. It’s the first time that all five of us are taking the same
steps in the right direction.”
In other words, the experienced entertainers totally pulled together
to make the most of their musical masterminds, recording six songs in only
eight days! And, believe it or not, they consider that a break! “The
studio is a relaxing environment,” Brian shrugs. “You don’t have people
bothering you, so you can focus better. Besides, we’ve sung so many
songs and we’ve been on so many tours that everything comes a little easier
these days.”
Changing their tune
With their creative juices overflowing, 21-year-old AJ McLean tells
BB that the fine fivesome were itchin’ to take their new CD “as far as you can
go without changing our sound, where people
would think it’s way too different.”
The results, Nick describes, are rockin’ rhythms that are “a little bit
different. The lyrics are a bit more mature.” Exactly, Kevin adds,
“We’re growing, and our music is naturally evolving.”
Wait a minute! “More matures,” “naturally evolving”—are these still the same Backstreet Boys you’ve come to know and love, as in the same guys who made your heart melt when they offered “All I Have To Give,” the same guys who brought a tear to your eye when they promised “I’ll Never Break Your Heart”?
You betcha, Kev says, and even more so! Because this time the
tunesters co-wrote four songs on the album—so you know the tummy-turning tunes are
coming straight from their hearts! In addition, cousins Kevin and Brian
even got to include songs they wrote themselves: Kevin’s “Back To Your
Heart” and B-Rok’s “The Perfect Fan.”
Besides, knowing the most important people in the world to please
are their diehard fans who stuck by their side through thick and thin from the
very beginning, Howie assures us, “Our sound will always be our sound.”
Nodding his head, Nick agrees, “We want to grow with our audience, not away from
them.”
Touching tales
But being the super-perceptive peeps you are, you’ve probably noticed
that their new melodies are a lot more mellow! “There’s still happy songs as
usual, but there’s really not that many up-tempos on the album,” Nick
concedes, referring to the bouncy BSB beats like “Everybody (Backstreet’s
Back)” from their first CD.
Guess what? The Backstreet Boys were just as surprised as you to
discover that fact right after they added the finishing touches to their album!
As a matter of fact, that was the same time they realized that there seems to
be a theme to their songs. “A lot of the songs are about loss,” Kevin
relates with a frown. “I don’t know whether it’s ironic that it happened
that way or whether it’s just coming out like that.”
You see, all you have to do is give a CD a spin and you can usually
tell what space an artist was in when they sat down to scribble the lyrics
and record their songs. One of the most famous examples is No Doubt’s 1995
chart-topping Tragic Kingdom, on which ND’s Gwen Stefani and Tony
turned a pretty bitter breakup into a ballad-filled bonanza! There was
no doubt what was going through Gwen’s mind when she hammered out “Happy Now”?
The same goes for the Backstreet Boys, who went through some pretty
sad times in 1998. “We lost our good friend [and producer and songwriter]
Dennis Pop last year,” Kev tells us. “Howie lost his sister, Caroline
, and me and Brian lost our grandfather."
Without them even really realizing it, a little bit of their sorrowful
mood showed up on their CD. Imagine if you and your best friend experienced
something like that. It would definitely be way too hard to hide!
Luckily, the full-on friends not only had each other to turn to when
they were bummed, but they had a musical outlet for all the feelings they had
stored inside. “I’ll never forget that experience,” AJ says.
Not only that, Boppers, but Nick, Brian, Kev, AJ and Howie know they
have you to turn to, too! It adds an extra smile to their already perky style
knowing that they make you happy with their music. That’s why these hard-
working hotties are looking forward to heading out on tour soon.
“We’re brainstorming and coming up with all kinds of crazy ideas,”
teases Kev, who tells us that they should hit the United States in August or
September. Nick announces, “It’s definitely going to be cool and
exciting.”
Well, guys, we’re glad we don’t have to wait until
the next millennium to see ya!
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