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The '''Backstreet Boys''' are a ]-nominated male vocal ] ] that enjoyed enormous success in the mid-late 1990s and 2000s. They have charted 12 U.S Top 40 hits on the ], 16 U.K. Top 10 hits and have won numerous awards<sup></sup>, making them the highest selling boyband of all-time. Since returning to the music scene in 2005, their sound changed drastically, incorporating only live instruments (some of which they play themselves) and a rock edge. The now four-member group consists of ], ], ], and ]; original member ] left the group on June 23, 2006.<ref name="Kevin">People.com(2006). . Retrieved October 16, 2006.</ref> |
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The '''Backstreet Boys''' are a ]-nominated male vocal ] ] that enjoyed enormous success in the mid-late 1990s and 2000s. They have charted 12 U.S Top 40 hits on the ], 16 U.K. Top 10 hits and have won numerous awards<sup></sup>, making them the highest selling boyband of all-time. Since returning to the music scene in 2005, their sound changed drastically, incorporating only live instruments (some of which they play themselves) and a rock edge. The now four-member group consists of ], ], ], and ]; original member ] left the group on June 23, 2006.<ref name="Kevin">People.com(2006). . Retrieved October 16, 2006.</ref> |
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They are a bunch of flaming homos. The end |
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== History == |
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===Beginnings and International Successes: 1992–1996=== |
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Lou Pearlman, an aviation entrepreneur based in Florida, was inspired by the success of the New Kids On The Block in the 1980s to create his own clean-cut band. After a series of auditions in 1992 and 1993, he recruited Nick Carter (at 12, the band's youngest member), Howie Dorough, 19, Alexander James McLean, 14 and following the departure of two members - Sam Licata (later performing as Phoenix Stone) and Charles Edwards - Kevin Richardson came aboard in March 1993, who was 21. The group took its final shape on April 19, 1993, when Brian Littrell, cousin of Richardson, joined the group after a phone audition. Their first concert, on May 8, 1993, was performed for 3,000 teenagers at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida. Pearlman later booked them at grade-school assemblies and shopping malls, and assigned management duties to Johnny Wright, who had worked with New Kids on the Block. |
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After a possible Mercury Records deal failed,{{Fact|date=February 2007}} the band was spotted in Cleveland, Ohio by ], an independent label best known for its ] and ] acts, in February 1994. By June, they were recording their first single; an urban pop song by writer/producer ] called "We've Got It Goin' On". The single struggled in the US and reached only #69 on the Billboard charts; but it sold well in Europe, later earning the band their first Gold record in Germany. In the summer of 1996, the band's first self-titled album was released in Europe and Canada, going gold within weeks in Europe.] Jive and Pearlman kept the band busy overseas for the next two years, sometimes putting on tours for five straight months. |
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European popularity grew, and the Backstreet Boys kicked off 1996 being voted the No.1 International Group by TV viewers in Germany - "I'll Never Break Your Heart" went gold there and hit No.1 in Austria. The group earned their first Platinum record in Germany and toured Asia and Canada. |
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===Breakthrough in the United States: 1997-1999=== |
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By ], pop music was returning to the forefront in United States, with the likes of the ]. Jive and Pearlman decided to bring the boys back to their home country after 8.5 million discs had been sold worldwide.<ref name ="VH1">. Retrieved October 16, 2006.</ref> They began recording their second album, ], releasing "Quit Playing Games With My Heart" in August, coinciding with the release of their second international album, the band released a self-titled album in the US which collected songs from both international albums. |
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They hit big on the U.S. charts with both releases, debuting at #1 in Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Finland and Austria, and sold over 24 million copies worldwide (14 million copies in the U.S.){{Fact|date=February 2007}} In December 1997, the band embarked on a 60-city, 20-country tour. |
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]", 1997.]] |
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In 1997, Littrell (soon joined by McLean, Richardson and Dorough) brought a lawsuit against Lou Pearlman, in which they claimed that Pearlman had hidden and misused money earned by the band. The case was settled in 1998.<ref name="Kevin">Backstreet Boys - the Official Site (2006). . Retrieved June 26, 2006.</ref> |
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In 1998, Littrell underwent open heart surgery in the middle of their sold-out US 39-city tour, at the insistence of his then girlfriend (and now wife) ]; he had twice postponed the surgery in the past. He had been struggling with a heart murmur since he was born, almost dying at the age of 4 due to a bacterial infection. Littrell needed about 8 weeks to recover from the surgery. Shortly after, the Backstreet Boys cancelled an appearance in Minnesota after learning that Howie Dorough's sister had died of ]. In October 1998, the band received the ] from the mayor of ] in honor of the tornado relief concert the group headlined in March. |
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On ], 1999, the Boys received their first Diamond award from the ] for shipment of 10 million copies of their self-titled album. At that time, they had hired a new manager team called "The Firm", famous for managing bands including ] and ]. Along with their new management team, the Backstreet Boys sued ] several more times, until he renegotiated the settlement on terms more favorable to the band. Executives of the Firm stated that the Backstreet Boys had bought out Pearlman's stake in the band, but he denied this.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} |
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===Millennium: The follow-up album 1999-2000=== |
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]", 1999.]] |
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On ], ], the Backstreet Boys released the album '']'', which sold over 1.13 million units in its first week, setting, at the time, a record for first week sales<ref></ref>, until April 2000, when ]'s sophomore album, '']'' sold 2.4 million units in its first week. The album also recorded the most sales for an album's second and third weeks.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} '']'' reports that sales might have been bigger if some stores had not run out of CDs{{Fact|date=February 2007}}. The album dominated the worldwide charts, landing at the #1 spot in 25 nations{{Fact|date=February 2007}}. It was certified 11 times platinum on ], 1999, and went on to sell over 34 million copies worldwide.<ref></ref> The first single "]" was a significant hit, reaching the #1 spot in over 18 countries{{Fact|date=February 2007}}. In addition to receiving gold and platinum awards in 45 countries,{{Fact|date=February 2007}} the band's sophomore album was nominated for 5 ]'s including Album of the Year. In August, the Backstreet Boys sold out a 39-city tour in less than a day, selling over 765,000 tickets in a matter of hours, prompting additional shows in many markets and shattering a number of box-office records selling out all 53 concert dates of their Into The Millennium Tour which kicked off in September.<ref></ref> The tour drew over 2 million fans, breaking the record for largest indoor audience.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} |
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Impressed by the success of the Backstreet Boys, ], which already owned 20 percent of Jive's parent company, purchased a remainder for $3 billion, the most ever paid for an independent record company. In the meantime, The Firm negotiated tens of millions of dollars in advance payments for recordings and performances from Jive and the concert promoter Clear Channel.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} Also by the end of 1999, the Backstreet Boys faced new problems declaring their current Jive contract null and void, soon striking one of the largest record deals ever valued at $60 million with Jive.<ref></ref> |
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In 2000, the Backstreet Boys graced the pages of the new millennium's first issue of '']'' magazine. ] made a deal with the boys for tour sponsorship, videos, and CDs with unreleased live tracks that were available for sale at Burger King restaurants in August and September. In February, Littrell and Richardson confirmed their engagements to their fiancées. |
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===Black And Blue: 2000-2001=== |
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]", 2000.]] |
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In November 2000, the group released a new album, Black & Blue, with the idea of the title of the album coming from Brian as the boys were in Los Angeles for a photoshoot when they were all dressed in black and standing in front of a blue background when out of the blue, Brian suggested the album be called Black & Blue. To promote the release of Black & Blue, the boys traveled around the world in 100 hours to Sweden, Japan, Australia, South Africa, Brazil, and the US; 55 of the hours were spent traveling and 45 were spent making public appearances. The album debuted with 1.6 million units sold in the first week in America, making the band the first ever artist to have two albums sell a million or more copies in the first week. In November 2000, Black & Blue had sold more than five million copies worldwide in its initial week, setting a new first-week record in international sales. Globally, Black & Blue — whose 13-song selection features six songs co-written by members of the group, including two written by all five Backstreet Boys — achieved platinum status in over 30 countries and gold certification in 10 regions around the world during its first week of release. In the first week of release, Black & Blue's first single "Shape of My Heart" was played on 170 out of 171 of the Top 40 stations in the U.S. Meanwhile overseas, the song immediately jumped into the Top Five in Sweden (#1), Norway (#1), Canada (#1), Germany (#2), Switzerland (#4), Austria (#5) and Holland (#5). Towards the end of 2000, McLean first started using cocaine while shooting for the video "The Call". The album's second single "The Call" made the Top 10 in the UK and the third single "More Than That" made the Top 20. |
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In 2001, the Backstreet Boys kicked off the 1st leg of their "2001 Black & Blue World Tour", in which they were to perform on five continents within the span of 100 hours. The full tour earned US $350 million in ticket sales, placing the tour among the highest-grossing ever, though the tour also had extremely expensive production costs ("The largest concert set ever constructed," according to the president of Zomba Music Group). The tour was featured on a CBS TV special, The Backstreet Boys: Larger Than Life. To coincide with the special, TV Guide issued six different covers of the boys: five individual shots and one group photo. |
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The second leg of Black & Blue summer tour was put on hold when it was reported that A.J. McLean had checked himself into rehab to battle drinking, drug addiction, and depression, after Richardson had held an intervention for him at a hotel in Boston. The tour was postponed until September. Another tragedy struck when the September 11, 2001 attacks occurred, killing a Backstreet Boys crew member, Daniel Lee, who had been using time off in the tour schedule to travel from Boston to Los Angeles to be with his pregnant wife. The death caused the cancellation of the band's plans for overseas tours. Despite the tragedy in New York that day, the Backsteet Boys went ahead with a planned concert that night in Toronto, where they performed to less than 5000 fans, and angered many in a public struggling to cope with the enormity of what had happened.and went on to sell over 24 million copies worldwide. |
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===Greatest Hits: 2001-2002=== |
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]", 2001.]] |
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In October 2001, the boys released '']'', a disc of their greatest hits. The band members say they resisted the album, feeling that it was too early in their careers for a "greatest hits" collection, and that it would ruin their long held plan to mark the group's 10th anniversary in 2003 with such a release.<ref name ="VH1">. But Jive Records had not released a blockbuster album since 2000's '']'', and after long debate the label decided to rush a Christmas release of a Backstreet Boys' greatest-hits disc.<ref name ="VH1">. Retrieved October 16, 2006.</ref> The record sold nearly 9 million copies worldwide, and yielded an international top 10 hit "Drowning". The Boys performed at the United We Stand concert in ] as well as ] (two ]s for the victims of September 11) and were a part of the All Star Tribute benefit single "]" (with proceeds going to AIDS and 9/11 charities). By the end of 2001 and into 2002, it became clear that the Backstreet Boys were on an extended break with no new recordings or releases. |
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===During Their Break: 2002-2004=== |
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In 2002, the band expressed a strong desire to leave their management company, The Firm. Not surprisingly, the company did not put up much resistance. However, Carter chose to remain with The Firm for them to manage his solo career{{Fact|date=February 2007}}. It became apparent that this was reason for their lack of resistance to the Backstreet Boys moving on and this unexpected move forced the band to take a break{{Fact|date=February 2007}}. Starved for a blockbuster album release, Jive, according to industry observers, had no choice but to bank on releasing Carter's solo album by the end of the year, ahead of the next Backstreet Boys' album, which was due in early 2003. |
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In 2002, Nick Carter's solo album "Now or Never" was released. The album peaked at #17 on the Billboard 200 and was certified Gold. |
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]", 2001.]] |
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The relationship with Jive got even worse when the Backstreet Boys filed a $75-100 million lawsuit against ] (Jive’s parent company) claiming breach of contract. The band's lawyer stated that ZMG used the Backstreet Boys' trademark to shuttle traffic to other Web sites and for a band this big, which was supposed to receive royalties from the record label, were not getting any personal attention it needed.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} According to the suit, in November 1999, the Backstreet Boys revised their 1994 contract and committed to releasing two further albums for Zomba. In exchange for delivering them on time as part of a predetermined schedule, the group would receive multiple non-returnable payments that would serve as advances against future royalties.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} |
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During their break, Kevin starred on Broadway's "Chicago", Nick released his solo album, also Brian, Howie and AJ all worked on their solo records. In November of 2003, Brian's wife Leighanne, gave birth to the couple's first child, Baylee Wylee Littrell. In December 2003, McLean appeared on the ] where he talked for the first time in public about his addiction to alcohol and drugs, and his struggles rising to fame. The rest of the band surprised him by arriving in person to give him support, marking the first time the Backstreet Boys had appeared together in public in almost two years. The band began to reform and reconcile their differences to start recording a comeback album. |
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In 2004, the Backstreet Boys started performing together to promote their return to the music scene. In September they kicked-off a small Asian tour, visiting Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo, as well as Manila. Then, based on the success of this tour, they announced a Mexican tour, visiting Mexico City and Monterrey, performing all new material. Renewed interest grew with the announcement of airing an hour long televised documentary of the Backstreet Boys on ]'s '']''. |
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===Comeback: Never Gone 2005-2006=== |
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]'', 2005.]] |
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After a three-year hiatus, their new hit single, "]", was released to radio stations on ], ] and quickly became the #1 most requested song in top markets in both U.S. and overseas{{Fact|date=February 2007}}. The song was a change from their previous albums, switching to more of an ] style similar to the music of ] rather than the traditional teen-pop that had previously dominated the charts. The drastic style change drew negative criticism from magazines such as '']'' (who gave the album only 1 star) and many long time fans, who felt they should have stayed true to their trademark pop sound. |
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On ], ], the Backstreet Boys released their comeback album '']'', which they spent more than a year recording. The album debuted at #3 on the U.S. chart with substantial first week sales of 291,000 copies, including #1 debuts in Japan, Pakistan,Germany, India, Chile, Brazil, Australia, and Korea. In that year Brian Littrell scored a '''#1''' hit on the US Christian Charts with the single "In Christ Alone". The Backstreet Boys began the first leg of their ] in July in West Palm Beach, Florida. |
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''Never Gone'' was certified platinum in the US and four singles were released from the album. Their first single "Incomplete", the second single was "Just Want You To Know", the third singles were: "Crawling Back To You" for the US and "I Still..." (international). And Now Album Never Gone Sale 13 Million copies worldwide. |
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Backstreet Boys' second single "]" hit the top 10 in the UK, but was widely considered a flop in America, it was the group's worst performing U.S. single only managing to peak at #70 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The third international single "I Still" debuted at #1 on the Japan International Singles Chart with 2,182 copies sold, making the first ever international single to enter at #1 on the chart in Japanese history. The third US single, "]" peaked at #30 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary charts. |
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]", 2006.]] |
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On ], ], Brian Littrell released his first solo album ''Welcome Home (You)'' with the title track as the first single. Both album and single made the top 3 on the Billboard Christian Charts. |
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=== Departure of Kevin Richardson from the band === |
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On ], ] the band issued a statement regarding Kevin Richardson's intention to leave the Backstreet Boys.<ref></ref> The reason stated was his wish to pursue other interests that he could not while in the group. The rest of the Backstreet Boys wished him the best of luck in the future and they have no plans on replacing him. They noted that he would always be welcome to return should he wish to do so. Since then, Kevin has returned to the role of young hotshot lawyer named "Billy Flynn" in the ] '']'' for a short engagement in ], ] from November 21–December 3, 2006. |
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=== New Album === |
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According to a recent interview with Howie Dorough, the new album is tentatively due out in June, with the single being released in April. He also added that they have two songs left to record, and plan on a world tour following the release of their sixth studio album. The only confirmed producer is Dan Muckala, who wrote and produced their first single off of ], "Incomplete." Rumored producers include long time collaborator ], and LA based producers ] and ]. |
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== Discography == |
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== Discography == |
They are a bunch of flaming homos. The end
