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They are recognised as the biggest
pop group in the world of music today having
dominated the charts throughout the world since
1996. In just four years BACKSTREET BOYS (Nick
Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, A.J. McLean
and Kevin Richardson) have accomplished this global
domination by achieving Gold and Platinum awards in
45 countries, including 11-times platinum in the USA
for their debut album "Backstreet Back" and have
sold over 51 million albums world-wide. The group
have recently been hailed as one of the fastest
selling acts in South East Asia where the album "Millennium"
sold in excess of three million copies.
BACKSTREET BOYS have been honoured with numerous
awards and in the last twelve months alone this has
included four Billboard Music Awards, five Grammy
nominations, three World Music Awards, an MTV Europe
Award as well as two American MTV Award nominations.
BACKSTREET BOYS' success is set to continue with the
release of their fourth album "Black & Blue" in
November of this year. The group members have taken
a lead role in the writing and producing of the
14-track album which covers a broad spectrum of
musical styles. Brian Littrell explains: "It?
probably the most diverse album we have ever made
and we hope everyone really likes it. This album is
a little more real, it talks about life and loss,
love and cheating, all aspects of life. It? a very
diverse album".
So how did five boys from America rise to the top so
fast? BACKSTREET BOYS' story began in Orlando,
Florida. It was there that high school students A.J.
McLean, Howie Dorough and junior high student Nick
Carter began to run into each other at local acting
auditions. The three became friends and formed a
singing group. The trio then decided to expand.
Kevin Richardson was the next to join the group, and
soon Kevin? cousin Brian Littrell completed the
fivesome. They quickly became one of Florida?
hottest live acts and were signed immediately.
In 1995, BACKSTREET BOYS released their first
single, "We?e Got It Goin' On", an urban pop song by
writer/producer Denniz PoP. The song took off in
Europe, UK and across the world - BSB's brand of
R&B/pop was gaining a foothold. In Europe,
BACKSTREET BOYS entered a market which was familiar
with 'boy bands', but unlike a lot of those other
groups, BACKSTREET BOYSwere more than just a bunch
of pretty guys - they could sing. Their live shows
proved it with sweet acapella harmonies driving
audiences wild. Meanwhile, their second single,
"I'll Never Break Your Heart" climbed the charts.
BACKSTREET BOYS kicked off 1996 by being voted No.1
International Group by TV viewers in Germany - "I'll
Never Break Your Heart" went gold there and hit No.1
in Austria. By February, they had hit similar
heights in Canada and BSB sold out show after show -
some within 20 minutes of tickets going on sale.
Hordes of screaming fans soon became the stuff of
legend across Europe and Canada. If BSB could
accomplish that with only two singles, imagine the
reaction when the debut album saw the light of day!
That summer, BSB embarked on a sold-out 57 date
headlining European Tour. By autumn, BSB fever had
swept Asia and Australia. Still on the road, the
band wrapped up a second European Tour before the
end of the year - including 13 dates in Britain.
If 1996 was the year of International success, then
1997 was homecoming year as BSB turned their
attention to the one place which had eluded them -
America. They released "Quit Playin' Games" in
America in the summer and it rocketed to the Top 2
of the Billboard Hot 100. Their first album release
in America was "Backstreet's Back" in August and BSB
have now shown America what the rest of the world
already knows - BACKSTREET BOYS is a success story
in motion. Summer 1998 saw the group undertake their
first major U.S. Tour - sold out venues across the
country from July through September.
BSB filmed three big-budget videos for their new
album, all of which show the band at the height of
its powers and having fun. The video for "Everybody
(Backstreet? Back)", a UK No.3 hit single, was an
epic drama, a special-effects laden classic horror
spoof featuring BSB made up as monsters from the
silver screen's vintage best. The video for second
single "As Long As You Love Me" was a fun,
personality piece with the Boys as you've never seen
them before. "All I Have To Give" was the third
single from the album. All the video's where huge
hits on MTV and music video channels throughout the
world.
In August 1997, BSB performed a new stadium tour of
Germany and Austria. The sold-out shows, which took
the BSB live experience to around 350,000 people in
two weeks, featured pyrotechnics, new routines and a
few surprises.
BACKSTREET BOYS mania meanwhile took off in the U.S.
- their first album "Backstreet's Back" went gold
soon after release and the group spent some time in
September consolidating their home fanbase with a
series of concerts across the USA, culminating in a
memorable New York show on 30 September. In the
meantime, the new album "Backstreet's Back" sold
well over 1 million copies worldwide in the first
week of release!
BSB spent the summer of 1998 on their first mammoth
tour of their native USA which kicked off on 8th
July in Charlotte, North Carolina and took the group
back and forth across America for two months. After
the end of the tour in September, they went into the
studio to complete their third album, "Millennium".
On 10 September, BSB won Best-Group Video Award at
the annual MTV Music Awards ceremony in Los Angeles.
"Millennium" was released in May 1999 and included
the hit single "I Want It That Way". This album
confirmed the group? status as one of the worlds
biggest pop acts ever. This album alone has sold
over 20 million copies in 43 countries across the
world and achieved multi-platinum status in 28
different countries.
To coincide with the eagerly awaited release of
their fourth album, "Black & Blue", BSB will
undertake a gruelling four day tour, taking in six
continents from Stockholm to Tokyo, Sydney, Rio,
Cape Town and New York where they will experience
six simultaneous release days. On each continent
they will perform an acappella of the first single
from the album "Shape of My Heart" for their fans.
The new single "Shape Of My Heart" has charted so
far top 5 in the following countries: #1 Sweden and
Norway, #1 Thailand, #1 Hong Kong, #1 Indonesia, #2
Germany, Denmark, Italy and Spain, #3 Canada, #4
Switzerland, #5 Holland, Australia and Austria
BACKSTREET BOYS' fourth album "Black & Blue" will be
released on Zomba Records in November 2000. |
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