Kevin got his first set of keyboards when he was a freshman in high school. He was in the chorus and drama clubs. He also entered talent shows and played his keyboards in restaurants and at weddings. His dream was to have a singing career. He performed with local pop groups, singing cover songs of Top 40 hits. Kevin soon got bored of doing this. So in 1992, he decided to move to Orlando, Florida.
Kevin landed a job as a Disney World tour guide. He also appeared as the character Aladdin and as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle in parades. Soon he met A.J. McLean, Howie Dorough, and Nick Carter. They were local boys who had met at various acting and singing auditions and performances. They welcomed Kevin with joy, and they formed a singing group, but they wanted one more voice to finish the group. Kevin had a great idea. He called his cousin Brian in Kentucky and told him about the guys he had just met. He invited him to come to Orlando to check it out. The next day Brian headed off to Orlando.
The Boys named themselves after a favorite Orlando teen hangout, the Backstreet Market. They hooked up with Lou Pearlman, who signed them to his Florida-based record, and managers Johnny and Donna Wright. Soon they were opening for Brandy and En Vogue. Crowds loved them- and they went on a small national tour.
Then one night Donna decided to call a exec at Jive Records so he could hear the crowd’s reaction to the band. His answering machine picked up, so she held out her phone and let the machine record the screaming audience. After hearing the crowd, the exec jumped on a plane to meet the guys. The Boys signed a deal with Jive Records. Stardom will soon come.
Kevin and the guys didn’t let stardom go straight to their heads. “Kevin is a mature man,” Howie says,” responsible, proficient, and knows exactly what he wants. He is a natural leader and keeps us together. Kevin is the more serious side of the Backstreet Boys.” His father died from colon cancer when Kevin was 20 years old. This devastated him. His father’s death made Kevin “a lot more serious,” says Brian.
"My father instilled strong values in all of us,Kevin says. "He taught us to work hard and I know that as long as my body is physically working, I am not going to starve. As long as I can work I will always survive, whether it is in entertainment or working in a restaurant. His (father's) philosophy on life was to live it to the full..."
These days, prior to touring, Kevin shared an apartment with Howie D. and his cousin Brian. His free time is spent weightlifting, dancing, shooting hoops, playing football, and writing music at his keyboards. Ask him to describe life in the studio and he'll say, "Sing. Eat. Sing. Sing. Eat. Sing. SLEEP!" And on the road? "A lot of fun, a lot of work, and sometimes a little lonely. It's what I've always dreamed of!"
