The BSB was formed almost by chance--5 talented young men working to make it in the entertainment business, brought together by mutual need for other like-wise gifted souls. Anyways, in the beginning.....
In the beginning...
Natives of Orlando, A.J. Mclean, Howie Dorough, and Nick Carter were working the circuit of this "new Hollywood," getting parts in several tv shows and small parts in movies. Nick was singing in half-time shows, Howie was doing parts for Nickelodeon, and A.J. was performing in numerous gigs around the Orlando area. During the courses of their early careers, the three met frequently at auditions and took to singing and harmonizing a capella together. This was the start of an enormously sucessful career.
Meanwhile, Kevin Richardson was becoming disillusioned by several failed music groups at home in Lexington, KY. So he decided to move on to Orlando. Upon arrival, he was dissapointed to learn that all the singing and dancing parts at Walt Disney World were already filled, so he took the part of a tour guide at the park. A friend told him about these 3 guys who sang a capella, and were looking for some another voice. They had a record company behind them, so Kevin decided these guys were for real and arranged a meeting. When he met A.J., Howie, and Nick, they found they needed another member to round out the sound. So Kevin told them about his cousin in Lexington--Brian Littrell. Kevin called Brian, and the rest is, as they say, history!
Next--a record!
The next step for the Boys was to sign with a record company. Jive had the forsight to sign this talented group, so off the group went to Cleveland. Their first single, "We've got it going on" didn't make a huge impression on the US charts, but exploded in Europe and Canada. So off the Boys went to Europe, touring and performing everywhere from Germany to Sweden and back again. The fans went wild--BSB were definatly an international success. They won the Viewer's choice award at the MTV Europe Music Awards. Yet, they still yearned to make an impression at home.
Finally--a breakthrough in the US!
On August 12, 1997, the Boys released their second album, Backstreet Boys in the US. It became a hit and gave the BSB the long awaited fame at home they'd been longing for. As Kevin said in an interview with Tiger Beat Magazine (July 1998 [ISSN: 0042-4492] Copyright 1998, Sterling/Macfadden): "The whole thing is like a dream come true. Coming home to the United States where all my friends and family can see what is really going on has got me very excited." And the rest is yet to come!
Natives of Orlando, A.J. Mclean, Howie Dorough, and Nick Carter were working the circuit of this "new Hollywood," getting parts in several tv shows and small parts in movies. Nick was singing in half-time shows, Howie was doing parts for Nickelodeon, and A.J. was performing in numerous gigs around the Orlando area. During the courses of their early careers, the three met frequently at auditions and took to singing and harmonizing a capella together. This was the start of an enormously sucessful career. 
The next step for the Boys was to sign with a record company. Jive had the forsight to sign this talented group, so off the group went to Cleveland. Their first single, "We've got it going on" didn't make a huge impression on the US charts, but exploded in Europe and Canada. So off the Boys went to Europe, touring and performing everywhere from Germany to Sweden and back again. The fans went wild--BSB were definatly an international success. They won the Viewer's choice award at the MTV Europe Music Awards. Yet, they still yearned to make an impression at home.
On August 12, 1997, the Boys released their second album, Backstreet Boys in the US. It became a hit and gave the BSB the long awaited fame at home they'd been longing for. As Kevin said in an interview with Tiger Beat Magazine (July 1998 [ISSN: 0042-4492] Copyright 1998, Sterling/Macfadden): "The whole thing is like a dream come true. Coming home to the United States where all my friends and family can see what is really going on has got me very excited." And the rest is yet to come! 