The guys in the studio recording for Millennium...
From E! Online:
Since 'N Sync has raised the bar a notch, the B-Boys have had to polish their act a bit to keep up. Instead of tightly wrapped New Jack Swing, they now offer lovingly manufactured pop balladry. And how do they feel about us? Well, "I Need You Tonight," they say, adding that "No One Else Comes Close" and "It's Gotta Be You." But just in case you think their unabashed romanticism knows no bounds, they can still insist they "Don't Want You Back," sneering as only George Michael imitators can. Ultimately, to critique this stuff is pointless; it comes down to this: "I Want It That Way" and "Don't Wanna Lose You Now" sport hooks that won't leave your head for days, and the closing "The Perfect Fan" is an impressive, choir-backed tribute to mom. In fact, it suggests that the B-Boys have some untapped depth behind their multiplatinum facades.
Backstreet Boys Announce Plans for Year 2000 and Resolve Differences With Jive
NEW YORK--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--Nov. 15, 1999--BACKSTREET BOYS have announced their plans for the year 2000: six weeks of US dates in February and March, after which they'll head into the studio to record a new album for release in September or October.
BACKSTREET BOYS - - NICK CARTER, HOWIE DOROUGH, BRIAN LITTRELL, A.J. McLEAN and KEVIN RICHARDSON - - have also resolved their differences with their record label JIVE in a far reaching deal encompassing the joint developmen t of several innovative Internet ventures, sponsorships deals and close cooperation on the marketing, licensing and other commercial exploitation of the group's recordings.
``For the past five years Nick Carter, Brian Littrell, Kevin Richardson, A.J. McLean and Howie Dorough (the Backstreet Boys) have enjoyed what can only be described as a hugely successful and rewarding career, leading to the Backstreet Boys now being one of the most popular recording artists in the world,'' said Clive Calder, Chairman/CEO of the Zomba Group of Companies. "Unfortunately, over the past two months due to a series of events, the relationship between the group and our Jive record label got temporarily derailed. This is now behind us and everything has been resolved to everyone's satisfaction. We at Zomba and Jive are absolutely delighted to be back at work with a renewed spirit of partnership and cooperation with these five talented and hardworking young men, whose personal growth and achievements over the past five years we have grown to love and respect."
In a group statement, the BACKSTREET BOYS said: "It feels great to have resolved the differences with our record company. Now we can move forward in the most positive way, focused on creating the best music we can for our fans all over the world. We have very exciting and interesting plans for the year 2000."
The BACKSTREET BOYS are currently in the midst of their 11-week, 39-city North American sold-out "Sears Presents Backstreet Boys Into The Millennium Tour," which runs until December 6. Their current record-breaking MILLENIUM album is the biggest selling album in the U.S. this year and continues to dominate the charts both in the U.S. and around the world (including Gold, Platinum and Multi Platinum certifications in 41 countries).
Polaroid and The Backstreet Boys Create a Picture-Perfect Partnership; Polaroid Inks Sponsorship Deal for Into The Millennium Tour
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sept. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Polaroid (NYSE: PRD - news) announced today its sponsorship of the Backstreet Boys' sold out 39-city North American Sears Presents Backstreet Boys Into The Millennium Tour, capitalizing on the group's popularity, and further signifying the company's commitment to Generation Y.
The Polaroid I-Zone Instant Pocket Camera, the new pocket-sized instant camera that takes mini photo stickers, is the "official camera of the Sears Presents Backstreet Boys Into The Millennium Tour." The camera will be featured on stage as part of the show, distributed at retail via Sears, Roebuck, and Company's Backstreet Boys in-store boutiques and utilized in consumer promotions throughout the tour.
"What's great about this strategic alliance is that Polaroid, Sears and the Backstreet Boys are all targeting the same consumer," said Dave Lucas, Vice President, Marketing, Polaroid. "The new Pocket Camera is a very different product for Polaroid. We're going after an entirely new consumer and we want our promotions to be as innovative as the product. Sears and the Backstreet Boys are the perfect partners to reach kids, tweens and teens."
Details of the sponsorship include on-stage visibility for Polaroid's Pocket Camera and distribution through Sears stores nationwide:
* The Backstreet Boys will utilize the I-Zone Instant Pocket Camera in the show during one of their songs.
* The camera will be known as the "official camera of the Sears Presents Backstreet Boys Into The Millennium Tour."
In addition, Polaroid and Sears have developed an agreement to feature a variety of Polaroid products in Sears stores across the nation:
* Sears will feature the Pocket Camera in their Backstreet Boys boutiques in over 420 stores nationwide.
* Sears will also feature a wide variety of products from the entire Polaroid product portfolio (PocketCam, OneStep, PopShots and film) in 850 stores nationwide.
"We're very excited about our strategic alliance with Sears," said Lucas. "Not only does it provide us with an excellent distribution vehicle for our products, together we plan to partner on promotions and public relations activities to support the Backstreet Boys' tour."
Polaroid's Instant Pocket Camera, which was just awarded the National Parenting Center's fall 1999 seal of approval, is the centerpiece of the company's I-Zone product line. Created especially for kids, teens and tweens, I-Zone products are designed to encourage creative self-expression and extend the boundaries of imagination.
Polaroid Corporation, with annual sales of approximately $2 billion, is the worldwide leader in instant imaging. Polaroid supplies instant photographic cameras and films; digital imaging hardware, software and media; secure identification systems; graphics imaging systems; sunglasses and polarizers to markets worldwide.
The Backstreet Phenomenon
The Backstreet Boys seem to break records faster than they make them.
The Florida quintet sold out their entire 11-week, 39-cities North American tour in record time Saturday, with most of the 765,000 available tickets getting snapped up within a mere hour.
"The Backstreet Boys are incredibly hot right now, and the young kids they appeal to are a very active demographic in the concert-sales market," says Gary Bongiovanni, editor-in-chief of Pollstar, a trade magazine covering live shows.
Tickets were priced from $28.50 to $38.50, and final sales estimates rolled in around $30 million. Records were set from Birmingham to Boston, as fans formed mile-long lines and jammed the Ticketmaster phone lines and Website.
Members of the screaming, Backstreet-worshiping masses, who actually scored tickets, were justifiably ecstatic. Those who missed out were downtrodden at the prospect of being shut out of a chance to see their idols on stage.
"I feel like someone took a knife and stabbed me in the heart," says one dejected fan on a Backstreet newsgroup (alt.fan.backstreet.boys) after hours of waiting in line for naught. "It's absolutely heartbreaking." (Wow that's US! The BSB NG!! YAY!! Sorry this isn't part of the article just me being loud :))
Other fans hope the multimillion-dollar statement will erase any New Kids on the Block disappearing act comparisons.
"Hopefully, this can rub off the boy-band image people label them with," writes another newsgroup participant. "They aren't flash in the pans or one hit wonders. They have the voices and the goods to stick around for years to come."
History doesn't bode well for the staying power of teen bands, however.
"They are incredibly hot now, but unfortunately, the landscape is lined with ex-teen stars," says Bongiovanni. "The fact of life is that their core audience has a very short attention span, and as they grow up, they turn more to other musical acts. The New Kids used to sell out stadiums, and three years later, they couldn't sell out a club tour."
Still, Backstreet's popularity shows no immediate signs of waning. The popsters reigned at the top of the album charts for the past 12 weeks, duking it out for No. 1 with Limp Bizkit, and their second album, Millennium, has sold more than 12 million copies since its May debut. Millennium holds the record for most albums sold in one week (1.13 million).
The tour opens in their hometown of Fort Lauderdale September 14 and ends in Tampa December 2.