Backstreet Boys
Crowned Rhythm artistes:
by Ruvini Jayasinghe
Howie Dorough and A.J. McLean,
natives of Orlando, Florida met Nick Carter through auditions, local
commercials, theatre, and television. The three, realising at one
audition, that they all shared a great affection for classical soul,
which they were able to harmonise together, decided to form a trio.
Kevin Richardson and Brian Littrell, cousins from Lexington, Kentucky
initially began singing in local church choirs and festivals from their
childhood. Richardson met Dorough, Carter and McLean through a co-worker
and the four decided to form a group.
 Brian Littrell was later invited to join, turning the group into a
quintet. We’ve Got It Goin’ On was their first single on their first
album which they released in 1996. The worldwide hit single I Want It
That Way which topped the single-charts in many countries which made the
album Millennium popular.
They rose to fame with their maiden album, Backstreet Boys in 1996
and Backstreet’s Back in 1997 and the group’s success continued
worldwide.
Millennium in 1999 which placed them in dizzy heights and helped them
rise to superstardom with a follow-up album, Black and Blue in (2000).
After a three-year hiatus, the band regrouped and have since then
released three albums: Never one in 2005, Unbreakable in 2007 and This
Is Us in 2009.
Millennium was released in May 1999 and on this day, the Backstreet
Boys made a heavily publicised appearance on MTV’s Total Request Live
Millennium. The album entered the Billboard 200 at number one and sold
1,134,000 copies in its first week of release.
In June 2006, Richardson left the Backstreet Boys to pursue other
interests after 13 years.
He said, “It was a heart-breaking decision, however, but one that was
necessary to move on to the next chapter in my life.”
As a four-piece outfit, the The Backstreet Boys’ sixth album
Unbreakable, was launched on October 30, 2007. Backstreet Boys (BSB) had
been crowned many a time and received many awards from their very first
appearance including MTV Europe Music Award, World Music Award and the
American Music Award.
The band has sold over 130 million records worldwide making them one
of the biggest musical album selling groups of all times. According to
the US Billboard 200, they are the first group of rhythm artistes to
have each of their albums reach the top 10 on the chart. |
