Backstreet Boys

After undertaking auditions held by ’90’s boyband mogul Lou Pearlman in 1992, Backstreet Boys, consisting of Kevin Richardson, Brian Littrell, Howie Dorough, A.J. McLean, and Nick Carter, officially formed on April 20 1993. The group’s debut live performance was at SeaWorld Orlando and was followed by a string of shows in Florida from shopping malls to high schools. After signing with Zomba/Jive Records in 1994, Backstreet Boys released their 1995 debut album “Backstreet Boys” in Europe and Canada to considerable success. Despite the popular international singles “We’ve Got It Goin’ On” and “I’ll Never Break Your Heart”, the Backstreet Boys didn’t find success in the U.S. until the year after.

The band’s sophomore international release “Backstreet’s Back” coincided with their U.S. debut “Backstreet Boys”, both of which earned considerable chart and sales success. Spawning the hits “Quit Playin’ (With My Heart)”, “As Long as You Love Me”, “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back), and “I’ll Never Break Your Heart”, the U.S. album propelled the group to teen pop stardom, later selling over 14 million copies.

“Millennium” was released in 1999 after a heated debacle with manager Pearlman regarding royalties. The album topped the U.S. album charts with sales of over one million in its first week of release, aided by the singles “I Want It That Way”, “Larger Than Life”, and “Show Me The Meaning of Being Lonely”. After “Christmas Album” was released at the tail end of 1999, and the album “Black & Blue” was issued in 2000 to similar success as its predecessors, the band took a break which lasted until 2004.

Backstreet Boys’ comeback album “Never Gone” arrived in 2005 and marked a change in style for the band however still sold over 10 million copies worldwide. After a subsequent tour and the departure of Richardson, Backstreet Boys returned to the studio. The result of which was “Unbreakable”, released in October 2007, the album debuted at No. seven on the Billboard 200 and was supported by a worldwide tour including Australia, Japan, Asia and Mexico. The band’s seventh studio album “This is Us” arrived two years later in 2009, spawning the hits “Straight Through My Heart” and “Bigger”. “In a World Like This” was issued in 2013 and marked the group’s first self-released album, followed by the documentary movie “Backstreet Boys: Show ‘Em What You’re Made Of” in 2015.