Some entertaining facts about the best-selling boy band of all time…
In the 1990s manufactured pop music ruled the airwaves, and the Backstreet Boys were one of the biggest boy bands around – no mean feat considering just how much competition there was. Celebrity talent and band member AJ Mclean is now available to book via top talent agency MN2S.
Formed in 1993 in Florida, by 1996 they had their first hit album and in the intervening years the five members – A. J. McLean, Howie D., Nick Carter, Kevin Richardson, and Brian Littrell – have sold more than 140 million records worldwide. That makes them the best-selling boy band not just of the ‘90s but of all time.
With hits like I Want It That Way and As Long As You Love Me under their belts, the American band isn’t going anywhere – with its first fans now in their 20s and 30s the band’s hits have become sentimental staples.
We’ve pulled together five facts you might not know about the Backstreet Boys – why not read on and see if you learn anything new?
Band member AJ Mclean is a budding poet!
It’s true – if you’ve ever wondered where the Backstreet Boys’ lyrical prowess and turns of phrase came from, look no longer.
AJ auditioned for the Backstreet Boys at the age of just 14, by which time he was already a creative teenager, writing poetry in addition to puppeteering and songwriting. Many fans have posited that it’s this romantic touch that makes the Backstreet Boys’ ballads so heartwarming.
The Backstreet Boys wasn’t Kevin Richardson’s first band
Kevin Richardson grew up in Kentucky and excelled in the arts while at school, learning to play the piano by ear at the age of just nine and performing in community and school theatre productions from an early age.
It was only natural, then, that he should join a band – only it isn’t the one you’re thinking of. Before he became a member of the Backstreet Boys, Kevin was in a band called Paradise – rather than write their own material, they covered Bobbi Brown, Journey and other Top 40 bands at the time.
The band played weddings and restaurants in his hometown of Lexington, Alabama, but by 1991 Paradise was a thing of the past and Kevin had moved to Florida to try and make it big.
Band members Kevin Richardson and Brian Littrell are first cousins
Bonded by more than just a common job, Kevin and Brian are in fact blood relations; Kevin’s mother and Brian’s father are siblings.
In fact, it was Kevin who introduced Brian to the Backstreet Boys and helped to complete the lineup of the band as it is best known.
AJ missed his calling as a TV actor…
In 1991, before he had joined the Backstreet Boys, AJ Mclean landed a part in a major Nickelodeon TV show. Hi Honey, I’m Home playing a character called Skunk.
The show only ran for a couple of seasons and the story revolved around a family of characters from a sitcom which had been cancelled. The teenager living next door is the only person who knows their secret – that they are fictional characters – and the show featured cameos from many actors from classic TV shows, playing their own characters.
Unfortunately for AJ, but perhaps in a twist of fate, his character was cut from the show after the pilot episode because AJ had become too tall for the role. Nickelodeon’s loss, but our win we’d say!
Nick Carter appeared in Edward Scissorhands!
Edward Scissorhands is one of Tim Burton’s most popular and famous films, and it stars a young Johnny Depp – but you probably knew that. What might come as more of a surprise, is that there’s also a cameo appearance from Backstreet Boys member Nick Carter.
Look closely and you’ll see him playing on a slip and slide in one of the shots of the neighbourhood that Edward moves into.
If you are interested in booking Backstreet Boys member AJ McLean, please contact the MN2S Talent Agency.