I'm talking about old school Backstreet Boys. Before AJ's drug problem, before Nick's weight problem, before Howie went hardcore latino, and right smack dab in the middle of Brian's health problems.
Am I forgetting one? Oh right! Kevin. I always seem to forget about him for some reason... Didn't he leave the group? I never noticed.
When I was the tender age range of 8 to 11, there was no other music in my tiny little world. Unless you count a short coup in the summer of 1999 by the Eiffel 65 song "Blue (Da Ba Dee)" but I think we would all like to forget that little blip on the timeline. I have all of their albums. Some on cassette, some on... wait for it... CD! In fact, the very first CD I ever got (and by "got" I mean was given as a gift because 10-year-old me didn't have any money) was the 2000 Backstreet Boys album "Black and Blue". Wow, I am really old.
To this day I have 5 of their 7 studio albums (2 on cassette, 3 on CD). I'm actually surprised I don't own their "Never Gone" album but I do own their "Unbreakable" album. Go figure.
As to the depth of my fandom during the previously mentioned age range, it was quite ridiculous. I think my significantly worn VHS copy of Backstreet Boys - Homecoming: Live in Orlando pretty much speaks for itself. In the Backstreet Boys vs. N'Sync battle (the Edward vs. Jacob battle equivalent of the late 90's) I was absolutely in the BSB camp. Back then the only thing the BSB and N'Sync camps had in common was the pathetic amusement we felt when Nick Lachey's boy band 98 degrees tried to throw it's hat in the ring. Failed miserably...
My favourite band member, right from the get-go, was AJ. I guess I always loved the bad boys, and he was certainly the bad boy of all the Backstreet Boys. I always despised the fact that 75% of all young girls that liked the BSB completly crushed on Nick. Maybe it was the floppy blonde hair or maybe it was unnaturally high and whiny voice but they just lost their hair scrunchies every time they hear his not-so dulcet tones or even his name. I have broken down the other members' percentage of the BSB's fanbase as follows:
Brian had a really good voice and he had the maturity factor. He just looked like he had the "older brother" position of the group. Howie was never a really prominent figure in the band, but he had an OK falsetto and I think some select girls liked his hair (I'm sorry, that's the only reason I can think of for possibly liking Howie). Kevin was the non-member. I call him that because he can't dance, he can't sing, and he was the forgettable one. The only time he ever got solo's in songs were during random bridge verses and he was (more often than not) accompanied by AJ in the background because he couldn't even hold his own vocally for 4 lines of a song.
Now, not only was AJ the bad boy of the group (which made him the sexiest) he also had the best voice. The band would have been nothing without him, and I am being absolutely sincere. Without him, they would have been just another N'Sync. ZING!
He was so badass, he made the band amazing. I was actually looking back at their performance of "Hey Mr. DJ" from my VHS tape (concert in Orlando) and watching AJ work his magic. I can't believe, at 10-years-old, I was watching (and lusting after) such a sexually-charged performance (and performer). It explains a lot actually...
Here's that performance. AJ is the one who's singing, and who doesn't look like he's about to go snowboarding. Don't ask...
A group photo from 1999.
From left to right: Kevin "The Douche" Richardson, Howie "Latino-Wannabe" Dorough, Brian "The Short One" Littrell, Nick "Everybody Loves Me" Carter, and AJ "Never-Know-What-Colour-My-Hair-Will-Be-Tomorrow" Mclean.
Here are a few more songs (music video versions):
I Want It That Way
Everybody (Backstreet's Back)
Larger Than Life
(This one takes the cake for cheesiest video, and in the late-90's pop era, that's saying something...)
Quit Playing Games With My Heart
Show Me The Meaning of Being Lonely
I'll Never Break Your Heart
OK, now for the grand finale of this lovely BSB themed blog post. Here's a performance of the hit single off their 2005 reunion album Never Gone. Even though I am more of a fan of pre-reunion BSB, this song is actually pretty darn good. Mostly because AJ sings a good chunk of it, and Kevin doesn't have an awkwardly placed solo. Here is "Incomplete". Enjoy!
Sweet!!
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