The Backstreet Boys Biography

The Backstreet Boys’ self-titled debut album won them a 1998 Grammy for best new artists of the year. They quickly became one of the hottest pop groups of the late 1990s, a “boy band” that included Alexander “A.J.” McLean (b. 9 January 1978), Brian Littrell (b. 20 February 1975), Howard “Howie D.” Dorough (b. 22 August 1973), Kevin Richardson (b. 3 October 1972), and Nick Carter (b. 28 January 1980). In their early days, the Backstreets were especially popular with young girls and were rivals to a similar teen group, ‘N Sync. In 2001 the band delayed a world tour while McLean entered a New York clinic for treatment of depression and alcohol abuse. McLean came back, and in later years the band continued to tour with a more grown-up sound. Their albums include Millennium (1999), Black and Blue (2000), and Never Gone (2005). Band members went their separate ways (Carter appeared in a 2006 reality show, The House of Carters), but regrouped in 2007 (without Richardson) and released the single “Inconsolable,” from the album Unbreakable. They reunited again in 2009 and 2010 to tour.