Backstreet Boy Talks Album, Tour
November 2, 2000
Expectations are running high for the Backstreet Boys' Black and Blue, scheduled for a Nov. 21 release, and whether or not it can beat the single-week sales record set by labelmate 'N Sync earlier this year. But Howie Dorough says he and his comrades aren't as concerned as you might think.
"The whole big thing is who's breaking whose record, especially since we had the record ourselves last year," Dorough tells Wall of Sound. "But records are made to be broken, and to us, it's not so much about that. It's just about making good music, and if the fans love it and we're happy with it, everyone else will come along with it."
After selling more than 11 million copies of their last album, Millennium, in the United States alone, the Boys turned once again to Swedish producer Max Martin for the bulk of Black and Blue. "We were both there for each other at the start of our careers," Dorough says of Martin, who has also worked with 'N Sync and Britney Spears. "We're like family with him. He's just a great guy." Also on board this time around are Rodney Jerkins and Babyface, who sat in the booth for "Time."
"I definitely feel this album is a growth for us," says Dorough, who, along with the rest of the Orlando, Fla., quintet, was more hands-on than ever before for Black and Blue. "Each album we constantly strive to better ourselves as musicians and writers. We've got seven tracks that we've written. Two as a group, and the rest were written by us individually, or collaborating with a couple of the guys or different producers." Dorough himself has a pair of songs that he contributed: "How Did I Fall in Love With You" and "What Makes You Different Makes You Beautiful," the latter of which will appear on a version of the album released exclusively at Wal-Mart stores.
The tour in support of Black and Blue will kick off Jan. 23 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The group's first U.S. leg will take it through March, at which time the band will head overseas, hitting Southeast Asia, Australia, Europe, and South America, before returning for another set of U.S. dates.
"It's going to be a great show," says Dorough, adding that the production meetings have just begun. "We're probably going to go with an end stage this time, instead of in the round. And we've got lots of ideas, like a musical theme, with different sets and changes. It's going to be really exciting."
But first, the Backstreet Boys have to release the album. And if they do succeed in breaking 'N Sync's record of 2.4 million copies sold in a single week, there will surely be some 'N Sync fans that are disappointed. Dorough says, though, that the intense loyalty some fans have to either group � but not both � is something of a mystery.
"I don't know," he says. "All I can do is relate it to sports, where a person has their favorite team. The recent World Series [in which the New York Yankees defeated the New York Mets] is the best example I can think of, two teams from the same town. There are fans that are partial to both, and there are fans that are diehard 'N Sync or Backstreet Boys. For me, I feel there's enough out there for everybody to share, but sometimes people feel they just want to have a loyalty to one group. At the end of the day, though, we're all out there, just trying to make good music." � Anders Wright