Backstreet Boys WorldPop Interview - Boys To Men
Source: WorldPop.com
June 12, 2000
AJ and Howie D are itching for a fight... they say the Backstreet Boys have come of age and they're ready to diss anyone who stands in their way, from 'N Sync to former managers to critics who dare say they're just another boy band.
worldpop: Do you still not consider yourselves a boy band?
AJ: We never once considered ourselves a boy band, we've always considered ourselves to be a vocal harmony group - a true singing group. But when we came over to Europe for the very first time, we got thrown into this big melting pot under the boy band title, which really sucked because it limits you.
worldpop: So does the boy band label really wind you up?
AJ: As long as people know we are for real, eventually they will start distinguishing us. There are so many groups like us I can't even count them all on both my hands and my feet! There's just so many but we were the first, so take it for what it is!
worldpop: How did you feel when 'N Sync broke your record for fastest-selling CD with their No Strings Attached album?
Howie D: I think it was inevitable. There was a lot of hype behind it. I expected them to break our record because we put our album out during one of the harder times of the year and theirs came out with perfect timing. It was a perfect set-up so if they didn't break it then something must have been wrong.
worldpop: Were you glued to the charts when the album was released?
AJ: No. It doesn't matter if some other group outsells us or breaks our record because at the end of the day it's how good the music is. I don't care if you sell 10 million albums the first week cos you might not sell another album ever after that. All we're focussing on right now is taking the next four months to try to top ourselves and put out an incredible album.
worldpop: You've already begun work on your follow-up to Millennium, how did you find writing on your own for the first time?
AJ: We're not professional writers, producers, engineers or musicians. We're singers and we're artists. There are people who train their whole lives to learn how to use a mixing board, to play a bass guitar, to become producers and we need to kind of suck in all that stuff just to learn from it.
worldpop: You did some writing in the Bahamas didn't you?
Howie D: Yeah, it was our very first writing trip together. We were down there for 12 days and we got about eight songs done that we wrote and produced ourselves. We played all the music except for piano and guitar here and there.
worldpop: Why did you choose the Bahamas?
AJ: We wanted some place remote where we wouldn't be recognized and we could brainstorm. We had so many ideas - as soon as Howie finished writing a song, Nick was there writing a song and when Nick was done, I was writing a song. It was a constant process of writing music.
worldpop: Are you pleased with the results?
Howie D: We got a lot of good stuff too, I think every song we did should be on the album. And we're gonna do it again soon in the UK.
worldpop: Did you invite your girlfriends to join you?
AJ: No, we had our own house on a private beach and nobody brought their girlfriends or fianc�es so it was just us five. We got to bond again, we got to be a family.
worldpop: Why did you decide to let fans choose your new single?
Howie D: AJ had the idea of letting the fans choose the fourth and final single from Millennium. It was between The One, Don't Want You Back and Don't Wanna Lose You Now and the fans chose The One. Originally we had a different idea for the video but when we looked at our tour footage we realised we had a lot of great material on there.
worldpop: How did you survive the situation a year ago when you changed management and your future was marred by lawsuits?
Howie D: The five of us bonded together cos we knew at the end of the day, no matter what happens, it's only the five of us that make the final decisions.
AJ: Tour managers come and go, dancers come and go, bands come and go but we're gonna be here forever and we needed to stay locked in tight and not let it get to us. Believe me, there was many times when all five of us got fed up and said, 'You know what, this is not fun any more. Why do this any more?' but then Howie said, 'You know what? We can do this, we can get through this,' and we did.
Backstreet Boys new single The One is out June 12
Nat Ivy/Famous
