November 25, 1998

Backstreet Boys Team With Tony Bennett; Work on New Album

The Backstreet Boys are the best-selling band of 1998. (Can 8 million preteen and teen girls be wrong?) So, what are they going to do next? Obviously they're not going to Disneyworld, since the guys live in Orlando (been there, done that). No, this time they're going after the adult market.

The Backstreet Boys' single "I'll Never Break Your Heart'' has spent the past two months atop Billboard's adult-contemporary chart. And now comes the crucial crossover to VH1 via a co-starring role on the cable channel's Storytellers with Tony Bennett, who has just released a kids' album, The Playground.

''He asked us to do it with him,'' says BSB's Kevin Richardson, who at 27 is the oldest member of the quintet. The Boys taped three of their own songs for Storytellers, which will premiere on Nov. 29. Following their own session, they joined Bennett on "Swingin' on a Star." A dressing room rehearsal and a soundcheck were all the preparation they were afforded. Backed by Bennett's combo, the unlikely teaming nailed the song the first time out.

''He only needs one take,'' Richardson says. ''It was really cool.''

Meanwhile, the Boys are continuing work on their second album, using the same producers who guided them on Backstreet Boys, which has sold more than 23 copies million worldwide. Three songs were completed with the assistance of Denniz Pop, before he succumbed to cancer earlier this year. This month, they've holed up in Stockholm with producer-songwriter Max Martin.

''The subject matter hasn't changed much,'' Richardson said of the new material, ''but the lyrics are a little deeper." This time around, members of the quintet have written songs. Brian Littrell shares writing credits on a track about the band members' mothers, ''Perfect Fan," as well as on "That's What She Said." Richardson garners his own co-writing credit on "Back to Your Heart.'' The band expects to release a single in February or March, followed by the entire album in April.�Jon Bream