Q:When Do You Turn Off The TV?
    A.J.: When I have zapped all channels and I’m sure there’s nothing
interesting on anymore.

Q:What Makes You Cry?
    A.J.: If a girlfriend breaks up or I loose a good friend.

Q:Holiday Of Your Dreams?
    A.J.: Leaving with a girlfriend to a very romantic place, at Valentines
Day (doesn’t matter where)

Q:Best Investment:
    A.J.: The time and love I spent on the Backstreet Boys.

Q:Worst Investment:
    A.J.: I have once bought shares in the fast food chain 'Hot 'n' Bow', but
it became bankrupt.

Q:Skeletons In The Cupboard:
    A.J.:None, sorry.

Best Party Ever: The party for my 18th and Nicky's 16th birthday.

Q: What Makes You Fancy A Girl?
    A.J.: Her eyes, her personality, her emanation. She must be sensitive and
serious, but she also has to have a good sense of humor.

Q: What Do You Absolutlely Dislike?
    A.J.:People with a negative attitude to life, people who don't care about
their looks and body health, people who smell.

Q: Historical Person Who You'd Like To Be?
    A.J.: Alexander the Great, a conqueror and a mighty person, who my
parents named me after.

Q:Do You Like Being The Center Of Attention?
    A.J.: I don't know many guys who wouldn't like attention from girls, and
I'm definitely not one of them! Sometimes I wish we were able to be on our
own and hang out with our girlfriends or whatever. I mean, we do get a pretty
normal life, well, it's normal for us, but people who don't understand are
like, 'My god, that's what you go through.'

Q: Who's The Wildest BSB?
    A.J.: That's gotta be me. I guess I used to be a bit wilder, a bit like
Robbie was in TT. I suppose I still am in a way. I'm always changing the way
I look, like dying my hair, growing a goatee, but I like to think it's more
about being creative and spontaneous than being a rebel

Q: Do You Remember The First Autograph You Ever Signed?
    A.J.:I don't remember the first autograph, but I do remember my first fan
letter. We were rehearsing for our very first proper show in a studio in
Orlando when someone from our management came down with this fan letter for
me. I took it home and put it down in my messy room somewhere and it got
lost, which I'm really annoyed about because if I still had it I'd get it
framed.

Q: How Do You Calm Yourself Down When You're Angry?
     A.J.: I used to smoke and that calmed me but I quit cause it wasn't
worth ruining my voice. It's my only instrument and my health is very
important to me. Now I'd probably lock myself in my room and listen to music
and write.

Q: Have You Ever Said Something Hurtful To The Others You've Regretted?
    A.J.: I don't think I've ever said anything horrible, but me and Nick got
into a physical fight once. We were at Kev's apartment and Nick kept making
fun of me and at the time I couldn't cope it, so I got one of his special
comic books and lit a match to it. We got into a fight over it and ended up
not speaking. Then about a week later we were in the studio recording I'll
Never Break Your Heart and I went into another room to write some lyrics and
Nick was also writing in there and we ended up doing a song together. It's
the one that we played on the MTV special.

Q: Have You Ever Made Eyes At A Girl In The Audience?
    A.J.:Well, there've been a couple of times when I've seen a real pretty
girl I wanted to talk to. So, if she kept looking at me through most of the
show I'd get one if the security guys to tell her which hotel we're staying
in. Then when she arrived I'd come down to meet her. I wouldn’t let her come
up because I'm not into that having girls in your room thing. We'd go
somewhere quiet and chat. That's if it's a country where I don't understand
what they're saying! Sometimes it can get pretty frustrating when they're
chatting in a foreign language.

Q: Have You Ever Snogged To A BSB Record?
    A.J.:When we were in Germany recently, my ex-girlfriend came over to
visit and we were talking with the album playing when Get Down came on and we
kissed, for no reason. Now whenever it comes up we laugh-it's kinda funny
that of all the freakin' slow songs there are, we ended up kissing to that
one!
 
 

THE BACKSTREET BOYS are back in the studio recording their new "Larger Than
Life" video after finishing their huge European tour! Read on for the scoop
on their new video and how they deal with success.

Entertainment Tonight: You guys are sitting here -- the largest band in the
country. How does it feel? Did you ever think you would get this big?

Kevin Richardson: Nope.

Howie Dorough: It's larger than life.

Kevin: We dreamed about having some success and selling a couple of records
but this is pretty much beyond anything we could imagine. We're excited --
it's pretty crazy.

ET: What does the song "Larger Than Life" mean to you guys?

Howie: It's actually a thank-you song to the fans. It's something we want to
give back to them. Like you said, us being very fortunate -- we're very
successful with the new album and everything -- with our whole career. It's
almost like telling them it's because of them. They're larger than life to us
because they make us who we are. They give us all this. They give us the
opportunity to do what we love and to make a living out of it. It gives us a
chance to travel the world and meet so many people and spread happiness to
everybody. For that, they're larger than life for us.

ET: You guys mention in the song that sometimes when you're down, your fans
bring you up?

Kevin: It's just a reference to performances -- going out on stage, the rush
you feel. It's pretty incredible hearing a crowd of 19 to 20 thousand people
just going crazy and smiling and dancing -- having a great time. If that
can't lift your spirits, I don't now what can. That's basically what that's
about.

ET: Is there any example in your day-to-day life where you meet a fan and it
actually lifts you up? Has that ever happened to you?

Howie: Oh, totally! Everyday, just about. We can't walk away not feeling that
somebody has touched our lives or we've touched their lives. I mean, a lot of
times we have sick patients that come to our shows. We'll do a little meet
and greet with them.

Kevin: Make a Wish?

Howie: For the Make A Wish Foundation, and we've set up some of our own
charity events. It's so good to listen to the parents saying, "You know, my
daughter was so sick. But listening to your music in the hospital all of the
sudden brought her spirits up and got her out of her sickness." There are so
many examples that we could give to you that people tell us how we affected
their lives. Those kind of things like that -- they really touch you in your
heart. At the end of the day, no matter what could have gone wrong, no matter
how the day was -- that kind of feeling makes you feel that it's all worth it
and you are ready to go on and do more of it.

ET: You guys are constantly in the spotlight -- everybody watches your every
move. Do you regret that part of it?

Kevin: You know, I don't think you regret it. I think sometimes you get a
little frustrated and wish you could hide sometimes. But, at the same time,
you sit back when you're feeling selfish like that and realize it's part of
the business, it's part of what we do, and you just have to adjust.

ET: Now, this video you are shooting today -- what kind of a look are we
going to see?

Nick Carter: What are we going for, guys?

Howie: You tell them, Nick.

Kevin: You tell them, Nick.

Nick: Well for this video we wanted to do a little something different. We
wanted to come off new and hip. The look we were basically going for is
futuristic -- I don't want to give too much away because we want people to
watch it. Check it out. Just something that we would be able to set another
trend like "Backstreet's Back" but on a whole different level. I'd probably
have to say that this one, of course, is another one of those fun videos for
us because of the fact that we came up with the concept -- the same as
"Backstreet's Back." It'll be interesting to see how it turns out. You never
know what our crazy minds can come up with.

ET: Can you guys give us one little hint about what we're gonna see in this
video?

Kevin: It has a lot to do with space travel. We'll leave it at that.

ET: Now, your last single was a ballad. This one is a little more up-tempo.
How does that affect your fan base?

Kevin: I think it helps. I think it's great.

Howie: Definitely. The combination of the two. You should have at least some
variations in your music -- whether they like ballads or are more into
up-tempo stuff. Whether they like to dance or just be romantic. I think you
have to be very versatile in this business to have a long-term career. That's
why it's very important with choosing singles and timing so you constantly go
on this pathway here. That's why we picked this single to be the next single.
It's quite different from "I Want It That Way." It has even a little bit of a
rock feel to it. It's kind of different for us.

ET: "Millennium" broke the all-time weekly sales record for an album,
knocking off GARTH BROOKS. What is your reaction to that?

Nick: I mentioned to the guys right before we released the album. I said,
"Wouldn't it be really cool if we broke Garth Brook's record?" They were
like, "Yeah, right Nick, whatever." (laughs) They totally blew me off! It's
just a dream come true. We're very fortunate and very happy for everything
and all the fans being there on that first week. It's just one of those
things. It's good to be in history -- I guess you would say -- a little bit.

Howie: It's very flattering. Garth Brooks -- we all respect him and his
music. It's good to be up in that same company.

ET: What do you guys attribute all this success to? We know you have a huge
fan base -- why do you think you have such a huge number of fans?

Howie: Hopefully it's because of the music. We're constantly striving to put
out good music for all ages, for all races. We're just trying to be true and
honest with our talents -- we're not trying to be something that we're not.
Hopefully the fans and the audience can see that and that's why they go out
and buy the records.

ET: Obviously you guys are living a "Larger Than Life" lifestyle right now --
your private planes, your first class hotels, your first class everything. Is
that kind of tough to adjust to? What's it like?

Kevin: The glitz and glamour everybody thinks it is? If you want to do that,
if you want to live that lifestyle, if you want to blow your money like that
you can.

Nick: We try to keep a low profile and keep our feet on the ground. I think
that's personally what we like to do. If you don't have to stay in a hotel
that's extravagant, you don't need to. It's all about, personally, how you
want to live your life.

Kevin: Just taking it day by day and trying to stay in touch with our family
and friends -- be true to ourselves.

Nick: Trying to stay in touch with reality too. Don't lose grip of reality --
where you came from. Because when you lose that, it all goes.

Howie: And so does the money. (They all laugh)

ET: It's got to be tough. You just got back from a huge European tour and
you're here in Orlando shooting a video for a few days and then you're off to
Los Angeles. What do you think helps keep you grounded? Is it your family,
your friends?

Kevin: We keep each other in check pretty much. If anybody gets arrogant in
the group, we're all on their back. There's an interesting quote I heard on
TV. They were doing a special on the DALI LAMA. They were asking him a
question about how he felt when he cries and drops to his knees. He said,
"With praise, there is danger of becoming arrogant." That is kind of scary
because we are getting a great response and do get a lot of praise from our
fans and stuff. But it's good to have your family and friends who have been
with you from the beginning, who keep you grounded and keep your head on your
shoulders.

Nick: The one thing you have to do is you have to mentally realize that you
are no different than any other human being on this planet. I think we all
realize that. We only do something that we love to do and have been very
blessed and fortunate. We make sure we don't take every day for granted.

ET: Travelling, working hard, constant tours -- is it hard on your dating
life? Is it tough to get a "significant other" when you're in this kind of
limelight?

Kevin: Yes. You need somebody who is patient and understanding -- it's not
easy. It's kind of hard, but it's fun to travel around the world. You meet so
many interesting people and just when you start to get to know somebody
you're jetting off somewhere else, so it's kind of frustrating. But it's fun
too. It's like a catch-22.

ET: In that same vein, kids are growing up aspiring to be you guys. Is it all
that it's cracked up to be?

Howie: It's very flattering to see people looking up to be like us. I think
we're just five normal guys. We're just very fortunate that we were blessed
with the talent to do what we do. But every career has its ups and downs. I
think we've come to realize that the music business is a lot more than what
we thought it was when we first got involved. Personally, I thought that
going out and being a celebrity like MICHAEL JACKSON or PRINCE involved going
to a concert, hanging out afterwards, maybe go to a party or two, then sleep
and wake up and do the next thing. We noticed that there's a lot more to the
business than just that. Everything from recording a whole album -- it's a
lengthy process -- to doing videos, media. It's a whole package. To try to be
a successful group -- it takes a lot. But, it's well worth it though. I think
we're very blessed, and at the end of the day, there's always the ups and
down of it all. But we're very fortunate that we're doing something we love
-- we're able to make a nice living out of it.

Kevin: It's a lot of fun.

ET: Being as successful as you guys are, tabloids are likely to start passing
rumors. There was recently a rumor that you guys were breaking up. What's
your reaction to these kind of rumors?

Kevin: That rumor is there every day.

Nick: If that question isn't asked, I think something's wrong. (They laugh)
No, we're not breaking up, and I guess we'll clear that up again.

Kevin: These rumors you just have to laugh at. You have to laugh and shrug it
off. They're going to write whatever they want to write, no matter what.
 

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