Typed and submitted by Patty. Thank you.
Matt Lauer: Fans were shocked on Monday when the Backstreet Boys announced they'll postpone their current tour. Just one week
after they performed for thousands of fans in our plaza. The group revealed they'll quit performing while band member AJ McLean
undergoes treatment for alcohol abuse, anxiety and depression. Joining us this morning the rest of the band Nick, Howie, Brian and
Kevin. Guys good morning. Thanks for coming back and talking about this. You know, I started looking at that tape this morning of
you last Monday, and immediately you start to try to read between the lines of what we were seeing. How much of an issue and
concern was this, when you were here just a week ago?
Brian: Well, I think it was a very important issue when we were here a week ago. This became known to us, just before we kicked off
this leg of the tour, the US second leg. We came back from South America, Puerto Rico, had a little bit of time off and we had some
situations in Orlando that happened, where AJ wasn't really fulfilling his proper duties as a group member, and we were concerned
for his safety and his health. We tried to get him some help. We had him talk to some counselors. And kind of united with him to
better his situation.
Matt: So did one of you approach him first? I mean obviously, you know, as a group you are concerned about this. Did....
Nick: No we all approached him together.
Kevin: No we all did. No we all approached him. This has been an on going... I mean it's.... the past year has really came to fruition.
I mean his late night.. ventures and going out and drinking... and has been coming to a head over the past year. And the past 8
months has really... We really realized how bad of a problem it was, because he doesn't have a mean bone is his body and he
wouldn't do anything to disrespect any of us, but because he had such a problem it was changing his personality, and he wasn't
being professional. It was affecting his voice and his work.
Howie: His grandmother just passed away about a couple months, I think it... right before the tour, the second leg and it really
kicked it off the top. I think that's when he was really becoming depressed and really just feeling insecure and trying to find himself.
Matt: When you guys tour, you know, it looks like a lot of fun out there. It's a lot of hard work keeping the show together, traveling
from city to city. How much impact has this had on the first part of the tour?
Brian: Well, we've had to postpone dates. There's a lot of repercussions of, you know, somebody going through something like this,
but what is important to us, and let's make this known, is his health. He can't travel and be unhealthy because it's not a good
situation for him to be in, nor us at the same time so....
Matt: You try to talk to him as you mentioned as a group, whatever, individually. But I understand a couple of days ago, he finally
said....which is the first step, you have to want to help yourself...he came to the group and said, okay, I have a problem. How did he
broach that subject with you guys?
Howie: Nicky had just hurt his arm after the second show in Boston, two out of five shows, and we were actually talking, on our day
off the day before yesterday, about how we were going to re-choreograph the show, possibly take a couple of shows down to get it
back to the right way. And at that point, that's when AJ I think finally had the time to put it all together. He just came to us and said,
you know what maybe I need more help than just a counselor out here...
Matt: Have you already made arrangements for someplace to go at that time?
Howie: Uh huh. To us it was a good thing....
Kevin: Once he said that he wanted to get help, and he wanted to leave the tour then we helped him make all of the arrangements,
but I mean this is something that he needed to do for himself and we're backing him up all the way.
Nick: And this is, and this is something that also happens to a lot of people, a lot of families and stuff like that.
Kevin: It's important for us to be honest about it. I mean we've been advised, you know. Oh you should lie about it. You should push
it under the carpet. We could say.....
Matt: Advised by who?
Nick: Different people.
Brian: Attorneys....
Kevin: People talking about the tour going down, you know that you can push it under the rug, make it all blow over for the "press"
so it won't looks so bad. Because we do have a lot of young fans, and we are role models to a lot of people and we're put on a
pedestal, but we feel it's important, to be a good role model, to be honest about it.
Nick: Yeah, exactly.
Matt: So how, what do you say to the 13 year olds, 12 year olds, 14 year olds who watch this group and listen to this group? How
do you explain the situation that AJ's going through?
Brian: I don't think they can fully understand what the ordeal is, but like we were saying, we're only human and we make mistakes,
but it's real life. We deal with adult issues. We're all grown men.
Nick: If anything like this does happen to anyone in their life, just, just be there the way we are being there for him. You know, we
care about him like he is, I mean he is our brother. So we are going to be there for him.
Matt: You talk about his grandmother passing away, and that obviously had a traumatic impact on him. Is a portion of this having to
do with fame, I mean you guys are so high profile? And when you come here I watch the reaction on the street and watch the way
you walk through the studio what happens. Is a part of this fame gone too far? Too much temptation? Too much success?
Howie: As we say, you know, it's been a bit of a blessing for us, that we've been blessed with so much around us, the fans, you
know, our lives are a lot more comfortable now than they were several years ago, but with fame does come a lot of temptation, you
know a lot of just trying to find yourself in this whole craziness of everything, and I think it's very easy to get lost in it. And, I think,
AJ unfortunately...the rest of us we came from really wholesome family..mothers and fathers. And AJ grew up with a single parent
and his grandmother and grandfather. He didn't really have any brothers, so I think a lot of this came to him, and you know dealing
with it himself, he had a hard time, and that's when he chose you know alcohol substances and was constantly depressed and was
just really insecure about finding himself.
Matt: You've canceled dates through early August, after that you'll pick it up when he is out and kinda keep your fingers crossed.
Howie: August 7th we're going to start back up in Vancouver, and July's dates will now go into September.
Matt: Nick, Howie, Brian, Kevin, guys good luck. And our best to AJ if you talk to him.
Nick: See you on the road.
Brian: Thank you.
Kevin: Thank you.
Howie: Thanks to the support of our fans.
Today Show Transcript