Backstreet Boys return with diminished expectations
Source: Yahoo News
Reuters, Saturday May 28
NASHVILLE (Billboard) - Is there life beyond the boy band phenomenon? The Backstreet Boys are on a mission to prove there is.
The multiplatinum act is set to release its first studio album in nearly five years on June 14, "Never Gone." The trademark harmonies are intact, but "we've stripped it down and kept it more organic," says group member Howie Dorough. "It's not all five-part harmony like everything used to be. It's like Backstreet Boys meets Matchbox Twenty meets Maroon5 meets Coldplay."
Obviously, the group and its handlers would like to see the album debut at No. 1, like its last few releases did, but they are realistic.
"If our album doesn't enter at No. 1, are people going to think we're off the mark? Well, no, because people had written us off anyway," says the group's manager, Johnny Wright. "That's the beauty of this record. It can't underperform because we don't have any expectations."
After selling more than 73 million albums worldwide, according to their Jive Records label, Dorough and his bandmates, Brian Littrell, Kevin Richardson, Nick Carter and A.J. McLean decided to take a hiatus.
"We had been going on a nonstop pace for over eight years," Dorough says. "It was taking its toll on the relationships in the group. We got to a point where we were taking each other for granted and we were taking our business for granted."
Dorough admits there was also some concern that they were oversaturating the market. "We thought the market probably wasn't ready for us to try to come up with another record," he says. "We just thought instead of pushing it out there in the people's faces, we decided to take a good, healthy break. We looked at groups like the Eagles and Aerosmith, groups that have been around a long, long time. In order to do it properly and to have long careers without getting burnt out, you need to take a break every so often."
Dorough dabbled in real estate and began recording an English/Spanish-language album. Littrell and wife welcomed a son, and he signed a deal with Reunion Records to record a Christian album, due next year. McLean worked on his sobriety and a solo album. Carter released a solo album, "Now or Never," in 2002. Richardson performed in London and on Broadway in "Chicago."
Dorough says the catalyst for the reunion came when McLean and his mother appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and the rest of the group surprised him there. Soon after, they reunited with Wright, who had been their manager during their early days.
When they got back in the studio, they first found themselves exploring a different sound. "It actually started off in an R&B direction about a year-and-a-half ago," Dorough says. But it morphed into a pop album as the group worked with a slew of top producers, including Max Martin, Mark Taylor, Billy Mann, Five for Fighting's John Ondrasik, Dan Muckala and John Shanks.
Muckala produced the first single, "Incomplete," which has been welcomed at pop radio -- despite initial skepticism from some radio programmers. It is currently No. 9 on Billboard's Mainstream Top 40 and No. 18 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
To give fans a glimpse of the new album, the group hit the road for 18 dates this spring. "For the most part, the entire tour sold out within 20 minutes," Wright says. "It was a pleasant surprise." He adds that the audience ranged from 11-year-olds to 35-year-olds.
This summer the group will embark on a tour of amphitheaters in up to 35 markets. Plans call for a stadium tour next year.
Barry Weiss, the president/CEO of Jive's immediate parent, Zomba Label Group, feels the summer tour will help reconnect the group with pop fans. "There's an underserved audience," he says. "It's proven by the 'American Idol' success. There's still a huge audience for pure pop records in America."
Reuters/Billboard