It has been fourteen years since the boy-band phenomenon exploded around the world and teenage girls were lusting after, crying over and fantasizing about the five-member group known as the Backstreet Boys. When BSB broke out with their debut album "Backstreet Boys" in 1996, I was a 16-year-old junior in high school. Though I admitted to lusting after Nick Carter, I was not a fan of their music. I was a skater girl, rocking out to Bush, 311, Nirvana, Reel Big Fish; the list goes on. BSB was not on my list of favorites, they were, however, on my list of guilty pleasures. From '96 to 2000 and when BSB released their massive hit album "Millennium," which I half-listened to, I fully enjoyed the Backstreet Boys. It was impossible not to as these five guys took over the music world and TV sets. As the years went by, the boy-band scene died out, but the Backstreet Boys, though they were no longer the obsession of the public eye, were still carrying on.

Fast-forward to present day, and I am getting ready to do a phone interview with A.J. McLean. Though I am on the verge of turning 30, I cannot help but be excited that I am actually going to talk to a Backstreet Boy. Not only one of the Backstreet Boys, but the "bad boy" himself, A.J.

"I'm not still the 'bad boy,' but I am still the craziest and I always want to push the envelope. I am always going to be different. I will never be normal," says McLean from his Hollywood home where he claims to be "snuggling with the pooches in bed."

After the Backstreet Boys took a few years hiatus, four of the five boys decided that they wanted to rejoin forces, and put a true to life meaning on the BSB lyric, "Backstreet's Back, alright." The group is currently engaging in a massive world tour in order to celebrate their new album "This is Us." Though they are older, when it comes to music, the boys of Backstreet are the same group of guys, minus Kevin Richardson.

I am still a little shocked that I am on the phone with a Backstreet Boy, but I find that McLean is super cool. He is very easy to converse with and there really doesn't seem to be an ounce of that former bad-boy in him. On the phone, McLean talks about the BSB tour, the new album and why Backstreet is better than ever.

McLean reveals that Richardson left the group four-and-a-half years ago, and that the departure was an amicable one. After Richardson left the band, the rest of the members took time to focus on their own lives. Nick Carter appeared in some reality shows, Brian Littrel got married and continued to make music, Howie Dorough got into real estate and A.J. McLean addressed his problems with alcoholism.

"Even when we were doing our own thing, we all had our hands in something in this field. We all try to make it a point to do our own things. You have to let yourself grow as individuals," says McLean who talks about the music projects that the group worked on while spending time on their own.

When listening to McLean, it becomes obvious that it was important for the members of Backstreet Boys to work on their own individual projects. Perhaps the best decision that the group could have made was to take a break from being the Backstreet Boys and do their own thing because they learned that they excel the most when they were together.

"It's honestly been pretty phenomenal. We took a break when it was much needed," says McLean who adds that the reunion is something that is celebrated by all the members of BSB. The performers' enthusiasm for being back on the road comes across as McLean discusses the new album and their current tour.

"This new record is a declaration to who we are. It's the closest to 'Millennium,' but we worked with new writers and new producers. We try to bring the record to the live show, to keep it really good with tempos," says McLean.

As McLean talks about bringing the live energy to the record, it prompts the question of what the current Backstreet Boys live show is like.

"I think that fans are gonna walk away feeling amazing. The theme is movie-based and we have a DJ instead of a band. It's the most intricate light show you will ever see," says McLean.

When asked if BSB will be doing a live performance rather than a lip-synched one, McLean is adamant in his response, "We'll just whip it out for you right now. We have had to prove ourselves for the past 17 years".

McLean guarantees that it is a show worth seeing. While the Backstreet Boys are still not on my list of favorite bands, I can honestly say that this show will be a trip down memory lane and an indulgence in that '90s guilty pleasure of mine. Unless McLean is exaggerating, this show will have the teenage girl in all of us screaming and reaching out for the boys of Backstreet.

thnx to Tony @t afterLD

source: inthisweek