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The Backstreet Boys, or BSB, was a boy band and pop
group that rose to considerable popularity in the late 1990s, and has since
broken music and concert sales records, having sold more than 87 million albums
(38 million in U.S.) to make them the highest-selling boy band on record. The
five-member group consists of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, A.J.
McLean and Kevin Richardson.
****
Country Florida, USA
Years active 1993-present
Genre(s) Pop/Rock
Label(s) Jive Records
Members Kevin Richardson
Brian Littrell
A.J. McLean
Nick Carter
Howie Dorough
****
History
Lou Pearlman, an aviation entrepreneur based in
Florida, was inspired by the success of the New Kids on the Block in the 1980s
to create his own clean-cut boy bands. After a series of auditions in 1992 and
1993, he recruited Nick Carter (at 12, the band's youngest member), Howie
Dorough, 19, Alexander James McLean, 14 and, following the departure of two
members - Sam Licata and Charles Edwards - Kevin Richardson came aboard in March
1993, who was 20. The group took its final shape on April 19, 1993, when Brian
Littrell - cousin of Richardson - joined the group after a phone audition. Their
first concert on May 8, 1993 was performed in front of 3,000 teenagers. Pearlman
booked them at grade-school assemblies, shopping malls and Sea World, and
assigned management duties to Johnny Wright, who had worked with New Kids on the
Block.
After a possible Mercury Record deal failed, the
band was spotted in Cleveland, Ohio by Jive Records, an independent label best
known for its hip-hop acts in February 1994. By June, they were recording their
first single "We've Got It Goin' On" an urban pop song by writer/producer Denniz
PoP. The single struggled in the US and only reached #69 on the Billboard
charts, but it sold well in Europe, later earning the band their first Gold disc
in Germany. In 1995 the band's first album, Backstreet Boys, was released in
Europe and Canada, hitting the top 10 in numerous countries. Jive and Pearlman
kept the band busy overseas for the next two years, sometimes putting it on tour
for five months straight.
1996 marked a big change for the Backstreet Boys as
European popularity grew. They kicked off 1996 by being voted No.1 International
Group by TV viewers in Germany - "I'll Never Break Your Heart" went gold there
and hit No.1 in Austria. The group earned their first Platinum record in Germany
(500,000 CDs sold) and toured Asia and Canada.
By 1997 when bands like the Spice Girls and Hanson
began to succeed in the United States, Jive and Pearlman decided to bring the
boys back to the United States after 8.5 million discs had been sold worldwide.
They began to record a new album for the American market and released "Quit
Playing Games (With My Heart)" as their new single; the single quickly went
platinum and climbed to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. In August, the boys hit big
on the U.S. charts with the release of their self titled debut album Backstreet
Boys. The album debuted at #1 in Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Finland and
Austria, and sold over 14 million copies in the U.S. setting a record for the
most successful debut album in U.S. history. In October, a free concert in Spain
was cancelled after too many fans attended, and so in December 1997, the band
embarked on a 60-city, 20-country tour.
In 1998, Littrell underwent surgery to correct a
congenital heart disorder, in a middle of their sold-out US 39-city tour; he
twice had cancelled the surgery in the past. He had been struggling with this
disease since he was born, almost dying at the age of 5 due to a bacterial
infection. Littrell needed about 8 weeks to recover from the surgery, but
shortly after this time, the Backstreet Boys cancelled an appearance in
Minnesota after learning that Howie Dorough's sister had died of Lupus. Four of
the Backstreet Boys went ahead with a lawsuit against Lou Pearlman, in which
they claimed that the Backstreet Boys was owed more of the $200 million they had
generated to that date. In October 1998, the band received the keys to the city
from the mayor of Orlando in honor of the tornado relief concert the group
headlined in March.
By February 1999, the boys received their first
Diamond award by the RIAA for shipment of 10 milion copies of their album. At
this point, they had hire a new manager team called "The Firm", famous for
managing bands including Limp Bizkit. In May, the Backstreet Boys released the
album Millennium, which sold over 1.13 million units in its first week, setting
a record for most albums sold in the first week of release. They also held the
most sales for an album's second and third weeks. The record dominated the
worldwide charts, landing at the #1 spot in 25 nations. The album was certified
11 times platinum by december 1999, making it the fastest selling album in a
year. The first single "I Want It That Way" broke a record for radio station
adds in its first week with 165, and topped the UK Singles chart for 2 weeks
(where the song was the first new #1 entry since Elton John's 1997 "Candle In
The Wind" tribute to Princess Diana). The song eventually set a record for the
most weeks on the chart since the chart was conceived in 1980, and would reach
the #1 spot in over 18 nations. In addition to receiving gold and platinum
awards in 45 countries, the band's sophomore album was nominated for 5 Grammy
Award's including Album of the Year. In August, the Backstreet Boys sold out a
39-city tour in less than a day, selling over 765,000 tickets in a matter of
hours, prompting additional shows in many markets and shattering a number of
box-office records, selling out all 53 concert dates of their "In To The
Millennium Tour" which kicked off in September. The tour drew over 2 million
fans, breaking the record for largest indoor audience. By the end of 1999, the
Backstreet Boys met new problems declaring their current Jive contract null and
void, soon striking the largest record deal ever valued at $60 million with
Jive.
In 2000, the Backstreet Boys graced the pages of
the new millennium's first issue of Rolling Stone magazine. In February Littrell
and Richardson confirmed their engagements to their fiancées. At the end of the
year, the group released their new album Black & Blue, with the title of the
album acting was a metaphor for how the boys felt they were "beaten up" by the
media and others. To promote the release of Black & Blue, the boys traveled
around the world in 100 hours to Sweden, Japan, Australia, South Africa, Brazil,
and the US; 55 of the hours were spent travelling and 45 spent making public
appearances. The album debuted with 1.6 million units sold in the first week in
America, making the band the first group to have two albums sell a million or
more copies in the first week. Black & Blue sold more than five million copies
worldwide in its initial week, setting a new first-week record in international
sales. Globally, Black & Blue — whose 13-song selection features five songs
co-written by members of the group, plus two songs written by all five
Backstreet Boys — achieved platinum status in over 30 countries and gold
certification in 10 regions around the world during its first week of release.
In the first week of release, Black & Blue's first single "Shape of My Heart"
was played on 170 out of 171 of the Top 40 stations in the U.S. Meanwhile
overseas, the song immediately jumped into the Top Five in Sweden (#1), Norway
(#1), Canada (#1), Germany (#2), Switzerland (#4), Austria (#5) and Holland
(#5). However, towards the end of 2000 McLean first started using cocaine while
shooting for the video "The Call".
In 2001, the Backstreet Boys kicked off the 1st leg
of their "2001 Black & Blue World Tour". The full tour earned US $350 million in
ticket sales, making the band the world's highest-paid live entertainers,
replacing the Rolling Stones as the world's No. 1 live band. The tour featured
on a TV special, The Backstreet Boys: Larger Than Life on CBS. To coincide with
the TV special, TV Guide issued six different covers of the boys: five
individual shots and one group photo. However, the second leg of Black & Blue
summer tour was put on hold when it was reported that A.J. McLean checked
himself into rehab to battle drinking, drug addiction, and depression, after he
and Kevin had an intervention in a hotel in Boston. The tour is postponed until
September. Another tragedy struck when the September 11, 2001 attacks occurred,
killing a Backstreet Boys crew member, Daniel Lee, who had been using time off
in the tour schedule to travel from Boston to Los Angeles to be with his
pregnant wife. The death caused the cancellation of the band's plans for
overseas tours. In October 2001, the boys released Chapter One, a disc of their
greatest hits and "Drowning", their last single until their return in 2005. The
Boys performed at the United We Stand concert in Washington DC as well as The
Concert for New York City, two benefit concerts for the victims of September 11.
By the end of 2001 and into 2002, it became clear that the Backstreet Boys were
on an extended break with no new recordings or releases.
In 2003, McLean appeared in an episode of the Oprah
Winfrey Show where he talked for the first time in public about his addiction to
alcohol and drugs (mainly cocaine) and his struggles rising to fame. The rest of
the band members surprised him by coming to the show in person and giving him
support, marking the first time the Backstreet Boys had appeared together in
public for two years. Richardson recalled his confrontation with McLean two
years prior, when he had said to McLean, "I hate you. You are dead to me." The
band began to re-form and reconcile their differences to start recording a
comeback album.
After a five-year hiatus, their new single,
"Incomplete", was released to radio stations on March 28, 2005 and quickly
became the #1 most requested song in top markets in both U.S. and overseas. In
May, the only European Backstreet Boys concert in almost 4 years was quickly
sold out. On June 14, 2005, the Backstreet Boys released their comeback album
Never Gone, which they spent more than a year recording. The album debuted at #3
on the U.S. chart with substantial first week sales of 291,000 copies. The album
sold over 2.2 million copies worldwide in its first week of release, debuting at
#1 in Japan, Germany, India, Chile, Brazil, and Korea. However the album sold
poorly in the United States compared to their previous efforts.
Discography
Worldwide albums charts
Debut Date: The first date in which the item
appeared on the chart (US dates unless specified).
Peak: Top position the item achieved. Number in
brackets indicate how many weeks and item spent at the #1 position.
Certification: US RIAA album certification for
units shipped. (eg. 2x Platinum mean 2 million units shipped)
US
Billboard 200 Albums Chart UK Albums Chart
Debut Date Album Highest Chart Position Chart Run
Certification Highest Chart Position Chart Run WW Sales
8/30/1997 (UK: September 1996) Backstreet Boys 4
133 weeks 14x Platinum 12 19 weeks ??
8/30/1997 (UK) Backstreet's Back — — — 2 44 weeks
??
6/5/1999 (UK: May 1999) Millennium 1 (10 weeks) 93
weeks 13x Platinum 1 (4 weeks) 56 weeks ??
12/9/2000 Black & Blue 1 (2 weeks) 42 weeks 8x
Platinum 13 9 weeks ??
11/17/2001 The Hits: Chapter One 4 24 weeks
Platinum 5 18 weeks ??
7/2/2005 (UK: 25/6/2005) Never Gone 3 10 weeks
Platinum 11 ?? weeks ??
1996/1997 Backstreet Boys
The Backstreet Boys' worldwide debut album, which
didn't top the US charts, but gave them their highest certified album to date
(it was released in September 1996 in the UK).
1997 Backstreet's Back
The Backstreet Boys' second UK (non-US) album,
containing some tracks from the first, as well as some different tracks.
1999 Millennium
The Backstreet Boys' sophomore US album, which set
a record of 1.1 million units sold in one week according to SoundScan. The album
received 5 Grammy nominations including one for Album of the Year.
2000 Black & Blue
With this album, the Backstreet Boys became the
first artist to have two albums sell more than a million units in the first
week. This, their third US album, sold 1.6 million copies in its opening week.
The album also set the record of most albums sold in the world in one week with
5 million. The Boys' fourth No. 1 Canadian album put them in the Canadian chart
record books as the first act to reach No. 1 with their first four albums. They
also holds the first week sales record in 2000 for the number of units sold in
Canada, as tabulated by SoundScan, selling in excess of 150, 000 units. In less
than six weeks of release it became the sixth biggest selling album of 2000 and
is now seven times Platinum, commemorating sales of over seven hundred thousand
units.
Sold over 8 million copies in the U.S.
2001 The Hits: Chapter One
The Backstreet Boys didn't want to release a
greatest hits album, but they were forced by their record label. This album was
the result, and from it they released their last single until their return four
years later. The album debuted at No. 1 in Canada and the band set another
record as the first act to reach No. 1 with each of their first five albums.
2005 Never Gone
The Backstreet Boys' comeback album, their first
studio album after nearly five years. The only BSB album that debuted at No. 2
on the Canadian albums chart.
Went multi-Platinum in July
Sold over 10 million worldwide by the end of the
year.
Worldwide singles charts
Debut Date: The first date in which the item
appeared on the chart (US dates unless specified).
Peak: Top position the item achieved. Number in
brackets indicate how many weeks the item spent at the #1 position.
Certification: US RIAA album certification for
units shipped. (eg. 2x Platinum mean 2 million units shipped)
Certification 2: (as of 2004) Due to the lack of
impressive sales of singles, the RIAA has changed its format. Gold meaning
200,000 shipped and platinum 400,000 shipped with the respective multiple.
****
The Backstreet Boys currently have had fifteen
singles on the Billboard Hot 100. Twelve singles have reached the top 40, six of
those singles have managed to reach the top ten. "We've Got It Goin' On" was on
the Hot 100 for twenty weeks until it was retired due to its weak performance
(Any single that stays under position 50 (51-100) for twenty weeks must be
removed.)
Interesting chart facts
The Backstreet Boys spent 84 consecutive weeks on
the Hot 100 between January 30, 1999 and September 2, 2000 with five various
songs.
The Backstreet Boys holds the record for 'most
radio station adds' in first week with both of their singles "I Want It That
Way" and "Shape Of My Heart". In 1999 "I Want It That Way" held this record when
it recived 165 radio adds in it's first week of release but in 2000 it was
beaten by "Shape Of My Heart" with 170 radio adds. "Shape Of My Heart" debuted
at #9 on the Billboard Charts.
"I Want It That Way" was the first #1 debut in the
UK charts since Elton John's 1997 "Candle In The Wind" (a tribute to Princess
Diana). The song also set a record for the most weeks on the chart since the
chart was conceived in the 90's and reached the #1 spot in over 18 nations.
"As Long As You Love Me" is one of the several
songs that reached the top five on the airplay charts (it reached #4) but never
charted the Billboard Hot 100.
"All I Have to Give" reached its peak position in
its second week. It debuted at 57 and shot to 5 in week two, staying in the top
ten for nine weeks.
"Shape Of My Heart", the first single from Black &
Blue, broked the record for most weeks at #1 on the Canadian Adult Contemporary
(AC) chart with an amazing stay of fourteen (14) weeks. On the Canadian (CHR)
chart it holds the record for highest-ever debut at #3, shattering the previous
record of #10 set by U2. It went to #1 where it stayed for six weeks breaking
the record for longest stay at #1. It also holds the record for most first-day
spins on CHR Radio, as measured by (BDS), who compile Canadian Radio charts
based on detected spins, or plays, on Radio stations across Canada. In 2000,
Backstreet Boys held the #1 position on the CHR and AC charts a combined
nineteen weeks.
"Shape Of My Heart" held the #1 spot in over 13
nations but never reached the Top 5 in the .U.S..
"Incomplete" debuted at #1 on the Australian
ARIAnet charts with sales exceeding the 35,000 gold limit, becoming the
Backstreet Boys' first Australian #1 single.
Videos
1998 All Access Video (#1 U.S. debut) (6x Platinum)
(1.5 million copies)
1998 A Night Out With the Backstreet Boys (#1 U.S.
debut) (3x Platinum) (.75 million copies)
1999 Homecoming – Live in Orlando (#1 U.S. debut)
(3x Platinum) (.75 million copies)
2001 Around the World (#1 U.S. debut) (Platinum)
(.25 million copies)
2001 The Hits (#1 U.S. debut) (Platinum) (.25
million copies)
Certification:
IRMA gold certification for a minimum of 125,000
units or a dollar volume of $9 million at retail for theatrically released
programs, or of at least 25,000 units and $1 million at suggested retail for
nontheatrical titles.
IRMA platinum certification for a minimum sale of
250,000 units or a dollar volume of $18 million at retail for theatrically
released programs, or of at least, 50,000 units and $2 million at suggested
retail for nontheatrical titles.
SoundScan Era
The Backstreet Boys are among the top-selling
artists in the SoundScan era. They have sold over 40 million albums in the U.S.
alone and 87 million worldwide. Their self titled debut album Backstreet Boys
which was released in 1997, sold over 14 million copies in the U.S. setting a
record for the most successful debut album in U.S. history.
In 1999 they set a record of most albums sold in
its debut week with Millennium. In 2000, the group set another record being the
first artist to have two albums sell more than a million records in its first
week with Black & Blue. It sold 1.6 million. They also set the record of most
albums sold in the world in one week with 5 million.
Trivia
According to Guinness Book of World Records in
2001, "the biggest boyband in history" is the Backstreet Boys when they achieved
record-breaking sales of 13 million copies of their album Millennium by March
2001.
According to RIAA, the Backstreet Boys have sold
over 30 million copies worldwide of their first two discs, Backstreet Boys (30
million) and Millennium (33 million).
The Backstreet Boys are the only group in Canadian
history to have three consecutive Diamond albums, commemorating sales of over
one million units.
In 2000 the Backstreet Boys became the 2nd artist
in history to dominate all three Canadian charts simultaneously when "Black &
Blue" was on top of the Canadian's albums chart and "Shape Of My Heart" was at
No. 1 on both The Hits and the SoundScan singles charts. The only other act in
2000 to achieve this was Madonna whose "Music" was No. 1 on the three charts in
October. "Shape Of My Heart" also held the No. 1 on another national list, the
Record's Adult Contemporary Top 75.
The Backstreet Boys are the only artists to win a
record four World Music Awards for three years in a row since 1999-2001.
The Backstreet Boys' 2001 "Black & Blue World Tour"
earned US$350 million in ticket sales, making the band the world's highest-paid
live entertainers and replacing the Rolling Stones as the world's No. 1 live
band.
According to Jive Records, the band is "the highest
selling boy band of all time", selling over 90 million albums worldwide.
US$14 million of merchandise was purchased by fans
during the 1999 "Into The Millennium" tour.
The Backstreet Boys have sold a total 200 million
books worldwide.
"I Want It That Way" has been ranked No. 10 on
Rolling Stone & MTV's 100 Greatest Pop Songs list.
The band performed the national anthem at Super
Bowl XXXV in Tampa, Florida in 2001.
All 765,000 tickets for a 1999-2000 North American
arena tour sold out on the first day they were made avalaible.
In 2001's Billboard.com poll, 30% of a staggering
16,863 votes, the Backstreet Boys' Jive/Zomba album "Black and Blue" was the top
album of 2001. The Band total doubled the next closest challenger, the Beatles'
"1" (Apple/Capitol), which pulled in 15% of the vote.
In 2001 over one million tickets for the "2001
Black & Blue U.S. Tour" were sold during the first 24 hours of availability.
The Backstreet Boys teamed with Stan Lee to produce
a Web-based franchise chronicling the adventures of the Backstreet Boys as
cyber-crusaders named The Backstreet Project. The project debuted as a
limited-edition collector's comic book that was sold exclusively at Backstreet
Boys concerts. The animated series was launched on the Web in the summer of 2000
using Macromedia Flash animation and was sold out on the first day.
On the first episode of MTV's Total Request Live in
1998, the #1 video was "I'll Never Break Your Heart".
* * * *
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