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Backstreet Boy says next album is last
While visiting a school in San Diego to stress the importance of music education, Backstreet Boys band member A.J. McLean said that the next album the band produces will be its last, 10News reported.
"We've been off now for almost 2 years. We're going back into the studio in March and we're gonna work on what will probably be the last Backstreet Boys record," McLean said.
He said that the band members will focus on solo careers, according to 10News.
Backstreet singer goes solo with safe, rebellious image
Backstreet Boy Nick Carter spent the last decade of his life as the dream date for millions of American girls. With his puppy-dog eyes, shaggy blond hair and goofy sense of humor, he was the very embodiment of the teen-pop phenomenon -- pretty, happy and bland.
Now Carter, 22, has momentarily stepped away from the Backstreet fold and, of all things, he's decided he wants to be a rock star. Clad in a T-shirt, scruffy jeans and some vaguely punkish leather wristbands, he's taken on all the accoutrements of faux rebellion and released his first solo album, Now or Never.
"I went retro, big time, on some of the songs," Carter says. "I grew up with a lot of that stuff. Led Zeppelin, Bon Jovi, Journey. I'm always full of energy and I wanted something that could express that."
But Carter's decision to embark on a solo career wasn't terribly popular in the Backstreet camp. Brian Littrel and Kevin Richardson are notoriously competitive about Backstreet's position in the pop charts and, after trailing rivals 'N Sync for the last few years, they felt Carter's going solo might hurt the group, especially since he is widely considered Backstreet's star member.
"Nick is obviously the frontman, the idol," says Cara Lynn Shultz, associate entertainment editor at Teen People. "He was the one that girls daydreamed about, the one that made girls write 'I heart Nick Carter' on their notebook. He's cute and he's charming and he takes a hell of a photo."
The Boys supportive of Nick's going solo
"There were a lot of emotional feelings in the beginning," Carter says. "But the fact was that they understood a lot of it afterwards, because it is that personal to me. Because with them, they want to get married and they want to start families, and I just want to rock out and sing and play music and have fun.
"And they see that it's helping me," he says. "It's making me a better person."
Part of Carter's recent personal development came with a few headlines attached. In January, he was arrested outside Pop City, a nightclub near his Tampa-area home. He was charged with resisting arrest and ultimately pleaded guilty and agreed to perform community service. The incident was minor, but Carter says it taught him that he might not have been choosing his friends so wisely. Since then, he's tried to take on more responsibility, especially since embarking on his solo project. He's tried to tone down his normally hyperactive personality and to focus. And he's aware that he won't have his bandmates to fall back on if the album falters.
"I feel like it's all riding on me, big time," he says. "If I mess up, it's my fault. If things go bad, it's my fault."
Carter VS Timberlake
It's inevitable that the two most recognizable members of the two best-selling bands in recent history will have their sales and successes linked to one another. But Carter downplays their connection.
"I don't even compare myself with him," says Carter, who has not yet heard Timberlake's album. "I just do my own thing and I feel like I'm in my own little category. I'm doing rock. He's doing R&B. I support what he does. I hope he's successful."
While Carter may brush aside analogies to Timberlake, music-business insiders have already begun handicapping the race between the two young men. While Timberlake's first single, Like I Love You, is the nation's sixth most-played song on radio, Carter's Help Me peaked at 36 and recently slipped to 38. Even on Backstreet-friendly MTV, Carter's clip for Help Me languishes in the low 20s, while Timberlake's is a top 5 favorite.
If Carter wants his next single to stay in rotation, it'll quickly have to gain the attention of young fans. Otherwise, it'll fall prey to a Backstreet backlash, says Sean Ross, editor of Airplay Monitor.
"To some extent, the airplay that these acts are getting is almost despite their success from a couple of years ago," Ross says. "Top 40 program directors certainly had an attitude about these acts, even when they were playing them. So a couple of years after the epicenter of teen-pop mania, any record that these artists put out can expect to get some initial airplay, but it can't expect the benefit of the doubt."
With Carter, Timberlake and Christina Aguilera all releasing albums, this fall will widely be considered a litmus test for whether teen-pop stars can reinvent themselves for older audiences. Carter sees it as a challenge, but mostly he's just glad to be on his own for a while.
"You never know: There may be some people who may not like you as an individual, so you're just taking a chance," he says. "But I like it because I'm a kind of dangerous guy in a way. I like excitement. I like adventure. But I really think that this is just a lot of fun."
All f0r a g00d cause
Hello everyone!
Just when you thought you couldn't get enough, we are back again! Kinda like Backstreet themselves! We are on to our next Christmas project and are looking for people who may want to contribute. We are putting together Shoeboxes for Lupus. And just what is a "Shoebox for Lupus"?
Well, you find a shoe box, and you put all kinds of things in it that would make life a little more enjoyable and comfy for someone who may be suffering. Like some nice shower gel, or a Hershey's chocolate bar, or maybe a nice pair of thick, comfy socks. Use your imagination....if someone gave you a box, what would you like to find in it? (We have a little list below if you need some ideas) You will have to mark on the outside of the box somewhere if it is for a man, woman, or younger person. We are not asking that you go into debt with your box, just do what you can.
The boxes are to be sent to The Dorough Lupus Foundation and they will be distributed to lupus patients through the Dorough Lupus Foundation Support Group, which is a support group for teens living with lupus.
You will need to include our little letter from Fanfriends, so when your box is ready to go, please email one of us on the committee so we can send you the letter.
You will have to print it out and put it in your box, and you will also have to be willing to pay the postage to mail your box.
On the outside, just put:
"Shoeboxes for Lupus"
The Dorough Lupus Foundation
4690 Lipscomb St. N.E. #5
Palm Bay, FL 32905
Gift for: (Fill in Man, Woman, young adult male or female)
The last day to mail your boxes off will be December 10, 2002.
The support group will be meeting on December 17th, so we want to have them all to the DLF by then. So, let's get out there and help some people feel the love from us during the Holidays!
Idea List:
~Word puzzle books and pencils
~Socks
~Slippers
~Toiletry Items
~Chocolate (yummmm)
~Stationary
~Gloves/Mittens
~Tea, Hot chocolate, Instant coffee drinks
~A nice mug (for above)
~cookies
~reading books
~Instant chicken soup (like a Cup of Soup)
~a magazine
~2003 calendar
~a special christmas ornament
~a small size picture frame
~a disposable camera
Love,
BSB Fanfriends
**Permission granted for this project by the Dorough Lupus Foundation
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