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Backstreet's Back (and they're looking for album sales) Alright!
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Date: Nov 24, 2000 by Nancy Benecki Backstreet’s back – ALRIGHT! That’s not just the addictive refrain to the Backstreet Boys’ “Everybody” from their 13-millon selling blockbuster debut. It is also what legions of fans are feeling this very second as they wait in anticipation for the boys’ third album, to drop this Tuesday, November 21. But the question remains, will the Boys break the monumental one-week sales record set by perennial rivals *NSYNC? How will fans accept Howie, AJ, Brian, Nick and Kevin, now that they are slightly older and married (Brian and Kevin anyway)? And how much longer can the teen pop phenomenon last? According to the media (boyband naysayers), the teen popsters should have expired faster than a carton of milk left out on a summer afternoon. No one expected acts like BSB, *NSYNC, Britney, 98 Degrees, Christina et al to be much more than a flash in the pan, never mind set the sales records by which the entire music industry would be measured against. What are the elements that make such a multitude of insanely loyal fans – fans sophisticated enough to spout out album's sale numbers as fast as they know the members’ birth signs? When did this boy band phenomenon begin? Although there were huge teen idols with Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley before them, the first “boy band” to cause a huge stir was The Beatles, especially during the height of Beatlemania in 1964-65. Sure, some may scoff at reducing the most influential rock band ever to “boy band” status, but they were the first to use the unique band formation and chemistry to grab the attention of not only young women, but also the media to catapult them into a pop phenomenon that would eventually rule the world. Thirty years later the Beatles’ personality types have morphed into the archetypes depicted in boy bands today: the young one, the cute one, the shy one, the crazy one, and the flirty one. The entertainment business, in turn, is now geared towards this ever-profitable younger generation. The “tweenies,” the age group between nine and 21-year-olds, is the largest it has been in history. In addition, studies show that the average teen now has a disposable income of $60 per week – that’s $240 a month. A lot of loot for boy band t-shirts, concert tickets, CDs, and so on. Music Marketers are well aware of this and continue to offer products geared towards teenagers. It’s that disposable income that generates the jaw-dropping album sales number now expected from big name pop acts. The rise of this teen market began in the mid-nineties and was spearheaded by the Backstreet Boys who first hit in 1996 with their self-titled debut. Back then, however, the music world wasn’t quite ready to embrace five white guys who imitate (vocally that is) the best black R&B groups. It took the girl power of the Spice Girls to reintroduce fun, lighthearted, harmony-filled pop music back to the market. Not an easy task after years spent wallowing in angst-filled, grunge/alt rock bands that bummed everyone out in the early ‘90s. When the world finally started pop-ing, there were plenty of fresh young fans ready to embrace the guys: the handsome Kevin Richardson, heartthrob Brian Littrell, young cutie Nick Carter, the smooth and shy Howie Dorough, and, of course, the “wacky,” AJ McLean. The band’s story starts with cousins Kevin and Brian singing in local church choirs in their native Lexington, Kentucky. Meanwhile in Orlando, Florida locals AJ McLean and Howie Dorough met at local talent shows and auditions. A little later the two hooked up with former New Yorker Nick Carter. Kevin, who had moved down to Orlando, took at job at Walt Disney World where he met AJ, Howie, and Nick. Eventually they asked Kevin and his cousin to join. The resulting soulful and melodious five-part harmony was almost ready to conquer the pop world. But first, the Boys signed with boy band Svengali Lou Pearlman who was looking to duplicate the successful formula the‘80s boy band sensation New Kids on the Block pioneered with Maurice Starr. He used his Trans Continental production company to help the boys hone their skills with the help of managers Donna and Johnny Wright. The band signed to Jive Records in 1994 and released their self-titled debut two years later. To date, that album is certified platinum (a million copies) 13 times over by the Recording Industry Association of America. All, however, wasn’t so happy in Backstreet Boy Land… Another band by the name of *NSYNC, also guided by Pearlman and Johnny Wright, unsettled the BSB guys, who felt that Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, Lance Bass, Chris Kirkpatrick and Joey Fatone were just a poor carbon copy of their successful act. Rather than accepting the formation of *NSYNC as a kind of little brother act that could learn from BSB, it dropped the gauntlet for a boy band rivalry between the bands that still thrives today. Perhaps it’s the capitalist world we live in, or the gargantuan amounts of albums these pop sensations have sold, but the rivalry has manifested itself most notably in terms of sales. And it’s sales - especially this week – that is on the minds of most BSB and *NSYNC fans. Overall, BSB has outsold *NSYNC: BSB’s debut went 13 times platinum, while *NSYNC’s stands at 10 times. As for each band’s second effort, BSB’s Millennium leads No Strings Attached, 12 million to 9 million, but NSA was released almost a year later. Millennium broke all kinds of sales records selling 1.13 million copies in its first week of release. NSA, however, shattered BSB’s record and then some by selling 2.4 million copies in one week – a figure that shocked even the most jaded music industry folks. Now BSB is ready to release their third album, Black and Blue. From what the public and media have heard so far, the album sounds more mature – but the album remains under lock and key until its release date. Beware, tracks from the net claiming to be real BSB material have yielded songs by 2Ge+her, *NSYNC, and even Insane Clown Posse! Perhaps it's age, marriage, and/or success, but the songs sound like the guys have grown-up. “Shape of My Heart,” the CD’s first single and video, is reflective of someone who has lived a little: “Looking back on the things I’ve done, I was trying to be someone who played a part/kept you in the dark…” the guys harmonize on during the song’s chorus. It’s not exactly an up-tempo track like *NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye,” which set the airwaves and TRL on fire before NSA was released, but “Shape of My Heart” has already received mad TRL love. Fans can also preview the song “The Call” from Black and Blue from the Backstreet Boys’ official web site. The song, an up-tempo number with hip-hop beats, is about a guy who messed around on his girl and lies about it. “I will be late/Don’t stay up and wait for me/Say again, you’re dropping out/My battery is low,” says the guy who’s getting ready to cheat on his girlfriend. The lyrics aren’t exactly Shakespeare, but they’re mature enough to admit that guys can be dogs. BSB fans who made the trek to Burger King and picked up one the special edition BSB CDs a few weeks ago were treated to another advance song, the ballad, “It’s True.” The song, reminiscent in theme to “Shape of My Heart,” was co-written by Kevin Richardson and emphasizes the recurring themes of apologizing for past mistakes and growing up. The song opens with the lines “Even a lover makes a mistake sometimes/Like any other, fallout and lose his mind.” No longer are BSB singing “I’ll Never Break Your Heart," instead they're focused on the more realistic, “If I mess up because I’m human, please forgive me.” Can these new tracks help BSB sell more than 3 million copies of B&B in one week? Can they even break their own 1.13 million record? AJ boasted in Teen People that, “I bet we can break (*NSYNC’s) record and our record combined the first week out.” But the music industry doesn’t think the guys will have *NSYNC-like numbers. Chuck Taylor, a senior writer at Billboard magazine said in the same article he had his doubts. “Backstreet has accomplished some amazing things in terms of popularity and sales,” he said, “*NSYNC’s record came out at the peak of youth mania. That will be tough to top.” The Backstreet Boys, however, are doing everything in their power to ensure that they get those record-breaking first-week sales. They are hitting six different continents in the 100 hours before the release of B&B. They will hit Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, South America, and wrap things up when they touch down in New York Tuesday, November 21. At each location, they will hold a press conference and perform a brief a capella set for their fans and media. “We figured it would be cool to do something that no one has ever done,” Kevin said. It will be a scene reminiscent of when the Beatles landed in New York in 1964 and held a press conference that to endear the fab four to the public and media early. “We are one of the few groups right now that is successful other than Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson or the Rolling Stones, U2 or Madonna who could do something like this,” Kevin continued. “And I don’t want to look back on this in 10 years’ time and say why didn’t we do that.” Jetlagged and overtired, BSB hopes this will help them try to blow the roof off of any first-week record sales. Rumblings from the *NSYNC camp say the guys are going to head back into the studio as early as January 2001, so even if their record is broken, they will try to reclaim it as soon as they can. Will this battle ever end, and who will come out on top? Since it’s up to the fans, we’re asking you to tell us. Do you think BSB will break *NSYNC’s first week sales record? We want to know what you think of Black and Blue once you get your hands on a copy. Is it better than No Strings Attached? Who is your favorite boy band and why? E-mail us at popfan@music.com and we’ll post your responses after the sales numbers for BSB’s first week are official. The battle has just begun.
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