Backstreet Boy Discusses New Album

Back - Index - Submissions - - What is RSS? Date: May 19, 2099 Source: Wall Of Sound Submitted By: Phoenixeyes5@webtv.net May 17, 1999 Backstreet Boy Discusses New Album The Backstreet blitz has begun. With weekend appearances on NBC's Saturday Night Live and Nickelodeon's All That, accompanied by the premiere of a series of commercials, the Backstreet Boys began the process of pumping their new album, Millennium, the anxiously awaited follow-up to 1997's Backstreet Boys, which has sold 27 million copies worldwide. The drive continues with release-day appearances on the Sony Jumbotron at Times Square in New York City and on MTV's Total Request Live, with subsequent stops on The Rosie O'Donnell Show on Thursday, Teen People's Hottest Stars Under 21 special on Friday, and The Tonight Show on Friday as well. And come July, while the Boys are playing in Europe (the in-the-round show hits North America in September), the Disney Channel will air The Backstreet Boys in Concert, which was taped last week in New York City. "We've set ourselves up pretty good for a sophomore slump," notes Kevin Richardson, the oldest Boy and co-writer of the Millennium track "Back to Your Heart." But, he slyly notes, "Actually we've made it through the sophomore slump everywhere else in the world because this is our actually our third album. It's only our second in the U.S." The signs for repeat success were hopeful even before Millennium's release. The album's first single, "I Want It That Way," was added to a whopping 164 Top 40 and Rhythm Crossover stations, according to the trade magazine Radio & Records. Richardson says that while the group went after some new songs on the album, it wanted the first single to be familiar to fans of its previous hits. "It's a nice bridge between the two albums," he says. "Of all the tracks on our new album, 'I Want It That Way' is reminiscent of the last album a little bit. It wasn't something like 'Don't Want You Back,' which is kind of a step towards the edge and a little different sounding. I think 'I Want It That Way' is something that's reminiscent of the last album and a good way to jump into the new album." — Gary Graff Comment on this item. Next Item: Billboard's Hot Product Prev Item: BSB Camera Shy?