Pop is not a musical style that thrives on longevity, as groups come and go every decade or so. Some pop groups persist, though, and even continue success at some level. That’s the juncture that the Backstreet Boys finds itself in as the vocal group continues to tour for its latest album, “This Is Us.”

“As artists, we constantly try to evolve, and I feel like the way to do that is to constantly let the music grow — and let it truly be about making good music,” said Backstreet Boys singer Howie Dorough from a mid-June tour stop in Detroit. “That’s something that we are able to pride ourselves on — all of our records have been better than the ones we made before.”

Dorough acknowledged that even today’s top-selling acts are selling a fraction of what his band and others in that style sold in the late ’90s.
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If you ask the Backstreet Boys’ A.J. McLean, he and his all-grown-up boy band aren’t that different from current pop prince Justin Bieber and those heartthrob Jonas Brothers.

“Pop music to me, and to all of us, goes in cycles,” says McLean, 32, whose group stops at Save Mart Center on July 1.

“It goes in one giant circle. If you go back 15 years, when things really kinda hit for us, it was really the big grunge and hip-hop scene.”
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A.J. McLean sounds fully prepared for the demands of touring this year with his bandmates in the Backstreet Boys.

“I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in, so I can actually perform it and look good, too,” McLean said in a recent phone interview.

He had better be in shape. According to McLean, the tour requires more dancing from the Backstreet Boys than when the show the group took on the road following the 2007 album “Unbreakable.”
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Don’t be surprised if you see a second-generation Backstreet Boy at the supergroup’s upcoming concert.

At a recent concert in Raleigh, N.C., the 7-year old son of a member introduced his dad’s band, according to the News & Observer.

“It’s a great time for us,” member Howie Dorough said. “Each of us is [also] working on individual solo projects and still really enjoying working with the group. I have a new chapter in my life with my family and helping others.”

When the Backstreet Boys formed in Orlando during 1993, it quickly gained fans and hits starting with its self-titled 1996 debut. As fans know, the band has sold more than 130 million albums, making it one of the most successful groups in history, according to Billboard.
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Don’t tell Nick Carter that the Backstreet Boys are back. The lean, lanky pop singer will inform you that the group never went away.

When Carter released his solo album “Now Or Never” in 2002 and his boy-bandmates tried their hand at other projects, ranging from Broadway to parenthood, the Backstreet Boys were never far off the periphery. It was only a matter of time until Backstreet reconnected.

“We never drifted far from each other,” Carter says. “We always had [the Backstreet Boys] in our heads. We took a little break, and we’re loving every minute of it now that we’re doing our thing.”

Some boy bands pick it up again (New Kids on the Block) and others move on (‘N SYNC). Carter is thrilled to be in the former camp.
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