TEN years and 90 million albums on, onetime teen idols Backstreet Boys have become men.

The band have a short UK tour, which includes a date at Birmingham’s NIA on Thursday, May 8, and admit that they are pleasantly surprised to be still very much in business.

“To still be around feels amazing,” admits Howie Dorough; “so many artists, boy bands and rappers that started when we did have disbanded.

“We look at artists like the Eagles, the Rolling Stones or Aerosmith, where everyone has done individual things, but they are still able to come back together. I admire that kind of staying power.”
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‘Rehab? The best 30 days of my life’

A J McLean, 30, achieved fame as a member of the American boy band Backstreet Boys. He is currently writing and recording on his own and will be playing in London at the Indig02 Arena on 15 May.

If I weren’t talking to you right now I’d be …
Sleeping. I’m a bit of an insomniac. I go to bed at 5am because I get caught up in watching TV or listening to music at night.
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After selling more than 120 million records with the Backstreet Boys, a group he joined when he was just 15, A.J. McLean has decided to take the plunge. Next month he embarks upon his first European tour as a solo artist, offering us a sneak preview of his debut album, due later this year. Is A.J. feeling nervous? How do his bandmates feel about him going it alone? We gave him a call to find out.

What’s made you want to go solo now?
“It’s about time. I’ve been patiently waiting for a long time for the right music and the right sound to show people who I am outside the group.”
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Fresh from a hugely-successful concert tour of Canada and the US, Sarah Geronimo stayed behind in LA to do the vocals for a duet with Backstreet Boy Howie Dorough in LA. The song, titled I’ll Be There and produced by Christian de Walden, will be included in Sarah’s latest CD which will be released in July. De Walden is the same guy who acted as go-between for Claire dela Fuente and Richard Carpenter for Claire to record the song Something in Your Eyes.

Howie D. reached worldwide fame as a member of the BSB along with AJ McLean, Brian Littrell, Kevin Richardson and Nick Carter. He is best known for his falsetto singing which is easily recognizable in hits like I Want It That Way, Drowning, The Perfect Fan and Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely.
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Backstreet Boys performed to a 10,000-strong crowd in Sunway Lagoon recently. LIN MEI ZHEN talks to A.J. McLean about the group’s continued popularity

THE Backstreet Boys has not faded into obscurity like its peers from the 90s— LFO, 98 Degrees and BBMak.

Instead, the group has defied the odds and remain an active music act still releasing albums regularly, gaining airplay in Malaysia and touring.

The group currently comprises Brian Littrell, Nick Carter, Howie Dorough and A.J. McLean. Kevin Richardson left in 2006 to pursue stage acting.
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