Backstreet Boys have left their longtime label, Sony owned Jive Records.

While there has not been an announcement about their future plans, Backstreet Boys member Brian Littrell says it is the “best thing” that has happened to the group.

So the news is out! The Backstreet Boys are no longer signed to long time record label Jive Records. The amicable split is very exciting for the group. “This is the best thing, at the best time that could have ever happened for us”, Brian said at the Backstreet Boys website. “We are confident in the future of our band, and are looking forward to the new things to come. 2011 is going to be a great year for us!”

Backstreet Boys had been with Jive Records since their debut album in 1996.

Their self-titled album has sold over 14 million copies in the USA alone while the ‘Millennium’ album sold more than 13 million in America.

Backstreet Boys released seven studio albums on Jive and sold more than 130 records.

By Paul Cashmere
May 31, 2010
Undercover

They’re certainly no longer boys, but the Backstreet Boys are definitely back. The boy band from Orlando — A.J. McLean, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell and Nick Carter (Kevin Richardson left the group in 2006) — will show why it’s sold more than 130 million records worldwide with its high-energy tour, which begins Saturday night at the AmericanAirlines Arena in downtown Miami.

Original member and South Florida homeboy Nick Carter talked to The Miami Herald about the tour, that YouTube video (you know the one), and why the Boys were really Never Gone.

Q: Why kick off the U.S. tour in Miami?

A: I was the one pushing to play a show in Miami for a lot of reasons. I’ve lived down in the South Florida area, in Parkland and down in the Florida Keys, so it’s kind of a home to me, and I really wanted to be able to play for friends and family. I feel like there are a lot of people who live down there who haven’t seen us in a while. Actually, funny enough, that’s one of the shows that’s doing the best as far as ticket sales. So we’re really happy.
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Is this where we make the “Backstreet’s back” quip?

Let’s not. It’s way overused, not to mention possibly inaccurate. Nick Carter says the Backstreet Boys never went away — even if you didn’t notice. For 17 years the group has toiled to stay alive. They’ve sold more than 100 million albums. They’ve been golden boys and guilty pleasures. They lost a member and continued as a foursome. Their latest album, This Is Us, came out in 2009. The Backstreet Boys are back (fine) on a world tour, stopping at Ruth Eckerd Hall on Memorial Day.

Carter, the teen idol who grew up in Apollo Beach and Ruskin, is now 30. He has navigated addiction, screamy reality TV and industry scandal, but says he’s in a good place. He called from home in Nashville to talk about the tour and his favorite Tampa memories (RIP, stadium Bennigan’s). And if Justin Bieber loyalists don’t appreciate his music, he’s content to count their moms as fans.
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This doesn’t mean much, but here it is:

In 1993, I filed one of the first newspaper stories ever on a group that no one had ever heard of.

The Backstreet Boys were rehearsing at a steamy blimp hangar in an industrial section of Kissimmee. They were doing a cappella serenades for anyone who would listen, including me, at Italian restaurants and business offices. They were playing middle schools.

More than 16 years later, I am talking on the phone to Backstreet Boy Nick Carter. He’s now age 30, which seems pretty old to be in a boy band.
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Together almost 20 years, Backstreet Boys Nick Carter, Howie Donough, Brian Littrell and AJ McLean have sold more than 76 million records worldwide.

But while probably still best known for their successes in the late 1990s, the band is not standing still.

As they kick off their 37-stop tour of the U.S. and Canada, AJ McLean took time to talk with the Sun Herald recently about what the band is up to and what fans can expect when they appear at the IP in Biloxi on June 4.

What’s life on the road like? Do you love it or hate it?

Life on road, it’s kind of a love-hate relationship. I love what I do, it’s all I know, and I absolutely love being on stage. I love to perform for people. But now you know, I’m getting older, I got engaged, I am starting a life of my own. It’s different — I’ve got my own house, my dogs, and when I’m on the road for too long, it gets a little hard.
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