BSB Chart New Course (NYPost, Dec11)

BSB CHART NEW COURSE
By DAN AQUILANTE

December 11, 2007 -- WHO would have thought the last men standing would be boys - Backstreet Boys?

*NSYNC got killed by Justin Timberlake's desire to be alone, and Nick
Lachey's 98 Degrees was iced on the charts. Like the hit song says,
"Backstreet's Back" - this time with a new disc, "Unbreakable," a
charting single and the top slot at Friday's Z-100 Jingle Ball at
Madison Square Garden.

Speaking to The Post, Nick Carter, the youngest of the Boys, at 27,
bristles at even a mention of the word comeback. "Listen, we're here,
we haven't gone anywhere. Our last album, 'Never Gone' [2005], went
platinum, and we have a new record out now - that isn't a comeback,
that's staying power."

Despite having sold 100 million records over the past decade, fickle
fans may have forgotten about BSB, and there's a whole new crop of
music listeners who have been too busy with Hannah Montana to discover
them.

"What we love about the Jingle Ball is it's always exciting. I also
like that since it's a variety show you have to make your impact, prove
yourself, in just a few songs. We're going to be playing for lots of
people who aren't fans or haven't heard our new stuff."

...

"I think it might be a little strange to see us as a quartet at first,
but the musical dynamic is better now than it was before," says Carter.
"Nothing against Kevin - we all love him to death - but he just didn't
want to do this anymore, and that was affecting the music. "

While the band has publicly claimed he's welcome back any time, Carter
hedges, "We said that because we love and respect Kevin, but there'll
be a time when that door won't be open. This is the the new Backstreet
Boys."

...

As for Carter, he had the toughest row to hoe after a tumultuous
relationship with Paris Hilton in 2004 that was intimately covered by
The Post's Page Six. Carter doesn't kiss and tell, but their breakup
contributed to his weight gain.

"To get ready for this tour I lost 45 pounds. It takes a long time to lose that kind of weight, and I really worked at it."

Carter, who topped out at 225 pounds, has said, "I was really fat and
disgusting. I never want to get to that again." To get to his new
physique, he said he just ate healthier food and less of it, and worked
out at the gym.

"This is a constant struggle for me. A lot of people don't put on
weight, I have to stay on top of it." Since he has a healthy disdain
for the treadmill, Carter adds, "I'm happy the tour is starting; each
show is a great workout."