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Teen Music Interview
This past August, the Backstreet Boys celebrated the 10th anniversary of their first U.S. album Backstreet Boys. To date, they have sold over 75 million albums world-wide, making them one of the most successful groups of all time. Unbreakable, the fifth studio album for Backstreet, will be released on Jive Records October 30, 2007.
The group worked on the album with a myriad of top-notch song writers and producers, including (Dan Mukala, John Shanks, Billy Mann) and former N'Sync member J.C. Chasez. "Inconsolable", the first single off the upcoming release, moves up to number 34 in the top 40 this week.
TeenMusic: Thank you for joining us today guys. To start things off, could you a little bit about what happened with Kevin and how that changed the way you approached the album, and if might have created any additional room for you guys to experiment with the sound a little bit more.
Howie Dorough: Kevin actually came to us right before we started recording this record over a year and a half and - with the break that we had, you know, in his heart he just wasn't feeling going forward with making another record right now at this time. He had a change in his life right now is taking a different departure with this wife just having a baby and him wanting to have that time to properly, have a baby with this wife and to be there for it during these early years. Which we all know that in going into recording a record, between writing, recording, promoting, touring, it's pretty much two years of your lives we're giving up.
TeenMusic: In addition to Kevin not being in the band, another notable absence, at least for me, was song writer Max Martin, who you'd worked with even on the last record. Was just wondering did that occur simply because the scenes didn't work out or was there a conscious decision to try to work with other song writers and do your own song writing and reflect that aspect of the group more on this album.
Nick Carter: First of all, our relationship with Max is great. We're always going to love him. He - I think he was a big part of what we had done in the past. And I think that's exactly what it was. I mean, I think that was the past in certain senses, you know, in certain ways. But I think we wanted to kind of just experiment and do something different. And it just - people it kind of went into a new direction just naturally. We worked with (Dan Mukala) a majority of the album and, you know, he wrote the last song called "Incomplete" in our last record, "Never Gone". And it just - I think we wanted - we had done so much with Max in the past, I think we wanted to just kind of break out of the mold and do some stuff on our own, too.
TeenMusic: You've mentioned that this album represents the Backstreet Boys old and new. And I'm wondering if you had a clear idea about how you wanted to go about updating your sound and what is new on this album.
AJ McLean: I think one of the things that we really, really strived to do on this - on this new record was just really have fun again as far as the creative process. We spent a full month, almost a month and a half in Nashville working with Dan Mukala as well as some other really, really talented writers. And just kind of living in the, you know, studio and really having a full hands-on approach to this whole entire record. I mean, we predominantly A&R this whole record ourselves and, you know, along with management and some of the record company. But, I mean, it was just really a very different process.
It was very similar to like making records of like the old days for us, like making the Millennium record and, you know, even the very first record. There was just something about making this, you know, record that really just - we were really excited about it, we really wanted to kind of find the sound that we're really known for, but kind of modernize it and update it and just, you know, try to be trend setters again, try to be a little bit more on the edge, but also timeless and classic Backstreet with, you know, really good harmonies, really great melodies, great lyrical content. Just positive, really good pop songs. I mean, that's the one thing that we've always strived to be good at, I think we are good at.
TeenMusic: I'll throw this one Brian's way. I was just wondering if you could talk maybe about how the chemistry within the group has changed, during the decade as the decade has gone by.
Brian Littrell: Well, great question. I think what has happened over the years I think we've learned to - and also grown together in the fact that we respect each other. We genuinely care for another; we genuinely care for the success of the group. We're still very, very passionate, just like day one, about, you know, putting together good music and letting that translate live on stage. So, I mean, I think we all - we've all continued to want this even when we took our break from 2001 to 2005. I think we missed each other. We missed traveling, we missed performing.
TeenMusic: The recording industry has drastically changed since the Backstreet Boys, let's say, first half of your career, the first three albums. Where do you see the band fitting into the music scene today?
Nick Carter: Good question. You got us stumped now. I think - well, obviously there's a combination of things. You know, I think we still - in our own category - and what I mean by that is like when we put out records, when we put out music, our core fan base, they go out and they get it and they check it out and the love it and then we put on a tour. And then we - so I'd say we're almost like a 50 percent touring band, maybe even more now. You know, we've always been about great big shows and entertainment as far as a group goes. We're always trying to find new ways to also be relevant, you know, at the same time respect ourselves and what we do, but at the same time try to do something that is, you know, that can kind of break the mold again.
TeenMusic: What kind of personal pressures or expectations are you putting on yourselves to make this album and this tour and promotion time better than the past 10 years?
Nick Carter: A lot. We - we're sour right now and - after like six hours of dance rehearsal yesterday and then also five hours of vocal rehearsal and then another five hours of actual playing with the band and whatever. So, I mean, that's just in this one week that we're packing because we've got to, you know, we have such a crazy schedule. And we've got to go back - we've got to go over to Europe, which we're very fortunate to be able to go all over - all over the world and do stuff.
But we have to prepare everything in such a short amount of time. So the questions that we have are obviously a - like I said before is that we are - and this is Nick speaking. So I just want - and we hold our live performances and our - and our live - like that's very true to us. I mean, we - that's like very special to us. Anything that - we have to sing live or perform live or anything like that is like - it's - that's a big part of what the Backstreet Boys are, you know. So for that to come of looking great and be an amazing show, you know, that pressure - it's always on our plate. But we're hard on ourselves. We're very hard on ourselves. And that's what makes the shows great. And I think even though those pressures are there, there a good pressure. And if we didn't feel like we had that pressure then I think we should quit.
http://www.teenmusic.com/d/161807/1004/backstreets-back.html
This past August, the Backstreet Boys celebrated the 10th anniversary of their first U.S. album Backstreet Boys. To date, they have sold over 75 million albums world-wide, making them one of the most successful groups of all time. Unbreakable, the fifth studio album for Backstreet, will be released on Jive Records October 30, 2007.
The group worked on the album with a myriad of top-notch song writers and producers, including (Dan Mukala, John Shanks, Billy Mann) and former N'Sync member J.C. Chasez. "Inconsolable", the first single off the upcoming release, moves up to number 34 in the top 40 this week.
TeenMusic: Thank you for joining us today guys. To start things off, could you a little bit about what happened with Kevin and how that changed the way you approached the album, and if might have created any additional room for you guys to experiment with the sound a little bit more.
Howie Dorough: Kevin actually came to us right before we started recording this record over a year and a half and - with the break that we had, you know, in his heart he just wasn't feeling going forward with making another record right now at this time. He had a change in his life right now is taking a different departure with this wife just having a baby and him wanting to have that time to properly, have a baby with this wife and to be there for it during these early years. Which we all know that in going into recording a record, between writing, recording, promoting, touring, it's pretty much two years of your lives we're giving up.
TeenMusic: In addition to Kevin not being in the band, another notable absence, at least for me, was song writer Max Martin, who you'd worked with even on the last record. Was just wondering did that occur simply because the scenes didn't work out or was there a conscious decision to try to work with other song writers and do your own song writing and reflect that aspect of the group more on this album.
Nick Carter: First of all, our relationship with Max is great. We're always going to love him. He - I think he was a big part of what we had done in the past. And I think that's exactly what it was. I mean, I think that was the past in certain senses, you know, in certain ways. But I think we wanted to kind of just experiment and do something different. And it just - people it kind of went into a new direction just naturally. We worked with (Dan Mukala) a majority of the album and, you know, he wrote the last song called "Incomplete" in our last record, "Never Gone". And it just - I think we wanted - we had done so much with Max in the past, I think we wanted to just kind of break out of the mold and do some stuff on our own, too.
TeenMusic: You've mentioned that this album represents the Backstreet Boys old and new. And I'm wondering if you had a clear idea about how you wanted to go about updating your sound and what is new on this album.
AJ McLean: I think one of the things that we really, really strived to do on this - on this new record was just really have fun again as far as the creative process. We spent a full month, almost a month and a half in Nashville working with Dan Mukala as well as some other really, really talented writers. And just kind of living in the, you know, studio and really having a full hands-on approach to this whole entire record. I mean, we predominantly A&R this whole record ourselves and, you know, along with management and some of the record company. But, I mean, it was just really a very different process.
It was very similar to like making records of like the old days for us, like making the Millennium record and, you know, even the very first record. There was just something about making this, you know, record that really just - we were really excited about it, we really wanted to kind of find the sound that we're really known for, but kind of modernize it and update it and just, you know, try to be trend setters again, try to be a little bit more on the edge, but also timeless and classic Backstreet with, you know, really good harmonies, really great melodies, great lyrical content. Just positive, really good pop songs. I mean, that's the one thing that we've always strived to be good at, I think we are good at.
TeenMusic: I'll throw this one Brian's way. I was just wondering if you could talk maybe about how the chemistry within the group has changed, during the decade as the decade has gone by.
Brian Littrell: Well, great question. I think what has happened over the years I think we've learned to - and also grown together in the fact that we respect each other. We genuinely care for another; we genuinely care for the success of the group. We're still very, very passionate, just like day one, about, you know, putting together good music and letting that translate live on stage. So, I mean, I think we all - we've all continued to want this even when we took our break from 2001 to 2005. I think we missed each other. We missed traveling, we missed performing.
TeenMusic: The recording industry has drastically changed since the Backstreet Boys, let's say, first half of your career, the first three albums. Where do you see the band fitting into the music scene today?
Nick Carter: Good question. You got us stumped now. I think - well, obviously there's a combination of things. You know, I think we still - in our own category - and what I mean by that is like when we put out records, when we put out music, our core fan base, they go out and they get it and they check it out and the love it and then we put on a tour. And then we - so I'd say we're almost like a 50 percent touring band, maybe even more now. You know, we've always been about great big shows and entertainment as far as a group goes. We're always trying to find new ways to also be relevant, you know, at the same time respect ourselves and what we do, but at the same time try to do something that is, you know, that can kind of break the mold again.
TeenMusic: What kind of personal pressures or expectations are you putting on yourselves to make this album and this tour and promotion time better than the past 10 years?
Nick Carter: A lot. We - we're sour right now and - after like six hours of dance rehearsal yesterday and then also five hours of vocal rehearsal and then another five hours of actual playing with the band and whatever. So, I mean, that's just in this one week that we're packing because we've got to, you know, we have such a crazy schedule. And we've got to go back - we've got to go over to Europe, which we're very fortunate to be able to go all over - all over the world and do stuff.
But we have to prepare everything in such a short amount of time. So the questions that we have are obviously a - like I said before is that we are - and this is Nick speaking. So I just want - and we hold our live performances and our - and our live - like that's very true to us. I mean, we - that's like very special to us. Anything that - we have to sing live or perform live or anything like that is like - it's - that's a big part of what the Backstreet Boys are, you know. So for that to come of looking great and be an amazing show, you know, that pressure - it's always on our plate. But we're hard on ourselves. We're very hard on ourselves. And that's what makes the shows great. And I think even though those pressures are there, there a good pressure. And if we didn't feel like we had that pressure then I think we should quit.
http://www.teenmusic.com/d/161807/1004/backstreets-back.html