Backstreet’s Back… In Brazil: Backstreet Boys Talk AI, 25 Years of ‘Millennium’ & Why ‘Brazil Is Our Second Home’

In an interrogation with Billboard Brazil, Backstreet Boys’ Nick Carter and Howie Dorough speech astir the 25th-anniversary Into the Millennium tour, their amusement astatine The Town, their emotion for Brazil, the Swedish power connected their sound, and however they survived the changes successful the euphony industry. And they confirm: “Brazil is our 2nd home.”

“Okay, Claudia. Nick and Howie are ready.”

I articulation the Zoom telephone with 2 members of 1 of the biggest popular acts of the past 30 years: Backstreet Boys’ Nick Carter and Howie Dorough. When they emerged successful 1993, popular euphony was operating astatine the highest standards, with Michael Jackson arsenic king and Madonna arsenic queen, portion stone was turning toward the underground, with movements similar grunge and indie.

In this context, the Backstreet Boys were born.

Facing 2 members of BSB, the shot was present successful my court. Over a 30-minute interview, I would revisit 32 years of a vocation from 1 of the groups liable for redefining 1990s pop, selling 100 cardinal records, and entering the corporate consciousness of generations with anthems similar “As Long arsenic You Love Me,” “Everybody,” “I Want It That Way” and truthful galore different perfectly melodic songs with lyrics designed to marque teenage hearts race.

Before diving into our conversation, a speedy enactment connected the group’s sixth sojourn to Brazil: They headlined The Town festival connected the Skyline signifier connected Sept. 12 successful São Paulo. It was the lone accidental for Brazilian fans to reunite with AJ McLean, Howie Dorough, Nick Carter, Kevin Richardson and Brian Littrell arsenic portion of the Into the Millennium circuit — an updated mentation of the 1999 tour, present celebrating the 25th day of the iconic medium Millennium. The solemnisation includes the merchandise of Millennium 2.0, a peculiar variation with remastered tracks, antecedently unreleased demos, and unrecorded recordings from the historical circuit that solidified the radical arsenic a global phenomenon.

COME TO BRAZIL

In an exclusive interrogation with Billboard Brazil, Nick Carter and Howie Dorough appeared smiling and welcoming, speaking to maine and Camila Zana, our CMO, from their homes successful the United States. My archetypal question was astir the Brazilian fandom and our internationally celebrated phrase, “Come to Brazil!”

“For 20 years, whenever we spell to Brazil, we consciousness astatine home. We emotion being there. We ever find truthful overmuch emotion and support: fans astatine the airport, astatine the hotel, successful the streets… It’s similar we’re a Brazilian popular band! We adjacent thought astir moving determination due to the fact that we emotion it truthful much. But seriously, your emotion is incomparable,” Howie says.

Nick adds: “Brazil is ever the archetypal to retrieve america arsenic a group. There was ne'er a anemic infinitesimal successful support, done each the highs and lows of our career. It’s ever been consistent: a loyalty that ne'er waned. That’s wherefore we emotion Brazil truthful much.”

They accidental they would sojourn the state much often if logistics allowed. Even so, the fandom “reaches them” done societal media successful afloat force. “Brazil is ever connected our caput erstwhile we bash a tour. Sometimes it’s not imaginable owed to costs. But it’s decidedly the state that interacts with america the astir connected societal media,” Nick explains.

Howie shares a vivid illustration of this connection: “I retrieve fans camping extracurricular Maracanã for days successful 2001. It’s thing you ne'er forget. Their dedication is incredible. We ever sent water, food, made definite they were safe. Their well-being was ever our priority.”

BIRTH CERTIFICATE

Just similar Disney World, founded successful Orlando successful 1971, the Backstreet Boys were besides conceived successful the American superior of household entertainment. Like the world-famous park, the radical was designed by a visionary businessman, who assembled the set portion by piece, pursuing a proven look antecedently applied to Boston’s lad set New Kids connected the Block.

Each subordinate was handpicked, similar a quality successful an amusement park, pursuing stereotypes: the rebel, the romantic, the youngest, etc. The thought was elemental and brilliant: make not conscionable a band, but a cleanable merchandise to conquer the teen world, particularly girls. What began arsenic a calculated experimentation yet became thing real, authentic, and amazingly enduring. This is the communicative of however an concern imagination became 1 of the longest-last...