Backstreet Boys Talk New Album, Career Struggles & *NSYNC Rumors

The Backstreet Boys – Nick Carter, AJ McLean, Kevin Richardson, Howie Dorough and Brian Littrell – stopped by Access Hollywood Live on Tuesday, where the guys dished on everything from their new album (“In a World Like This”) to their career struggles to rumors of two members of *NSYNC asking to join the group!

Here’s what the Boys (who now range from age 33 to 41) had to say :

AJ on the hardest portion of their career: “Brian went through open-heart surgery when he was 23, I went to rehab in 2001… we had no management for a short period of time, we’ve had management issues, record label issues. There’s been highs and lows, but we stuck together.”

PHOTOS: Boy Bands: Then & Now

AJ on his struggles with addiction: “I was drinking about a fifth of Jack a day, doing a lot of coke. I was just very introverted. I had an issue with being insecure and always trying to get external validation… I was a late bloomer. I didn’t start drinking until I was 22.”

Nick on his February engagement to girlfriend Lauren Kitt: “I took her down to the Florida Keys, where I lived for a little bit and I have a boat down there… and I took her down to an island and I just proposed to her. I wanted it to be special, but on the way out there, the boat kept breaking down, because I hadn’t used it in like eight years… We got close to having to call the Coast Guard.”

PHOTOS: Young Hollywood Heartthrobs!

Kevin on why he temporarily left the group: “I didn’t have anything left in the tank. In 2006, there were some things I wanted to do in my own life and start a family and be normal for a while… I didn’t feel inspired… Now, recently I felt inspired and wanted to create again and make music again.”

Brian on rumors of Joey Fatone & Lance Bass wanting to join BSB after *NSYNC broke up: “Joey called me and he was like, “Yo man, y’all going on tour?’ He did! I swear to God!”

Howie on the band’s new album: “We did a lot of writing for this record… we pretty much wrote like 80 percent of this record. We teamed up with some great writers/producers… [the producer] who worked with Jason Mraz and [has worked with] Train.”

BSB’s “In a World Like This” drops online and in stores today.

— Jesse Spero

Copyright © 2024 by NBC Universal, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

This material may not be republished, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Read More

Taylor Swift Pokes Fun At Humidity Causing Hair To Return To ‘Factory Settings’ During S