Then they decided they needed to add a few more voices to make the harmony richer, so they sent out an agent to find the lucky guys. The agent went to Disney World and found 22-year-old Kevin Richardson and his friend. They were asked to audition for Lou, and Kevin made it into the band. Kevin's friend didn't make it. So they searched again for another voice. They didn't find anybody good enough. They almost admitted up-and-coming singer Pheonix Stone, but his voice didn't blend well in 5-part harmony. On April 20, 1993, Kevin suggested his cousin, 18-year-old Brian Littrell, who at the time, was in History class at Tates Creek High School in Lexington, Kentucky.
Kevin called Brian while he was still in school and told him the news that he could be in a band. Brian was very excited about the idea and hopped on a plane to Orlando the very next day! When Brian auditioned for Lou and the guys, they all thought he was perfect. They let Brian into the band.
Then Lou asked the five guys to sing for him altogether. They all chose a Boyz II Men song and sang it for Lou. They all sounded great and their harmonies blended in like magic. All they needed was a name. They kicked around a few names, but they weren't good enough for the band. Then they thought of a popular place that teens hung out at, called Backstreet Market. It was a flea market by day, and a teen hangout at night. So all they did was add "Boys" at the end, because it sounded really good. That day the Backstreet Boys were formed.
They started out doing small things, like singing in local talent shows and touring high schools around the area. More people heard them and thought they were awesome, so at each performance, they usually got a standing ovation. By late 1994, they were hometown heroes.
But they needed to do more. So they went to Stockholm, Sweden and recorded "We've Got It Going On" with Denniz PoP, a very talented producer. BSB released the single in the U.S., but the ranking didn't live up to their expectations. It peeked at #69 on the Billboard charts. They were disappointed, but there was a whole new horizon ahead of them.
They released the single in Europe in early 1995, and it skyrocketed. It was automatically a top-ten hit the week it was released! They decided to go farther. They released the single in Asia and Indonesia. It was very successful there too. BSB then released it in Australia and South America.
Then, in mid-1995, they came out with a self-titled album, "Backstreet Boys". They released the album everywhere "We've Got It Going On" was successful. The album went gold within a few weeks and then a month later, platinum. So BSB started touring. They went to Europe and Asia and began a long tour there.
Then they moved on to Canada. They released their album there in 1996, and it went platinum in a couple weeks! Talk about Backstreet pride! When they were done touring Europe and Asia, they began touring in Canada. But the unusual thing with Canada was that the tickets for each show where sold out within a matter of minutes!
They released a second album for their international fans in mid-1996, appropriately titled "Backstreet's Back", and began another tour. This time they went to Indonesia, Australia, and South America, places they hadn't yet toured in.
BSB decided to head on home to America in late 1996. They released the single, "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)" in June 1997 and it became an instant hit. They released an American album on August 12, 1997, also self-titled, but not the same as the albums released in other parts of the world. This album mixed songs from the other two albums, so basically Americans were getting the best from both albums (pretty cool, huh?). Americans wanted more so BSB released another single in October 1997, "As Long As You Love Me". Again, it was a chart-topper. They also released the single everywhere else in the world, too. It topped the charts there, as well.
As 1997 came to an end, BSB had two multi-platinum albums and one gold album. They had won numerous awards and grammys. They had appeared on several international TV shows. They had become the biggest name in pop music since The Beatles.
In 1998, the Boys weren't finished yet. They released another single in America in March, called "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)". They certainly were back, and with a vengeance. The song became the most successful single the BSB had put out yet in America. On MTV's Total Request, it had been at #1 a record of 13 times! It was beat out of the record by "I Don't Want To Miss a Thing" by Aerosmith--also 13 times, "Weird" by Hanson--14 times, and "The Boy Is Mine" by Brandy and Monica--20 times. "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" was the #4 most successful song in 1998 at that time, according to MTV.
This summer, they released yet another American single, "I'll Never Break Your Heart" and it immediately took the #1 place on the charts and stayed that way a total of 31 times, which became a new record.
But BSB came out with another single, "All I Have To Give", and MTV had to retire the "I'll Never Break Your Heart" video to make way for the new single. So far it has been doing very well, and since its retirement, BSB has yet another earth-shaking victory. On May 18, 1999, their much-anticipated second album, Millennium, was released around the world. Within, a week, Millennium had sold 1.1 million copies, shattering previous records held by Garth Brooks and Shania Twain. The Boys won American Music awards, Billboard awards, and an MTV Video Music award. "I Want It That Way", the first single off Millennium, was a smash hit and went on to become the #1 song of 1999 and the #1 video of 1999 on MTV. All 750,000 seats of their worldwide Into The Millennium tour were sold out! To add even MORE success, their next 2 singles, "Larger Than Life" and "Show Me The Meaning Of Being Lonely" rose to the top of the charts and instantly became radio and MTV classics. They really showed their fans how much they care by letting them vote for the next single, which was between "Don't Want You Back", "Don't Wanna Lose You Now", and "The One". After some persuasion from Nick, "The One" was chosen and it too did very well.
Their latest album, Black and Blue, released on November 21, 2000, sold 1.6 million copies in its first week, shattering their current sales record that Millennium held. Their smash single, "Shape of My Heart", contributed to these enormous sales. Now, they have a brand new single out, titled "The Call", which is destined to make its mark just like all the others.
So that is the story of the Backstreet Boys so far up to this point. It looks as though they have a very promising career ahead of them! Keep the Backstreet pride alive!
