The '''Backstreet Boys''' are a Grammy-nominated pop group that enjoyed enormous success in the mid-late 1990s and 2000s. They have sold almost 80 million albums worldwide, charting 20 hit singles and had won numerous awardshttp://www.al.com/music/huntsvilletimes/tsinclair.ssf?/base/living/1146820587170180.xml&coll=1, making them the highest selling boyband of all-time, selling nearly twice as many albums as late 90s rival 'N Sync. Since returning to the music scene in 2005, their sound changed drastically, incorporating only live instruments (some of which they play themselves) and a rock edge. The now four-member group consists of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, and A.J. McLean; original member Kevin Richardson left the group in June 2006.
[Backstreet Boys - the Official Site (2006). http://www.backstreetboys.com/news.html?n=1387 Statement to our fans from the Backstreet Boys regarding Kevin Richardson departure from the group. Retrieved June 23, 2006.] History
Beginnings and International Successes: 1992–1996
Lou Pearlman, an aviation entrepreneur based in Florida, was inspired by the success of the New Kids On The Block in the 1980s to create his own clean-cut band. After a series of auditions in 1992 and 1993, he recruited Nick Carter (at 12, the band's youngest member), Howie Dorough, 19, Alexander James McLean, 14 and following the departure of two members - Sam Licata (later performing as Phoenix Stone) and Charles Edwards - Kevin Richardson came aboard in March 1993, who was 21. The group took its final shape on April 19, 1993, when Brian Littrell, cousin of Richardson, joined the group after a phone audition. Their first concert, on May 8, 1993, was performed for 3,000 teenagers at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida. Pearlman later booked them at grade-school assemblies and shopping malls, and assigned management duties to Johnny Wright, who had worked with New Kids on the Block.
left|100px|thumb|"Backstreet Boys (album)|Backstreet Boys", 1997.
After a possible Mercury Records deal failed, the band was spotted in Cleveland, Ohio by Jive Records, an independent label best known for its hip-hop acts, in February 1994. By June, they were recording their first single; an urban pop song by writer/producer Denniz PoP called "We've Got It Goin' On". The single struggled in the US and reached only #69 on the ''Billboard'' charts; but it sold well in Europe, later earning the band their first Gold record in Germany. In 1995, the band's first self-titled album was released in Europe and Canada, hitting the top 10 in numerous countries. Jive and Pearlman kept the band busy overseas for the next two years, sometimes putting on tours for five straight months.
European popularity grew, and the Backstreet Boys kicked off 1996 being voted the No.1 International Group by TV viewers in Germany - "I'll Never Break
