CONCERT PREVIEW | Group aims to regain steam after hiatus, defection
They may be older, wiser and short one original member, but the Backstreet Boys are still a hot ticket. Reserved seats for their concert at Ravinia are sold out, and the remaining lawn tickets are going fast.
Just don't call this a "reunion" tour.
"There are a lot of misconceptions out there," says founding member Nick Carter, laughing. "People think we broke up or are returning after some time off."
In fact, other than a two-year hiatus that ended in 2004, the band has continued to record and tour steadily. After 13 years with the group, Kevin Richardson quit in 2006 to pursue other interests. He's composing the soundtrack for an animated movie, "The Spirit Bear."
Misconceptions aside -- and despite the make-nice comments to other media outlets -- Carter says Richardson's departure was a good thing.
"Kevin just wasn't into recording [the 2005 album] 'Never Gone' in a creative way. There were disagreements on every direction the band was taking, and he left because he realized he was hurting the group," Carter says. "With him gone, there don't seem to be as many conflicts, we aren't bumping heads anymore and things are flowing better musically."
Though the remaining members have repeatedly told the press Richardson is welcome back any time, Carter says he's not so sure.
"The dynamic of the band has changed," he says. "There can be no room for doubt -- four is the strongest. We are the Backstreet Boys."
The band formed in 1992. Richardson's cousin Brian Littrell came aboard in 1993. The Boys' first U.S. release was 1997's self-titled album, which delivered several huge hits, including "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)," "As Long as You Love Me" and "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)."
The band's biggest success to date was 1999's "Millennium," which sold more than a million copies in its debut week and was that year's top-selling album. Hits from that include "I Want It That Way," "Larger Than Life" and "Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely."
The band has had to re- establish itself as a quartet. The group's last album, "Unbreakable," was the first recorded without Richardson. It sold 81,000 in its first week but dropped out of Billboard's Hot 100 two weeks later.
"Working hard to prove ourselves isn't something we aren't familiar with," the 28-year-old says. "On the one hand, radio stations aren't playing us as much as they used to, but then again we know how it feels to see something begin to build again."
Carter knows a little bit about rebranding, having spent the last two years doing damage control after appearing on the 2006 reality series "House of Carter." The E! show featured the singer sharing a house with other members of his family. It didn't show him in the most flattering light.
"I was thrown into the whole reality TV world before I should have been. I had issues I had to go through and, unfortunately, I went through them on television," he says.
The camera frequently caught the Carter clan's dysfunction and disputes. Watching himself on the small screen was a wake-up call for Carter to finally grow up.
"I saw myself on television in an unhealthy state, both physically and mentally. It opened my eyes," he says. "I stopped drinking. I got back in shape. It took me two years, but I've changed my life around."
The Backstreet Boys return to the recording studio this fall. Carter hopes the new album, due out in the second half of 2009, will feature a more urban pop sound.
"I'm not sure if we got ahead of or fell behind our fans, but we are paying close attention to current music, and the next album is going to reflect that," Carter says. "We want to be played on Top 40 stations. If adult contemporary radio wants to play us, that's great, but we consider ourselves a pop band."
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