Meet Nick, Brian, Howie, AJ and Kevin. Most girls have heard of them. They are the one and only Backstreet Boys!

BSB are the greatest R+B sensation ever and have swamped the world with over SIX hit singles! Have you heard Quit Playing Games, Anywhere for You, Everybody or their latest and greatest All I Have to Give? If you haven't, then switch on the radio now!

The Backstreet Boys are known all over the world for their talent. Many people consider them to be just a bunch of good looking guys who will soon be replaced. This is not true!

The Backstreet Boys have not had it easy. They have traveled a long, hard road to reach where they are today. They started playing in shopping plazas in Orlando, but found success first in Europe, then Canada and finally, their home country, the USA, accepted them into the music industry. This acceptance took a lot of time and effort.

To bring them all into focus, first there is Nick Carter, the blonde haired, blue eyed youngest of the group. Nick is eighteen and lives in Florida. He loves scuba diving, and boating. He also loves playing video games (they call him Mr. Nintendo Freak!)and basketball, with fellow bandmate, Brian. Nick has four siblings. He has an older half-sister from his dad's previous marriage. His younger brother Aaron has also become as a singer. Nick also has a younger sister who is Aaron's twin. her name is Angel.

Brian Littrel is twenty-three. They call him B-Rok because he LOVES Basketball. Despite their age difference, Brian and Nick (commonly known as Frick and Frack) have been best friends since the band first got together. Brian says that Nick and him have a big brother/little brother relationship and that he helps Nick a lot with things.

Next is Howie, or Sweet D. as he is often referred as. Howie is shy, the friendly, romantic, peace maker of the group, and he always helps clear up any arguements between the guys (which DO happen, especially between Nick and Kevin, the oldest and youngest). The group calls him Sweet D. because one time he stopped to sign autographs and got trampled.

Kevin Richardson is twenty-five and Brian's cousin. The Boys consider him the father of the group since he is the one to make sure that everyone stays on track and gets down to business (they still all have a lot of fun though, especially on tour...). Kevin says the most sad time in his life is when he lost his father to cancer in 1991. Kevin likes classy, quiet girls.

Alexander James McLean (AJ) is 20. He has brown hair and brown eyes. (But you might have seen him with blond hair -- he dyed it for a while). He says that he likes to shop and design clothes. He likes to be different. AJ loves writing poetry, playing billards and hanging with his mates. They consider him the rebel.

They are very talented, wholesome people. Most of them started out by singing in a church choir. Despite their fame they have kept their feet on the ground and have not become involved in drugs and drinking. They are also very close to their families, which is extremely important. They sing about every day problems. Kevin says they just want people to forget about their problems for just one minute so they can enjoy the Backstreet beat!

Well, with five gorgeous, talented guys with great perosnalities no wonder they're stars! Nick and Brian both have smooth, soft voices which harmonize well. Kevin sings much deeper and Howie up high. AJ likes to do a bit of rap as well.

Together all five of them make up a great group who are definitely worth taking notice of. There's one question people have been asking for ages: How did the BSB get together? Well, here's the answer! Howie, A.J., and Nick were making the rounds of singing and acting auditions when the guys met Kevin through some friends on the music scene. They found out how well they could sing together and decided to give it a go as a group - they just needed one more voice to make the sound just perfect. Kevin suggested his cousin Brian back in Kentucky. Brian said yes, and the BSB as you know them were officially born!!!

On tour, they usually travel overnight, get to a hotel and sleep till about noon. They get up and get ready to go around 1 or 2:00. From 2 - 5:00, They do press interviews and stuff like that. They stop aroud six or seven, then they're off to have dinner and chill out. The opening act (sometimes Nick's bro, Aaron!) usually starts about 8:00, and around 9:00, the boys hit the stage!!!

Although girls go crazy over this Orlando band, a lot of guys seem do their best to hate them. Maybe it's just jealousy.

The Backstreet Boys are going to be around for a long time.

Cool Facts:

• At a concert, while singing 'Get Down', Howie and Nick were on a tiny little catwalk. Nick suddenly threw his arms back and knocked Howie off the stage!
  
  
• They've been togther as a group for five years.
  
  

• Nick is the joker of the group. One day Nick stole all AJ's clothes from his room. The boys paid him back by throwing him out of the the dressing room wearing nothing but bright green briefs. But that wasn't the worst part, outside their dressing rooom was a herd of girl fans. Nick's explanation for the bright green briefs , " I was thirteen I dind't know how to pick out my own underwear yet."
  
  
• Sweet Howie D. used to get lost in K-mart when he was little!
  
  
• Brian "B-rok" Littrell once kicked his shoe off in a fast dance routine and had to hop around on one foot untill Kev made his way to the other side of the stage to get it!
  
  
• Brian has suffered a hole in his heart since he was born and recently endured a huge operation to fix it. The operation was 100% successful! During a show he thanked the fans for getting him through it.
  
  
• While on tour, Kevin and Howie like to try the national cuisine, but Brian, Nick and AJ ALWAYS head for the local McDonalds!
  
  
• AJ loves musical theater and appears in the Everybody (Backstreet's Back) video as the Phantom of the Opera.
  
  
• Kevin was working at Disney World when he first joined the band!
  
  
  
• Nick's fantasy date is with Christina Ricci (lucky girl)
  
  
• Once when the group was on tour, there were so many fans waiting to see them get out of there car, they couldn't get out of the car so to get into the van they needed to get in, They had to pull the cars up next to each other and the group had to enter the van by slipping through the window of the car they were in and into the window of the van.
  
  
• Howie, Brian and Kevin share and apartment in Orlando, Florida (USA).
  
  
• They are all SINGLE!!
  
  

A big AGW "thank you" to article contributors:Skye M., 14, Alberta, Canada, Abi C., 14, Australia, Amy H., 13, Texas, USA, Mary S., 11, North Carolina, U.S.A., Natalie K., 11, USA, Lana K., 14, Indiana, USA, Stephanie M., 13, Nova Scotia, Canada, Claire R., 14, Kansas