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May 2005
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Throwback Or A Comeback? Backstreet Set Out To Prove Themselves At NY
Club
Source: VH1.com
March 2005
By Jennifer Vineyard
Group previews new material, new sound.
NEW YORK — It's easy to make fun of the Backstreet Boys — and blame them
for the bygone boy-band era, which appealed largely to pre-pubescent
girls (read: non-discriminating music fans) on the basis that they were
safe to crush on.
To swap from being a throwback to having a comeback, the Boys are going
to have to prove a lot — like that they're still relevant, that they're
more than pretty faces, and that they're all grown up now — which is why
they're road-testing a chunk of new material on a club tour that kicked
off with a two-night stand at Irving Plaza on Monday and Tuesday.
Backstreet previewed a half dozen new songs, interspersed with a
collection of their greatest hits Tuesday on Irving Plaza's small stage
— perhaps not the best place to move around in synchronized formation in
their matching white dinner jackets and white fedoras. They tried to
have some fun with the tight space — as well as break out of the box,
climbing on speakers and reaching out to female fans in the crowd and up
on the balcony. But perhaps most telling was when it came time for a new
song, they took off the jackets, dropped the choreography and just sang.
That's ultimately what's going to be the test — does the harmonizing
hold up? Are the new songs any good?
The new material is decidedly more mature, less bubbly and sappy than
their guilty pleasure hits like "I Want It That Way" and "Shape of My
Heart" — with the juxtaposition all the more clear in a set list that
jumped back and forth between old and new. With the help of songwriting
partners that took them in more of a light rock direction, new songs
like "I Still" and the uplifting "Weird World" sound at home in a Maroon
5 world, a transition they seem eager to make. The difference, though,
is that while Backstreet are a band, they're also not, really — not in a
rock sense. While Nick Carter tried to change that perception by picking
up a six-string during the wistful, guitar-driven "Climbing the Walls"
and playing along with the live backing band, the fact remains — they're
a vocal group.
That said, Backstreet seem to have figured out that their best vocalists
are A.J. McLean, Nick Carter and Brian Littrell, as they handled most of
the verses and solos on the new songs, with Kevin Richardson and Howie
Dorough relegated to backup. McLean sings the bulk of the verses of the
power ballad "Incomplete," trading off with Carter for the chorus, who
sings the bluesy ending to "Beautiful Woman" and owns "Poster Girl," a
sweet ode to a party girl with a taste for danger (Paris, anyone?).
Where Littrell came off as too earnest and Richardson as too serious,
McLean and Carter seemed the most at home with the new direction — their
voices were smooth, their moves casual and seemingly effortless even
when obviously choreographed. They also seemed to be having the most fun
with it, and with each other — leaning on one another, singing to each
other, and trading silly stage banter about the meaning of songs and
life. Because no matter how seriously the Backstreet Boys want to be
taken now, they didn't take themselves too seriously — which is the only
way they're going to win us over again.
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Backstreet Boys Brave The Elements For 'Incomplete' Video
Source: VH1.com
March 2005
By Jennifer Vineyard
Effects-free clip portrays matured group's diverging personalities.
The Backstreet Boys brave all the elements in their next video,
"Incomplete," from rain and wind to fire and ice. The group shot the
clip in Lancaster and Zuma Beach, California, racing from one location
to another to take advantage of the fading sunlight.
"The whole complaint people have about boy bands is that they're
artificial and slick, so I made this purposely dirty and with no safety
nets," director Joseph Kahn said. "There's no emulation in the video,
which means the look we're going for was contingent on the sun ... a
logistical timing nightmare."
In one sunset setup, they only had 15 minutes of light, he said, so the
crew lied on the ground so their shadows wouldn't interfere.
Kahn said he wanted to create a real composition, where the images would
feel more like iconography and the settings like symbolism. He calls it
his "Wim Wenders collection," referring to the famed European director
who helmed U2's "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)" as well as movies like
"Buena Vista Social Club" and "The Million Dollar Hotel."
"The approach was for me to get out of the way of the Backstreet Boys
and their audience and simplify the video down to the bare bones so
[that it would be] a love letter to their fans," he said. "And the
elements are sort of embracing their performance, so it feels like
emotions."
Kahn used natural elements, including fire, snow, wind and rain, to
symbolize the group's contrasting personalities. He decided that A.J.
McLean embodies the band's rock and roll sensibilities, with his "fiery
light and Hollywood cool," so he framed McLean by the sun as he drives a
classic car down the highway.
Nick Carter is "very volatile at times, beautiful to look at, but
dangerous if you get too close," so he is represented by fire. In the
video, Carter torches McLean's '68 GTO (the original idea was to torch a
barn, but the local fire marshal wouldn't give approval).
Howie Dorough, the "slick guy in the group," according to Kahn, became
rain. He sits under an old Joshua tree as a gust of wind picks up and
the downpour starts.
Kevin Richardson, "the most mature and reserved" Backstreet Boy, is
"colder," so he became snow. He's seated at a white piano in the midst
of a smoldering forest as a flurry starts and smoke rises from the
ground.
And Brian Littrell, who Kahn describes as "this big ball of energy, you
can't stop him," became the crashing waves of the ocean. He stands with
his legs in the water as thunderclouds assemble above him.
At the end of the video, the gang reunites to walk through the desert at
sunset, framed in a near-silhouette as the sun flares off the lens.
"The boys felt every environment, they really went through that," Kahn
said. "It was freezing in the morning: you're wearing parkas, it's
bone-chilling. And then by the time the sun [comes] out, you're
stripping down to T-shirts, and then it's freezing again, as cold as you
can imagine. It's just them performing, with the song stripped down, in
an environment to show who they really are."
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Backstreet Boys Quick News
Source: MTV.com
The Backstreet Boys have finalized the track list for their upcoming
album Never Gone, due out June 14. Besides first single "Incomplete,"
the boy band is including songs written and produced by Max Martin,
Billy Mann, Five for Fighting's John Ondrasik and John Shanks. Titles
include "Just Want You to Know," "Crawling Back to You," "Lose It All,"
"Safest Place to Hide" and "Siberia." ...
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BSB to perform in Germany
May 31st
Source: Music Pool
The guys will be performing in Germany on May 31st, here are the 2 urls
we have to date, sorry both are German sites. Here is a fair translation
of the hightlights:
On 31 May becomes Cologne e-works the scene of a sensational music
event. After albums sold over 73 million world-wide the most successful
male Pop group of the world arises after five years for the first time
again in Germany. In the context of their show the five beside Songs of
its new album "Never Gone" will be performed, also numerous hits of its
past albums. At the same time those returns volume thereby to its roots:
In Germany the Backstreet Boys 1995 had started its impressing career,
before two years later also in the USA the large break-through had
succeeded to them.
http://www.music-pool.com/frame.php?sid=p0z296410zBz4111 to purchase
tickets
http://www.backstreetboys.de/
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Backstreet Boys hit radio festivals as album release nears
Source: Live Daily
Backstreet Boys, who recently completed a month-long club tour, will
continue to work on their live chops at a series of radio-station
festivals that precede the mid-June release of their first new album in
almost five years.
So far, the vocal quintet has lined up a half-dozen May appearances at
festivals throughout the country. Details are shown below.
The roadwork hypes the June 14 release of "Never Gone," Backstreet Boys'
follow-up to 2000's 8-million-selling "Black & Blue." The new set
features the single "Incomplete," the music video for which debuted on
MTV's "Total Request Live" last week, and is currently listed at No. 1
on the Hot 5 Videos list at MTV's website.
Meanwhile, pictures taken during the "Incomplete" video shoot are posted
at Backstreet Boys' website.
Backstreet Boys plan to launch a summer headlining tour behind "Never
Gone" in mid-July. An itinerary has not been announced.
As previously reported, "Never Gone" features input from Max Martin, who
was involved in the writing and production of previous Backstreet Boys
hits "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)," "As Long as You Love Me" and
"Everybody (Backstreet's Back)."
Other contributors include Mark Taylor, who produced the title track (a
cut that Richardson co-wrote as a tribute to his father, according to
Jive Records), and Dan Muckala, who produced "Incomplete," as well as
Billy Mann (Pink, Sting), John Ondrasik of Five for Fighting, John
Shanks (2004 Grammy Award Producer of the Year), John Fields (Switchfoot)
and Darren Hayes of Savage Garden.
Backstreet Boys are scheduled to perform June 10 as part of "The Today
Show" concert series; June 14 on "Live with Regis and Kelly," June 16 on
"The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," and June 17 on "The CBS Early Show."
The group will also turn up in the pages of People, Entertainment Weekly
and Blender magazines.
Tour Itinerary
[Note: The following tour itinerary has been provided by artist
and/or tour sources, who verify its accuracy as of May 02, 2005 11:07
AM. Changes may occur before tickets go on sale. Check with official
artist web sites, ticketing sources and venues for late updates.]
May 2005
13 - Chula Vista, CA - Coors Amphitheatre (93.3 Your Show 6) 14 -
Anaheim, CA - Angel Stadium (KIIS FM Wango Tango)
20 - Minneapolis, MN - Quest (KDWB Star Party)
21 - Mansfield, MA - Tweeter Center (KISS 108 Concert)
22 - East Rutherford, NJ - Continental Airlines Arena (Z100
Zootopia)
24 - Sunrise, FL - Office Depot Center (Office Depot Center)
http://www.thebackstreetboys.com/
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