Backstreet Fans: Ain't nothin' but a heartache

Back - Index - Submissions - - What is RSS? Date: Feb 19, 2000 Source: The Lexington Herald-Leader Submitted By: Lori Stevens Girls cope with engagements of the group's Ky. members By Heather Svokos HERALD-LEADER POP CULTURE WRITER If their concerts produce a tsunami of screams from fans, news of the engagements of the two Kentucky Backstreet Boys spurred a colossal, collective wail of cybergrief. In interviews with Mtv News on Wednesday night, cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson broke many a middle school heart when they announced the end of their bachelorhood. "I just got engaged over the holiday," Richardson told Mtv, with Littrell following suit in a later interview. Littrell, 24, a Tates Creek grad, will marry Leighanne Wallace, 29, an actress he has been dating for two years. Richardson, 27, of Estill County, has not publicly named his fiancee, but fan Web sites identify her as Kristin Willits, a dancer for Cher. "(We've been together) seven years, off and on," he told Mtv. Fans yesterday were coping the best they knew how. Devotees at Lexington's Morton Middle School took it better than fans on Mtv Online's message board, some of whom threateded to abandon pop music's No. 1 act and run into the arms of its rivals, 'NSync. "I won't," said Mallory Bradley, 13, an eighth-grader at Morton. "I don't like 'NSync," She found the news "sort of, good and sort of bad. If they get married, the group could break up." That seemed to be the shared fear among the school's fans, including 13-year-old Gina Christensen, who said she started crying when she read abut the engagemetns. "I love Brian so much," she said. But, in the end, she says, "I wish them the best of luck." Littrell met Wallace on the shoot for the As Long as You Love Me. "It's like with any other relationship," Littrell told the Herald-Leader in November. "There are ups and downs, but we respect what one another does. We prepared ourselves" for a long-distance relationship. "It's kind of like the jump-start on getting on with life, so I'm looking forward to it," Littrell told Mtv. Wedding plans were not disclosed. Littrel and Richardson could not be reached for further comment yesterday. Richardson told Mtv that his fiancee "knew me when I was a Ninja Turtle. I met her in the cafeteria at Walt Disney World. "We were both working there. She was a dancer. She's been on Broadway, done lots of things-being in the business, she definitely has an appreciation for it. I mean, I'm not necessarily gonna say that you need somebody in the business, but you need somebody that can understand a lot." Whitnie Bauer, 14, understands. "If they're true Backstreet Boys fans," she said, "They're not going to forget them just because two of them are going off and getting married." Jana Simons and Brittany Lark, both 12, joined Morton's chorus of long faces. "It's kind of upsetting," Simons said, "because they're the two cutest, and both of them are from Kentucky. You Can still like them..." "But you can't like them for their cuteness," Lark said, "because they're gonna get married." The careers of pop idols have survived marriages, but they have sparked ugly scenes: Linda Eastman faced a scourge of angry female fans when she married Beatle Paul McCartney in 1969. "It's a rather interesting phenomenon," said Tim Scheurer, a pop culture scholar and humanities professor at Franklin University, in Columbus, Ohio. By gettin engaged, Scheurer said, "(Littrell and Richardson) are undermining the fantasy element of group and their image." "There is always resentment," he said. "I keep thinking that's going to do something to that group. There's a thing with these groups. They're a male cornucopia. You kind of go to a concert and just pick one. 'Wooo, he's mine!' All of a sudden you just cut two out. Girls are gonna be going: 'Yeah right-he's married. As if,' "I think it's going to be absolutely fascinating to watch this play out." Jackie Allen, 12, is just relieved it wasn't A.J. McLean. "I truly believe I'm going to marry him some day," she said. If a fan is a true fan, she said, she wouldn't dump Backstreet for 'NSync. "You wouldn't care, because they're really sweet guys who deserve No. 1 no matter what." Comment on this item. Recent Comments Submitted by: johnanz http://imrdsoacha.gov.co/silvitra-120mg-qrms Submitted by: take a look at it! yAwz5f I value the article.Much thanks again. Really Great. Comment on this item. Next Item: Their Brides Want It That Way Prev Item: Elton John, Backstreet Boys To Perform Together At Grammys