Adults quietly join kids in cheering on the Boys

Back - Index - Submissions - - What is RSS? Date: Sep 22, 2099 Source: The Boston Herald Submitted By: Pamie.Dhanoa@tao.sainsburys.co.uk by Sarah Rodman Tuesday, September 21, 1999 There is a growing secret society in the United States. Its members are fans of a popular vocal group, yet they don't shriek, faint or cry at the mention of the singers' names. Their bedroom walls aren't plastered with posters. They don't haunt chat rooms poring over the subtext of videos. They are AFOBSB: adult fans of the Backstreet Boys. If you don't believe such people exist, consider this: To date, the Backstreet Boys have sold 8 million copies of their second album, ``Millennium.'' No matter how youth-centered the advertising market has become, it's impossible to sell that many records to teenagers alone. Some other group is lending a helping hand to the dreamy Orlando quintet and it's folks of legal drinking age. They also have helped snap up tickets to the two shows the Backstreet Boys are performing tonight and tomorrow at the FleetCenter, which sold out in a record time of 13 minutes. ``With all the complaint rock (out there), I find them refreshing,'' said Richard Wagner, 32. ``Not that I don't like Nirvana, but you can only hear so much of that before you become a moody, depressed person. The Backstreet Boys are entertainment. ``I don't have to see a Scorsese or Kurosawa film every day; I like things like `Lake Placid,' '' he said. ``My brother, who's a few years older than me, hates the stuff we play,'' said 34-year-old WXKS-FM (KISS-108) jock ``Kid'' David Corey. ``He's not a Top 40 guy and he loves the Backstreet Boys. That tells me they're more than a teeny-bopper group, because he doesn't like anybody.'' Part of the supergroup's appeal may lie in the way the heartthrob quintet of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, Kevin Richardson and Brian Littrell has perfected its act. The singers may seem as if they are overnight sensations, but they're not. Formed in 1993 by friends who kept running into each other at auditions and at work at Walt Disney World, the group hooked up with managers Lou Perlman and former New Kids on the Block associate Jonny Wright. The Backstreet Boys' 1995 debut stiffed here in the face of the alt-rock revolution but was met with multiplatinum success on the more pop-friendly European shores. With the breakthrough of the Spice Girls and Hanson and a more welcoming climate, the video-genic boys returned triumphantly in 1997 with hits such as ``As Long as You Love Me'' and ``Quit Playing Games with My Heart.'' In June, they rained on Garth Brooks' parade by shattering his first-week sales record by selling 1.7 million copies of ``Millennium.'' They've resided in the top five on the record charts ever since. `` 'N Sync is very dancey, everything's happy, everything's good,'' said Jason Tanner, 21, a choreographer from Concord. ``I think the oldest one of the Backstreet Boys is 28, so they can talk about more adult stuff; I enjoy them more for that reason. It's not just `girl, you're so groovy.' '' ``The Backstreet Boys are perfect summer driving music,'' said Wagner. ``They're totally weather-appropriate. If it's a beautiful, sunny, breezy day and `I Want It That Way' comes on the radio, it sounds nice.'' Wagner, a mental health counselor from Natick, believes the group's older skewing appeal can be attributed to the songwriting. ``The actual sound of the music is a little bit different. It's not so cheesy and '80s,'' he said, unlike the fluffier sounds of 'N Sync. ``It sounds more mature, more learned.'' ``It's definitely the songwriting and I think it also has a lot to do with the attitude,'' said Traci DiSalvatore, 31, of Malden. ``It's really good bubble gum pop, and I can appreciate a bunch of little kids liking it and listening to it because it's fun, and I can remember being that age and my walls were plastered with Andy Gibb.'' Indeed, songs such as ``I Want It That Way'' and the Littrell-penned tribute to his mom, ``The Perfect Fan,'' are nicely packaged, ultra-melodic pop tunes that are sweetly rendered in the BSB's more elegant-than-necessary harmonies. It is prefab, but as Wagner points out, the Temptations had Holand-Dozier-Holland and ``Berry Gordy behind them.'' Everyone seems to agree that no band of this ilk lasts forever. But recent comebacks by ex-New Kids Jordan Knight and Joey McIntyre and former Menudo member Ricky Martin bode well for the future. ``When I talked to them a few months back at the Grammys,'' says WXKS' Corey, ``they were very aware of the fact that they could fall into that `here today, gone tomorrow' category.'' But he thinks that limiting their exposure in teen magazines, appearing with artists such as Shania Twain and giving adults something to enjoy will help the Backstreet Boys make the transition to Backstreet Men. The Backstreet Boys play the FleetCenter today and tomorrow. Both shows are sold out. Comment on this item. Recent Comments Submitted by: johnansaz http://imrdsoacha.gov.co/silvitra-120mg-qrms Submitted by: johnansaz http://t-links.org/EZjAi12N real sex dating near you! Comment on this item. Next Item: Put Between Rock and a Cruel Place Prev Item: Oh My God They're Back Again