Backstreet Boys

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Think of a Boy Band, chances are you're thinking of the Backstreet Boys. Even overshadowing *N SYNC in the day (which later brought real fame to Justin Timberlake), it was hugely popular after being formed in 1993. The five original members were A. J. McLean, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, Nick Carter and Kevin Richardson. Richardson left in 2006, making them a four man group.

Basically, Lou Pearlman was inspired by the success of New Kids on the Block and decided to start his own clean-cut band of boys. After plenty of legal trouble, they became first famous in Europe, and then the Boy Band for girls to swoon over in the USA.

Discography:

Albums:

  • Backstreet Boys (1996)
  • Backstreet's Back (1997)
  • Millennium (1999)
  • Black & Blue (2000)
  • Never Gone (2005)
  • Unbreakable (2007)
  • This Is Us (2009)
  • In a World Like This (2013)

The band has sold over 130 million records worldwide, making them one of the biggest selling groups of all time. According to Billboard 200, they are the first group since Sade to have their first seven albums reach the top 10 on the chart.

Backstreet Boys provides examples of the following tropes:
  • All Girls Want Bad Boys: "If you want it to be good girl, get yourself a bad boy".
    • Also, two words: AJ McLean.
  • Boy Band: Right above *N SYNC, they were the boyband of the late 90's.
  • Childhood Friend Romance: The song "How Did I Fall In Love With You" is about the realization that the singer's friend is one of these.
  • Fan Flattering: "Larger Than Life".
  • Five-Man Band: Literally. The configuration differs from the traditional configuration, but it was popular among boy bands in the Turn of the Millennium.
  • Grief Song: "Show Me The Meaning Of Being Lonely". It was supposedly dedicated to Dorough's dead older sister, and the video shows images of her and other lost loved ones of the band members, including Kevin's father, a girlfriend of AJ's who was killed by a drunk driver, and former producer Denniz PoP, who passed away in 1998.
    • Also, the title track to 2005's Never Gone.
  • Mr. Fanservice
  • Pretty Boys
  • Room Full of Crazy: The video for "The Call", where the band members are being stalked and offed one-by-one by a woman who appears to be the incarnation of guilt. During the chase, one of the boys passes through a room that has the words "CHEAT", "LIAR", "TRAITOR", etc. written all over the walls and ceiling.
  • Sesame Street Cred
  • Squeefactor: The fuel of the band.
  • Truck Driver's Gear Change: Repeat offenders starting with Millennium.
  • Wet Sari Scene: "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)" is an example. Starts with all five members sitting around on an abandoned basketball court, and then comes a sudden downpour, and they all go from singing to writhing around in wet button-down shirts.
  • Your Cheating Heart: The subject of the song "The Call". The narrator has just cheated on his girlfriend with a girl he's just met on the streets, and then It Gets Worse.
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