Nearly a decade since initial success and after a 4-year break, Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, A.J. Mclean and Kevin Richardson are making music together again. The Backstreet Boys kick off1 The Early Show's Summer Concert Series singing from their new CD, Never Gone, as well as their new single, Incomplete. Also the title of one of the 11 songs in their album, Never Gone pays tribute to2 Richardson's father who recently passed away.
Mclean notes, “That song has really been important to each one of us. In addition to the loss of Kevin's father, I lost both of my grandparents; Nick, his grandmother; and Howie, his sister. We've all experienced great losses, so this song really touches us personally.”
The Backstreet Boys spent more than a year recording Never Gone. Getting back together after the 4-year break has been refreshing3 for the group. “It's incredible,” Carter says. “We've had enough time to just recharge4 ourselves and just enjoy it all again. We missed our fans. We missed each other. We missed making music. We have a lot of fun together. It's been 12 years we've been together now.”
Their new album aims to move the group beyond pop idol fame to reflect what is happening in their lives and in the world. Much has changed for group members of the group.
Littrell became the first Backstreet father. He has a 2-1/2 year old son. “He's singing daddy's songs already,” Littrell says proudly. “It's just a joy. Fatherhood, I hope, looks good on me. I really enjoy it.”
Richardson took on5 Broadway and London's West End with a starring role6 in Chicago.
Carter released7 Now Or Never, a solo project.
“I was able to go out on the road. I just was able to pick up a guitar and write music for myself,” Carter says. “It was kind of expressing myself and getting things out I had internally in me. And it taught me a lot: how to be a better man, a better entertainer, and a better businessman. Now, I feel like I'm a stronger link in the chain.”
Dorough continued his efforts with the Dorough Lupus Foundation8 after the death of his oldest sister Caroline in 1998. “We have been doing a lot of charity9 work to let people know about the disease known as lupus and the foundation,” Dorough says. “We are in the process of10 creating a movie, a made-for-TV special, about her life story, which we are trying to get televised11 by a TV network.”
And Mclean worked out12 his alcoholism13 problem, which the media made public around the world. He's been sober14 for two-and-a-half year. He says, “With the exception of having a bad case of the hiccups15 today, I'm doing really well.”
From July 22, the group has been going on tour, starting in Florida and traveling across the United States into Canada and then to Europe, Southeast Asia, Australia and Japan.
After they scored16 in the U.S. with the debut platinum single17 Quit Playing Games (With My Heart) and followed it with such hits as Everybody (Backstreet's Back), All I Have to Give and I Want it That Way, the Backstreet Boys grew to great heights during the time when teen bands became prominent18 in the music industry.
As teen idols, the Backstreet Boys first burst onto the scene19 back in 1997 with the release of their self-titled20 debut album. Combined sales of that CD and their 1999 follow-up21, Millennium, brought them more than 26 million in record sales. Along the way, the group had 12 songs in the Top 40 hits with eight reaching the top 10.
BSB Journal
Fun, friends and music...
June 10, 2005
Whew! 4 days to go and we're more than ready to get this album out! We just finished up at the Today Show and were so thankful to see so many of you come out to support us. The rain was relentless but we were right out there with you getting poured on! Isn't Mother Nature great!
Our next stop is the Early Show taping and from what we hear, a lot of you sent in requests to join us. The show will air on June 17th so if you missed it live today you'll be able to catch it then. We really do have the best fans in the world. Thanks for believing in us all of these years!
Tonight we're heading to Tennessee to take part in the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life. It's a great cause and we're happy to join them in the fight against Cancer. If you're in the area come out and join us!
A big hello goes out to all of our fans we saw when we visited Europe recently. Thanks for coming out to see us and for all of your kind words. We'll be back in September on tour just to see you, so make sure you get your tickets soon!
Don't forget we'll be at the Virgin Megastore in New York's Times Square on Tuesday signing copies of Never Gone. If you can make it, we would love to have you join us on the big day! Fun, friends and music... what could be better!?
Canada? We're heading your way next!
See you soon,
Backstreet
在距他们首次成功近10年后，经过4年的沉寂期，尼克·卡特、豪伊·多拉夫、布莱恩·利特莱尔、A.J.麦克林和凯文·理查森又重现乐坛了。唱着他们新专辑中的歌曲《从未离去》以及新单曲《不完整》，后街男孩开始了“早秀”之夏系列演唱会。新专辑收录了11首歌曲，其中的同名歌曲《从未离去》是为了怀念理查森刚刚过世的父亲。
麦克林解释说：“这首歌真的对我们乐队的每个人都很重要。除了凯文的父亲逝世之外，我失去了我的祖父与祖母；尼克失去了祖母；豪伊失去了姐姐。我们都经历了失去亲人的悲痛，所以这首歌真的触及我们的内心。”
后街男孩用了一年多的时间录制专辑《从未离去》。沉寂4年之后的重聚使这个团队充满了活力。“真是不可思议，”卡特说，“我们拥有充足的时间为自己再充电，并又再享受到这一切。我们怀念我们的歌迷，怀念队友，怀念制作音乐的美好时光，相聚的时光充满了快乐！从相识到现在已经有12年了！”
他们推出这张新专辑不是为了显示其流行偶像的地位，而是为了反映他们的生活，反映他们所生活的这个世界。乐队的每个人都发生了太大的变化。
利特莱尔是后街男孩中第一个成为父亲的人，他有一个两岁半大的儿子。“他已经在唱爸爸的歌曲了，”利特莱尔骄傲地说，“这真是一大乐事！我希望我能做一个好父亲，我喜欢做父亲。”
理查森因为在电影《芝加哥》中出演主角而轰动百老汇和伦敦西区。
卡特发行了一张个人专辑《想爱就爱》。
“我可以去参加巡回演出，我可以带上一把吉他，为自己作词，”卡特说，“这是一种表达自我，排遣内心情感的方式。它还教会我许多东西：如何更好地做人，更好地演唱，更好地经商。我觉得我正处在一个状态不错的阶段。”
在多拉夫的大姐卡洛琳1998年去世后，多拉夫继续在“多拉夫狼疮基金会”工作。“我们一直在做大量的慈善工作，让人们了解‘狼疮’这种疾病以及这个基金会，”多拉夫说，“我们在制作一部反映她生平的电影，一部试图通过电视网络播出的电视电影特辑。”
曾因“酗酒”一度被媒体曝光的麦克林已经走出“酗酒”泥潭，他已经有两年半没有醉酒了。他说：“我现在一切都好，就是有点打嗝的毛病。”
从7月22号起，乐队就开始了巡回演出。他们从佛罗里达出发，穿过美国到达加拿大，接着再去欧洲、东南亚、澳大利亚和日本。
在他们的首张白金单曲《请别再戏弄我的心》，以及随后而来的热门歌曲《大家好！后街男孩回来了！》、《我要给你的东西》、《我希望那样》在美国获得成功之后，后街男孩在青春乐队横空出世的时代取得巨大的成功！
1997年，后街男孩带着他们的同名专辑，以青少年偶像的形象进军乐坛。这张同名专辑与他们随后在1999年带来的第二张专辑《千禧情》的总销量突破2600万张。自出道以来，他们已有12首歌曲进入排行榜前40名，其中有8首位居前10名。
后街男孩记事本
快乐 、朋友与音乐……
2005年6月10日
哗！再过4天，我们迫不及待的音乐专辑就要面世了！我们刚做完"今日秀"节目，看到你们有这么多人来这儿支持我们，我们非常感激。雨一直在下，但我们和你们一起任大雨浇淋！大自然真是伟大呀！
我们下一站是为“早秀”节目录音，我们听说了你们有好多人要求参加这一节目。这个节目在6月17日播出，这样的话，你们要是没能赶上今天的直播，到那时还可以看转播。我们确实拥有世界上最好的歌迷。谢谢你们这些年一直如此信任我们！
今晚我们前往田纳西州参加美国癌症协会的"生命接力活动"。这是一项崇高的事业，我们很高兴能参加他们的抗癌斗争。如果你们也在那里的话，加入到我们的队伍中来吧！
这里要特别问候我们前不久在欧洲访问期间见到的那些歌迷。谢谢你们来看我们，谢谢你们说的那些好话。我们9月份回这儿开巡回演唱会时还要来看你们的，所以你们一定要买好自己的票哟！
别忘了，我们星期二会在纽约时代广场的VIRGIN购物中心签售我们的新专辑《从未离去》。 你们要是能到场，我们就会一起度过这美好的一天！快乐、朋友与音乐……还有什么比这更好的呢？
加拿大？不久我们就会去的！
再见
后街男孩
1. kick off 开始
2. pay tribute to sb. 对某人表示悼念
3. refreshing adj. 充满活力的
4. recharge v. 再次充电
5. take on 受欢迎
6. starring role n. 主角
7. release v. 发行（唱片等）
8. Dorough Lupus Fundation 多拉夫狼疮基金会
9. charity n. 慈善
10. in the process of 在......过程中
11. televise v. 电视播送
12. work out v. 克服
13. alcoholism n. 酗酒
14. sober adj. 未醉的
15. hiccup n. 打嗝
16. score v. 成功
17. debut platinum single 首张白金单曲
18. prominent adj. 突出的
19. burst onto the scene 突然出现
20. self-titled adj. 以乐队名字命名的
21. follow-up n. 随后的事物