Backstreet Boys are an American boy band vocal group formed in Orlando, Florida in 1993. The group consists of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson.
The group rose to fame with their debut international album, Backstreet Boys in 1996. Their hybrid of R&B balladry, hip-hop, and dance pop quickly gained popularity in Canada and Europe, while success in their native land didn't follow until mainstream pop hit it big on radio and MTV in America. In the following year, they released their second international album Backstreet's Back in 1997, along with their self-titled U.S. debut album, Backstreet Boys, which continued the group's success worldwide. They rose to fame with their third studio album Millennium in 1999, which by the end of the year was well on its way to sales of 12 million copies in the U.S. On an international level, the album eventually sold more than 40 million units. The band grew in popularity even more with the help of the album Black & Blue which was released in 2000. This album followed its predecessor by selling over one million copies during its first week. A They also released a greatest hits album, The Hits - Chapter One in 2001, with their only single, "Drowning". A popular tour supported the album, but after seven years of nonstop touring and recording, the band agreed it was time for a break. After a two-year hiatus, they regrouped and released a comeback album Never Gone in 2005. This album continued their musical maturity, centering on a smooth adult contemporary style with singles "Incomplete," "Just Want You to Know," and "I Still..." and it got platinum sales. After the end of the tour for the album in 2006, Kevin Richardson quietly left the group to pursue other goals. The group then released two albums more albums. Unbreakable released in 2007, it was also the group's first album not to go platinum, a fact that seemingly cemented the end of the Backstreet Boys' heyday. After some of their songs leaked online, they used the feedback of fans to finish This Is Us in 2009. Backstreet supported the album with an extensive tour that hit markets across the globe, including Asia and Australia.
In 2011, the Backstreet boys joined with fellow boy band New Kids on the Block and went on a co-headlining tour under the supergroup name NKOTBSB. A joint Backstreet Boys/New Kids greatest-hits collection, NKOTBSB, arrived that year. In 2012, the Backstreet Boys announced that Richardson had officially rejoined the group permanently. In the following year, 2013, they celebrated their 20th anniversary and released their first independent album, In a World Like This. Their album DNA which released in 2019 debuted at number one, more than two decades after the group formed, and 19 years after they last topped in 2000. They also became the first boy band to top the U.S. album charts in three decades. The Backstreet Boys have sold over 100 million records worldwide, making them the best-selling boy band of all time, and one of the world's best-selling music artists. They are the first group since Led Zeppelin to have their first ten albums reach the top 10 on the Billboard 200, and the only boy band to do so. They are also one of the few bands to have multiple diamond albums. The group received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on April 22, 2013.
