  The Backstreet Boys are out to reconnect with their younger selves and old fans with a new CD, This is Us, and world tour. |
The Backstreet Boys want it that way again.
After spending several years trying to rejuvenate their dance-pop sound with injections of rock, the reunited boy band -- now down to the quartet of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, A. J. McLean and Brian Littrell (who was recently diagnosed with swine flu; insert your own joke here) after the departure of Kevin Richardson in 2006 -- are out to reconnect with their younger selves and their old fans on their eighth studio album, This is Us.
"We've gone back to the sound that people know -- the good pop melodies, the R&B influences, the Euro-dance rhythms," assures 36-year-old countertenor Dorough from his L.A. home.
"It was definitely a conscious effort."
And it's far from the only major undertaking in his life lately.
Along with rehearsing dance routines eight hours a day for the Boys' upcoming world tour, working on his upcoming solo album and managing a handful of other pop artists, Dorough became a first-time father in May when his wife Leigh Boniello -- one of the band's former webmasters -- gave birth to their son James. Somehow, in the midst of all that, he found time to call us for a chat about the life on the Backstreet these days.
There have been lots of changes in your life since we last heard from you.
Yes, life is changing. But it's changing for the best. Everything is going well for the group. I got married about a year and a half ago, and I became a father just recently. So yeah, lots of changes.
With the album, though, it seems you're all trying to change back to your old dance-pop selves.
Exactly. After we took a break in early 2000, after the Black and Blue album, we came back and were searching for a sound. Music had changed a bit, and so we went in this pop-rock direction on Never Gone, which we thought was really good. But we noticed that when we took it on tour, it didn't really lend itself to the kind of show people expect from Backstreet Boys -- the choreography and production and everything. So on Unbreakable, we started getting closer to our old sound, and with this album, we've gone all the way back.
Obviously, the title seems to reflect a certain acceptance of who you are.
Totally. This is us; this is the sound of the Backstreet Boys. We're not trying to be something else.
How are the dance rehearsals going? You're an old man now; you're 36.
Well, I don't feel 36. Thank God for that. But it's not like what it was when I was in my teens and early 20s. But that's why I'm taking ginkgo biloba and glucosamine tablets and stretching a lot more. It's work; you have to keep in shape. But we're also dancing more now than we've danced since the Black and Blue tour in 2001. There's definitely no holding back in the choreography.
So you're going to kill yourselves on this tour?
Pretty much (laughs).
Now that you're the oldest guy of the group, do the others treat you with more respect?
I try to get them to listen to my wisdom. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Really, we all voice our opinions and we all try to listen to each other. But I feel I'm the rational thinker sometimes in terms of telling people what's realistic and doable. Sometimes they don't want to hear it, but they come back and say, 'Yeah, you're right, Howie.'
So you're Dad, basically.
Yeah, I'm in that role a little bit. Kevin used to have that role.
And now you're a father for real. With a new baby in the house, are you looking forward to touring so you can get some peace and quiet?
(Laughs) Actually, last week we were in Europe doing promo and it was the first time I was away for that long. And believe it or not, I actually was getting a couple of extra hours sleep. So it wasn't the worst thing. Everybody was asking me, 'Do you miss your baby?' And I definitely miss him, but it wasn't like I couldn't stand being away. I think it's because he's only four months and he's not really doing any major things yet. He's pretty much just eating, sleeping and pooping. And my wife does a pretty good job of handling that all on her own.
When you see the frenzy surrounding the Jonas Brothers, is a small part of you relieved that you don't have to deal with that level of craziness anymore?
Yeah. I look at them and see us 10 years ago. Those teenage fans are fanatics. They are frenzied. I'm glad that I was able to experience that. But I'm also glad to have grown older and have our fans grow older with us. We're embracing that. We have fans that have been with us from Day 1 that are bringing their kids to the concerts.
Yeah, but they're not trying to turn over your bus in the parking lot anymore.
No, it's a little bit safer.
