backstreet boys
The year 1993 saw horrible losses in the pop culture realm: Cheers aired its last episode, New Kids on the Block stopped recording music, Andre the Giant passed away, and Prince became “The artist formerly know as…”However, what the world did not know was that in 1993, in Orlando, Florida, five young men had been chosen to be groomed to become one of the biggest musical sensations to ever roam this earth: The Backstreet Boys. The core of the Backstreet Boys was comprised of cousins Kevin Richardson and Brian Littrell, who began performing as children in church choirs and singing at festivals in the style of Boyz II Men. The other members, A.J. McLean, Howie Dorough and Nick Carter, had known each other trough auditions for local commercials, theater, and television in Orlando, Florida. With the help of manager Louis Pearlman (who would later rise to music mogul status on the strength of his teen pop acts), The Backstreet Boys secured management from Johnny Wright1, who had already managed The New Kids on the Block-the boy band from which The Backstreet Boys were based off of. Eventually, the boys signed with Jive Records in 1994, and released their first album in 1995. The Backstreet boys experienced a tremendous amount of success around the world, with their record sales topping 130 million2, making them the best selling boy band of all time. Though they went on hiatus in 2004, The Backstreet Boys are currently together again, touring with New Kids on the Block, and providing the kids who grew up with their music a little bit of nostalgia from their childhoods. At the peak of their success in the late 90s, it would have been pretty easy to tell that The Backstreet Boys had an overwhelmingly female dominated fan base. Their arena concerts around the world were packed with preteen and teenage girls who would do anything just to get a glimpse of one of them. Having this demographic as the target market paid off for them in the end because over their