Speaker 1: I Am all In again.
Speaker 2: Oh, I guess you.
Speaker 1: I Smell Pop Culture with Easton Allen and I Heart
Speaker 1: Radio Podcast. Hey everybody, Easton Allen, I Smell pop Culture Podcast.
Speaker 1: One of them productions. I Heart Radio, I Heart Media,
Speaker 1: iHeart Podcasts. This is the I Am all In Podcast.
Speaker 1: This is a subsidiary, this is a spin off. We're
Speaker 1: in the feed baby, and my name is Easton. We
Speaker 1: are doing this show here where we explore the pop
Speaker 1: culture greats, the moments, the icons that make Gilmore Girls
Speaker 1: such a real place, a place that we love, a
Speaker 1: place that we want to be. We're going into one
Speaker 1: of our favorite pop culture references here. We have actually
Speaker 1: talked about this on the show once before. If you
Speaker 1: remember a couple, oh god, weeks ago, months ago, I
Speaker 1: can't remember exactly how long, but we talked to one
Speaker 1: of the night Jeff Timmins from ninety eight degrees, and
Speaker 1: today we're going back into the world of boy bands.
Speaker 1: This is from season one, episode nineteen. This is Emily
Speaker 1: in Wonderland. You know it's coming. You guys are big fans.
Speaker 1: You know about this. Rory and Lane are hanging out
Speaker 1: in her bedroom analyzing a voicemail that Henry left Lane
Speaker 1: and Emily calls with some questions for Rory about what
Speaker 1: she likes. She's making this bedroom for roses or Lily's
Speaker 1: and for music and sink or ninety eight degrees, and
Speaker 1: then Emily says or the Backside Boys. Roy chooses in sync.
Speaker 1: There we have talked to ninety degrees. This time we
Speaker 1: were talking to the Backside Boys. We are going deep
Speaker 1: into the world. Of of course, the real name the
Speaker 1: Backstreet Boys, but Backside Boys is just so funny. AJ
Speaker 1: McLean check this out. AJ McClean is the first member
Speaker 1: of the back Boys. He is the catalyst that kind
Speaker 1: of started it all. He answered a newspaper ad in
Speaker 1: nineteen eighty two. Very first member. He predates all the rest.
Speaker 1: He has been in the band since day one. They
Speaker 1: are releasing a monumental project, the twenty fifth anniversary of Millennium.
Speaker 1: You remember that album, Millennium. Oh my god, that album
Speaker 1: covers burning to your Brain, right, it's such incredible songs
Speaker 1: on that On that project, It's gone Diamond. They are
Speaker 1: releasing Millennium two point zero. They're going to be at
Speaker 1: the Sphere in Las Vegas. Can you believe that we're
Speaker 1: gonna talk about all of this with the great Ajmclean.
Speaker 1: He is here. I have him in a digital bullpen
Speaker 1: and we're gonna bring him in right now. AJ, thank
Speaker 1: you so much for doing this. We're so excited. Thank
Speaker 1: you for having me so just I got to get
Speaker 1: this out of the way. This is I was kind
Speaker 1: of dreading this moment because and I just want to
Speaker 1: apologize in advance, but I have to just do this
Speaker 1: rap top. You guys were mentioned Ingimore Girls pretty early
Speaker 1: in season one of the show, and the main character's
Speaker 1: grandmother is asking her about what kind of music she likes,
Speaker 1: and she's listening off the boy bands of the you
Speaker 1: know in Sync ninety degrees, and then she says the
Speaker 1: Backside Boys, and uh, it's a it's a great moment.
Speaker 1: Everyone loves it. It's very funny, but not the respect
Speaker 1: the backsheet boys deserve if you ask me, just completely
Speaker 1: no disrespect.
Speaker 3: No, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2: At the end of the day, Like like I've said
Speaker 2: to a lot of my friends, when there's been you know,
Speaker 2: movies or TV shows that might have referenced us in
Speaker 2: the past or even now in a comedic way or
Speaker 2: in a backshanded kind of way, or in a great way.
Speaker 2: It's still flattering because they're still talking about you in one.
Speaker 3: Way or another.
Speaker 2: And we we we obviously we're a bunch of hams.
Speaker 2: We're a bunch of group balls. We we can we
Speaker 2: can see through the humor and this, that and the other,
Speaker 2: and you know, it doesn't really bother us.
Speaker 3: I think for me, probably the most.
Speaker 2: Nerve wrecking moment I've ever endured was, you know, here
Speaker 2: in La. I'm not sure if you're in La or not,
Speaker 2: but here in La the Arc Light Theater that's no
Speaker 2: longer there after this is the end came out. It
Speaker 2: was actually the opening weekend, excuse me, and so I
Speaker 2: went with some friends to the Arc Flight to go
Speaker 2: and see it opening night, and if you remember, there
Speaker 2: was a specific adult only theater there that served alcohol.
Speaker 2: It was twenty one and n so I wasn't drinking,
Speaker 2: but my friends had a couple of cocktails. But there
Speaker 2: was like a group of about fifteen guys sitting about
Speaker 2: four rows in dead center and they were sloshed. And
Speaker 2: as we're getting to the precipice of the end of
Speaker 2: the film spoilers if anyone hasn't seen out there, sorry,
Speaker 2: got you boysering heaven. When we came on screen, I
Speaker 2: like sank into my into my seat because I was like,
Speaker 2: oh my god, these guys are about to roast us.
Speaker 2: And they stood up and they knew every word. They
Speaker 2: sang their hearts out and they were cheering at the screen, and.
Speaker 3: I so badly wanted to yell from behind them that's me, me,
Speaker 3: I'm that guy.
Speaker 2: But I just I just smiled really big, got back
Speaker 2: up in my seat and let them and I let
Speaker 2: them enjoy their moment, and then walked out. I ended
Speaker 2: up bumping into one of the gentlemen after the movie
Speaker 2: in the restroom.
Speaker 3: And he was like, dude, you guys were awesome. I'm like,
Speaker 3: thank you, man, thank you so again. You know what
Speaker 3: I mean.
Speaker 2: If you're being talked about, it's like back in the
Speaker 2: day when Beavis and butt Head was you know a thing.
Speaker 2: If you were on that show, that meant you were somebody,
Speaker 2: or if we're aw Yankovic Perry need one of your songs,
Speaker 2: which he did a parody of all I Want It
Speaker 2: that way he did.
Speaker 3: I bought it on eBay.
Speaker 2: So those those moments are awesome. So backside boys, though,
Speaker 2: backside I like it.
Speaker 1: I mean, so much of that stuffisden I love too,
Speaker 1: like everyone adores you guys, just and always has throughout history.
Speaker 1: So I don't know about the Backside boys, but Backstreet
Speaker 1: Boys that comes from a flea market in Orlando, Is
Speaker 1: that right?
Speaker 3: Correct?
Speaker 2: Yes, there was a flea market off of a main
Speaker 2: road in Orlando called International Drive, which was a basically
Speaker 2: tourist central. It was just a like a two and
Speaker 2: a half mile strip of hotels and like you know,
Speaker 2: your typical like chotsky weird little shops that sold just
Speaker 2: anything and everything from you know, I came to Disney
Speaker 2: and all I got was this stupid T shirt kind
Speaker 2: of stuff, and then a couple of restaurants, and then
Speaker 2: there was on the weekends there was this like outdoor
Speaker 2: flea market that they would do in one of the
Speaker 2: parking lots and it was called the Backstreet Market. And
Speaker 2: our creator, if you will, Lou Pearlman, got the name
Speaker 2: Backstreet from the Backstreet Market. And then boys, because you're boys,
Speaker 2: we're friends, you know boys slang. I guess even today
Speaker 2: like that's my boy, Like we're boys, you know. And
Speaker 2: you have the Beach boys, Overridge boys, and the pet
Speaker 2: shop boys, you know, the list goes on, So, yes,
Speaker 2: our name comes from a flea market.
Speaker 3: There you go.
Speaker 1: Now, so you answered, I love this stat that you
Speaker 1: are the first member of the Backstreet Boys. Like, that's
Speaker 1: incredibly I answered, a newspaper ad in nineteen eighty two,
Speaker 1: Is that right?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I am the og.
Speaker 2: So this April twentieth, which will be our official thirty
Speaker 2: two year anniversary, will be thirty three years from me. Actually,
Speaker 2: I'm pretty sure my thirty three anniversaries before April. I'm
Speaker 2: not really sure when what month that was that that
Speaker 2: I first met Lou.
Speaker 3: But yeah.
Speaker 2: There was a thing back in Orlando that would come
Speaker 2: in the mail weekly called the Blue Sheet, which essentially
Speaker 2: was a classifieds for.
Speaker 3: Anyone in the entertainment business. You know.
Speaker 2: There was auditions in there for Nickelodeon, Disney, Universal Studios,
Speaker 2: whatever it was. And on the second to last page
Speaker 2: at the top was a little blurb that said local
Speaker 2: local entrepreneur looking to put together a five piece vocal
Speaker 2: harmony group.
Speaker 3: Allah Boys to Men meets New Kids on the Block.
Speaker 2: And I had recently just gotten fired from a show
Speaker 2: on Nickelodeon that actually got picked up by ABC for
Speaker 2: half a season, and then it got canned, So I'm
Speaker 2: not really kicking myself for that one, ye, But so
Speaker 2: I was, you know, a typical out of work actor
Speaker 2: at the moment, and I asked my mom if I
Speaker 2: could do it, and she was like sure. So I
Speaker 2: choreographed two counts of eight by myself and I sang,
Speaker 2: didn't I blow your mind?
Speaker 3: This time?
Speaker 2: Not the New Kids version, the original version. I believe
Speaker 2: it was the Spinners, and Lou signed me on the
Speaker 2: spot and that was it. I mean I went to
Speaker 2: his house with my mom. I was fourteen, and he
Speaker 2: was like, you're in and I was like, okay, here
Speaker 2: we go. Never never expecting it to and the way
Speaker 2: that it has. I don't think any of us really
Speaker 2: really had any expectations. I mean, obviously we all hoped
Speaker 2: and wanted a career and to have longevity, but to
Speaker 2: be here three decades plus is kind of insane.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean that was my next question is like,
Speaker 1: you're you you're doing this and especially those first few
Speaker 1: first year I mean, probably not knowing what to expect,
Speaker 1: but like, no idea it was going to become this
Speaker 1: just massive thing. I'm sure.
Speaker 3: No.
Speaker 2: I mean obviously we you know, we we were young,
Speaker 2: you know, Kevin was twenty one at the time, Nick
Speaker 2: was twelve. You know, we we were young, we were naive,
Speaker 2: but we were kind of promised all these things, like
Speaker 2: you guys are going to get a label deal, you
Speaker 2: guys are going to be huge, and you know, one
Speaker 2: thing led to another, and in nineteen ninety six, I
Speaker 2: want to say, like the middle to end of that
Speaker 2: year is when we got signed by Jive, by Jive Records,
Speaker 2: And you know, so now it's like reality check, like
Speaker 2: holy shit, like we have a record deal now, like
Speaker 2: this is a real is this is not real? And
Speaker 2: you know, Jive sent us off to Europe. For most
Speaker 2: of us, it was the first time Kevin had been
Speaker 2: to Europe, I think once or two prior, so for
Speaker 2: the rest of us, it was our first time getting
Speaker 2: a passport going overseas. We went to Stockholm, Sweden, and
Speaker 2: we met Dennis Pop and Max Martin and the whole
Speaker 2: share on Team Incredible, which would in turn become like
Speaker 2: the true backbone of the Battreet Boys because our sound
Speaker 2: was created from that studio, from those incredible writers and producers.
Speaker 2: But we you know, we'd come back to the US
Speaker 2: and there was nothing nobody gave a tiny rats ass
Speaker 2: about us. We used to call it no Fanland because
Speaker 2: we'd come back from Europe, and Europe, you know, we
Speaker 2: put out our first single, we got It going on
Speaker 2: in ninety seven, and it blew up everywhere but here,
Speaker 2: and it peaked on the dance charts here I think
Speaker 2: at like sixty eight or sixty nine. But Europe just
Speaker 2: fell in love with us, so we're like, all right,
Speaker 2: peace out, We're gonna go post up over there where
Speaker 2: they want us. And we spent almost like the better part,
Speaker 2: I feel like, almost two years over there, just building
Speaker 2: this momentum. And then during that time, Spice Girls came
Speaker 2: out and Hanson and they both blew up here in
Speaker 2: the US. So now cut to we come back to
Speaker 2: the US and we can't even get out of the airport,
Speaker 2: and it was like you would think that it happened overnight.
Speaker 3: A lot of people felt like that, but it didn't.
Speaker 2: It took almost three years, I feel like for us
Speaker 2: to really really break here. So but once that happened,
Speaker 2: you know, it was kind of off to the races
Speaker 2: and back then your second album, or as we called
Speaker 2: it then, your sophomore album, was your make it or
Speaker 2: break it.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 2: We had our debut album, Backstreet Boys, the Red Album,
Speaker 2: which was only released in Europe and like the rest
Speaker 2: of the world, it was never put out here in
Speaker 2: the US. But our sophomore album was Millennium, So not
Speaker 2: a bad sophomore album to have. And that was that
Speaker 2: was that was it, That was it, that was the
Speaker 2: that was the catalyst to where we are today.
Speaker 1: I mean Millennium, We'll get into that in a bit. Uh,
Speaker 1: Certified Diamond one of the most legendary pop albums I
Speaker 1: think of all time. I mean everybody had that CD.
Speaker 1: Like like what an album to be to be a
Speaker 1: part of, so something that I was thinking about that
Speaker 1: like Backsheep Boys feel similar to Gilmore Girls in the
Speaker 1: same sense that like people keep coming back to the
Speaker 1: Backstreet Boys, Like a lot of people grew up with
Speaker 1: your music. They listen to the new stuff you're doing.
Speaker 1: Now you're you're the people feel such a strong connection
Speaker 1: to the Backswep Boys, And what do you why do
Speaker 1: you think that is?
Speaker 4: Like?
Speaker 1: Why why you guys? What what does people? Which aw's
Speaker 1: people in?
Speaker 2: I mean I wish I knew what the Special Sauce was,
Speaker 2: but you know, truth be told In my opinion, I
Speaker 2: feel it's the music first.
Speaker 3: You know, we've always said it's about the music first.
Speaker 2: That's that's the that's the true connection that we have
Speaker 2: with our fans and with people is through music. And
Speaker 2: we've been fortunate enough to have some pretty iconic, legendary
Speaker 2: songs over the last three decades that have stood the
Speaker 2: test of time.
Speaker 3: And that's a huge testament to the fans. The fans
Speaker 3: are the ones that rihb artists like us. You know,
Speaker 3: they're the ones that can love you or hate you.
Speaker 2: And we have such a strong foundation of fans all
Speaker 2: over the world. We are so fortunate and we are
Speaker 2: so grateful for that because you know, they could have
Speaker 2: turned on us in on a dime, and they've stuck
Speaker 2: with us through through you know, highs lows, theyck beIN whatever.
Speaker 2: And you know, even today, you talk to a fan
Speaker 2: that's been our fans since day one, and they can
Speaker 2: tell you where they were when they heard as long
Speaker 2: as you love me or I want it that way,
Speaker 2: or backstreets back, and whether it's a good memory, a
Speaker 2: bad memory, a happy memory, a sad memory, it's a
Speaker 2: memory and it's lucked them in and you know, I
Speaker 2: as a fan of music. I have songs that do
Speaker 2: that to me, you know. I have songs that remind
Speaker 2: me of my grandmother, you know, or TV shows that
Speaker 2: remind me of my grandmother or my grandfather. You know,
Speaker 2: there's there's that connection through the music, and that's that's
Speaker 2: I think what really has kept us going. You talk
Speaker 2: about Gilmore Girls, you know, people going back and rewatching
Speaker 2: the show. You know, for me, that was Friends. I
Speaker 2: never watched a single episode of Friends in my life ever.
Speaker 2: And about ten years ago I was I was about
Speaker 2: twelve years late, but I decided to you know, my
Speaker 2: wife and I, she watched the show before we met.
Speaker 2: She watched the show in real time, okay, and you know,
Speaker 2: I was traveling in the world, you know. But I
Speaker 2: know that it was on on Thursday nights at eight o'clock.
Speaker 2: That's all I knew. But once I watched it on
Speaker 2: DVD first, and then I watched it on Blu Ray,
Speaker 2: I was hooked. Now I go to bed every night
Speaker 2: with it on it and I've seen every episode a
Speaker 2: thousand times. I can quote any scene from any season,
Speaker 2: but it never gets old. I still laugh in the
Speaker 2: same places, I still cry in the same places. I
Speaker 2: know what's coming and I still have the same gut
Speaker 2: reaction and that's a testament to the writers and a
Speaker 2: testament to the actors.
Speaker 3: So there's that comparison.
Speaker 2: The writers are the Swedish guys Max and Dennis, and
Speaker 2: the actors are us. So there's that direct, you know, comparison.
Speaker 1: Yeah, And you know, sometimes there's things that like people,
Speaker 1: people grow up with a certain thing and it, you know,
Speaker 1: in Meyre like it has that kind of nostalgiachine to it.
Speaker 1: It's like, oh, you like this because you grew up
Speaker 1: with it. But like like friends and like owners and
Speaker 1: like Backstreet Boys. I think someone could come in having
Speaker 1: never heard Backstreet Boys until they were in their thirties
Speaker 1: or something and like connect immediately with the music. I think, true, No,
Speaker 1: it's true.
Speaker 3: It is.
Speaker 2: It's you know, because when you look at our our
Speaker 2: fan base now we have like four or five generations
Speaker 2: at our shows.
Speaker 3: And what's been happening to me recently, which I just.
Speaker 2: Find but it it kind of can coexist with what
Speaker 2: you just said. Is I'll be walking at the mall
Speaker 2: with my daughters, or I'll be going to get a
Speaker 2: coffee and a girl will freak out and ask her
Speaker 2: a picture and she's like twenty five, you know, and
Speaker 2: I'm like.
Speaker 3: You weren't even born when we started.
Speaker 2: But like, but again, and a couple of them I've
Speaker 2: talked to and they've literally said what you just said.
Speaker 2: They're like, yeah, I just got turned on Yall's music
Speaker 2: like two years ago. And I love you guys, like
Speaker 2: I love what you represent that and that, and you know,
Speaker 2: it's just fascinating to me. But again, it always goes
Speaker 2: back to the music. You know, if we had crappy music,
Speaker 2: then it doesn't matter how pretty your faces are, you
Speaker 2: know what I mean, like exactly, not saying that we're
Speaker 2: all pretty, but you know, it's all really about the
Speaker 2: music truly.
Speaker 1: And you know, you're so gracious with how much you
Speaker 1: appreciate the fans and how much they've supported you. But
Speaker 1: just something I work here at KISSFM in Los Angeles
Speaker 1: and like just seeing you guys over the years you
Speaker 1: have you give so much to the fans. You treat
Speaker 1: like all the shows, you do everything you do for
Speaker 1: the fans, like you guys truly love your fans. That's
Speaker 1: something that always stood out to me about you guys
Speaker 1: that I'm not saying there's some other artists that you
Speaker 1: don't see that kind of thing. And with you guys though, it's.
Speaker 3: Like yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1: You know I'm talking about. But with the Maxwew Boys,
Speaker 1: it's like like that love is there, it's reciprocated and
Speaker 1: it's just such a beautiful thing to see on stage
Speaker 1: and just in interviews, everything you guys do.
Speaker 2: It is I mean, they've become like an extension of us.
Speaker 2: They become like a like an extension of our family.
Speaker 2: I mean, there's there's quite a few fans that have
Speaker 2: really truly been with us since the very beginning that
Speaker 2: we see everywhere, you know, to a point where you know,
Speaker 2: we'll talk amongst ourselves like, I know, she's a school teacher,
Speaker 2: How the hell is she flying to ten shows in
Speaker 2: Europe for it? Like is she looking blue meth in
Speaker 2: like a Winnibegos somewhere?
Speaker 3: Like how is she affording this?
Speaker 2: But you know, they they will be they are truly
Speaker 2: right or die, and they will be there from hell
Speaker 2: or high water, and it's just it warms our hearts,
Speaker 2: it blows our mind. You know, to this day, we'll
Speaker 2: never know how they know where we're staying before we do,
Speaker 2: and they'll and they'll they'll.
Speaker 3: Never give up the mole.
Speaker 2: You know, back in the day, we we knew, you know,
Speaker 2: some of our crew guys would you know, get a
Speaker 2: little squaky here and there. But now we run a
Speaker 2: really tight shit, really tight, and they still find out.
Speaker 2: So it's like, I know, I'm not saying it, so
Speaker 2: you know what I mean, Like I don't know how
Speaker 2: they end up.
Speaker 3: In the same hotel, the same floor, wild, Like how
Speaker 3: do you do it?
Speaker 2: Like if you if you have ESP then we are
Speaker 2: going to Vegas tomorrow and you're gonna read the cards
Speaker 2: for me and then I'll split the price.
Speaker 1: It's with you, Yeah, let's get rich off this instead
Speaker 1: of just a Backstreet Boys signature. Okay exactly. AJ McLean
Speaker 1: is with us. It's the Ice Smell Pop Culture Podcast.
Speaker 1: We have so much more to get into. I mean,
Speaker 1: we got to talk millennium, that millium two point oh,
Speaker 1: we gotta talk about this spear so much going on
Speaker 1: in the world with Backstreet Boys. We'll be right back.
Speaker 1: Stick around, everybody. It's the Ice Smell Pop Culture Podcast
Speaker 1: on I am all In. My name is Easton Allen.
Speaker 1: I'm here with AJ McClean from the Backstreet Boys. We
Speaker 1: were just talking about Millennium first release in nineteen ninety nine,
Speaker 1: just again one of the like you think about the
Speaker 1: top pop albums of all time, that is up the
Speaker 1: top five. I mean it's up there of all time,
Speaker 1: and it's twenty fifth anniversaries coming up.
Speaker 2: I mean, it's here, it's happening, it's happening right now
Speaker 2: as we speak.
Speaker 1: It's it's all around us. Millium two point zero coming
Speaker 1: out in July. What can we expect from that?
Speaker 3: So so this has been a.
Speaker 2: Conversation that I've had with the fellas for honestly for years,
Speaker 2: doing something with Millennium to commemorate our you know, like
Speaker 2: a like a like a a big day at the
Speaker 2: big date. Twenty five years is, you know, a quarter
Speaker 2: of a century. It's a big it's a big freaking deal.
Speaker 3: And you know, soly like.
Speaker 2: Doing a tour or doing these things, that's that's that's
Speaker 2: so much to try to take on.
Speaker 3: So it's like, Okay, what else can we do?
Speaker 2: What else can we do to commemorate this album and
Speaker 2: to do something special for our fans. So we talked
Speaker 2: about re releasing Millennium, but then adding some special sauce
Speaker 2: to Millennium. So there's twenty five songs on Millennium two
Speaker 2: point zero. You have the original Millennium album tom start
Speaker 2: to finish. Then we have I believe six acoustic versions
Speaker 2: of songs from Millennium. Then we have six unheard demos
Speaker 2: from around that time, and then a new single song
Speaker 2: called Hey. So if you were to pre order the album,
Speaker 2: you would get Hey today. That rhyme wasn't meant to
Speaker 2: do that, but it did. He's earnest and as you said,
Speaker 2: it comes out in July. Actually comes out July eleventh,
Speaker 2: which is opening night at Spear Las Vegas for the
Speaker 2: Into the Millennium experience, which is.
Speaker 3: Nobody's ready for this. We're not ready. We're getting ready.
Speaker 3: We're not ready, but we're getting ready. But people are
Speaker 3: not ready for what they're going to experience in this environment.
Speaker 3: But and the other cool thing that I kept telling
Speaker 3: the boys is if we're going to do this, we
Speaker 3: need to recreate the Millennium.
Speaker 2: Yes, like photo shoot, So we literally recreated start for
Speaker 2: shot the album, so the album cover, back of the
Speaker 2: CD and the photos on the inside booklet. We've obviously
Speaker 2: released a couple of those as promotion recently. But it's
Speaker 2: pretty It was pretty surreal to be there on set
Speaker 2: recreating these shots. And we did another promotional thing with
Speaker 2: the exact plane.
Speaker 3: From the I Want It that Way video.
Speaker 2: Wow, the exact plane which apparently has been used in
Speaker 2: a plethora of films.
Speaker 3: The last movie I think it was used in. They
Speaker 3: told us was Ford versus Ferrari.
Speaker 2: Wow, the plane looks like but obviously they can make
Speaker 2: it look nice with you know, posts and whatnot.
Speaker 3: But they wouldn't even let us walk inside the plane.
Speaker 2: They're like, we don't know what's in there, we don't
Speaker 2: know what's growing in there.
Speaker 3: You guys will walk up like you're gonna get in
Speaker 3: the plane, but don't get in the plane.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, put our respirator for you.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you might walk into an alternate universe and never
Speaker 2: come back.
Speaker 3: But like that blew our mind. Like this is the
Speaker 3: actual plane from the video for I Want to That play. Yeah,
Speaker 3: so we pulled out all the stops. Wow.
Speaker 1: Yeah, anyone listening, you got to check out the album
Speaker 1: cover side by side. I was just looking at him
Speaker 1: before we hopped on here.
Speaker 2: It is.
Speaker 1: It's remarkable. I mean, it's perfect, it's a perfect recreation
Speaker 1: and you could just see it's actually boys from twenty
Speaker 1: twenty five versus nineteen ninety nine. The Sphere, My god,
Speaker 1: this sphere. I cannot what a perfect group to be
Speaker 1: the first like pop act at the Sphere.
Speaker 3: Thank you.
Speaker 1: I can't wait to see what you guys come up with.
Speaker 3: Though.
Speaker 1: We're so everyone the cold world is excited about this.
Speaker 1: What like, did you go to some shows there to
Speaker 1: kind of like scout it out or anything? Have you
Speaker 1: seen a show at this weear yet?
Speaker 3: So Nick was on tour, he had already seen I
Speaker 3: believe you two there because Nick actually lives in Las Vegas.
Speaker 3: Excuse me.
Speaker 2: The four of us went to see the Eagles and
Speaker 2: that was our first time in the actual sphere and
Speaker 2: we were just like sensory overload.
Speaker 3: And it was since then, Kevin has gone back to
Speaker 3: see multiple shows.
Speaker 2: There, just to see the difference of how you can
Speaker 2: use the screen with different you know, bands or artists,
Speaker 2: you know, whether it's Ama the DJ.
Speaker 3: He went with Brian. They went and saw the Eagles again.
Speaker 3: They went and saw the Aronofsky film Planet Earth.
Speaker 2: I believe Kevin and I actually I think might be
Speaker 2: going to go see Ed and Co. When they come
Speaker 2: back next month that I really I'm I'm taking my mom.
Speaker 2: I know we're going to like do a business thing
Speaker 2: like walk around the venue and you know stuff. But
Speaker 2: my mom was a huge deadhead, So I'm bringing my mom.
Speaker 2: I'm not going to make her walk all over the place. Yeah,
Speaker 2: but but it is a mind blowing venue. And you know,
Speaker 2: people kept asking us after our previous residency if we
Speaker 2: were ever going to go back to Vegas, and we were,
Speaker 2: you know, farting around with the idea, I'm going back,
Speaker 2: and we obviously wanted to, and people kept asking us,
Speaker 2: are you going to go back to another hotel?
Speaker 3: Are you going to go back to another venue like that?
Speaker 3: Is there any new venues opening up?
Speaker 2: And her management kept it kind of a secret from
Speaker 2: us for a hot second. They're like, we have something
Speaker 2: in the works. We'll let you know when it's one
Speaker 2: hundred percent. We don't want to get you guys all
Speaker 2: ramped up for nothing. And then we had our usual
Speaker 2: weekly weekly call and they and they dropped it on
Speaker 2: us and we were like like shins on the floor,
Speaker 2: like what And we were just flabbergasted. And you know,
Speaker 2: when we put up the first nine shows and they
Speaker 2: sold out immediately. We were like, okay, then we're just
Speaker 2: gonna keep adding dates until you don't want us there anymore.
Speaker 2: And you know, we've we've set a goal we you know,
Speaker 2: we would love to do you know, gosh, forty to
Speaker 2: fifty dates there if we possibly can, but who knows.
Speaker 2: But you know, right right now, you know, we had
Speaker 2: eighteen shows and it's it's just it's just unbelievable. And
Speaker 2: the process is really cool, you know. I mean, we're
Speaker 2: working with a with an incredible team, you know, Richmond
Speaker 2: and Tone who have been with us from day one.
Speaker 2: Baz who is the true genius when it comes to sphere.
Speaker 2: You know, he's done a lot of the acts there
Speaker 2: as far as the content, the visuals, and you know,
Speaker 2: this whole venue.
Speaker 3: There's nothing like it in the world. It is it
Speaker 3: is one of one in the world, one.
Speaker 2: Hundred and sixty thousand speakers, three hundred foot screen, you know,
Speaker 2: haptic seats that move and vibrate and miss that and
Speaker 2: all this. It's it's unreal. So going through we we
Speaker 2: literally had a four and a half hour, almost five
Speaker 2: hour conference called last week going through every content piece
Speaker 2: and every solm that it's attached to finalize everything, because
Speaker 2: once you start making it, we're off to the races.
Speaker 2: Because it takes about four to five months to make
Speaker 2: the content. You know, where tours we've done before. You know,
Speaker 2: you've got a you've got a decent sized screen on stage.
Speaker 2: It takes about a month to do the content. But
Speaker 2: this is also sixteen K, which is I didn't even
Speaker 2: they made something like that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, the human eye came and see that.
Speaker 3: You know, I'm like, yo, my TV's four K.
Speaker 2: And then you know there's a couple of eight k's
Speaker 2: out there, which everyone's like, this is cool.
Speaker 3: But there's only like five channels that come in eight.
Speaker 2: P by the way, but sixteen K and it can
Speaker 2: only be shot on one camera. There's only one camera
Speaker 2: in the world that can shoot this stuff. So it's
Speaker 2: a really cool experience this process, being able to be
Speaker 2: hands on with our team from content to wardrobe, to musicality,
Speaker 2: to the set list to the stage design. You know,
Speaker 2: it's it's a very immersive experience, and we're going to
Speaker 2: take people on the most insane ride they've ever been
Speaker 2: on in thirty plus years.
Speaker 3: Like nobody's ready, No one is ready.
Speaker 1: Wow, I mean consider that a warning. If you're heading
Speaker 1: to Las Vegas and see the sphere, you are not
Speaker 1: ready for what's coming. I'm excited to see also, like
Speaker 1: what what happens on the outside of the of the sphere, like,
Speaker 1: because that's the thing about it is that on the
Speaker 1: inside there's all this, you know, crazy stuff happening with
Speaker 1: the band on stage and stuff like that, and then
Speaker 1: but on the outside it can project stuff two for
Speaker 1: everyone flying in on the road. I can't wait to
Speaker 1: see what happens when the Spear gets the Backstreet Boys
Speaker 1: fever and it's becomes all night.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I mean, you know, we've you know, so we've obviously
Speaker 2: been on the outside of the screen with you know,
Speaker 2: with the.
Speaker 3: Dates and whatnot. When we were there, myself, Kevin and
Speaker 3: Brian went there to do some production things and test
Speaker 3: some things for the show. And I was staying at
Speaker 3: the wind which is like directly across the street, and
Speaker 3: I walked into my room and I hadn't you know,
Speaker 3: people had posted it, and we had obviously known.
Speaker 2: From our team what was going to be on the
Speaker 2: outside of the dome all but I got to my room,
Speaker 2: opened up the curtains. The second the curtains open up
Speaker 2: were on there. I'm like I couldn't get my phone
Speaker 2: fast enough and I was like I FaceTime my kids.
Speaker 3: I'm like, look look at, look at look at it's
Speaker 3: forget daddy, it's daddy.
Speaker 2: And they were just like, oh my god, that's so cool.
Speaker 2: Like it was, it was such a great moment. You know,
Speaker 2: we still like, we still get tickled Pink. That's the
Speaker 2: thing that people don't realize, like even walking through the
Speaker 2: mall or being in an elevator or listening to the radio.
Speaker 3: And you hear your song, I still get tickled Pink.
Speaker 3: I really do, you know, because again, this is something
Speaker 3: we always wanted and dreamed of.
Speaker 2: And it's it's it's it's truly become a reality, and
Speaker 2: it's just fascinating to me.
Speaker 3: And it's just so humbling, you know.
Speaker 1: I love it. And I was just gonna say, like,
Speaker 1: I mean, you see yourself on the on the sphere
Speaker 1: and you're all excited, like this is a man who's
Speaker 1: you've been on how many billboards and sides of buildings,
Speaker 1: and like, you know, this is shouldn't be new, but
Speaker 1: like I love that. It's just exciting and thrilling every
Speaker 1: time it happens, that's so cool.
Speaker 2: Well yeah, I mean that's the thing, like we always say,
Speaker 2: you know, we're forever growing as a band, and what
Speaker 2: is the next progression for us? Where do we go
Speaker 2: from here? We just had a massive tour, you know,
Speaker 2: two hundred and twenty seven shows around the world, took
Speaker 2: us four years, but that's because of COVID.
Speaker 3: But I mean literally took.
Speaker 2: DNA around the world, went to places we had never
Speaker 2: been Africa, Saudi Arabia, other parts of Europe that we
Speaker 2: had never been to, and we got to bring our
Speaker 2: music and our show there and meet the fans that
Speaker 2: have been dying for us to come there for decades.
Speaker 3: And then it's like, okay, now where do we go
Speaker 3: from here?
Speaker 2: Like what's the next the next progression, the next evolution
Speaker 2: in our career. And we're like, well, again, a tour
Speaker 2: is not going to happen because we just did it tour.
Speaker 2: But you know we talked about a residency. Okay, cool,
Speaker 2: we've done that. But if we do that, we we
Speaker 2: got a we got to up the Annie and then
Speaker 2: this happens and it's like, Okay, that's the biggest Annie
Speaker 2: you can up in the world. So it's like, Okay,
Speaker 2: now we got to really level up. And it's like
Speaker 2: this is you know, when when the residency thing became
Speaker 2: a vibe, you know, when we first heard about Las
Speaker 2: Vegas residencies, a few of us looked at it with
Speaker 2: that kind of negative vibe, like, oh, this is this
Speaker 2: is like a sellout thing, like this is where you
Speaker 2: go if you if you can't tour anymore where it's
Speaker 2: not that at all, you know. Then you get like
Speaker 2: the best of the best, like Elton John and Celine
Speaker 2: Yon broke the mold in Vegas.
Speaker 3: And then you get Brittany, which just changed the game.
Speaker 2: And then now it's like everybody wants a residency because
Speaker 2: that's it's really easy on the body, it's convenient, it's
Speaker 2: an international hub. You know, your fans from everywhere can
Speaker 2: I'm to Vegas and see you. But then it's like,
Speaker 2: now the next level for everybody is I want to
Speaker 2: get to Spear yep, you know, because Spear is like again,
Speaker 2: it's the biggest venue in the world, and it's the
Speaker 2: and it's it's it's one of a kind. To me,
Speaker 2: Spear blows blows away like a stadium tour. Any of
Speaker 2: that this is unless you're Taylor Swift, then it's definitely
Speaker 2: worth it because her show is effing incredible. I'm a
Speaker 2: big Swift because of my kids and she's just a sweetheart.
Speaker 2: But but like this is, you know, like I keep
Speaker 2: telling myself, man, I would love to see Coldplay with
Speaker 2: be insane in that venue.
Speaker 3: Yes, God, I mean, Share would be insane that venue.
Speaker 2: Lenny Kravitz, like, you know, people that have a catalog
Speaker 2: of music over decades, like.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know what I mean, Like there's and I.
Speaker 2: Bet you right now, those three artists I just needed
Speaker 2: at some point are gonna be at Spear.
Speaker 3: I g I don't know when. I truly don't.
Speaker 2: I don't have any inside information, but I would bet
Speaker 2: good money that two out of three of them are
Speaker 2: gonna end up at Spirit at some point.
Speaker 4: I know.
Speaker 1: I keep thinking, like where do you Like I was
Speaker 1: gonna say, like, like, you guys have done so much
Speaker 1: as a band. You've toured everywhere, You've played every possible play,
Speaker 1: and Sphere is like one of the last places you
Speaker 1: know you could possibly conquer. Like what's next? I mean,
Speaker 1: how to play on the moon? Like like what is.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, I mean I guess.
Speaker 2: I mean, you're gonna have to get Brian and I
Speaker 2: in a in a space ship first, because we're not
Speaker 2: real keen on that kind of stuff.
Speaker 3: You know. I don't even do roller coasters.
Speaker 2: Really, yeah, I'm not a fan of roller coasters, and
Speaker 2: Brian and I are both not really good fans of
Speaker 2: like heights.
Speaker 3: So yeah, being.
Speaker 2: Shot into space, you know, to knock me out and
Speaker 2: then wake me up maybe, But yeah, I mean, honestly,
Speaker 2: you bring up a good point.
Speaker 3: Where do you go from here? You know?
Speaker 2: I think eventually hopefully getting back in the studio and
Speaker 2: at some point making a brand new album I think
Speaker 2: is something on the you know, down the road.
Speaker 3: But also we all.
Speaker 2: Have individual, you know, things that we want to do
Speaker 2: in our lives.
Speaker 3: You know, I have solo music.
Speaker 2: I have a solo record I'm finishing and a single
Speaker 2: coming out in the next month, and just you know,
Speaker 2: I have a TV show on Netflix coming out. There's
Speaker 2: a lot of things happening, you know, and each of
Speaker 2: us has different things going on in our lives that
Speaker 2: we want to have that balance where we let each
Speaker 2: other do what we want to do, but also always
Speaker 2: remember to come.
Speaker 3: Back to what is what is the epicenter of life,
Speaker 3: which is the group. It is the number one priority.
Speaker 3: So who knows, I mean, you know.
Speaker 2: We might take take some time off. I mean, who knows,
Speaker 2: if we do fifty or sixty shows at Spear we
Speaker 2: might take a little break, I don't know, or just
Speaker 2: keep coming back. I mean again, it's doing something in Vegas.
Speaker 2: We found was really like I said, it's very convenient.
Speaker 2: It's easy on our bodies. It's easy for us. You know,
Speaker 2: Nick ended up staying there. I'm probably gonna get a
Speaker 2: place there myself, just to get out of the taxes
Speaker 2: of California. Yeah, you know, but it is a It
Speaker 2: is a very cool city. There's a lot more to
Speaker 2: it than just parties and you know, gambling. You know,
Speaker 2: Vegas really is a very very fast growing city.
Speaker 3: You know, my mom lives there, so you know. Yeah,
Speaker 3: so there's lots of good reasons to stick around.
Speaker 1: And we hope you guys stick around listening. This is
Speaker 1: the Icemell Pop Culture Podcast with AJ McClean from the
Speaker 1: Backstreet Boys. I want to talk about some of this
Speaker 1: stuff you're doing outside of Backstreet here in a second,
Speaker 1: we'll be right back. Then we got to play some commercials.
Speaker 1: Gotta make some money. It's the Icebel Pop Culture Podcast.
Speaker 1: This is Eastern Allen sitting with AJ McClean from the
Speaker 1: Backstreet Boys solo album. You said you have a single
Speaker 1: coming out this month. What can you tell us about it?
Speaker 3: Oh?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I've been working on this record for the better
Speaker 2: part of three years.
Speaker 3: Wow. For a lot of reasons. One, I was a
Speaker 3: little tied up.
Speaker 2: I was traveling the world with these four other guys,
Speaker 2: and so we were touring, so obviously my time was
Speaker 2: pretty limited.
Speaker 3: But also I've gotten very gotten.
Speaker 2: Very particular in my years about my music, and really,
Speaker 2: you know, if you will, about it, because you know,
Speaker 2: in today's world of music, it's not like it was
Speaker 2: in the night in like the late you know, nineties,
Speaker 2: early two thousands, where you had that sophomore album and
Speaker 2: your first project could be okay and then your second
Speaker 2: one blows you up.
Speaker 3: You don't get that here. Now. Today you get one
Speaker 3: shot and that's it.
Speaker 2: You might get a second shot, but it's rare, and
Speaker 2: everything filters through social media, so you know, it's a
Speaker 2: different beast today. So you know, instead of going against
Speaker 2: the grain, I'm trying to go with the flow of
Speaker 2: the water and accept what is, but also, you know,
Speaker 2: make it make sense for me. And so I am
Speaker 2: extremely proud of the body of work that I've done.
Speaker 2: I'm still going back to the studio next month to
Speaker 2: work with some.
Speaker 3: Insane writers and another producer friend of mine, just to
Speaker 3: see if there's anything left in the tank that I have,
Speaker 3: which I know there is. There always is.
Speaker 2: I mean, my wife has said countless times, she's like,
Speaker 2: you realize you have like six albums that you could
Speaker 2: put out right now. I'm like, she's like, just put
Speaker 2: it out already, damn it. I'm like, I know, it's
Speaker 2: a process, ya da.
Speaker 3: Fans are like, are you ever going to put out anything?
Speaker 3: We're waiting? So yes, I am.
Speaker 2: Sorry to make everyone wait, but I will reassure you
Speaker 2: all it's definitely worth the wait. So yeah, next month
Speaker 2: April beginning of May will be the single, and then
Speaker 2: I'm looking to put out the first of two EPs
Speaker 2: in the summer, and then follow up with the second
Speaker 2: EP probably in the fall, and then the deluxe album
Speaker 2: top of twenty six.
Speaker 3: That's the that's the planet. We'll see if it goes
Speaker 3: that way, but that's the plan.
Speaker 1: So much music to look forward to, from Ajmclean and
Speaker 1: then before went to Brig you were talking about you
Speaker 1: have a Netflix show in the works.
Speaker 3: I do. It's called Building the Band.
Speaker 2: I'm actually about to do my final vo although they
Speaker 2: keep saying that to me and I keep doing more
Speaker 2: vos and I'm like, I'm like, but I thought, but
Speaker 2: I thought last week was the last vo.
Speaker 3: But no, it's been an absolute pleasure.
Speaker 2: What an amazing experience, an incredible team and the talent
Speaker 2: on this show. We've really set the bar high.
Speaker 3: You know, compared to other shows.
Speaker 2: And I and I will never talk poorly about any
Speaker 2: other shows, you know, because they all have their niche,
Speaker 2: they all have their fan following. You know, some shows
Speaker 2: are based on the talent. Other shows are based on
Speaker 2: the judges or vice versa. But this show really is
Speaker 2: driven by these amazing talent team. They call them kids
Speaker 2: because they're like in their twenties. They could be my kid. God,
Speaker 2: that's freaking me out when I say that out love,
Speaker 2: But you know, got to work with an incredible team
Speaker 2: and Nicole Scherzinger, Kelly Rowland and unfortunately the late Liam Paigne.
Speaker 3: You know, this was the last project that he worked on.
Speaker 3: Him and I got very close. We became really good friends.
Speaker 3: We had known each other over the years.
Speaker 2: Obviously, you know, we had cross paths with him and
Speaker 2: the rest of the Fellas over the years, but but
Speaker 2: this was like real quality time and so you know,
Speaker 2: just kind of figuring things out moving forward.
Speaker 3: But we would love to dedicate the show to.
Speaker 2: Him and to his fans and uh and to his family.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 2: But it is a I wish I could say more,
Speaker 2: but it's it's going to break the stigma, completely, break
Speaker 2: the stigma of how bands form and how bands come
Speaker 2: to be. You know, it's it's it's truly a show
Speaker 2: like no other. And you know, like I said, we've
Speaker 2: really set the bar high with the level of talent
Speaker 2: on this show. And they are just incredible, incredible talent.
Speaker 1: So that's building the band on Netflix. What a special
Speaker 1: thing to be a part of. I'm excited to see that.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I mean when yeah, I was like, when they asked
Speaker 2: me to be the host, I was like, okay, you know,
Speaker 2: and they you know, came to me and we have
Speaker 2: many many conversations before we started filming.
Speaker 3: And I just thought it was really really sweet how they.
Speaker 2: I don't want to say leaned on me, but they
Speaker 2: leaned on me in a sense of like that group mentality.
Speaker 3: Same thing with Nicole because both of us come from groups.
Speaker 2: And being able to kind of not only be a
Speaker 2: host but kind of a somewhat of a mentor as
Speaker 2: well on the show. And you know, obviously I've got
Speaker 2: thirty plus years experience, but at the same time, I
Speaker 2: will never tell someone how to be I want you
Speaker 2: to be yourself, and I'll just tell you my experience
Speaker 2: and what I went through and how I did this,
Speaker 2: this and this, and then you're going to do it,
Speaker 2: how you're going to do it. And I've got to
Speaker 2: have those conversations with these amazingly talented people and it
Speaker 2: was just really really fun. It was so surreal, it
Speaker 2: was really cool. You know, again, generally for the world
Speaker 2: to see it. And I'm manifesting season two and beyond,
Speaker 2: so you know, everyone's got to tune in once we
Speaker 2: make the announcement.
Speaker 1: So sorry, we'll watch that on your Netflix app. Aj Mclean'
Speaker 1: has been so much fun. Before I let you go,
Speaker 1: Gilmour Girls is such a coffee is a major fixture
Speaker 1: of this show. Are are you a coffee guy? Do
Speaker 1: you like coffee.
Speaker 2: I mean, yes, I never drank a cup of coffee
Speaker 2: until I moved to California. It's twenty five years ago,
Speaker 2: and Coffee Bean was the first place I went, and
Speaker 2: I was introduced to the white chocolate mocha, and that
Speaker 2: is my go to. I have never I have never
Speaker 2: swayed from it. The only thing that's changed for me
Speaker 2: is the milk. Now it's oat milk.
Speaker 3: You know. It started with soy until I heard that's
Speaker 3: bad for dudes, and then I was like, all right.
Speaker 2: Then I went to almond and I'm like, occasionally regular milk,
Speaker 2: but it's kind of and then I tried to oak
Speaker 2: it up milk, which actually, surprisingly is good.
Speaker 3: I won't drink that on its own, but and coffee,
Speaker 3: it's actually you got a really sweet taste. But then
Speaker 3: oat milk's my go to.
Speaker 2: But once you have kids, coffee becomes your lifeline. Coffee
Speaker 2: is like the air I breathe, not so much anymore.
Speaker 2: You know, my girls are I say grown, they're twelve
Speaker 2: and eight, but they're twelve and eight going on thirty five.
Speaker 2: But they're grown in the sense that they're not running
Speaker 2: me ragged like they were when they were younger. Although
Speaker 2: they still they still do oh yeah in a different way.
Speaker 2: But but yeah, coffee is coffee is life.
Speaker 3: Coffee is life.
Speaker 2: And it's funny that coffee is like surrounding around Gilmore girls.
Speaker 2: When you think about same thing I said about friends,
Speaker 2: like everything was based around a coffee shop. There's something
Speaker 2: about coffee that brings people together. It's so true being
Speaker 2: good music man, like, that's coffee to go. Yeah, I mean, honestly,
Speaker 2: we should open up a coffee shop that just has
Speaker 2: just great music playing, you know, different themes during the week, eighties, nineties,
Speaker 2: two thousands, whatever.
Speaker 3: I think that'd be awesome.
Speaker 1: I love it. I love it so much. You're the best.
Speaker 1: We're such big fans, and thank you change the genies
Speaker 1: with your time. So excited for the Spear, all the
Speaker 1: new music, everything you got going on, can't wait.
Speaker 3: Thank you, Thank you so much. I really appreciate you all.
Speaker 4: Dot Hey, everybody to forget.
Speaker 1: Follow us on Instagram at I Am all In podcast
Speaker 1: and email us at Gilmore at iHeartRadio dot com.