Teen Girls Adore Backstreet Boys

Moncton Times & Transcript, January 3rd 1998

Ottawa

Their ga-ga fans wanted them to come clean-where oh where, are those teen heart-throb Backstreet Boys hidding their girlfriends? "If they deny it , we know it's true" a fan , said Friday as she waited for 6 hours in sub-zero temperatures to get a glimpse of the Florida-based band that is dominating the teen music scene. The quintet needed far more police protection than the prime minister in Canada's Capital yesterday, where they held their only press conference on their five-city Canadian tour. Screaming fans, almost exclusively young and female, were rewarded with autographs as they lined up amid heavy security outside the National Press building to touch one of their idols, even pass along phone numbers, photos, or a teddy bear or two . Inside, the pop phenomena tried to set the record straight on their love lives. "We always try to be honest"said Kevin Richardson, 25, the band's oldest star. " we try to date whenever we can, we're on the road constantly. Speaking for myself, I don't have a girlfriend" .Added 19 year-old A.J. McLean :"We're all dating, nothing steady, nothing solid." The boys were to perform in Ottawa last night as part of the Canadian tour, which includes five nights in their mega-fan base of Montreal. The six-year-old band first took off in Europe and the European influence in Quebec got Backstreet Boys rolling in Canada, where they're now capturing young hearts across the country. "They're just so special," said a 14 year old fan, whose personal fave is A.J. ."They're good singers , they're good dancers, they're good looking." The boys say that one of their resolutions for 1998 is to find a little more down time so they can gain normal life experiences that could become fodder for their music. "We need some time for that,"conceded Richardson. Right now, the boys with the clean-cut good looks and hip-hop moves are finding life a little busy as they climb the charts around the world. They're just starting to take off in their massice home market in the U.S. But they have few complaints about their hectic lives. "Being away from your families and being away from home, that's probably the worst thing, "said Nick Carter, who at 17 is the baby of the bunch. The boys have been compared to the New Kids On The Block and other teen dazzlers who have flashed across pop heavens the quickly died out. But they say they're planning to be around for a good long time. "As long as we stick together, which we have no problems doing, we can continue this success,"said Brian Littrell. One of the boy's goals for the coming year is to collaborate with some female singers, including Quebec's Celine Dion.