news archives

September 30, 2002 - Musicislifeonline.com has video clips of Sarah Martin and her Backstreet Boys fiance AJ McLean at the Mint earlier this month in Los Angeles. The server is getting hammered over there though so you may want to try downloading later, but check it out here.

September 30, 2002 - NickCarter.2ya.com has photos from the taping of NBC's 'American Dreams', where Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter makes a guest appearance. Check out the pictures here.

September 30, 2002 - Popdirt.com's previous poll asking readers if you prefer the solo debut video from *NSYNC's Justin Timberlake or Backstreet Boys' Nick Carter had most voting for Nick. 'Help Me' received 63.5% of the vote, while Timberlake's 'Like I Love You' only received 36.5%. For complete results, click here.

September 29, 2002 - Gemma Tarlach of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel profiled teen pop idols Justin Timberlake of *NSYNC, Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys, Christina Aguilera and country girl LeAnn Rimes, all whom want to emphasize their independence and maturity with their new albums. As for Carter, Evan Serpick of Entertainment Weekly said, "I have a good feeling about Nick Carter. He's doing this the right way, low key, not on the cover of every magazine." Read more.

September 29, 2002 - Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter will be appearing at the Mall of America on October 31st at 7:00 p.m. in Bloomington, Minnesota. Nick will sign autographs for the release of his new solo album, 'Now or Never', which is to be released October 29th. Read more.

September 29, 2002 - The transcript of Howie Dorough's interview on XL 106.7 in Orlando has been posted. Howie was asked about whether there was a timeline for the new Backstreet Boys album. "No. Ya know whats really weird, actually we were originally talking. Umm. Hopefully something out in August, but as we all know thats gone already. Uhhh. So now we're shooting for sometime the end of December. Maybe the beginning of next year sometime. As far as the kinda things we are looking for, we're really hoping to put something out as quick as possible, but at the same time, this album to us, we want it to be like our 'Millenium' album again. We want it to be one of our best albums and we know that we're, ya know, creating, we're experimenting, we're trying to evolve. And uum.. So that hopefully we can put a stamp in the music industry again for another ten years. Actually coming up in this April will be ten years for us." Read more.

September 29, 2002 - The youngest Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter is releasing his first solo single in the UK on 7 October. Newsround caught up with him to find out about life without the Backstreet Boys. The transcription of the chat has cleary been edited, but anyway is interesting to read what Nick has to say about Justin Timberlake given the way Jive's marketing them against each other. You can find the transcript on here.

September 28, 2002 - Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter tells Top of the Pops that he's not interested in hooking up with Britney Spears now that she and *NSYNC's Justin Timberlake have split. He said, "Would I make a move on Britney? Erm... I don't think so. I don't really want to go where Justin's been. I don't know her personally so... nah!"

September 28, 2002 - Anonymous writes "Renea, a friend of mine, heard Howie on her local radio station yesterday and gave me a summary of what was said. I thought you all might like to read it so here it is: I was listening to XL 106.7 in Orlando yesterday as I was coming home from the post office on my CD player. I just turned it on while I was walking and I heard "As Long As You Love Me" playing in the background, and then I heard the announcer announce Howie, and of course, almost dropping the CD player, I had to steady myself and not walk into traffic." Read more.

September 28, 2002 - Globe Photos has pictures of the 'Top of the Pops' show at BBC TV Studios in London on Thursday which featured Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter and Australian pop star Holly Valance. Check out the photos here.

September 28, 2002 - Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter stopped by RIX FM in Sweden on Tuesday where he talked about the importance of eating breakfast every morning, how he loves being in Sweden, how he was dating a girl in Sweden but he's single now, how he loves his fans and likes to hang out with them, and more. Nick called his job "one of the funnest jobs in the world." Nick then sang a few bars of 'Help Me'. Listen ot the four minute interview here.

September 28, 2002 - Danish newspaper BT caught up with Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter and asked the singer if he had tried drugs. "Yes, I’ve come across things," he said. "All drugs are alike. It´s probably over with that sort of thing for me. People start with drugs because they're missing something in their life." Carter also talked about his debut solo effort, 'Now or Never', which wasn't greeted warmly by his Backstreet bandmates. "The other members of the Backstreet Boys thought it was strange that I started my solo efforts. Now they have come to understand that it was necessary for me. I was very nervous when I played the album for them because they are very picky. But they have accepted it well." Read more.

September 28, 2002 - Launch.com caught up with Kevin Richardson and asked him how things were going on the Backstreet Boys new album. "We are actually, writing, recording, and doing preproduction for our next record," Richardson said on Tuesday (September 24). Kevin says the new album, which he hopes to have out by "early 2003", will touch a lot of genres with a wide range of writers and producers involved. "We've written and had writing sessions with everybody from Glen Ballard to Jermaine Dupri so, I mean, we're covering a wide spectrum there--an R&B and hip-hop producer to a rock producer--and we're doing a lot of writing on our own." Read more.

September 27, 2002 - The official court documents for Thomas Smith vs Backstreet Boys and al. have been released onto the Internet. As was reported at the beginning of the year, Tommy Smith, a former member of BSB's backing band, sued the Backstreet Boys and their record label, alleging that he is a co-writer of 'The Answer To Our Life,' and 'Time,' and deserves to receive payment for their use on 'Black and Blue.' You will need Acrobat Reader to view these documents which can be found here.

September 27, 2002 - Brian Littrell and AJ McLean of Backstreet Boys fame and Brian's wife Leighanne and AJ's fiancee, Sarah Martin appeared on the popular TV show 'Crossing Over With John Edward' earlier today. It was a rather emotional time for all of them. Check out pictures from the show here.

September 27, 2002 - Nick Carter's official website tells fans Nick is in the UK and Europe right now doing a bunch of TV appearances and promoting the new album. The Backstreet Boys star then heads to Asia (Korea and Japan) and returns to the US in mid-October to prepare for the US release of 'Now or Never'. The website will be announcing Nick's late October appearance schedule soon.

September 27, 2002 - Globe magazine reports that the most boring celebrity she ever met was "the dark-haired one with the goatee from the Backstreet Boys. Is his name Kevin? Him." The Globe tried to correct her saying it was AJ McLean, but Kevin Richardson has also frequently sported a goatee.

September 27, 2002 - The duet by Sarah Martin and her Backstreet Boys fiance AJ McLean last Saturday at Mynt has been posted on Sarah's official Yahoo group. Listen to Sarah and AJ perform 'Baby Rise' by joining the group and downloading the song here.

September 27, 2002 - Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter admitted on British morning TV show GMTV that he and Prince William recently went out for a night of clubbing. "I was told to keep it quiet. William and I were kind of kicking it at a club for a little bit. We weren't kicking each other, just kicking it," Carter explained. "Prince William and I were talking man. Just hanging out."

September 27, 2002 - A source talked with MSNBC's Jeannette Walls about Nick Carter's new tattoo saying, "It’s a massive, Asian-inspired thing. He was going on about how happy he is to be out of the Backstreet Boys and that he was so sick of doing the same thing over and over for 10 years that he was ready to get out of music. I think the tattoo is part of an image change for him."

September 26, 2002 - Aftonbladet has more information on the new tattoo that Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter got last month in Sweden, including a photo of Nick and the tattoo artist, Chrille Wagner. "He allready had two small tattoos on his upper arm with two chinese signs," said Wagner. "So I made a Japanese background and worked around his allready existing tattoos. It turned out pretty big." Check out the photo of the pair here and a partial English translation here.

September 26, 2002 - Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter stopped by the Power Hit Radio studios in Sweden. Nick says he loves it in Sweden, and is thinking about getting a place there. Nick says he likes playing basketball and videogames when he has time off, and is learning to write music and play guitar. Nick says he would have regretted it if he hadn't tried to go out on his own. Nick says he and Jive had a tough time deciding between releasing 'Help Me' and 'I Got You' as the first single, but the record company won out with 'Help Me'. Listen to the entire interview here.

September 26, 2002 - LVF writes "Two new Nick Carter songs have been leaked on the Internet. This time these are 2 tracks off the Backstreet Boys star's 'Help Me' single - 'End Of Forever' and 'Payback'. You can download both songs here. As for the reaction of the fans - the absolute favorite is a track, called 'Payback', that has lyrics like:
You say you're sorry now, bet you feel bad about it,
You make it up to me, there ain't no doubt about it...
You must think I'm a fool, that I was born yesterday...
Some kind of 'super sucker' - there's nothing you can say,
You stupid mother fu**er."

September 24, 2002 - Nick Carter is in Sweden right now and he did an interview with NRJ, a Swedish radio. In the interview he answered questions from fans about dating, his tour and the future of the Backstreet Boys. He also admitted to dating Isabelle, the Swedish model who at first he denied their relationship ever existed. The Yahoo group BackstreetGurls4Life has the whole interview. To download it, go here.

September 24, 2002 - BSBfanatic935 writes "OMG! I won a contest and Pollyanna Dorough (singer and also sister to Backstreet Boys star Howie Dorough) called me at my house last night! I was like freaking out! My mom came in my room and was like do you know a Pollyanna? I was like it can't be... and then I answered it and she's like hi this is Pollyanna... and it took me a second and I was like... Dorough? and she's like yeah! lol I ran to tell my parents and then I tried to talk to her but I don't think I was very understanable for the first like 5 minutes lol I was like shaking so bad and had to sit down. and she is soooooo nice and down to earth! it was like talking to a friend (except the whole freaking out part lol) She probably thinks I am such a dork because I blanked out and couldn't really think of anything to ask her lol we talked about BSB (yes they are together and doing good), her career (which she works on everyday writting songs and recorded, ect. and she was close to a record deal but her meeting was on 9/11/01!), and playing the guitar (she does and I'm going to start) and just regualr stuff!" Read more.

September 24, 2002 - Groovevolt.com reports the latest comments by *NSYNC star Justin Timberlake admitted to having oral sex with Britney Spears may send Britney over the edge. "It was a low-blow towards Britney. I really feel sorry for Justin because Britney has so much dirt on him," said a pal of Spears. For more, including an update on Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter dining with an unidentified female in New York, click here.

September 24, 2002 - Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter phoned into the Kidd Kraddick show the other day to talk about his debut solo album 'Now or Never', due out October 29. Nick talked about being on the Latin Grammys, and said he didn't get any grief there for not being Latin. Nick says he likes a lot of old music, saying the producers he worked with were big fans of Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi, so that kind of sound was incorporated in the album. Nick says the Backstreet Boys have no obligations for new albums with Jive, and Kidd told him 'I think you're done' with the Boys. Listen to the 10 minute interview here. [You have to click the 'click here' text on the Nick graphic]

September 24, 2002 - Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter is back in Stockholm and spoke with Aftonbladet about his new album 'Now or Never', due October 29th. Nick said he had to branch out with this solo project explaining, "Ten years in the Backstreet Boys. That is a long time. The same thing over and over again. I was ready to give up music and instead start studying, get myself an education. I know that I can manage whatever I set my goal to do and if I work hard I will get it." Read more.

September 24, 2002 - A fan made a 30-second clip of Backstreet Boys star AJ McLean singing with fiance Sarah Martin on Saturday at the Mynt in Los Angeles. When you go to the site right click on the AJ Live and save it. It will play with real player. Please save it though it saves bandwidth that way more people can access it. Check it out here.

September 24, 2002 - elgato writes "According to an article in the Hollywood Reporter that was posted on www.backstreet.net, Backstreet Boys Kevin Richardson and Howie Dorough are scheduled to testify in a Los Angeles hearing concerning foul accounting practices by record companies. A while back when Kevin hosted TRL, he interviewed his high school math teacher and said she really helped him because now he is auditing his record company. Then he quickly said he was kidding. Others scheduled to testify at the hearing against their record companies for withholding royalties from them are the Dixie Chicks, Clint Black, Joe Walsh of the Eagles, and Don Henley. Read more."

September 24, 2002 - Ananova.com reports Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter is scheduled to headline the MTV Asia Awards 2003 on January 24th in Singapore. Read more.

September 24, 2002 - Jon Wiederhorn of MTV News weighed in on the debut solo album from Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter, whose album 'Now Or Never' drops October 29. Check out his remarks on the twelve tracks, which were paired down from 37 tracks, here.

September 24, 2002 - Anonymous writes "Backstreet Boys fan site Dirty Little Secrets reports earlier this week, the big Backstreet Boys news item was about Brian Littrell. Reports indicated that Brian and Leighanne had served as judges for a Radio Star Contest on Star94 in Atlanta, although no one could confirm whether or not the Littrell's took part in the event." Read more.

September 24, 2002 - Justin Timberlake told Quddus on TRL today that rivalry talk with Nick Carter, "It's kinda old. Kinda old." When Quddus said what they're doing is different, Justin said, "Yeah, totally. I like that song. It's a good song." Read more.

September 23, 2002 - Backstreet Boys fan site dirtylittlsecrets.cjb.net reports Nick Carter was interviewed on Canada's YTV Hit List, and asked whether he'd do certain activities "Now or Never". Some of the things Nick said "never" to were sky diving, bungee jumping from the CN Tower, and Wrestling The Rock. Things he said "now" to included arm wrestling Eminem, doing the tango with Shakira, skinny dipping, climbing Mount Everest, growing a beard like Brad Pitt, shaving his head, and most importantly, when asked if he would record another Backstreet Boys album, Nick very positively said "soon" with a "for sure kind of look on his face", according to a viewer.

September 23, 2002 - A fan who met up with Backstreet Boys star AJ McLean on Saturday night when fiance Sarah Martin performed has fans *NSYNC fans buzzing -- and may explain why JC Chasez was wearing the Jive/BMG unfriendly onlyartist.com t-shirt at the MTV Video Music Awards. The fan wrote on whodamaninc.com: "...Someone brings up Justin Timberlake and AJ says that he really liked Justin's performance at the VMA's. I gave him this look like 'Are you serious?' Apparently he was. Okay, whatever AJ, lol. And then he says that he's been talking to JC a lot lately and that JC is really angry with Jive because they are putting all kinds of promotion and money into Justin's album but will not back JC at all. Evidently JC is having to go out and get his own producers, writers, EVERYTHING. And I guess JC and Justin aren't speaking right now. Then he said that he thinks that Justin's voice blows Nick's out of the water. My jaw dropped open when I heard that but he also said that Justin's voice blows his voice out of the water too. So, I don't think he was really dissing Nick, I guess just expressing his opinion."

September 23, 2002 - rachelle_canada writes "Last night, Sarah Martin performed at the Mint. You can check out pictures from the performance, including some of her and fiance and Backstreet Boys star AJ McLean whom she performed a duet with, here. Also, some of those lucky enough to catch the performance live reveal details of the night at LiveDaily here."

September 23, 2002 - BSBfanatic935 writes "Backstreet Boy Brian Littrell and his wife, actress Leighanne Littrell, will appear on the psychic show 'Crossing Over' with John Edwards. Rumor has it that they both made a connection with the deceased of their choice. The show is scheduled to air Thursday, September 26. Check your local listings for station and time."

September 23, 2002 - In this weeks Entertainment Weekly, Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter's new single 'Help Me' was one of their "the week" singles. They compared his rock/pop single with Avril Lavinge's 'Complicated' single. They graded Nick's single as C,

September 22, 2002 - According to www.allaccess.com, Nick Carter's 'Help Me', the debut solo effort from the Backstreet Boys star, is the most added song of the week. The song was added to more than 80 radio stations. The success of the video on MTV's TRL may have something to do with it. After the video made it to the number one spot and Jive sent out thank-yous to fans, requests for the song blew up big time.

September 22, 2002 - Backstreet Boys star Nick will be doing a live webchat on bbc.co.uk/totp (the Top Of The Pops Website) on Thursday 26th September at 6pm till 6.30pm (UK time). There will also be a TV trail for this on Thursday 26th right after 'Neighbours', so log on and get a chance to ask Nick the questions you've always wanted to. Also on the website will be a competition to win signed single artwork. Nick's video will be on there for 2 weeks as well as a chance to hear his new single 'Help Me'.

September 22, 2002 - LVF writes "Nick Carter's site on EfanGuide, nickcarter.2ya.com has videos of the Backstreet Boys star on Saturday Show in UK this morning. Videos include a surprise meeting with a fan and 'Help Me' performed live."

September 22, 2002 - Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter will appear on the special Disney show called 'For The Teens'. He will perform with several artist like Enrique Iglesias, Christina Aguilera, Nelly, and Truth Hurts. This show will be aired on Disney Channel, November 29, 2002.

September 21, 2002 - Amazon.com sales rank figures show *NSYNC star Justin Timberlake having the most anticipated upcoming pop release with a sales rank figure of #94 with his solo debut 'Justified'. Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter sees himself in the #360 spot with his 'Now or Never' solo debut. Rounding out the list is Christina Aguilera, whose 'Stripped' is #831 on the Amazon.com sales rank list.

September 21, 2002 - Kevin Richardson was on hand at the 2002 Johnnie Walker Blue Gentlemen's Suite in preparation for the 2002 Emmys. This causes speculation that the Backstreet Boy will be attending the TV awards show on Sunday night.

September 21, 2002 - Teen Scene magazine chatted with Aaron Carter about the looming album battle between his brother and Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter and rival Justin Timberlake of *NSYNC. Asked about 'Now or Never', Aaron commented, "I love all the songs. Nick is an amazing singer. I look up to him. He is great! He isn't going to be a flop. And I'm 99.9% sure that he will kick Justin Timberlake's butt." Asked if Nick is feeling some pressure to win the stand-off with Timberlake, Aaron said, "Well he really isn't even considered competition. Nick is a much more talented performer. *NSYNC wanted to be like Backstreet Boys. Now everytime my brother (Nick) does something Justin Timberlake is always following him. Basically Justin is just following in his footsteps. Nick has wanted to be solo for four or five years now and then Justin heard about it and figured he had to try it too." Read more.

September 21, 2002 - TeenHollywood.com (WENN) reports Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter says despite his arrest outside a Tampa, Florida, club in January, he's "no Tommy Lee." Nick said, "To this day, I swear on my soul, I didn't do anything wrong. I'm no Tommy Lee." He added of his community service punishment, "I got to visit some sick kids and it was awesome. These kids were so happy. Seriously, I want to thank the Tampa Police Department for arresting me." Read more.

September 21, 2002 - Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter was interviewed by GMTV on Friday where he talked about his debut solo album 'Now Or Never'. Nick says all the attention on him is odd but excitingwith the solo project, and he feels he can handle the pressure of being a solo artist. Nick says this is something new he wanted to try, but he would love to get back with the Backstreet Boys. Download and watch the interview here.

September 20, 2002 - Z100.com (WENN) reports that the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC, along with other pop acts Hear'Say and Liberty X, have been banned from UK's Virgin radio. If these acts are even mentioned on the radio station, the DJ's have promised to pay a $15 fine. Virgin boss Paul Jackson says, "Virgin Radio plays real music and we've had enough of these search-for-a-star programs. They don't get on our playlist and now we don't even want them on our say-list." Read more.

September 20, 2002 - Nick Carter's official site sent out a thank you message/west coast spoiler to fans who helped vote Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter and his debut solo video 'Help Me' to #1 on MTV's Total Request Live, breaking *NSYNC star Justin Timberlake's four day streak at the top spot with 'Like I Love You'. They encouraged fans, "If you want Nick to stay #1 you have to vote A LOT because everyone else is voting for their favorite as much or even way more than you! So to make a difference for Nick everyone has to vote A LOT!!!" Next time the website may want to wait until fans on the west coast actually see the broadcast.

September 20, 2002 - Nick Carter's official site has samples of every track off his 'Now Or Never' album to listen to. The Backstreet Boys star sees his debut solo album drop October 29th. Listen to the tracks here.

September 20, 2002 - It's the battle of the by-themselves boy band boys! MuchMusic took *NSYNC star Justin Timberlake's 'Like I Love You' and Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter's 'Help Me' videos and timed them out to see how each boy was handling things all on their own. Check it out here.

September 18, 2002 - Searches for Nick Carter topped all his Backstreet Boys bandmates as usual, though the disparity got even bigger now that he's prepping his debut solo release 'Now Or Never'. For the month of August on pay-per search engine overture.com, 'Nick Carter' was searched for 54,587 times. The next month popular member... Brian Littrell, with only 6,817 searches. References to Willa Ford and his racing team were part of several searches as well. For a complete list of Nick Carter searches and misspellings (though the sequence of several terms is incorrect), read here.

September 18, 2002 - Anonymous writes "The dates for Backstreet Boys star Howie Dorough's annual 'Lupus Cruise' have been announced. This Cruise is part of the fundraising efforts for the Dorough Lupus Foundation.The cruise leaves Miami on December 15th for a 7 night, 8 day cruise around the Eastern Caribbean. For more details visit their website."

September 18, 2002 - The official site for Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter sent out a message to fans today asking them to vote for 'Help Me' on MTV's Total Request Live. The e-mail states, "If you want Nick to get to #1 you have to vote A LOT because everyone else is voting as much or even way more than you! So to make a difference for Nick everyone has to vote ALOT...A TON..OFTEN!!! You get it?"

September 18, 2002 - Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter phoned into MTV's Total Request Live on Tuesday to debut his new video 'Help Me' on the show. Nick tells Quddus he doesn't "necessarily want to get involved in all the competition thing and everything" with *NSYNC's Justin Timberlake. "If it does really well I mean that's great but I'm just so happy to be able to do it and the fact that it's even gonna be played on TV." Read on for a transcript.

September 18, 2002 - Shan4BSB on the Backstreet Boys forum at LiveDaily.com posted photos of Nick Carter from outside the KIIS FM studios on Monday night. Check them out here.

September 18, 2002 - Today, Backstreet Boys star Howie Dorough, on behalf of The Dorough Lupus Foundation, presented a $165,000 check for Lupus Research to the Arthritis Foundation. The check presentation ceremony was in Atlanta, Georgia. The foundation will also be presenting another grant in the amount of $50,000 to Dr. Bev Hahns at the UCLA hospital, in Los Angeles, at an undetemined future date.

September 18, 2002 - Howie's Sister Pollyanna Dorough: Hey Everyone, Please join Howie, my family and I on October 26th 2002 in Washington D.C. for the third annual Unity Award Show. The event will be held at the prestigious Hartke Theater on the Catholic University Campus. I will be co-hosting the event and performing the song "Fly to Heaven" with my brother Howie. In addition, our family will be presented the "Inspiration Award" for all our efforts with the Dorough Lupus Foundation. For more information, log on to www.ucmva.com. Read more.

September 18, 2002 - TeenMusic.com (WENN) reports that the Backstreet Boys are in crisis with the solo career of Nick Carter. While Nick preps to release 'Now Or Never' next month, his bandmate Kevin Richardson admits, "We haven't even started to record another album."

September 18, 2002 - Michael Sneed of the Chicago Sun-Times reports Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter threw a tantrum at the Arie Crown Theatre Friday when he found out there were no chicken fingers for him in the Green Room. Nick threatened to not to perform for the concert for Ronald McDonald House Charities 'Awards of Excellence' benefit gala if he didn't get his chicken fingers. Fortunately, he got them, but he received the least amount of applause at the show.

September 17, 2002 - popdirt.com's new poll asks now that you've just seen Nick Carter's new video, whether you prefer the debut solo music video from the Backstreet Boys star or *NSYNC's Justin Timberlake with 'Like I Love You'. Vote here.

September 17, 2002 - MTV News spoke with former New Kids on the Block member Joey McIntyre and former New Edition member Johnny Gill, who weighed in on the prospects for the solo careers of *NSYNC star Justin Timberlake and his Backstreet Boys rival Nick Carter. "Justin's hitting the ground running, and Nick's been away for a while," McIntyre explained. "It's only been a year, but it's going to be harder for him. The segue wasn't as quick. Justin's done some stuff to make his segue a little bit easier. He has aligned a lot of people in his corner. He's really not missing a beat. Business-wise, it's a smart move." Read more of their comments here.

September 17, 2002 - USA Today reports Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys is taping his acting debut today and Tuesday for NBC's new 'American Dreams', a retro drama built around the legendary dance/music show American Bandstand. Carter just completed recording 'Come a Little Bit Closer' and 'She Cried' for his role on the Nov. 3 episode as Jay of Jay & The Americans. The show, which premieres at 8 p.m. ET/PT Sept. 29, showcases Michelle Branch as Lesley Gore (singing 'You Don't Own Me') in its Oct. 6 episode.

September 17, 2002 - Launch.com has the debut solo video for Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter available for streaming. Check out 'Help Me' here.

September 17, 2002 - After seeing the debut of Nick Carter's debut solo video 'Help Me', fans on the Backstreet Boys forum at LiveDaily.com are in deep discussion on whether the object momentarily sticking out of Nick's mouth was a cigarette, a french fry, a lollipop, or a straw, and the implications if it was a cigarette. Check out an inconclusive tiny video capture here and read the debate here.

September 17, 2002 - Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter was just in the studio with JoJo on KIIS FM in Los Angeles tonight, and fans have posted video captures from the webcam in the station's studios. Check them out here.

September 16, 2002 - Searches for boybands on pay-per search engine Overture.com bare surprising results as to the most searched for boyband. The Backstreet Boys outpaced *NSYNC in searches in August, as 203,624 searched for either Backstreet Boys, Backstreet, or BSB while 177,607 searched for all variants of *NSYNC (N Sync, N'Sync, etc.). Some groups no doubt were helped by their generic name (ie. Blue, Wave, and Five), while bottoming the list were groups such as Evan and Jaron, Vi3, Dakota Moon, and Northern Line. For a complete list of the most searched for boybands, read here.

September 16, 2002 - Susanna Homan of the Chicago Sun-Times sent pals Katie Wallace and Brooke Johnson to check out the after-party for the KISS-FM concert last weekend at Le Passage. The girls say "Christian Burns from BBMak was sporting major Euro-style, while Backstreet Boy Nick Carter looked a little 'tired'--we tried to get his picture, but he was not in his most Cosmo Girl-cover boy state." Read more.

September 16, 2002 - In a transcript of Nick Carter's interview with BBC1's The Saturday Show, he said "I’m going what I’m doing right now and I wanna get in the studio with the guys later on in the year." Read on for the rest of the transcript.

September 14, 2002 - EW.com has outtakes of Justin Timberlake's cover story in Entertainment Weekly. Besides photos, they have Justin address the *NSYNC star becoming the new Michael Jackson, going solo, songwriting, women, Janet Jackson, Britney Spears, Eminem, his influences, competing with Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys, teen pop, his solo debut, and more. Check out the photos and the quotes here.

September 14, 2002 - Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter sent out a message to fans on the group's mailing list saying, "Hey this is Nick, first off I want to thank all of you for supporting me and BSB for all this time. I have a solo record coming out October 29th called 'Now or Never,' and my new single...'Help Me' is now at radio. You can check it out online at www.n-carter.com. I hope you guys like it! You can always call your local radio station and let them know you wanna hear it more! Thanks for all the love and support, see you soon!"

September 14, 2002 - Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys joins the WGN-TV morning news team on Friday to talk about his new solo release and even sing a few bars from 'Help Me'. Check out a video clip of the interview here.

September 14, 2002 - Groovevolt.com has more details on Nick Carter's debut solo effort 'Now or Never', due out October 29. Nick says the album will see a change in style of music from the normal Backstreet sound, "In the Backstreet Boys, all the stuff we were writing was like, 'I’ll Never Break Your Heart,' But I wanted to write the opposite... I wanted my songs to have that fun type-vibe," Carter said. Read more.

September 13, 2002 - Jessica Simpson will be on the Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn tonight, likely to talk about her cameo in 'That '70s Show'. Craig's other guests will be Ice Cube and Morrissey. Check your local listings. 

September 12, 2002 - Have you ever wanted to have breakfast with Backstreet Boy Brian Littrell? Well here's your chance as the Brian Littrell Healthy Heart Club for Kids presents 'Breakfast with Brian' at the ESPN Zone restaurant in New York City on October 26, 2002. One hundred guests will get the opportunity to meet Brian and his family and eat breakfast with the golden-voiced Backstreet Boy. Admission to the event is $250.00 per person. Each paid admission ticket includes breakfast, a meet-n-greet with Brian and his family, a chance to bid on some one-on-one sports time with Brian, a live auction filled with Backstreet Boys items and some of Brian's own personal belongings, a goodie bag filled with unique items, and other great surprises. For more information, click here.

September 12, 2002 - Nick Carter has something new. Before 'Now or Never' is released in October 29, he is ready to release a book called 'Brotherhood'. It will be published in September 2002 (no date yet) and you can already pre order it on amazon.com. Brotherhood is probably the result of a project that the young singer started on 1998, and it would have experiences that he has had being a member of the Backstreet Boys.

September 12, 2002 - Ted Casablanca of E! Online reports Howie Dorough was spotted hanging out with some pals at the Groove on the Universal CityWalk in Orlando. Howie was wearing a white-collared shirt and jeans as he viewed the Hawaiian Tropic Model finals. The Backstreet Boys star stayed in the VIP room filled with plenty of buxom blonde-shells, Howie. mingled with the glistening babes and even posed for a couple of photos.

September 11, 2002 - Eve performs at her release party for her new CD 'Eve-olution' at Club Snatch on Monday (September 9) in Hollywood, California. Also in attendance were Backstreet Boys star Kevin Richardson, Jennifer Lopez's ex-husband Cris Judd, Reservoir Dogs, Simon Rex, and Mekhi Phifer. Check out the photos from GettyImages.

September 11, 2002 - The Boston Herald reports Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter got the honor of singing the National Anthem at last night's New England Patriots vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Monday Night Football game at the new Gillette Stadium only after Mariah Carey reportedly bowed out after learning that it wouldn't be televised. Nick partied at the pregame reception inside owner Bob Craft's brand new stadium office along side former President George Bush, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and the PM's posse, and acting Mass. Gov. Jane Swift. Read more.

September 10, 2002 - Bill Zwecker of the Chicago Sun-Times reports Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter was joined by Naughy By Nature members Anthony "Treach" Criss and Vinnie Brown, BBMak, David Schwimmer, and Jeremy Piven at Le Passage on Friday night to party after the big KISS-FM concert at the Rosemont Horizon.

September 10, 2002 - Nick Carter's official label site has a photo of the Backstreet Boys singer's debut solo album 'Now or Never,' which is set for an October 29th worldwide release. Meanwhile, they report his first solo video for 'Help Me' will hit MTV airwaves for their 'Making the Video' program on September 16th. Chris Applebaum directed the clip. Read more.

September 9, 2002 - WENN reports Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter says he has no beef with the manufactured fivesome O-Town. "O-Town are a great group. People love them," he said. "I'm proud that a lot of young male vocal groups are following in the footsteps of the Backstreet Boys. It's an amazing life being in a band so I know how they feel, seeing their first video on MTV or hearing themselves on the radio."

September 9, 2002 - WillaFord.org has a few new fan encounters including a fan who met up with Willa Ford at a hotel lobby when she was in New York for the MTV Video Music Awards. Shelley says "She's a lot nicer than people make her out to be so I was suprised, although there was one person there who wasnt too fond of her and said 'Why'd you leave Nick you idiot?' and I was shocked someone would say that. My mouth dropped open. She didnt respond with negeativity like I would have. She just ignored it, although I'm sure she gets comments like that all the time." Read more, including Mandee's encounter at a taping of 'I Bet You Will', here.

September 7, 2002 - WENN reports Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter has said he would like to date Britney Spears. "Britney is very beautiful," he said. "I'd be crazy to answer 'No'....wouldn't I?"

September 7, 2002 - Baja Fresh is donating numerous celebrity-autographed shirts from their 'Celebrities For Charity' program to be auctioned via eBay from September 4 - September 10 with all proceeds going to the Recording Academy's MusiCares Foundation. MusiCares is the Recording Academy's charitable foundation that focuses on health and human services for the music community. The pop musicians who have autographed shirts are The Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, Pink, Paulina Rubio and Uncle Kracker. More information can be found here.

September 7, 2002 - In a recent people.com poll, Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter beats out his *NSYNC counterpart Justin Timberlake for the more anticipated solo material. Nick had 52% of the votes and Justin had 48%.

September 7, 2002 - Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter now has his own official biography page at Mtv.com. The page includes a bio of Nick now, which mentions some songs that will be on Nick's solo album. You can visit the site here.

September 7, 2002 - Z1035.com has photos of Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter from his interview with Z103.5's Matt Wreggit on Thursday. Check out the photos, which include Nick signing autographs for fans here.

September 6, 2002 - Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter stopped by Z103 in Toronto earlier today. Nick talked about his solo single debut 'Help Me', the new album 'Now Or Never' due October 29, the video for 'Help Me', the status of the Backstreet Boys, personal questions, who he'd like to work with, acting, 'American Idol', surfing, he says he likes Justin Timberlake's new song 'Like I Love You', his one word descriptions of artists, and more. Download the two interview clips (about 33 mins. total) here.

September 6, 2002 - Rick Dees' official site has more photos of Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter from his appearance on the show last week, where he stood in for Rick and ran the show along with Ellen K. Check out photos here.

September 5, 2002 - Backstreet Boys member Howie Dorough attended the screening of 'Standing In The Shadows Of Motown' at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre on Tuesday (September 3) in Hollywood, California. The film opens in theaters on November 15, 2002. Check out pictures from GettyImages and LFI.

September 5, 2002 - Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter was interviewed on Radio Canada earlier today, where he talked about his new solo album and the status of the group's album. Asked directly if the group was breaking up, Nick said, "No, not breaking up, but we’re taking a little bit of time for, you know, to do individual things. Some of the guys are getting married. Umm… some of the guys are…actually Brian’s having a baby. So I think they wanna take time in their personal lives and this is really personal to me." Could this mean the Backstreet Boys new album will get further delayed? Stay tuned and read more on the interview here.

September 4, 2002 - BoysMostLikely.com has a transcript and audio to Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter and his interview with Australia's Hot 30. Jackie O asked Nick plenty of personal questions, including which celeb he'd most want to have sex with (he picked Aussie Holly Valance), boxers or briefs, if he'd ever stolen from his parents, and when his first sexual experience with a girl was. As for how his Backstreet Boys bandmates feel about his solo album, Nick said, "Um, well. They got their opinions about things, but..."

September 4, 2002 - Space.com has more details on the continuing volley of will he or won't he regarding *NSYNC's Lance Bass and his quest for space. The Russian Aviation and Space Agency (Rosaviakosmos) spokesman Konstantin Kreydenko tells them, "We ran out of patience, he should leave." Still, they wouldn't confirm whether agency director Yuri Koptev had already officially terminated the contract with Bass. An Energia official said in a telephone interview on Tuesday that there still is a chance Lance will be able to fly. Read more.

September 4, 2002 - Howard Stern got back from vacation today and talked about last week's MTV Video Music Awards. He told Sammy Hagar, who was his guest Tuesday, that he thought Christina Aguilera looked great with her fake boobies hanging out of her outfit. Sammy told Howard he's not a fan of implants. Later, Howard said that *NSYNC star Justin Timberlake is a woman after hearing his solo debut. Howard thought 'Like I Love You' was really feminine. Read more.

September 4, 2002 - Reuters reports Russia's space agency has scrapped *NSYNC member Lance Bass' plans to join an October space mission after he and his sponsors failed to meet payment deadline, said spokesman Sergei Gorbunov on Tuesday. "After failing to fulfil the conditions of his contract, Lance Bass has been told that his training at the Cosmonaut Training Center has ended and that his flight to the ISS is impossible," said Gorbunov. Read more.

September 4, 2002 - Star magazine quotes *NSYNC star Justin Timberlake commenting on rival boy band O-Town saying, "I'm almost positive that they don't even have a clue what's going on. I kind of look back and I feel like that's what we were like."

September 4, 2002 - David Krieff, the Hollywood producer behind the deal that would send *NSYNC star Lance Bass into space says a first slice of the reported $20 million fee to finance his participation would be handed over by Friday or next Monday, and said Bass "is not going to leave town." Krieff said, "The money is all there. It was never a question of money, ever. The question is delivery of the money ... so that everybody is happy and that just in case, God forbid, the thing (rocket) blew up, what happens?" Read more.

September 3, 2002 - Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter now has an official website for his Offshore Powerboat Race Team. Check it out here.

September 3, 2002 - Backstreet Boy Kevin Richardson's environmental charity, Just Within Reach, has just annonced another Rainforest Cafe fundraising event. From 8:00-10:30am on September 28, Kevin will be at the Rainforest cafe for an exclusive breakfast. Tickets are $100 and proceeds benefit Just Within Reach and Wildlife on Wheels. More information is here.

September 3, 2002 - Backstreet Boy Brian Littrell has a big heart with his charity hard at work to raise money for heart conditions. The Brian Littrell Healthy Heart Club For Kids was founded after Littrell, 27, had his own heart surgery back in 1998. There is a charity raffle going on put on by the Backstreet Boys Charity Club for the HHC with 3 Prizes. Read more.

September 3, 2002 - elgato writes "NCR wins the Corpus Christi Powerboat Shoot-out and clinches the APBA 2002 National Championship in Super Vee. This is very impressive for a new team to come into offshore racing and clinch the APBA 2002 National Championship in Super Vee in their rookie year. Not many teams, in their rookie year, are capable of such greatness. They quickly shut up those who said that the Backstreet Boys star didn't belong in the sport because he didn't know anything about owning or putting together a racing team. So congratulations to Nick and the whole gang at NCR."

September 2, 2002 - Marc D. Allan of the Indianapolis Star spoke with 'Arthur' creator Marc Brown on how he was able to land the Backstreet Boys in an episode airing today. "They really got into the whole adventure of being cartoon characters and being part of 'Arthur's' world," Brown said. "When we actually got together to work in Los Angeles and record their parts of the show, I was so impressed with how hard they worked on each song. Going back on a little phrase or a word, they would go over it 30 to 40 times to get it just right... It really was a pleasure to watch these guys work." Read more.

September 1, 2002 - dum_BLONDE writes "On Aaron Carter's latest album ("Another Earthquake") there is a bonus track at the end featuring snippets from his Backstreet Boys brother Nick Carter's new solo album, "Now Or Never". The track includes quick previews of "Help Me" (already getting radio airplay), a ballad, "Do I Have To Cry For You", and a pop/rock styled song, "I Stand For You" which can all be found here."

September 1, 2002 - Right Said Fred's 'I'm Too Sexy' provides backing on a video featuring highlights of the career of Backstreet Boys star Kevin Richardson. Check it out here.

September 1, 2002 - BSBfanatic935 writes "The Backstreet Boys are welcomed in Elwood City tomorrow night at 8:00 p.m. Est. On September 1st. BSB will be featured in an hour long episode of 'Arthur: It's Only Rock and Roll'. Should air in most areas. Check local listings. "

September 1, 2002 - On Thursday (August 29), Arthur and Muffy chatted with ARTHUR fans on AOL Live about what it was like to work with the Backstreet Boys on the 'It's Only Rock 'n' Roll' special. Muffy explained, "It was my dream come true working with the Backstreet Boys, but of course it was their dream come true working with me." Read more.

September 1, 2002 - MissE119 writes "The website Dirty Little Secrets has Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter's interview with Cosmogirl. The article talks about Nick's broken heart and getting arrested. The full article can be read here."

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