Song:Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)
Album:The Hits-Chapter One
Backstreet Boys were probably the most successful of the boy bands of the 90s probably because they were first in the marketplace. I find their music is bland but teenage girls sure loved them. Surprisingly, they never had a number one hit. But their albums were huge sellers. Backstreet Boys begins with cousins Kevin Richardson and Brian Littrell from Lexington, KY. In 1990, Richardson moved to Orlando, FL and he met AJ McLean, Howie Dorough and Nick Carter and they decided to form a group heavily influenced by Boyz II Men. Influenced by the success of New Kids On The Block, manager Lou Pearlman held auditions for a potential boy band. McLean auditioned and then the others were selected. And then Richardson brought Littrell to Orlando. They were named after Orlando's Backstreet Market which was a teen hangout. Backstreet Boys performed locally while trying to get a record deal. They signed with Jive Records in 1994. For their 1995 debut CD Backstreet Boys, they worked with several producers but they really clicked with Swedish producer Max Martin who was just starting out at the time. He's still very successful. At first they were successful in Europe. But it took a couple of years to break them in the US. I don't think radio station program directors liked their music. They had already released their second album Backstreet's Back when Quit Playing Games (With My Heart) got enough radio airplay to reach #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Jive rereleased the first album and it sold 11 million copies. Quit Playing Games was written and produced by Martin and frequent songwriting partner Herbie Crichlow. So now they have a huge fanbase of teenage girls. It doesn't matter what they do. Everything turns to Platinum. I was just surprised they never had a number one hit. But trouble was looming. Backstreet Boys sued Pearlman for fraud. Basically he was skimming their earnings. He managed several bands and they all sued him for the same thing. Now Pearlman is in prison for running a ponzi scheme. The Backstreet Boys success continued but they took a hiatus and they returned in 2004. Richardson left in 2006 but Backstreet Boys continued. They just aren't as successful as they were in the 90s. You can get all their 90s hits on this budget comp. Backstreet Boys are still around. Richardson returned in 2012 and a new CD was released in 2013. They also toured with New Kids On The Block. I guess that's a boy band nostalgia tour. Backstreet Boys recently announced they are working on a new CD for a 2016 release. Here's the video for Quit Playing Games (With My Heart) by Backstreet Boys.
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