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Backstreet Boys tour makes a stop at DTE Energy Music Theatre on Friday
by Christina Fuoco-Karasinski | Contributing writer
Tuesday August 05, 2008, 12:03 PM
Taking a break from the Backstreet Boys' world tour was a depressing time for singer Howie Dorough as his father died from brain cancer. But he's charged up and ready to head back out on the road for the best therapy yet -- love from his fans.
"They are great," Dorough said during a phone interview from his California home. "They're unbelievable. We have some of the best fans all around the world that are just so supportive. I'm blessed."
Dorough and the rest of the Backstreet Boys -- Brian Littrell, Nick Carter and A.J. McLean -- are touring in support if their latest album, 2007's "Unbreakable," most of which the group is performing live.
"I'm actually really excited to get back out there," Dorough said. "I feel like we've put on a great show that, to this date, we've taken over to Tokyo, Asia, Australia and all of Europe. I'm excited to bring it back to the states and Canada. It's a great show.
"It's going to take people down memory lane with all the hits. With 'Unbreakable,' we do about three-quarters of the record. It's really cool. It's a high-energy, theatrical show with lots of ups and down with the ballads and up-tempos. I think it's going to help people for two hours get away from whatever they have going on, relax and have fun."
For the Backstreet Boys, "Unbreakable" took about 18 months to create. The Grammy Award-winning group recorded 35 songs and chose the best 14 to put on the record. Dorough said the length of the time in the studio reflects the group's dedication to putting out the best product.
"We obviously want to set the bar as high as possible for each record, higher than the last record. We always take pride in just making sure we have the songs that we feel are all potential singles. We're not your normal band that can just go in the studio and crank out an album in a month or two. We believe that songs come along, ideas of your album change as you get creative in the whole process."
Currently, the Backstreet Boys are working on new material, both for the group and its members' solo projects. For the Backstreet Boys' new album, they've so far laid down one new song, an as-of-yet untitled number co-written by Ryan Tedder, lead singer of OneRepublic.
"He's really, really great," Dorough said. "I foresee us possibly working with him. He has the same management. We're just going to go out there and really explore. There's a lot of new writers who have come to the table since the last album. We're going to do what we can to make it once again the best record. We're going to do a lot of writing ourselves but as well reach out to great producers to help us."
As for solo material, Dorough, whose mother is Puerto Rican, is working on a Latin-English-themed album.
"I'm kind of exploring my roots in that direction," he said. "I'm doing something that's a mixture of English and Spanish -- Spanglish -- some Latin rhythms. I've grown up listening to Jon Secada, whom I've had a chance to do some writing with, and just watching the careers of Enrique (Iglesias) and Ricky (Martin), and people I think have done a good job of crossing over. I'm going to do something in that vein as well."
Dorough is confident that fans will enjoy his solo material when it comes out sometime in 2009.
"Together as a group we have a strong, strong humungous fan base," Dorough said. "We're blessed, as well, as we each have our niche markets and our own personal fans. We have individual fans outside of the group. I really notice that, for me, being part Spanish I've always had a calling, a really big appreciation from all of the Latin fans."
by Christina Fuoco-Karasinski | Contributing writer
Tuesday August 05, 2008, 12:03 PM
Taking a break from the Backstreet Boys' world tour was a depressing time for singer Howie Dorough as his father died from brain cancer. But he's charged up and ready to head back out on the road for the best therapy yet -- love from his fans.
"They are great," Dorough said during a phone interview from his California home. "They're unbelievable. We have some of the best fans all around the world that are just so supportive. I'm blessed."
Dorough and the rest of the Backstreet Boys -- Brian Littrell, Nick Carter and A.J. McLean -- are touring in support if their latest album, 2007's "Unbreakable," most of which the group is performing live.
"I'm actually really excited to get back out there," Dorough said. "I feel like we've put on a great show that, to this date, we've taken over to Tokyo, Asia, Australia and all of Europe. I'm excited to bring it back to the states and Canada. It's a great show.
"It's going to take people down memory lane with all the hits. With 'Unbreakable,' we do about three-quarters of the record. It's really cool. It's a high-energy, theatrical show with lots of ups and down with the ballads and up-tempos. I think it's going to help people for two hours get away from whatever they have going on, relax and have fun."
For the Backstreet Boys, "Unbreakable" took about 18 months to create. The Grammy Award-winning group recorded 35 songs and chose the best 14 to put on the record. Dorough said the length of the time in the studio reflects the group's dedication to putting out the best product.
"We obviously want to set the bar as high as possible for each record, higher than the last record. We always take pride in just making sure we have the songs that we feel are all potential singles. We're not your normal band that can just go in the studio and crank out an album in a month or two. We believe that songs come along, ideas of your album change as you get creative in the whole process."
Currently, the Backstreet Boys are working on new material, both for the group and its members' solo projects. For the Backstreet Boys' new album, they've so far laid down one new song, an as-of-yet untitled number co-written by Ryan Tedder, lead singer of OneRepublic.
"He's really, really great," Dorough said. "I foresee us possibly working with him. He has the same management. We're just going to go out there and really explore. There's a lot of new writers who have come to the table since the last album. We're going to do what we can to make it once again the best record. We're going to do a lot of writing ourselves but as well reach out to great producers to help us."
As for solo material, Dorough, whose mother is Puerto Rican, is working on a Latin-English-themed album.
"I'm kind of exploring my roots in that direction," he said. "I'm doing something that's a mixture of English and Spanish -- Spanglish -- some Latin rhythms. I've grown up listening to Jon Secada, whom I've had a chance to do some writing with, and just watching the careers of Enrique (Iglesias) and Ricky (Martin), and people I think have done a good job of crossing over. I'm going to do something in that vein as well."
Dorough is confident that fans will enjoy his solo material when it comes out sometime in 2009.
"Together as a group we have a strong, strong humungous fan base," Dorough said. "We're blessed, as well, as we each have our niche markets and our own personal fans. We have individual fans outside of the group. I really notice that, for me, being part Spanish I've always had a calling, a really big appreciation from all of the Latin fans."