The 2010 American Music Awards Recap

Christina Aguilera "Express"



Pink "Raise Your Glass"



Dirty Money "Coming Home"



Rihanna - Medley



The Black-Eyed Peas "The Time (Dirty Bit)"



Usher "DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love"



Backstreet Boys & New Kids On The Block - Medley
So, the 2010 American Music Awards had a few decent performances to offer. Christina Aguilera promoted her new movie "Burlesque" with a performance that, well, wasn't her absolute best, but was still entertaining. Pink, pregnant & all, put on a great show as usual. Dirty Money gave me what I needed, yet has me wondering more than ever why Dawn couldn't have just sung the chorus like she does (wonderfully!) here. Rihanna, who opened the show, did so with a little "Love The Way You Lie (Part II)", followed (thankfully) by "What's My Name?" & ending with "Only Girl (In The World)". RiRi did her best! I must say though that she did look pretty good this evening. The Black-Eyed Peas, with their new-old garb, were still their typical selves. Usher frustrated me with that rehashing of his VMA performance & the whole NKOTBSB thing was just awkward. The winners, as usual, were nothing to write home about, but Usher did pick up two trophies for Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist & Favorite Soul/R&B Album for Raymond Vs. Raymond, while Rihanna picked up Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist, The Black-Eyed Peas received Favorite Pop/Rock Group, & Carrie Underwood's Play On won Favorite Country Album. The rest are HERE, but if you're not a 14-year-old girl, you won't like them.

Backstreet Boys Reunite On Oprah

Brian, Nick, AJ, Howie, & Kevin--yep, all five of the Backstreet Boys--took part in a special teen heartthrob episode of Oprah, where they surprised their biggest fan & performed their monstrous hit "I Want It That Way". Kevin! AH!! He looked a little petrified... which is weird, considering the kind of popularity they experienced in their time, but still. How exciting to see them altogether again! Sidenote: As many times as I've heard that song, I never realized they all sang lead at some point during it. How cool is that?! BSB > *NSYNC. Forever.

Backstreet Boys On Lopez Tonight

"If I Knew Then"



Twitter Q&A



Skit w/ Steve Carell
The Backstreet Boys performed their new single "If I Knew Then" off This Is Us on Lopez Tonight, where they stuck around to answer fan questions from Twitter after the show & gave Justin Bieber some excellent advice. Good stuff!

Backstreet Boys "A&E Private Sessions"

Part 1 ("I Want It That Way")



Part 2 ("As Long As You Love Me")



Part 3 ("Shape Of My Heart")



Part 4 ("This Is Us")



Part 5 ("Bigger")
The Backstreet Boys were featured on an episode of A&E's Private Sessions, where they took part in an excellent sit-down interview & sang acoustic versions of their hits as well as material from their latest album This Is Us during the hour-long special. Highlights for me were Lance Bass' question that brought the BSB vs. *NSYNC drama back up, if only for a matter of minutes, the boys showing off their famous vocals during "unplugged" performances of their biggest hits, & each member naming their favorite Backstreet song--Brian, I love "Siberia" too! (Check it out, it's from the Never Gone LP!)

Backstreet Boys Split With Jive

The day has arrived. The once mega-successful boy band Backstreet Boys have parted ways with their longtime record label Jive Records. I'm not sure why this is good news (like the group is trying to pass it off as) because no one ever leaves a major record label during successful times, but I'm sure they'll be fine without Jive because the fans they already have are dedicated & they don't really have any hope of gaining new fans at this point anyway. I just wonder what this means as far as AJ's solo album getting released in the US goes...

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Backstreet Boys On The Early Show

"Everybody (Backstreet's Back)"



"Bigger" + Interview



"I Want It That Way"
The Backstreet Boys kicked off The Early Show's summer concert series (Have they always had this?) with some of their biggest hits as well as the latest single "Bigger" off This Is Us. Ah, reminiscing. I don't know why, but it always depresses me. lol

Backstreet Boys On The Bonnie Hunt Show

"Bigger"



Interview (Pt. 1)



Interview (Pt. 2)
The Backstreet Boys emerged from their worldwide This Is Us tour to put in an appearance on The Bonnie Hunt Show, where they performed their latest single "Bigger". The guys are as charming as ever. I like "Bigger"... I wish it would do something for them...

AJ McLean To Release Solo Album

For those who've been paying attention, it's been a long time coming, but it looks as if we'll finally see Backstreet Boy AJ McLean's debut solo album in 2010. The album is titled Have It All & the first single off it will be "Teenage Wildlife," which was written by none other than former *NSYNC member JC Chasez. The video for the single, which will be shot soon, is being choreographed by Wade Robson, who will be making his directorial debut with the clip. (To hear about the video's concept & more, watch the video above.) As for the rest of the album, one producer AJ has been working with is Ryan Tedder, who just so happened to work with BSB on their recently released album This Is Us. Read how AJ describes Have It All, which is set for release in the US this summer/fall, below:

"It's kind of a cross between a little bit of rock & funk & a little bit of dance. It's a well-rounded record. I'm really proud of it & I've been working on it for almost five years. It's going to be a great, great record."

Five years is quite a while, so I'll bet he's come up with some great stuff. In all honesty, AJ is my favorite Backstreet Boy because I just think he's the most talented one & the one whose voice sounds the most authentic, so, needless to say, I've been looking forward to this for some time. I wouldn't worry about the group either. They'll probably just market both of the albums simultaneously with their tour.

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Backstreet Boys "Bigger" Video Premiere

"Bigger" is the second single lifted from the Backstreet Boys' new album This Is Us. The video was shot in Tokyo & is very fun. I really like this song!

Billboard Update

^#1 Album #1 Single^

Michael Buble's Crazy Love tops this week's Billboard 200 album chart. Backstreet Boys also debut with their seventh consecutive top 10 album This Is Us at #9 after selling 42,000 copies. The big news, of course, is Britney Spears' #1 debut atop the Hot 100 singles chart with "3," a feat she accomplished by selling 255,000 digital copies in the last week. Appropriately, "3" is the first tune to do so in over three years & is Spears' third #1! (An interesting article with tons more tidbits about "3" can be found HERE.) A little lower on the chart is the #58 debut of OneRepublic's "All The Right Moves." One more thing: Michael Jackson makes his 50th entry on the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart with "This Is It" debuting at #43 after only two days of radio airplay.

See full charts HERE.

(Photo Credit: Wikipedia)

Backstreet Boys Perform On Jimmy Kimmel

Bigger

Straight Through My Heart

As is typically the case, the Backstreet Boys performed the first two singles taken from their latest album This Is Us during their recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! I like "Bigger" as the second single--slowin' it down a little to show off their talent without losing the new sound.

Backstreet Boys Perform "Straight Through My Heart" On Conan

The Backstreet Boys (yes, all four) performed their first single "Straight Through My Heart" from This Is Us on the Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien the other night. So glad Brian's doing better! Oh, & they rule.

Backstreet Boys Perform "Straight Through My Heart" In Japan

Following a strange minute-long segment regarding some sort of bongo drum 'Rock Band,' the Backstreet Boys perform "Straight Through My Heart," the first single off their new album This Is Us, on Japanese TV. This must've been a few days ago, as Brian seems only slightly under-the-weather, as opposed to the full-fledged swine flu he has now :(. In any case, I'll bet you forgot that the guys can dance too!

New Music Tuesday: Backstreet Boys "This Is Us"

^Click To Purchase^

The Backstreet Boys release their new album This Is Us today. Featuring the single "Straight Through My Heart," the set is a great pop/R&B mix, so I'd recommend picking up a copy. On a related note, Brian Littrell has been diagnosed with swine flu, so the group has to postpone some of their promotion for the album, which is why I'm doing all the promoting I can! :)

Album Review: Backstreet Boys "This Is Us"

Everybody knows about the mega-success the Backstreet Boys have achieved in their almost two-decade-long career. However, since the pop craze died down, the group has been working to find the perfect musical blend of the sound that made them popular & the popular sound of today with mixed results thus far both musically & success-wise. With their new album This Is Us, the guys turn to the current dance-tinged sound as a major influence, which I was hesitant about initially. When it comes down to it though, BSB did a pretty good job.

This Is Us kicks off on a great note with its lead single "Straight Through My Heart." The catchy uptempo would be all over radio if they knew what was best for them. The midtempo "Bigger" is nice--a modern-day boy band song, if you will. While "Bye Bye Love" is good musically, they kinda lose me with the cheesy lyrics. The fun gets right back on track, however, with another dance-influenced track, "All Of Your Life (You Need Love)." Another winner, "If I Knew Then," really shines because they gave AJ, the group's voice with the most character (& arguably the best one period), the lead.

The guys finally slow it down a bit with the title track "This Is Us." As a general rule--because all four of them are such great singers--I prefer ballads from the Boys, so I'm glad they weren't completely left out this time around. What could've been left out though is the corny-sounding "PDA." Yet, once again, they recover quickly with the uptempo "Masquerade." Now, I can't deny that "She's A Dream" was executed very well, but some of those lyrics (Brian, did you really just say "pesos?") & those weird grunts confuse me. Luckily for them, the following track "Shattered" makes it very easy to forgive. The powerful ballad features the guys doing what they do best & is rather awesome. I also have to give BSB props for the closer "Undone" because they manage to experiment vocally quite well & wrap things up in a good place.

This Is Us is a solid project with a great mix of songs & a surprisingly refreshing sound for the Backstreet Boys. Their uptempos may be a little hit-or-miss, but the good definitely outweigh the bad & as always, their talent carries them through. Many people continually complain that these days, you don't have to really be able to sing to find success in the industry. If you're tired of autotuned popstars, swallow your pride & find your way back to these Boys.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Listen To Backstreet Boys' "This Is Us"

The Backstreet Boys release their album This Is Us on October 6th. There's no need to wait, however, because you can listen to This Is Us in its entirety right now, right HERE. Give it a try--you may be surprised!

Backstreet Boys "This Is Us" Cover & Tracklisting

The cover for the Backstreet Boys' new album This Is Us (October 6th) has surfaced. Howie & Brian are checking out something interesting, though I'm not sure where on it Brian is looking, while Nick is checking out ... Brian & A.J. could care less. In other words, I love it! LOL Anyway, here's the album's tracklisting:

1. Straight Through My Heart
2. Bigger
3. Bye Bye Love
4. All Of Your Life (You Need Love)
5. If I Knew Then
6. This Is Us
7. PDA
8. Masquerade
9. She's A Dream
10. Shattered
11. Undone

Poor, poor BSB. Ten of these tracks are already online. Well, "This Is Us" is only LQ, but still. I was surprised at the short tracklisting at first, as more than eleven songs from them have leaked, but if there is anything I would've done to improve their last album Unbreakable, it's trim the fat, so maybe it's for the best.

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Backstreet Boys "Straight Through My Heart" Video Premiere

"Straight Through My Heart" is the first single taken from the Backstreet Boys' next album This Is Us (October 6th). Ok, so the video arrived a little early! I like it. I think the style of it fits the song well & it's more interesting than their videos from the last few years. I'm also really feeling the song now, so I hope BSB finds some success with this one!

Backstreet Boys "Straight Through My Heart": Behind-The-Scenes

Check out this sneak PEEK at the Backstreet Boys' new video for "Straight Through My Heart," the first single off their upcoming album This Is Us (October 6th). Ooo, look! Dancing! Be sure to stop by here tomorrow for the premiere.

Backstreet Boys "This Is Us" Update

On October 6th, the Backstreet Boys will return with their new album This Is Us. The guys worked with RedOne on the lead single "Straight Through My Heart" (single cover to the left, stream HERE), but he wasn't the only one who contributed to the album. BSB also worked with pop genius Max Martin, T-Pain, Soulshock & Karlin, Jim Jonsin, & Claude Kelly, & did some writing & producing themselves as well. Among the 11 tracks set to be included are the leaked "Bigger," "Bye Bye Love," & "She's A Dream." The only one of those three songs I like is "Bigger," but the first single has me feeling optimistic that they can pull through with the new radio-friendly sound. I mean, hey, any pop album that involves Max Martin production can't be too bad!

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