Backstreet Boys: ‘The band is like a marriage’

The Backstreet Boys revealed the secret to staying together for more than 20 years – counselling.
Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, AJ McLean and Kevin Richardson said they have been together as a boyband for so long, they treat it like a marriage.
“We go to counselling. We talk things out,” Nick said. “It’s so funny – as time goes on, the issues kind of add up. But it’s like family.”
“It’s like a marriage,” Kevin quipped, and went on to explain it was one of their managers who had first suggested therapy early on in their careers. “One of our first managers suggested, ‘You guys better get into therapy now, because you’re going to need it later,'” he recalled, adding it took them 24 years to heed his advice.
“It’s a safe place for us to communicate,” AJ explained, while Brian added, “We talk it, we box it out, and whatever we got to do, we get it out.”
The band are currently rehearsing for their upcoming Las Vegas residency, Backstreet Boys: Larger Than Life, at Planet Hollywood’s AXIS, which will kick off on 1 March (17).
And despite their advancing age – Kevin is 45, Howie is 43, Brian is 42, A.J. is 39 and Nick is 37 – they insisted the residency will be a huge success.
“We want to put on a show that truly is larger than life,” Howie said earlier this week (beg20Feb17). “When people come to Vegas, they expect a show that’s over the top. So we’re gonna do it — we’re gonna pull out all the hits. It’s going to be a huge show – us, dancers, great video content, lights, an amazing stage we put together. I think it’s going to be something that people will talk about.”