Boy Band Series: Backstreet Boys, Part 2

Before they were the internationally-known Backstreet Boys, they were just Howie, Brian, AJ, Kevin and Nick. On Part 2 of this deep dive, Dani shares research on each member, including where they came from and what they are doing now.

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Transcript

Welcome Back And Series Setup

SPEAKER_02 0:01

Hello everyone and welcome back to Generation in Between, a Xennial podcast. We have no melodic introduction today.

SPEAKER_01 0:08

We're all out of songs.

SPEAKER_02 0:10

Uh I'm Danny.

SPEAKER_01 0:11

I'm Katie.

SPEAKER_02 0:12

And you are on part two of our Baxtery Boys episode in the middle. Well, actually, we're nearing the end of our Xennial boy band series. We've got one more to do after this. Yes, we know there's more than one. But this research, guys, is exhausting. It's been a killer. I can't even tell you. I was just telling Katie, I finished this research yesterday and I've been working on it for weeks. And Troy was like, my husband was like, You're still working on that? And it's like, yeah, when you dig through the depths of because today, guys, part one was about the band as a whole. Today, if you've listened to any of our other episodes, part two is when we dig into the members of themselves. And Backstreet Boys has stayed in the public eye. So there is so much.

SPEAKER_01 1:01

I bet. Like Eve's cursing could probably be an episode.

SPEAKER_02 1:06

And there was way more controversies that popped up with them than than has happened previous.

SPEAKER_01 1:11

Oh, okay. Ooh. I know. Ooh, let's see.

SPEAKER_02 1:14

So we're just gonna dig right in because we gotta get going. Um, Katie, what do you know about the Baxtery Boys individual lives? Well, considering you didn't even know their names.

SPEAKER_01 1:26

I know a lot about Howard, the one that's not in the group. Um, well, I know that Howie lives here. Correct. He does. Uh, here being Florida Space Coast, if you're listening from somewhere else. Um otherwise, and then Nick Carter had a somewhat successful solo career for a little bit. Okay.

unknown 1:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:47

Um, that's probably it.

SPEAKER_02 1:49

Oh wow. Okay, so you're gonna be in for a ride today. All right, all right. So we're gonna jump right in because there's so much. I have 14 pages of Noteshaw. Wow. It's so ridiculous.

SPEAKER_01 1:59

Oh, did you notice I got a haircut?

SPEAKER_02 2:01

Oh my god, you did. I just thought that you had like styled your hair and stuff this morning. I was like, oh, her hair looks really nice. You did, you got a lot cut.

SPEAKER_01 2:08

Yeah, it was like three inches. Yeah, yeah. My daughter got hers cut too.

SPEAKER_02 2:12

Where'd you go?

SPEAKER_01 2:13

Uh haircuttery. I knew it.

SPEAKER_02 2:15

My goal this year and I both. My goal this year is to get Katie to like a not that there's anything wrong with haircuttery, I'm not saying that. But she Katie has long, luxurious hair, and that deserves extra pampering. Okay. My goal is to get her to a stylist. All right. If you're a stylist out there listening, help. No, not help. It's not like you have bad hair. I'm just saying you I think because you're like, I want a different hairstyle, I want to do it, but you don't want to have to fix it. That's where you need a stylist. True. Because they can cut it, because lucky for you, bitch, you have long, thick hair. That is curly, that we all want. Because your hair can go straight or or wavy. And so you don't have to fix it, which is amazing.

SPEAKER_01 2:58

That's true. I just have to have the right cut.

SPEAKER_02 3:00

That's it.

SPEAKER_01 3:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 3:01

That's it. But it now you're on the dead ends are off. It looks good. Yeah, the dead ends. It looks nice and healthy.

SPEAKER_01 3:05

Which is nice.

SPEAKER_02 3:06

Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 3:06

That's a start. Okay. Beautiful. Back to the back.

SPEAKER_02 3:08

Well, my hair is pulled back and dirty.

SPEAKER_01 3:10

So if you cut yours, I I wouldn't know.

SPEAKER_02 3:13

We never have a day where we both look put together at the same time. Unless we're going to an event. Oh, yeah, that one day. But that's because we both had stuff going on that day. Later. Because I was at a meeting before I came here and you had something else later.

SPEAKER_01 3:31

I did.

SPEAKER_02 3:32

Well, listen, everyone. In real life, I want you to know if you only see our clips, when we go to things, we put ourselves together.

SPEAKER_01 3:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 3:40

I mean, don't look at us at rehearsals or like, you know, a trip to the Walmart.

SPEAKER_01 3:45

On your YouTube.

SPEAKER_02 3:46

You see Katie without shoes on.

SPEAKER_01 3:48

In the CVS, just keep walking. It's okay.

SPEAKER_02 3:52

But when we go, like Friday, we're going to see a show with some friends to support a friend. We will look put together. I will plop my lashes on. I will plop on some makeup. I will wash the hair.

SPEAKER_01 4:02

It's true. And Saturday, I have my little book signed. Yeah. I will look nice with that.

SPEAKER_02 4:08

We will look put together two days in a row.

SPEAKER_01 4:09

We'll get a picture of both days. Oh my god. Yeah. Let's do it.

SPEAKER_02 4:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:13

Okay.

Kevin Richardson’s Early Life And Disney

SPEAKER_02 4:13

Let's do that. Okay. So now that y'all heard all about our vanity, let's talk about actually boys. I want in order of their ages. Okay. So we are going from oldest to youngest. So we're going to start with Kevin Richardson. He was born Kevin Scott Richardson. He was born October 3rd, 1971, in Lexington, Kentucky. Okay. He grew up on a 10-acre farm with his mom Ann and his dad, Gerald.

SPEAKER_01 4:36

Gerald's back.

SPEAKER_02 4:37

I know. Uh, and he had two older brothers named Gerald Wayne Jr. and Tim. They lived on that farm for until he was nine.

unknown 4:46

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 4:46

When after that, they lived in a this is such a fun story. They lived in a log cabin at a campground. His dad got a job as the grounds manager at the Cathedral Domain Camp in Roley County, Kentucky.

SPEAKER_03 5:02

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 5:02

So it was a um Episcopal church-owned camp that they would rent out. They didn't just use it for like religious groups. You know what I mean? Like a retreat center kind of thing where they had all this stuff going on. So they actually he, one of his job benefits was living there. Okay. Probably because it needed year-round care, even when there weren't people there, like the groundskeeper and all the things. So his dad was not a pastor. They were not even Episcopalian. It's just he was the employee there. They are Christians, but um, I don't know if that was a requirement.

SPEAKER_01 5:34

Right.

SPEAKER_02 5:34

Or not. But anyway, um, his uh Kevin and his brothers actually helped to maintain it. They would mow the grass at the campgrounds, they cleaned bathrooms, they were camp counselors in the summer. Um, so they kind of it was kind of like a family thing, and it was really pretty. They actually showed this property in that. Remember, I told you that about that two 2015 documentary I watched?

SPEAKER_03 5:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:58

Documentary movie. They actually go there and they I was and I was so confused. I was like, why are they in? Because there's like a church on the property. Okay. I was like, why are they in this church? He lived there. I was so confused. And I was like, I guess I wasn't paying fully attention because I was doing other things. And I was, but it was beautiful. Like in the cathedral, the back side, like where some like where the pulpit was, was a big window, and so you could see out on this beautiful like forest, and it was really pretty. Wow. But he said him and his brothers would go in there and sing. So that brings me to he grew up singing in in the church choir. I quite a few of them did that, and I think that's a pretty common thread for a lot of people when you're young and you're growing up in a church to get your first taste of music and learning in a church choir. I mean, I that was me. So um anyway, uh, he also, as we know, Katie said he plays piano. He actually learned how to play piano by ear around the age of nine or ten.

SPEAKER_01 6:56

Oh, jeez.

SPEAKER_02 6:56

Can you imagine? That's a gift.

SPEAKER_01 6:58

It really is.

SPEAKER_02 6:59

That is like a gift. So when he was in high school, he went to Estel County High School, and this sir was busy. He was captain of the football team, he sang in the choir, he was in the chess club and the Spanish club, he played in the in a band, not the band, he was in a band, and he was also in school plays. Um, he had been singing most of his life, but up until high school, he hadn't done any acting. But a teacher convinced him to audition for Bye Bye Birdie.

SPEAKER_01 7:25

Oh, I love that show.

SPEAKER_02 7:26

And he got the lead.

SPEAKER_01 7:28

Was it Conrad?

SPEAKER_02 7:30

Yeah. So after that, uh you know what song I always think of from that show? We love you, Conrad. Oh, yes, we do. Yeah. Um, anyway, so he got the lead, and that kind of gave him the performing bug. So in a whole different way. Um, he was just like a super all-around popular guy, all American, kind of what you see in movies and stuff. He was he was voted best dressed, most popular, best dancer, best look, which I guess is just your aesthetic, and best looking.

SPEAKER_01 8:03

Oh, it's different. Okay, I see. That's why I said aesthetic. I was like, wow. So he's a good looking gentleman.

SPEAKER_02 8:10

He really is. And we'll and that helps him out later, and we'll talk about that. Um, so his freshman year of high school, he got a keyboard and he started singing and playing in a band called Paradise.

SPEAKER_03 8:21

I love it.

SPEAKER_02 8:21

And they started singing primarily at weddings, but they would also like go to local restaurants and local events and play there.

SPEAKER_01 8:29

Um so that would have been like late 80s? Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 8:32

Because he graduated in 1989.

SPEAKER_01 8:34

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 8:34

So he spent that summer working at the camp. He also worked at a pizza hut and a tobacco farm. So Sir was making the money. Um, he was going to join the Air Force because he wanted to be in the Air Force band, which is really hard to get into, by the way. It's like super elite. But that's what he wanted to do. Um, either that or pursue um a performing career. Um, so he was kind of torn because one is a little more reliable than the other. But his dad actually encouraged him to follow his dreams. So in 1990, he quit his job, Zu. He packed up and he moved to Orlando because he wanted to audition for theme park work. So he thought like working at the theme parks would kind of get his feet wet, get him some really good experience, and start building connections and giving him opportunities, which, as we know, did it does.

SPEAKER_01 9:24

Could he have known that specific opportunity would come along? Of course not.

SPEAKER_02 9:27

But but we know, and we personally know a lot of people who've worked at theme parks for that exact reason.

SPEAKER_01 9:32

That's true. It is people that even the people who perform alongside you, maybe they're not decision makers when you meet them, but if you stay in the industry long enough, they might be one day.

SPEAKER_02 9:42

And his performer friends at MGM are the ones who told him about the Baxtery Boys Audition. There you go. So there you go. Um, so he was hired at Walt Disney World and he was various characters. He was, I don't know what they call it when you're like in a costume. They have like a word for it. And you're not supposed to say I I am goofy, you're supposed to say I'm friends with Goofy or something like that. They have very particular language. Um, but he also did like stage shows. So here's just some of the characters he was. He was Aladdin, which I could totally see that.

SPEAKER_01 10:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:14

Um, he was a ninja turtle. Remember when ninja turtles were at MGM? Well, Hollywood Studios now. Uh he was Prince Eric.

unknown 10:22

Oh no.

SPEAKER_02 10:22

But he was also Sebastian in the Little Mermaid Show. So range. Uh he was Tigger and Goofy. Uh-huh. Um, he also worked. Do you remember at MGM Studio? Well, I don't know. Did you go back in the 90s? I did. Okay. Do you remember when they had like the backstage tour you could go on? He was one of the guides.

unknown 10:39

Oh, fun.

SPEAKER_02 10:40

Yeah, he was one of the guides. And he also did local dinner theater in the Orlando area. He played an Italian gangster in a musical review, and he performed songs from shows like Guys and Dolls, Chicago and Cabaret, which ironically enough, I think that dinner theater show is still going.

SPEAKER_01 10:57

I know which one you're talking about. Yeah. Over on International Drive.

SPEAKER_02 10:59

Because I know people who perform in it, and they are Italian gangsters in the show.

SPEAKER_01 11:04

I think it's still there.

SPEAKER_02 11:05

Isn't that crazy? I wonder if it's the same one. I couldn't figure out what the name of it was. But um, anyway, so that's what he was doing in 1990. And unfortunately, in the summer of 91, Kevin got a call from his mom that his dad was not doing well. His dad was diagnosed with colon cancer in October of 1990. And now he Kevin didn't find out till June of 91.

SPEAKER_03 11:26

Oh.

SPEAKER_02 11:27

Because his dad didn't want to tell him because he didn't want to interfere with him following his dreams.

SPEAKER_01 11:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:32

But it got to the point where he was really, really sick. He hadn't gotten out of bed in like months, and his mom finally was like, I have to let him know. So um, Kevin moved back home to Kentucky from Orlando, and just a couple months after he got back, his dad passed away. And so he stayed in Kentucky for almost a year, but his mom encouraged him to go back to Orlando to keep following his dreams. Obviously, I'm sure she was like, Your dad would want you to do this. He doesn't want you to be, you know. And I'm sure that was a very hard decision for him, but he did go back and he worked at Disney a couple more years. Um, he also started modeling some. Uh he was writing music, he was still performing in dinner theater, um, but he also was teaching ballroom dancing. He was a certified Latin and ballroom dance instructor. What? Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_01 12:20

He must have just gotten that way somewhere.

SPEAKER_02 12:23

And he was an extra in the film My Girl.

SPEAKER_01 12:26

Really?

SPEAKER_02 12:26

Yeah. Oh, I love that movie. I know. I mean, it's sad, but it's so good. Um, so as we know, in March of '93, Kevin heard about the Backstreet Boys audition, like I just told you, from somebody he was working with at MGM. And I won't go into all the details because I already talked about it in part one, but he auditioned, got the spot, and then he called his cousin Brian back in Kentucky and said, Hey bro, get out here. And then Brian was on too. So I'm not going to talk too much about Backstreet stuff because we already did that. Um, but Kevin was in the Backstreet Boys from '93 to 2006. And um, all that you can hear about in part one. But fun fact, during that time in 1999, People magazine awarded him Sexiest Pop Star. Did I say that in the last one?

SPEAKER_01 13:10

No, but I can see it.

SPEAKER_02 13:11

Oh, because that's sure you're like, yes, I know.

SPEAKER_01 13:13

I mean, I don't know if I knew that till now, but it adds up. Yeah. Especially when you think of all the boy band members of all the boy bands around that time. He stands out as being like, I don't know, he's just tall, his voice is deep. He has a very like chiseled. I think that's it. Chiseled is a good word, right? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:34

Which makes sense if he's modeling because that's kind of the bone structure you have to have. And he has striking eyes. And he has light hair and dark, and I mean light eyes and dark. What did I say? Light eyes and dark hair. Yes. Which, if you have one of the two, it is a striking look. It is, you know, or if it's the opposite, you have dark hairs and super light, you know, it's it the contrast. Like I know about modeling.

SPEAKER_01 13:57

Like that's that's how they pick models.

SPEAKER_02 13:58

That's how they're eyes and hair. Eyes and hair. Okay, so he left Backstreet in 2006, but he rejoined in April of 2012. And this is what he said about coming back. Um, I'm a person that always follows my heart and follows my gut, and my heart said, now's the time. It just felt right. I felt inspired to make music again with these guys, and you know, when I left, it had nothing at all to do with our relationship, it just had to do with me just needing to be inspired, so I had to step away for a while, which I think is great. And I saw an article in my depths of research that talked about it. The title of it was Kevin Richardson taught us about self-care before we knew about self-care. And that's exactly what he did. He's like, I mean, he just there was nothing wrong. He just set that boundary. And Katie and I were just having a conversation about this over text um yesterday, and I she said something about boundaries, and I was like, Did you just therapy yourself in two sentences? Yes. Because yes.

SPEAKER_01 14:52

Because yes.

SPEAKER_02 14:52

Um, but you know, it's important. You recognize I I need a break from this so I can do whatever, or just nothing, just sit for a second, and no matter what people are pressuring you, how much money is coming in, you take care of yourself. So that's kind of what he did. So I think that that is pretty admirable to be at a peak of a good point in a career and saying, you know, not like he's the only person that's done that.

SPEAKER_01 15:18

Lots of people have done that, of course, but I mean, yeah, right. Like he like you said, it wasn't like he was having creative differences or was sick or like pushed to like a very dramatic point. Yes. It was just not like more than a feeling, but kind of like that feeling that this is just what I need to do right now.

SPEAKER_02 15:39

Yeah, and he said I need to go be inspired for something else for a bit, and then he came back. So, you know. There you go. Um, so Kevin actually married his longtime girlfriend Kristen um in June of 2000, and they're still married.

SPEAKER_03 15:50

Oh.

SPEAKER_02 15:51

Uh, they met while working as performers at Disney World and uh they met in 1992. Uh Kristen was also a raquette in 1994, and she was one of Cher's backup dancers on one of her many comeback tours. I don't know which one. She's had so many, so she's a hella good dancer, I'm assuming. If she was a roquette and danced for Cher. Come on.

SPEAKER_01 16:11

And she must be between 5'7 and 5'9.

SPEAKER_02 16:13

Yeah, she must be tall. Yeah. Well, must be nice. Uh uh anyway, like I mentioned in part one, she was in one of their videos, Baxtery Boys videos. They were dating at the time when she was in it. Um, I'll Never Break Your Heart is the video. Uh, she was one of their backup dancers when they performed at the American Music Awards in 1999.

SPEAKER_03 16:31

Oh.

Kevin’s Marriage And Life After Fame

SPEAKER_02 16:32

So that's kind of fun. They did. Kevin and her broke up for a little bit in 1996, and then they got back together in 97, 98 time, and Kevin actually wrote this song, Back to Your Heart, yeah, from their Millennium album for her when they got back together. I know.

SPEAKER_01 16:49

This is so cute.

SPEAKER_02 16:51

I it gets cuter.

SPEAKER_01 16:52

Oh, what?

SPEAKER_02 16:53

They got married at the campground where he uh lived. I know.

SPEAKER_01 16:57

I thought you were gonna say Disney, which is cute.

SPEAKER_02 16:58

No, but that's and he proposed to her at the spot on the beach where they first said I love you years before. This is so cute. I know! I thought this cannot be real, but it is, guys. Um, they have two sons together, Mason and Maxwell. So that's his little his little family. Um, outside of Baxter Boys, Kevin modeled for Versace. I sent a little clip to Katie.

SPEAKER_01 17:23

A plus content.

SPEAKER_02 17:24

A plus. Uh he modeled for Vogue. And then that watch company, is it how do you say it? Tag Hewer.

SPEAKER_01 17:29

Tag Hewer. Okay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 17:31

Yeah, I don't know about fancy watches, guys. My my husband loves a fancy watch, but I think they're silly. Um, he composed the soundtrack to the animated film The Spirit Bear. Do you remember this movie from way back?

SPEAKER_01 17:41

I don't think I ever saw it, but I do remember this.

SPEAKER_02 17:44

Um, he opened a music academy in Kentucky called The Music Workshop, where they kind of help kids kind of what you're doing here. It's like a performing art studio. Um, he's also done a lot of advocate advocacy and fundraising work for the environment, like environmental care and awareness, and also colon cancer education and awareness because of his dad. Um, but the environment and and like taking care of the earth is like a very important thing to him, probably because he grew up outside so much. Yeah. So he has a different level of respect and love for it, I think, than some people do. So he but I like that he uses his you know advantages in the world to get back that way. Okay, so some of this stuff is just random. By the way, I tried to keep my stuff in order, but sometimes random stuff just pops in. He was on an episode of Punked in 2003. Did you look at it? I sent Katie 60,000 video clips. It's kind of cringy, but then I was like, well, actually, almost all of those old punked episodes are cringe.

SPEAKER_01 18:44

They are.

SPEAKER_02 18:45

I mean, we didn't think they were at the time, but looking back, it's like um, so he was on an episode where he was going through security. I I want to say, it didn't say where they were, but I think it was like at the MTV like offices. It was like an office building in a city somewhere. And he kept trying, and the security guards kept making him go back through the the metal detectors, and they were like really harassing him and giving a hard time. They made him take his pants off, and he's going through in his underwear.

SPEAKER_01 19:15

God.

SPEAKER_02 19:16

Right.

unknown 19:17

Whoa.

SPEAKER_02 19:17

On the same episode was Trochelle, who was on the real world, or was she on World Rules? One of those. She was from Louisiana. I remember this. Do you know who I'm talking about? Thank you. And she they did the same thing to her. They didn't make her take her clothes off, but they were being so creepy. Like the guy was asking for her number. She had on like a little mini skirt and like a tank top, and he's like, Well, who are you meeting dressed like that? And it was everything was so cringe.

SPEAKER_01 19:40

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_02 19:41

And they just gave them like a super hard time, and then Ashton, of course, pops up. Pops out. Yeah. And they're like, Are you punking me right now? And Kevin looked pissed.

SPEAKER_01 19:50

Like he he did not look like I mean, if you're being asked, like you're I know. He's probably working, he's probably there for work. Correct. Like an appointment or something. I know. And now you have to take your pants off and girl. Come on. I'm surprised he didn't like flip out.

SPEAKER_02 20:05

No, he stayed level-headed. I mean, he was like, are you serious? Like he was getting, you could tell it was getting to the point of like, are you s but he never said, like, do you know who I am? Like, right. Never did that kind of diva behavior. Um, okay. So another fun thing. Did you know he was on Broadway, Kevin?

SPEAKER_03 20:22

Uh uh.

SPEAKER_02 20:23

Well, he played Billy Flynn in Chicago. Uh, he did that in 2003 and 2006. So I tried to find clips and I couldn't find any, but I'm sure they're there.

SPEAKER_03 20:32

Oh, they're somewhere, yeah.

Kevin’s Acting Roles And 9/11 Backlash

SPEAKER_02 20:33

Um, he also acted in several films. Uh, he was in a 2009 Christian drama called Love Takes Wings or Loves Take Love Takes Wing, whatever. I didn't look that one up. Um, and then he was in a bunch of independent films. There is this movie musical he was in. Did you look at the clip I sent you? Yes. Oh my god, it's called Vampire Birds, Serenade, and oh my god, it's raunchy, it's campy, it's funny. It looks awesome. I were watching it at Halloween, I think. Okay, let's do it. It is so, and I was talking to somebody at rehearsal about it last night, and I was like, I have to watch all of this. It was, and the music was actually good. Yeah, and the acting was good. It was so campy, and it was raunchy. It was just, oh my god, look it up. Vampire Birds Serenade, okay. Um, he was also in a short film called Unwound, and he actually won an independent vision award for best actor for that. Um, he also filmed an independent documentary short film called If I Could Tell You, and it was about infertility. He talked about it, and his wife was on there too, because they had some infertility struggles. And if you've ever been through anything like that, you know it's very difficult and hard, and it can be quite the journey. And so they were on there together. Um, so let's move on to some controversy with Kevin. He got into a little bit of media turmoil after September 11th. So I'm gonna tell you about this. I don't remember this at all. Yeah. But after the September 11th terrorist attacks, Kevin, like really recently after, Kevin was quoted in an interview saying, I just think the United States are a little bit of an arrogant nation. And maybe this is a little bit of a humbling experience. It raises questions in my mind. What has our government done to provoke this action that we don't know about? Now, if we're living in today, 2026, that seems like a very mild comment, considering it does.

SPEAKER_01 22:30

Yeah. What and I do see what he's saying. Oh, I do too. But I'm saying it's obviously no one deserves to die in like that like that it's our fault somehow, which I'm sure is how it is perceived. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 22:45

But I'm saying what I mean, and I'm not saying it's it's not a serious comment or a serious content. What I'm saying is in the age we live in now and the social media where everybody just flies off the handle and says whatever the fuck they want and not think about nothing.

SPEAKER_01 22:58

If somebody post a celebrity posted this, I don't think anybody would have like I mean like there would be the normal people who hate that celebration. Right who like are mad about it.

SPEAKER_02 23:08

But this was like a pretty, pretty big deal. So actually, one of the Backstreet Boys crew members, uh Danny Lee, he was killed in one of the hijack flights. So that you know, emotions were uh, you know, high for a lot of people. Um Kevin did issue like an apology statement, and this is what he said. Um, it was a hard time for everyone, and I let my emotions get the better of me at that at that moment. My thoughts were incomplete, and I didn't intend for them to come across as insensitive. I know how far-reaching this event is, and almost all of us know someone who is directly affected by these disasters. Nobody, nobody will walk away from this experience unchanged. Also correct. Also correct. Um, he addressed what he meant by saying the word arrogant, which I think we all know what he meant. But um, he said, What I meant is that as a world superpower, I think we've become overconfident and taken our opportunities and freedom for granted. I feel like we've taken on the attitude that we as a country are untouchable. How do we get that way? Um, my dad was a serviceman in the U.S. Army, and I was enlisted in the Air Force before joining the Backstreet Boys, and so it hurts me that people would think I would betray the American values that were taught to me by my father. I pray that God walks with our leaders and our allies so they make the right decisions for our safety, our future, and our world.

unknown 24:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:27

Because people were saying, oh, he's anti-American, blah, blah, blah, blah. Right. Which we're gonna just talk about that for a quick second and we won't get into the depths. I find it very interesting when people take that stance when you are critiquing your home country and they say you're anti-American. Well, uh they are they're like, oh, just leave. But if you love your country, you want it to be a good place. So why would you not say, we need to fix this? This is not okay, this is not what we're you know, we want to be known for. Like this is our home.

SPEAKER_01 25:02

Right.

SPEAKER_02 25:03

We want it to be a safe place.

SPEAKER_01 25:05

Totally.

SPEAKER_02 25:06

And like critiquing a place you live doesn't mean you just leave.

SPEAKER_01 25:12

Yeah. I think there's a big difference between saying, hey, this thing or that thing needs to change, or I don't agree with how this thing is going, and being like, I hate it here and it sucks, and I don't I don't like anything about American life. That's totally different. I mean, even that can be a critique that because where you are, but I'm just saying, like, it's uh it's okay to be critical.

SPEAKER_02 25:35

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 25:36

I think for me, like, I appreciate when people have something to say and they either have a solution or they're willing to talk about solutions instead of just complaining. Do you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02 25:46

Well, but sometimes you don't know. Like sometimes I have plenty to say about this country and I don't fucking know how to fix it.

SPEAKER_01 25:52

Yeah, but you would if you could.

SPEAKER_02 25:54

I wish I could, but this country is fucked up. But also, I think too, what we have to say is also like you know, our country was founded on a a lot of mixed values because we wanted freedom, but then we brought enslaved people here. So, like the you know, like it's okay to say the things that we were founded on weren't exactly what we said they were and fix it. I mean, if the foundation what's that song by that girl um about yeah, never mind. I'm not about a foundation? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:29

Oh yeah. I don't know.

Howie D’s Performing Roots And Early Jobs

SPEAKER_02 26:31

Never mind, it'll come to me later. But like if if or maybe it's like something about the roots. I don't know. Never mind. I don't know what I'm talking about. But I'm saying if the foundation is broken, until you fix that, it's not gonna be stable. Right. So we have a lot to fix here. I don't know where to start, and he don't either, but he's allowed to have his feelings, and that was a very scary time for a lot, and he was experiencing loss, like everybody was. We were all scared, and everybody, I mean, people said a lot of crazy stuff, and that to me was just whatever, but yeah, we have more Kevin controversy it's like eh, it's controversy coming later. Controversy late. All right, so we're gonna move on now to Howie. Okay, all right. Uh he was born Howard, all right. He was born Howard Dwayne Duro on August 22nd, 1973, in Orlando. So he has a Puerto Rican mom, Paula, and an Irish American dad, who's excuse me, I don't know how to say this. His dad's name is spelled H-O-K-E. H-O-K-E. Is it Hoke or Hokey? I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 27:35

I have no idea. Okay, well that's name, I'm sure.

SPEAKER_02 27:38

He is the youngest of five five siblings. Uh, John, Pollyanna, Angela, and Caroline. Wait, I said youngest of five, so he has four siblings then. Okay. You said four. Okay. No, I said he's the youngest of five. Okay, whatever.

SPEAKER_01 27:53

There's five children total.

SPEAKER_02 27:54

Five children total, yes. His older sister, Pollyanna, is also a singer-performer, and he says she was the inspiration for his own like performer spark. Watching her made him want to give it a try. Sadly, um, his sister Caroline passed away from lupus in 1998. And we'll talk a little bit more in a bit. Uh, how he started performing at a young age, he was also in the church choir. He was in his first production at the age of seven, The Wizard of Oz. I couldn't find what part he played. He continued performing in local community theater, which, as we know in Central Florida, is pretty good. Amaze balls. Yeah, it's really good. Um, all over this place is just community theater opportunities are a lot and quality. Like it's crazy. So he was mainly uh performed in the Edith Bush Theater. Uh, some productions he was in during his childhood were Sound of Music, Showboat, and Camelot. He was also singing and um taking acting lessons as well as dance classes. He was enrolled at a performing arts academy. So I have a correction to make. In part one, I said AJ was the only one who had like a lot of dance training. I am wrong because several of these boys, most of these boys, had some kind of dance training. Okay. Like I just said, Kevin taught freaking ballroom dance. True. Howie, um, he took ballet, tap, and jazz, and he was in an all-boy ballet troupe, which I think is amazing.

SPEAKER_01 29:19

I bet that was awesome.

SPEAKER_02 29:20

I wish they had more of that. I wish they would encourage more boys to do ballet. But, anyways, so that was kind of his beginning of his performing stuff. During his middle school years, he went to Lakeview Prep. And his high school years, he went to Edgewater High. Okay. Do you know where that is? Okay, cool. He was in chorus, he was in Allstate multiple times, which is a big deal once you get to well, at any level, but high school, it's a lot harder to get into. Um, he was in drama club, he was in lots of school productions, and he he was on a school TV show that they had called Macho and Camacho.

SPEAKER_01 29:55

What?

SPEAKER_02 29:56

And remember how we said he just seems like a nice guy? Yeah. He was also in a peer counseling group, and it was called Friends.

SPEAKER_03 30:04

Oh.

SPEAKER_02 30:04

I know. It's just, I was like, yeah, that that checks. Uh, when he was 14, he got discovered by an agent, and this was the agent who recommended he take on a stage name of Tony Danetti.

SPEAKER_01 30:17

That's right. Tony Danetti.

SPEAKER_02 30:18

So he landed some small roles on movies. He was in the movie Parenthood, he was in Cop and a Half. Do you remember that? Um, and he had a lead role in the Nickelodeon TV uh production pilot for a show called Welcome Freshman, which I remembered.

SPEAKER_01 30:34

I vaguely remember that too. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 30:37

And then he was a star in a commercial for Disney, which I couldn't find. I looked all over for it. And um he auditioned for Mickey Mouse Club as well.

unknown 30:46

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 30:46

He didn't get a spot, but he did audition. That's cool. Probably around the same time Nick did, if I had to guess, but yeah, he's a little older than Nick. He also auditioned for the boy Latin boy bandudo.

SPEAKER_03 30:58

Really?

SPEAKER_02 30:58

Now I have a fun story about Minudo. My friend uh in Virginia, Cynthia, her husband Eric is Puerto Rican, and he also auditioned for Manudo. And you know who got his spot? Ricky Martin. Are you kidding me? I'm not kidding. Eric is older than us, he's older than us by a few years.

SPEAKER_01 31:16

That's wild. I know. It's like on one hand, you're like, man, that could have been me. But on the other hand, you're like, Ricky Martin. Right. I didn't really stand a chance. Isn't that crazy? That's crazy.

SPEAKER_02 31:27

I know. Okay, so anyway, I just had to tell that little story. So after Howie graduated high school in 91, that's when he graduated, he went to Valencia College as well as UCF, and he got his associate of arts degree in 93. So fun fact, him and Chris Kirkpa uh Kirkpatrick from NSYNC were at Valencia at the same time. Oh I don't know if they knew each other, but they were there at the same time. So at that time he was also working at Universal Studios. Um he was there for the grand opening.

SPEAKER_01 31:54

That's cool.

SPEAKER_02 31:55

I know, I know, I know. He worked um in the backlot as a tram tour guide. Remember that? I I missed the old Universal.

SPEAKER_01 32:02

Is it is the backlot tour still there? No.

SPEAKER_02 32:04

Oh, that one's gone now. No, it's not there. I know. And the that one ride, because it wasn't the backlot tour where the Jaws was.

SPEAKER_01 32:12

Um no, Jaws was its own ride. It was okay.

SPEAKER_02 32:16

I swear I don't remember what I thought that was, but yeah, okay. Yeah. Anyway, um, he actually worked with Wayne Brady there at the um at a at a show at Nickelodeon Studios. Let me fix that, not at Universal. Nickelodeon Studios. Do you remember when they had their do they still have that in Orlando, Nickelodeon Studios?

SPEAKER_01 32:32

I don't think so.

SPEAKER_02 32:33

Okay. Well, he worked with Wayne Brady. They had a double dare themed show. Fun. Um, and Wayne Brady was the host, and Howie was his assistant. So he would like go in the crowd and like get kids to participate and like all that stuff. What? I know. Isn't that fun? So fun. I know. So Howie, as we talked about in part one, he auditioned for Lou Pearlman twice for Backstreet Boys.

SPEAKER_01 32:54

Because he couldn't find him in the phone book.

SPEAKER_02 32:56

That's right. Because he auditioned with Tony Danetti. Uh, and if you didn't listen to part one, he auditioned and a couple never heard anything for a couple months. He went back. And when he walked in, they were like, Oh, we've been looking for you, but we couldn't find your number. Like they lost his head shot with his resume, it was on the back. They were like, We've been looking for you, but we couldn't find your name, your phone number, because it was a fake name.

SPEAKER_01 33:18

Fake name. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 33:18

So I just think that's funny.

SPEAKER_01 33:19

So, friends, use your real name. Although they can just find you on social media. I know it's it's or something, but still, yeah, use your real name.

Howie’s Fame Stories And Lupus Foundation

SPEAKER_02 33:28

Um, okay, so then he was in Backstreet Boys. Again, part one for that. Here is a funny fan story that I found of during their big heyday uh in Backstreet Boys. Remember, I said they were super popular overseas first. So uh while they were like super popular in Germany, he had said in a teen magazine interview over there that he loved hariboo gummy bears, which were made there, right? So fans took that to heart and they would throw actual gummy bears, I don't know, like in a package or maybe free-handed, I don't know, on the stage at their shows, and it would cause all kinds of stage hazards, obviously. Yeah, problems. And he said while he was touring, his mom back in the States would give fans tours of their house. Yeah. And he said one time he came home to visit, and a fan was there because his mom was like giving tours, and she showed up with a three-tier cake made of gummy bears that she brought all the way from Germany. What? I know. He's like, I don't know how she got it through customs. I don't know how it survived the fight, although this was in the early 90s.

SPEAKER_01 34:38

Yeah, it's probably fine.

SPEAKER_02 34:39

Um, and he said he actually took a bite of it because he felt so bad. He said it was not, it was very hard and gross, but he felt bad. So he actually ate some of it.

SPEAKER_01 34:48

I mean, I guess I would have too.

SPEAKER_02 34:50

Isn't oh not me.

SPEAKER_01 34:51

Really? No, I would have choked it down.

SPEAKER_02 34:54

Isn't that hilarious? I that made me laugh so hard. Um, but I just I didn't imagine giving tours of their house.

SPEAKER_01 35:00

I love that. If Cooper's over Foobus, you have to do that.

SPEAKER_02 35:03

You have to want people up in my house, weirdos.

SPEAKER_01 35:06

And then Cooper like comes home and he's like, hello. Oh, hey, oh, here's the star himself.

SPEAKER_02 35:12

You're here on a god, and you know my husband would never be down for that. He doesn't even like people we know in our house, much less strangers.

unknown 35:19

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 35:20

Okay, so while on the backstreet boys, Howie actually had several small acting roles. They all kind of did. You know, they had little cameos on TV shows and here and there. Uh, he was on Roswell and Sabrina the Teenage Witch. I think they were all on Sabrina. Yeah, they were. I wrote that down. Uh, he was the voice of Santa Claus on a Christmas episode of Dora the Explorer.

SPEAKER_03 35:40

Oh, cute.

SPEAKER_02 35:41

I know. And he was featured on the PBS cartoon Arthur, also with all the Baxter Boys. So I just thought that was a cute little fun thing. Um, so like I mentioned, his sister Caroline died in '98 of lupus. And so he started the Duro Lupus Foundation in her honor to help raise money for lupus research. So he's actually organized a bunch of charity events for the foundation over the years. He's done concerts, auctions, he's done cruises for them. Um, and the foundation uh helps to raise awareness of the disease, and it also provides financial support to those who can't afford treatment, kind of like um Danny Wood did for um breast cancer families.

SPEAKER_03 36:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 36:21

So I think that that's a really commendable thing to bring up. Um, unfortunately, in recent years, the foundation has closed due to lack of funds.

SPEAKER_01 36:29

So yeah, I mean, there's oh, there's just so many organizations out there.

SPEAKER_02 36:34

And I know. Yeah. So Howie has worked as a producer too, and he's even he even managed helped to manage the Canadian band Neverist.

SPEAKER_01 36:44

I don't know. I don't either.

SPEAKER_02 36:46

Uh he has a company called Three Street Management. So just throwing that in. You knew that?

SPEAKER_01 36:51

Isn't isn't that that's his is that a music management or that's his construction management?

SPEAKER_02 36:56

Well, he does have another, he does have another uh comp I don't know if it's the same name or not. Okay. I'll let you know in a second. We're gonna find out. So anyway, in 2006, he actually started working on his first solo album, and it was going to include Spanish uh songs as well as English slash American ones, but he eventually changed his mind about it, saying that his Spanish was not the best and he did not want to be something he was not. So he wasn't trying to pretend like I'm really good at Spanish. So I thought that was pretty like he tried to do it, and he was like, actually, this isn't right. So, but around 2010, he started work working on an album in a more like pop RB style, and his first solo album, Back to Me, came out in November of 2011, and it had a lot of songs he co-wrote himself. So the first single, 100, was released in the summer of 2011, and it actually had quite a bit of airplay, uh, mostly in Canada. So I didn't even know that that had happened. Yeah. Uh, he also joined Britney Spears as the opening act for her film fatale tour in South America to promote his solo album that year.

SPEAKER_01 37:58

The solo album that ended up not being in Spanish.

SPEAKER_02 38:00

No, it was this one that I just said. Back to me.

SPEAKER_01 38:02

Oh, sorry, back to me. Okay. I was like, wait a minute. Come back. And then it's like South America, but anyway, sorry, got it. No, you're good, you're good. That was a good tour.

SPEAKER_02 38:10

Oh, did you go to that one? Look at that. That's a good one. Uh, so he actually came out with a children's album in 2019. Oh. I know. It's called Which One Am I? And this one was inspired by his upbringing as half Puerto Rican, half Irish, um, coupled with like lessons he now tries to impart to his two kids. Um, he said this it's an autobiographical story of my life growing up in Orlando, my middle school years, and what life was like at a point where I was finding the me I was meant to be. My mom being Puerto Rican and my dad an Irish American, I was confused. I looked Spanish, but didn't speak Spanish. I was trying to find my place. So a lot of the songs have to do with like very personal things. Uh, that album actually inspired him in early 2020 to write and star in a musical loosely based on his life. And it was called Howie D back in the day, and it was um on stage at the Rose Theater in Omaha, Nebraska. I'm not, I know. Uh the show explored his childhood challenges, kind of it just kind of elaborated on what the album was. Got it. Um, included and it included, you know, being a shy, biracial kid, navigating middle school and bullies, and also pursuing his theater dreams. Uh it had a limited run, so it was only in that one theater in January, February of 2020. And then as we know, what happened after that?

SPEAKER_01 39:33

So he just probably never came back after that.

SPEAKER_02 39:35

Yeah, yeah. So Howie uh founded a company called Sweet D Inc. with his older brother John, and that is the company Inc. Okay. Yeah, that specializes in real estate development and consulting, that kind of stuff. It's built a lot around here. It's built, it's built some condominiums, hotels, waterfront properties. Um, one of which he has a restaurant in Cocoa Beach called Co. Is it it's COA? How do you think that is? Co.

SPEAKER_01 40:00

C O A. I like Coa.

SPEAKER_02 40:02

Coa. Yeah. It opened last May, and I'm actually going there with my husband next Friday and honor every anniversary.

SPEAKER_01 40:08

So I'll Oh, let me know. Stay tuned. Is it like fine dining? Yeah. Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 40:12

Okay. It looks really fun and cute. It's like a fusion kind of hip little. Okay. It looks really fun and cute. So stay tuned. I shall bring you a review.

SPEAKER_01 40:21

We'll get the follow-up.

SPEAKER_02 40:22

Um, so let's talk about his um his wife. So on December 6th, 2000, he met Lee Ann, a film executive producer for Warner Brothers and Dreamworks. Okay. So hey girl, go. Uh, she was the webmaster of the Baxter Boys website at the time, which is such a 2000 thing. I know.

SPEAKER_01 40:43

I feel like it's like it's like captain of the fan mail channel. I know, I think. Except in 2000, but also she's this like executive like person. I love it.

SPEAKER_02 40:50

I love it. So they dated for six years, and then he proposed to her on New Year's Eve in 2006 in front of her family.

SPEAKER_01 40:57

I know. It's like yeah.

Howie’s Solo Music And Business Ventures

SPEAKER_02 40:59

They married in a traditional Catholic ceremony at St. James Cathedral in Orlando, and he actually got baptized there and sang in the choir during their wedding. So great. Um, his wife is the co-founder of Esla, which is an eco-friendly vegan luxury handbag company, and she is a beautiful lady. I like looked up her website, and her handbags are so pretty, but not something Katie and I can't afford for a day-to-day. But um, yeah, they're they're really nice. They're like handmade, it's like vegan leather, which I don't even know what that means.

unknown 41:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 41:35

How do you have leather that's vegan? I don't mean, yeah. I don't understand. Yeah. I guess it's fake leather.

SPEAKER_01 41:39

Yeah, it's not real.

SPEAKER_02 41:40

Avi. Because leather is animal skin. But yeah, so they they do live around here in the Space Coast. They have two sons, James and Holden. And Howie said both his boys have musical talents, but his older son, James, has definitely been bitten by the performing bug. Um, he's actually taken voice lessons with his aunt, Howie's sister, Pollyanna. Oh, I know. Um, he even used to have a gaming YouTube channel a few years back. Do you remember when all the kids were we did or his son?

SPEAKER_01 42:08

His son. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 42:09

Do you remember when all the kids were doing YouTube channels of them playing Minecraft? Yes. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 42:14

He has one. Had one.

SPEAKER_02 42:15

I like looked at there's not that much content, but I was like, oh yeah, I remember Caden begging me. We were like, no, like absolutely not. We're not. You're not doing that.

SPEAKER_01 42:22

I remember my kids watching those, and I'd be like, is this really entertaining? I had to do it. They loved it.

SPEAKER_02 42:27

Oh, I know.

SPEAKER_01 42:28

Oh, they loved it.

SPEAKER_02 42:29

I don't understand why you're watching somebody. I don't know. Whatever. Whatever. But anyway, so that's his little bit. So here's some uh controversy, um, a little bit with Howie. It's nothing too crazy. So Howie actually was the main lead singer of the Bakshree Boys. Um until their music producers in Sweden, go to part one for that, pushed for Brian and Nick to say to take center stage. So when they first started, he was the one singing most of the leads, and then it changed when they started recording their first album. So he kind of talks about this, um, about his feelings with this and how that made him feel, and he kind of carried it for a long time on their 2015 documentary. And he also talked about it on the Dirty Pop Netflix series. So in recent years, they've tried to give him more like lead vocals and bring his voice in more to the forefront more than it has been in the past.

SPEAKER_01 43:24

I'm sure it was just a marketing thing. Yeah. Doesn't make you feel any better.

SPEAKER_02 43:28

I know, I know.

SPEAKER_01 43:29

It's not like a talent, not that the other guys aren't talented, but it's not like a talent.

SPEAKER_02 43:32

Well, and you know, you can't help but take it personal. So Howie um actually was the only Baxtery Boy member to kind of keep in contact with Lou Pearlman after their lawsuit, which they talk about also in the Dirty Pop. He was still going to like his his events and they were like, What are you even doing? What are you doing? I know. He had he still had pretty regular communication with him until 2007. That's that's yeah, that's way after all the things. But I understand they do talk a lot about that documentary about it. Very con it they said it they had such conflicted feelings about Lou Perlman because for all this snark like the slimy stuff that he did, he really did do a lot for them. I mean, he took care of them, he promoted them, he treated them like kids. I mean, like, nothing is ever as simple as we think it is.

SPEAKER_01 44:20

And like we've said, not that the rest of them aren't nice, but how he's the nice ones. So maybe it's just like a people are flawed, and this is a flawed person that I care about. So on at least in some, I'm not gonna give him any of my money, but maybe I'll still support him in other ways. Yeah. Maybe.

SPEAKER_02 44:37

So anyway, so moving on. Now we're into Brian.

SPEAKER_01 44:40

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 44:40

Um, Brian.

SPEAKER_01 44:42

I would say I know the least about Brian.

SPEAKER_02 44:44

Okay, well, you're about to learn some.

SPEAKER_01 44:45

Yay.

SPEAKER_02 44:46

So he was born February 20th, uh, February 20th.

SPEAKER_01 44:49

February 20th.

Brian’s Health Scares And Faith-Focused Career

SPEAKER_02 44:50

That's my sister's birthday.

SPEAKER_01 44:51

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 44:51

Um, but she was not born in 1935. Uh, he was born February 20th, 1975. For some reason I didn't write his full name, so I don't know his middle name. There you go. Uh, he was born in Lexington, Kentucky to uh mom Jackie. Her name is Jaclyn, but they call went by Jackie, and his dad, Harold Jr. Brian has an older brother named Harold the Third, uh, who is an actor and also a singer. So um, so Brian was born with a congenital heart defect called VSD, which is ventricular septal defect, commonly known as a heart murmur. Um, heart murmurs have lots of various levels. I actually had one as a baby, and sometimes as you grow, it kind of fixes itself, and sometimes it doesn't. So if you have one when you're a baby, they keep a close eye on it to see. Mine went away, hooray. Um, his was a lot more serious, obviously. So when he was five, he was in the hospital for two months. And they actually gave him a 0% chance of survival. What? So what happened was he got a bacterial infection called endocarditis. Um, yeah, two months. And they were like, he's not gonna make it. Well, he did. He ultimately did recover, but then he then had to have surgery at age 23, which we talked about while he was on tour with Backshee Boys. Um, and they actually referenced his surgery in the band's music video, uh, Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely. I didn't know that. Yeah, so go watch it. Yeah. Um he established the Brian Latrell Healthy Heart Club, which is a nonprofit organization that assists kids with heart conditions. So um I think most of them who have had some difficult stuff happen in their life, whether it's you know, a heart condition or a family member passing away, they've really tried to use their money and privilege and voice to help other people. So I think that that is commendable.

SPEAKER_01 46:39

It really does seem that way. And it seemed that way for for the other groups, new kids and boys to men, too. Like uh was it Boys to Men that had the autism organization? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 46:50

Oh no, it was uh Joey, it was Joey McIntyre.

SPEAKER_01 46:54

I think one of the guys at Boys to Men Sean had kids Micah's club or something like that.

SPEAKER_02 47:00

Joey's was the hearing loss. That's what it was. That's what it was.

SPEAKER_01 47:02

There's I mean, that's what I mean. Yeah, there's so many across the board, lots of different causes.

SPEAKER_02 47:08

Right. So I like that, I appreciate that. Good on you. Not like they care, they're not listening to me. But maybe so Brian grew up in a super religious Southern Baptist family, which becomes very prevalent later in his life, that that is how he was brought up and did not um veer from that. And I'll we'll talk about that in a minute. Um, he also grew up singing in the church choir, so we got three for three here. Uh he sang his first solo at Porter Memorial Baptist Church at age seven.

unknown 47:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 47:36

I know. Him and his cousin Kevin would sing together frequently in choirs and at local festivals, and then Kevin's family moved. Remember, I said they moved when he was nine, so they moved a little bit farther away. Um at age 14, Brian was attending Tate's Creek High School. His choir teacher, Barry Turner, said, Hey, you can make some money singing like at local social events and stuff. So just like Brian, um, just like Kevin, he started performing at weddings, but just singing, not playing the piano or anything. He was also in school plays, he was in Greece. Oh I'm pretty sure he was Danny. Uh, he joined Baxter Boys in '93, and then he graduated high school uh by correspondence in 94 because he was, I guess, a junior when he uh left school. So, and y'all gotta remember that was hard back in the day. This was before like internet school. Right. Virtual school was not a thing. Correspondence course was hard. Like you had actual physical books and tests, and I don't even know how they used to do that. They like mailed you a test or something.

SPEAKER_01 48:33

I think it mailed, yeah, it was all mailed back and forth. Unless you unless you had like, depending if it was like a chain or a franchise, oh yeah. You could like go somewhere, but like there may have been places in Orlando, for example, that he could have taken his tests and turned in his work, but who knows? Who knows? It was a whole thing.

SPEAKER_02 48:49

Who knows, girl? All right, so Brian was um instrumental in the initial lawsuit against Lou Pearlman, which I I kind of dug into in the first part.

SPEAKER_01 48:59

He was the first one that questioned it, right?

SPEAKER_02 49:01

He was, and he was the one who initiated the lawsuit.

SPEAKER_01 49:03

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 49:04

So um, because of that first lawsuit, others followed. Um, their group one and then and Sync had theirs and then more, and that actually led to Lou Pearlman's eventual conviction and imprisonment. So I don't know, like I'm sure eventually things would have come to light, but Brian was the one who got it got it started. So um Brian has always identified himself as a devout Christian. He talks about his faith frequently. Um, he has said this I think as Christians, we need to join hands and mount up together and lift God up and talk about our faith publicly, talk about all the things God has done for us in our life to touch other people. Um, because of this, he released a Christian album uh in 2005 called Welcome Home with the Christian label Reunion Records. Now you y'all I've shared a little bit of my story. Uh I remember this because I was so excited because this was in the midst of my evangelical Christian life, which is shocking to me. It feels like a different life. Um and he co-wrote six of the songs on that album. It debuted at number three on the Christian music charts. Okay. So, um, and if you're not in the Christian Christian music scene, there's more than you think there is.

SPEAKER_01 50:16

Okay. Oh no, for real. I mean really the 90s kind of that was the spark. Yeah. Michael W. Smith and Stephen Curtis Chapman and Amy Grant. It's a big pop Christian push that has now just proliferated.

SPEAKER_02 50:31

They yeah, it's if you don't know, it's a it's a huge industry. It's a huge industry. So that's a big deal to have a top Christian album. Yeah. Uh four singles uh were released from the album. Um, and in the summer of 2005, hold on. His solo single in Christ Alone, which obviously he didn't write that song. If if you know that in Christ Alone, I don't remember. Anyway, that was number one on the Christian charts. He got a voice, and that's a song people know and they love it. I can't think of a church that I've ever gone to where that was not sang multiple times.

SPEAKER_01 51:06

I mean, I know that song. I know.

SPEAKER_02 51:08

Um, he actually won a Dove Award, which that's the big Christian uh music awards, for inspirational recorded song of the year for that song. And then he won another one in 2008 for the song By His Wounds. Um he did a compilation album called Glory Revealed, and there was other Christian artists on there with him, uh Stephen Curtis Chapman, Michael W. Smith, Mark Hall of Casting Crowns, Mark Powell, Mac Powell of Third Day, and David Crowder. Now, if you don't know Christian music, you don't know who the world that is. If you do know Christian music, those are those are some big names.

SPEAKER_01 51:42

Big names, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 51:43

Um, so they just kind of did like a compilation album together. Uh, he won another Dev Award that year for a song on that album. I'm just trying to see what I need to say from this. I've wrote a lot of stuff that probably doesn't matter. Yeah, let's just keep going.

SPEAKER_01 51:57

They might- I mean, I think that this is an interesting component. It is that he didn't just like say, Oh, like, like I feel like a lot of these groups and even individuals kind of dabble with different music just to dabble, which is fine, you know, some of it more successful than others, but he dabbled, quote unquote, and was like incredibly successful at it while he was still boy too.

SPEAKER_02 52:20

If he said whether or not I agree with your beliefs, if you are saying, I believe this, this is what I should do, and you're doing it, good. Yeah. Like he says, I want to tell the world about my faith, I have this gift, I want to use my gift to spread whatever I think is right. And he's doing that. So, okay. Um, he also had two Christmas um albums that came out with his wife and uh his son Bailey. Oh, it was called Brian Latrell's Family Christmas. It came out in December of 2010, and then they had another one called Christmas with the Latrell that came out um in 2011. So he met his wife Leanne on the set of a video uh for Baxter Boys called As Long As You Love Me, and we talked about that before. Um, they dated for two years. He proposed on Christmas 1999. That's cute. Uh they got married um on September 2nd in the year 2000 at Peachtree Christian Church in Atlanta, Georgia, where they lived for a short period of time. Um, they had a son named Bailey in November of 2002. So another kind of eerie 2000 um September 11th, 2001 connection is his wife was scheduled to board American Airlines Flight 11 on September 11th. The night before she had canceled her flight for whatever reason.

SPEAKER_01 53:45

Jeez.

SPEAKER_02 53:46

Isn't that crazy?

SPEAKER_01 53:47

And that's before their son was born.

SPEAKER_02 53:48

Correct. And then they had him the next year.

SPEAKER_01 53:51

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 53:52

So I just thought, wow, I just cannot imagine. I mean, I'm sure she wasn't the only person who was supposed to be on that flight that wasn't. Yeah. But just to know, like, if I would have gotten well, we were just talking about how we before we started getting recorded, we were talking about you can't let your brain do what ifs.

SPEAKER_01 54:08

I know. I mean, yeah, and that's true just for anything, right? I know I think that sometimes if I hear of an accident or something and I know I drove a different way. Oh, I know for some reason. I know. And it's like, oh, I would have been there at that time. Right. Doesn't necessarily mean it would have been me, but you know, it could have, and that's the thing.

SPEAKER_02 54:26

But anyway, so moving on from that, Brian and Leanne, they had their son Bailey. Um, and he actually got his father's musical jeans of singing. He was on Broadway at the age of 13 in the musical disaster. And uh before that, by the age of nine, he was opening arena shows with his dad and the Baxtery Boys. They would bring him up. I I don't think he was the only one of their kids, but they would come up and sing. Wow. I know. Um, and then after being on Broadway at 13, he told his parents he wanted to start his career as a country artist. Okay, which he did. He was also on the 2025 season of American Idol. I sent you his audition.

SPEAKER_01 55:07

Yes, okay.

SPEAKER_02 55:08

I sent you his audition, and they actually, I don't really like that they did this. They brought Brian in to sing with him for a second song.

SPEAKER_01 55:15

Like that was totally like I miss the days when American stand on his own.

SPEAKER_02 55:20

Right. But he is he, you know, Brian sings amazing. His son does too.

SPEAKER_01 55:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 55:26

And then they were harmonized. Oh, it was beautiful. I mean, it was beautiful.

SPEAKER_01 55:29

Right. Like we want to see it, just maybe not on American Idol in the audition round.

Brian’s Politics And Beach Property Disputes

SPEAKER_02 55:33

And he made it to the top 20. So but a lot of people like didn't like that he was on there because it's kind of like you don't really have the advantage.

SPEAKER_01 55:41

You don't really need American Idol.

SPEAKER_02 55:43

That so a lot of the American public was kind of like probably not voting for him. Uh, but anyway, uh in 2015 documentary, Brian talked about the struggles with his voice. Remember, I told you that? Um, he actually was diagnosed, diagnosed with spasmodic dysphonia. Now, this is actually a neurological disorder that causes involuntary spasms in your in your vocal cords. So basically, when you try to sing or speak randomly, your vocal cords, your the folds don't behave the way they should. They tighten up, they cause your voice to break, crack, or sound strain, and you can't control it. Wow. Yeah. Um, so I'm gonna give you a little bit of science behind this so just so you understand what I'm talking about. Because I know we have a lot of singers that listen. So, so spasmodic dysphonia, it affects the TA muscles. I'm not gonna try and say the scientific word for that. Those are used in your chest voice. Okay, those are the muscles you use when you sing in your chest voice. Your head voice relies on the CT muscles, and those in your head voice aren't as affected as your chest voice.

SPEAKER_03 56:46

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 56:46

But for those of y'all who aren't singers, your chest voice is where you belt. So uh for a pop star to not be able to belt, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 56:56

That's that's a big disadvantage.

SPEAKER_02 56:58

Singing in your head voice is really hard to do for a really long time, like to only be able to sing in your head voice. That's um, yeah. And it limits your range immensely. So um so he can sing his high notes, but and so his higher range is still intact, but his chest voice triggers those vocal spasms. So, especially, you know, a lot of his vocals on the back streets are up and down, you know. Um, and they even show him practicing in this documentary, and that happens. Like he's singing, it sounds great, and then he tries to belt and it just cracks. Wow, it's it's heartbreaking to watch. Um, so uh to work around this, he now sings, he's he's doing a lot of therapy, a lot of mind-body stuff, a lot of um it's not called occupational therapy when it's your voice, but those kind of things to work with what is happening. And he now sings primarily in his head voice, and then he brings his head voice down to the lower part of his range in the head voice. Does that make sense? It does. Okay. Uh, so this kind of allows him to continue performing without triggering those spasms because he's learning, I'm sure over the years he's learned how to handle it. Yeah, there's really no cure.

SPEAKER_01 58:10

Um, but treatment is it's neurologic, right neurological, so you can't like go physically into the vocal cords and fix it.

SPEAKER_02 58:18

Right. Yeah. So, but treatments like speech therapy, um, Botox injections, yes, really. Botox can be used for lots of other things besides wrinkles. Like I know people who do them for migraines. Um, and I'm assuming you would probably have an injection in your throat because it helps. I don't think so. Like you'd want to put topically, maybe it's something with your breathing, like your diaphragm muscles. I don't know. I didn't look it up. But anyway, and then you know, vocal training. So you just basically you just manage the symptoms. And I think since 2015, when we watched this, he's he's done well because they're on tour and he's singing and he sounds great. So here's some controversy with Brian. Um 2017. So like I said, he's a very uh devout Christian. So politically in recent years, that's kind of where things have gotten murky. So TMZ asked Brian in 2017 if he thought Trump would be a good president. And Brian said, I have faith in the system, I have faith in his character, his beliefs, and his balls. Let's just put it that way. Um, okay. He also said Hollywood needs to chill out. We're talking about the commander in chief, we're talking about respect. And he said that in response to people critiquing Trump. Right. So two days after the Capitol riots, uh, Brian tweeted that he was gonna join Parler and leave so those other social media platforms.

SPEAKER_01 59:47

I was like Parler. You remember Parler think about it, but yes, I think it's still there. Yeah. But you remember when people were making a big deal about going on. Right.

SPEAKER_02 59:56

And generally there was a certain um political leaning that would go there. Um a week after that, his cousin Kevin tweeted a link with an article about losing a friend to QAnon, along with a side-eye emoji, a peace sign, and a heart. Oh. Right. So that led to speculation that this was like indirectly about Brian.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:25

I would I've probably it was probably more than just Brian, given where like Kevin's own upbringing, but if the timing is kind of interesting.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:35

Um, also Brian's wife kind of got into some uh controversy with this during this time on her now deleted Twitter account. But listen, guys, screenshots live forever. Forever. Because I seen her stuff. Uh she was she was like agreeing with the false claims that and Antifa supporters were part of the riots. And she had a whole thing on there. In fact, I think she even responded to Howie's wife said something um in opposition of that, and she like even responded to her on there. So there is so there's that. Um there's also been some recent stuff with his private, he has some private property on the beach here in Florida. Him and his wife Leanne, they've been in several legal battles. Um it his property is in Walton County, Florida. I don't know exactly where is that the that's the Gulf Coast, yeah? Yeah, I I think it's in the panhandle.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:36

I think that's where Dustin is.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:37

Yeah, that's the Gulf. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, it was Gulf side. Yeah, yeah, Gulf side. Um, so this is kind of a uh an issue in that county because public access rules to the beach often conflict with private ownership of property on the beach.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:50

Happens here too.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:51

I know, and I get it. Like it's a public beach, even though your private house is right there.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:56

Correct.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:56

So you don't actually own that beach right in front of your house. You just do not. It is on a public land. Yes. So people get really up in arms about this. Um, so he accused a neighbor of trespassing, they went to court, it was dismissed because Brian said he was claiming emotional damages, and the judge's like, you can't do that in court. Goodbye. And then just recently in this March, TMZ released a video of Brian having an altercation with another neighbor over property access. Like Brian even threatens the guy, he knocks his phone out of his hand, like, and the the guy's like, This is not your beach, like this has happened like to everybody who's lived here, like this is a beach, like but he he had him on video and TMZ released oh wow, look, there you go.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:45

If you want to live that close to public land, I I I get it. I know the issues here. Um, you know, if people are on the beach late, and I think at least where we live, our officials try to be fair, and like after certain hours, you you're not even really supposed to be on the beach. Right, right. That's just a safety thing. Um, are they down there like patrolling it? No. But if you're down there like getting drunk, but it's also a nature preserve thing, too, because the turtles exactly, right? Exactly. So they you can, if you live there, call the police or whatever on people for certain instances, and that makes sense. But just for people like being there or doing normal beach things or whatever you would do outside on a public area, like you you don't have any claim over it. So you don't live there if you don't like it.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:35

The the controversy is he's kind of acting like an entitled rich person.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:40

Well, so there you go. There you go with Brian, everyone. See, I said I didn't know that much about him. I'm actually okay that that was the case. I really like it.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:51

So it's weird because like nobody is all one thing. That's that's what we got.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:55

I know I know I know anyway.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:57

So we got two more to go, guys, and this we're at an hour, and I'm gonna do my best.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:00

We're doing it, we're doing it.

AJ’s Child Performer Years And Alter Ego

SPEAKER_02 1:04:01

So let's move on to AJ. So he was born Alexander James McLean, January 9th, 1978. He was born in West Palm Beach.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:08

So he's a Zennial.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:10

First one. Uh is he? Yeah, isn't it? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:14

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:15

So West Palm Beach, sorry. Yes, West Palm Beach. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:19

His parents, Denise and Robert. Uh, his mom is Cuban and Puerto Rican, and his dad is Scottish, Irish, and English. So he's kind of similar to Howie. Yeah. Um, he's an only child, and he was raised mostly by his mom and grandparents. His parents divorced when he was two, and his dad was not really around. Uh, they reunited in '97, and they've been in contact since then. So that's good. Yeah. So he got a start in performing at a at a young age, too. He was about four years old. He got enrolled in his first dance class. He eventually took two hours of classes every day, and he was training in ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop, rhythmic tap, uh, contemporary ballroom, salsa, merengue, and he also did some gymnastics. Jeez. Sir was busy. Also, in the 2015 documentary, they're like they're like hiking on Kevin's property, and he's like, Oh my god, my knees. He's had knee surgeries. Dancers know. Like, oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:15

All that jumping and tapping and yeah, he's had two knee surgeries.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:19

Uh, he started modeling at age five. Uh, he was featured in JCPenney catalogs in Runways. I think a little Tegan.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:26

Oh yeah.

unknown 1:05:26

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:27

Katie's youngest was in this cute little, she was about five, right?

SPEAKER_01 1:05:30

She, I think she was four.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:32

She's in a mall, like on this little mall fashion show. She's so cute. Anyway, his grandma taught him how to play piano, which is really sweet. Let's go, grandma. And at age six, he was in his first play. He was in Snow White and he was dopey. Oh, I know. So cute. He was uh he ended up being part of twenty seven more shows by the age of twelve. It's like it's like Cooper. I know, it's like it's like Cooper band.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:57

I'm like 27.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:58

I know he was in. The Nutcracker. This is just some of the ones. Uh, The King and I, and he was in Fiddler on the Roof, one of my favorites. Uh, he had his first role in a movie at age eight. He was Little Mike in the movie Truth or Dare. I do not remember this. So good on you. Good job, little Mike. Uh, in 1989, at age 11, he saw an ad in the newspaper for a Latin festival. Now, I talked about this in part one again. This is where he met Howie, who was also performing and competing. AJ won first place, and he won a thousand dollars, which is crazy for an 11-year-old. Yeah. The festival too. I know. The festival's producer hired him to perform a 45-minute one-person show, and he did a puppet show showcasing his singing, acting, and dancing. I wish I found video of this.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:47

I know the video exists. We have to find it.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:49

I know. Uh, in 1990, uh AJ and his mom and grandma moved to Kissimmee because they wanted um to give him more opportunities for performing, which, as we know, the Orlando area is cra Central Florida is crazy. So he attended a private acting school, the Florida Academy of the Dramatic Arts. Um, he said his mom and grandma were his biggest support system, and they did everything they could to help him succeed. His grandma picked him up from school every day. Um, she brought him to auditions. His mom like uh would go over lines when she got home from her two jobs. Yeah. So um those ladies he credits with his success and his drive to succeed. In 91, he got a role on a Nickelodeon series called Hi Honey, I'm Home. And his his character's name was Skunk. Oh, I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:39

This is all very Nickelodeon 90s.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:42

But get this after the pilot, he was cut from the show because they said he was too tall. So they hired a shorter actor to take his place.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:50

Oh I know. Well, I guess in a way, it's not your fault.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:54

I know, but what a bummer. Uh but don't fret, because later on he won a part in Nickelodeon's series Welcome Freshman. Again, we said that with Howie. Now I don't know if they were on it at the same time, but that kind of started his ongoing work, uh relationship with Nickelodeon and also the Disney Channel. So he appeared in the Nickelodeon show Guts. It was like that game show. And he was in a commercial with the Muppets.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:21

Really?

SPEAKER_02 1:08:21

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:22

Oh, that's so cool. I know.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:24

So in 92, 14-year-old AJ auditioned for the Backstreet Boys. He was even though the ages were supposed to be 16 and 19. Um, he had only been attending Osceola High School for six months at that time, so he also had to finish high school by correspondence. So there you go. Um, in 2000, this is crazy, and I don't remember this. While he was in the Backstreet Boys, he created a character named Johnny No Name. Do you remember this? As his alter ego. Now, this was like a thing people did. Remember, Garth Brooks had an alter ego and like an MMS.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:00

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And all that stuff.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:02

So he created this alter ego and used that as his name when he was uh performing, not with the Backstreet Boys. So his original name was Johnny Suede, which was a character played by Brad Pitt in a film of that name. Uh, but the film movie studio, Miramax, threatened to sue him. So he changed it to Johnny No Name. Just forget it. I have no name. I have no last name at all. I have not Johnny Swade. I have Johnny No Name. Leave me alone. Don't take my money. So he actually performed like um rock and metal uh at various clubs in New York, and he even did a VH1 Save the Music Nine City Tour as Johnny No Name.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:41

Genius.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:42

I don't I don't know how I missed any of this.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:44

I know it's actually pretty cool.

AJ’s Addiction Recovery And Solo Projects

SPEAKER_02 1:09:46

So unfortunately, um at the height of the Baxtery Boys fame, AJ's battle with addiction began. Um his bandmates said, his bandmates have said he really got into like the bad boy persona. He was partying a lot, um, trying to live this like rock star life. And he tried cocaine for the very first time right before a late night video shoot for the call uh in 2000.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:11

Yikes.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:12

Um, and he said that was the moment that the struggle with substance abuse began.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:17

I blame Johnny no name. Nah, everything was fine till then. Uh well, I mean, just saying.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:24

So um in 2001, the Baxter Boys were scheduled to make the first pitch at like a pro baseball game. I don't know which one. And AJ had been out all night, had not slept, partying and doing drugs and drinking. So he said, I'm not going, called them and said, I'm not going. Well, Kevin had enough and showed up wherever he was staying and tried to get into his room where AJ had deadbolted the door. They had a huge confrontation and and words were shed. And as I was reading this, I was remembering, you know, I've had various loved ones struggle with addiction, and I can think of moments like this. And I'm I'm sure my sister would be okay with me saying this. There was a Thanksgiving, we were together, and I knew she was on drugs, and nobody else thought she was. And I and my kids were there, and I looked at her and I was like, why don't you just be real? Like, we got into a screaming match in each other's face, and my husband had to break us apart. Wow. And we had a real we don't talk about this much because it was a really hard time, and she's been sober and clean and healthy for a while, and that is like for her, she's like, I don't even know who that was, and I don't either, because that's not my sister. And that whole plane ride home, I wrote a letter to her. It was like the whole plane ride, I was so upset, and I was like, I will support you, I will help you no matter what, but you can never be around my kids until you are clean. Because she was around my kids. Hi, no, and she was probably using um while she was there in the house. And Cooper was little, I mean, he was a toddler. I was like, I love you and I support you and I help you. And if you need me to do whatever, I will help you, but you may not be around my kids.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:11

And um, anyway, there was a time um my brother struggles in and out of addiction as well, and there's lots of similar times to that, but there's one specifically same kind of thing. We went to take family pictures when my family was visiting, oh like my my family's up visiting the rest of my family, and so we're like, let's do all these family pictures. And I was pregnant with Tegan. Oh, so I was, you know, obviously pregnant in pictures, but we'd been there for four or five days at that point, and he was kind of like we were having like family dinners, he would maybe be there, maybe not. Now, granted, his children were there, right, right. Like with his wife, and but he would just kind of be in and out and always have a reason he wasn't there. It it was clear to me that he was like withdrawing and like trying to stay away from us. And we got done with the pictures, and he looked at me and he was like, Oh, are you having a baby? And if you look at these pictures, it is very clear that I am having a baby, and I it was like that moment that I was just like, Who is he kidding? Right, uh like what you just now noticed my stomach, right? What you know, like it's just it's it's really sad, and like you said, it is like another person, but it does take it is an act of love to confront people on that.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:26

And it's it's hard, and we didn't talk for a while, and Tara actually she created this whole narrative of what I said in that letter to her friend.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:36

Oh yeah, I mean addicts do that too.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:38

Oh yeah, like a whole like that that I was mean, and like she she sent me a really ugly text, and we didn't talk for a while, and then the next time I heard um one of her friends call me and they were like, um, Tara's in rehab, like I won't go into that whole story. And I was like, Well, thank God. Like, you know, anyway, um, so Kevin confronted him. Um, Kevin, both of them have said they remember Kevin saying, like, I will never trust you again, you are dead to me. Like, you know, but AJ actually got on a plane the next day and went to treatment. Good. So um he has relapsed a few times and gone back, and it's that's pretty common. Like, it's hard. I mean, it's it is a hard thing to do. He's gotten sober and relapsed several times. He's gone to rehab in and out, but now he's been sober and clean for about I think I think it was like four or five years. So he's doing really well. Um, so that's that piece. Um, in 2000, he actually had did more solo stuff than I thought. In 2008, he did two shows under his his own name, not Johnny Johnny No Name in LA. And then he went on a solo tour in Europe parallel to the Baxtery Boys tour. So I don't know if that means he did shows while they were doing shows over there.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:58

Maybe that's crazy. Maybe just like separate shows, same thing.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:01

I don't know. So he did a solo album overseas, mostly it released mostly in Japan for some reason. It was called Have It All in 2010. It never came out officially in the US. Um, this was a mix of pop, rock, and RB. And he actually worked with OneRepublic vocalist Ryan Tetter as well as JC Shazay from NSYN. Um, JC is actually on the first and only single from that album called Teenage Wildlife. Hey, so yeah. Um, he married model and makeup artist slash hairstylist Rochelle Deanna on December 17th, 2011. They have two daughters together, Elliot and Lyric. Um, he kind of credits all three of them for motivating him to get healthy and sober at various different times. Rochelle and AJ divorced in 2024, but they've stayed pretty amicable and they have spoken both about how they positively co-parent.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:59

So 2024. He said okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:01

So pretty recently.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:02

Their kids were probably relatively point.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:06

I don't know how they are. I didn't write down the years. Ma B. Uh in 2012, he had a second solo album, never released though, which this kind of happened to him a couple times. Okay, he posted two singles on Social Cam. Do you know what that is?

SPEAKER_01 1:16:22

I've definitely heard of it. Okay, I haven't. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:25

Well, they were called Peach and P-L-A-R-S. I don't know. What do you think that stands for? I have no idea.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:33

We could make it up, but I don't want, I don't think we should do that.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:36

No. Uh 2015, he was working on another solo album with um Jordan of Jordan Omley of the Jam, who had worked on Bakshree Boy Songs in the past. The first single, Live Together, was actually named for a charitable foundation started by AJ and um this guy Jordan. And it premiered on people.com in May of 2015, and they filmed a music video to help raise money for the Marshall Fundamental Secondary School in Pasadena, California. So I thought that was really cool. Um the the album was released in October, and it had a lot of delays, mostly because the Backstreet Boys were getting ready for their Vegas residency. So 2018 at the Academy of Country Music Awards, guys, AJ said he was going to disrupt country music for his next solo project.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:28

Oh boy.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:28

Did you know he came out with some country songs?

SPEAKER_01 1:17:30

No.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:31

Well, my friend, he sure did. Uh, I guess Backstreet Boys collaborated with Florida Georgia Line on a song called God, Your Mama and Me.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:40

I have heard them. You have? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:42

Okay. Well, obviously, I don't listen to country music. So that inspired him to make a country album, and he did release two country pop singles called Back Porch Bottle Service and Boy and Man.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:56

I do not know those.

AJ’s Allyship And Reality TV Work

SPEAKER_02 1:17:58

I didn't even listen to them because I don't like country music. Uh he was on Dancing with the Stars in August 2020. Um and he finished seventh. Okay. So okay, AJ. Uh 2021, he came out. I really loved this. He came out with a single called Love Song Love. I sent you the video. Um, to show his support for the LGBTQIA community. He dressed in drag and he featured uh trans non-binary people in his video. Um, that was very important to him to do that. He also, speaking of, competed on the summer 20 um 2022 season of drag race, RuPaul's Drag Race, and he won. He competed as he competed as Poppy Love, and he won a hundred thousand dollars for his charity of choice, which was Trans Lifeline. Now, the the burning question, I'm sure you're wondering. No, he actually does not identify as queer or non-binary. He has just said uh he identifies himself, that's these were his words, as a straight male ally, and he said he views his experimentation with gender expression as an art forum.

unknown 1:19:09

I mean, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:19:10

And he's always worn like some eye makeup. He all his nails are always painted. He actually helped found a vegan nail line called Ava Beauty, which I have written down somewhere. Um, and so he's just he's very, very outspoken about being um a straight ally. So yeah, I have to look him up in drag. Oh, he looked fierce.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:33

Oh, I bet. I mean, if he won, he must have.

SPEAKER_02 1:19:35

I was like, what? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So here's some non-music business, and this is so random. In 2015, he launched Skull Scully Roy's Vapor, a line of liquids for vapes. I was like, what? No, I think he's quit, I think he's quit smoking and vaping since then because he has also done a rehab since since a couple since then. So I think maybe he has has quit. He said that's named after his his daughters. I want to say those are their middle names, maybe.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:08

Must be because yeah, they're different for sure.

SPEAKER_02 1:20:10

Uh in 2024, he partnered with um a Canadian ready-to-drink mocktail company called A to Peak, um, as a spokesperson. And he even did like a concert contest um the that the company had for consumers. So I think the mocktail, like the mocktail idea is great because I'm always very conscious because I drink, but like I'm surrounded by people who do not drink for one reason or another. And there's nothing, nothing worse when you go and like everybody around you has like a fun cocktail, and you're like, Oh, I guess I'll have a diet coke.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:20:44

Like, which is fine, there's nothing wrong with that. But like you want a fun drink too.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:49

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:20:50

So I like that the mocktail um industry is now a thing.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:54

Right, it's like a whole industry.

SPEAKER_02 1:20:56

I love it. I think it's fun. Okay. So now um he was also, I have to mention this, and then we're on to Nick, and I told you it's gonna be a long episode, and we have to be done, and we weren't gonna have time for DOS. We got this, we got this. Uh, he was on last summer. There was a uh a show released on Netflix called Building the Band. Did you hear about this? Okay, well, we're not the best with being up on shows.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:20

I'll probably hear about it in five years or right now.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:22

You're gonna hear about it right now.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:23

I can't wait.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:24

So there was 10 episode first season of a show called Building the Band. It was a Netflix reality competition series where 50 singers form music groups based solely on music, chemistry, and voice without seeing each other. So they get like in these sound booths and like listen it's to each other singing, and then they form these groups without seeing each other. Um, and then six groups form and then they compete after they work with a bunch of different coaches. So AJ was a judge along with Nicole um Sharingzer, yep, uh Kelly Roland, and the late Liam Payne. Um, Liam Payne actually died um in October of 2024, but Netflix proceeded with releasing the series as planned anyway. So, anyway, that brings me to the end of AJ, and now we're Nick, and unfortunately, there is a lot with Nick. And I'm gonna I'm gonna do my best. Do my best. But he's the baby of the group. He was born Nicholas Gene Carter on January 28th, 1980. Good year. I was born then too. He was actually the only one not born um in the South. He was born in Jamestown, New York.

SPEAKER_01 1:22:34

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:22:34

I was gonna say in the 70s, but also right?

SPEAKER_01 1:22:37

Well, yeah, but the South.

Nick Carter’s Early Career And Family Loss

SPEAKER_02 1:22:39

Yeah, the South the South and the 70s. Yes. So his parents, Jane and Robert, owned a bar in New York called Yankee, the Yankee Rebel. Yeah. Uh and when Nick was four, they moved to Ruskin, Florida, which is near Tampa, and they were managing the Garden Villa retirement home. Um, so he's the oldest of five. His sister, Bobby Jean, was born in 81. Les sister Leslie was born in 86. Twins, Aaron and Angel, were born in 87. Now, Nick has had a very uh tragedy-filled um family life. It's very tumultuous. There's a lot of toxic things. Three of his siblings have passed away. Wow. Yeah. Um drug addiction and mental health issues are very prevalent in his family. Um Leslie, his uh sister died in 2012 from a medication overdose. Aaron died in 2022 from drowning related to drug use. And then Bobby Jean died in 2023 um from drug intoxication as well. So it's very tragic and sad. So it's just him and Angel left. Wow. I know. Um, so Nick and uh his other his siblings, they they've all spoken about like the dysfunction on their lives and their struggles and their trauma. Um, their parents divorced in 2004. But there's like he he talked about on the 2015 documentary about like his parents fighting and like the instability, and it's just it there's abuse and it's just a lot. So, anyways, on the flip side, his mom did enroll him in singing lessons with a lady named Mary Ann Prinkey. I just think that's a fun name. Uh, when she heard him singing outside, so she put him in lessons, and then at age 10, he started taking dance lessons. So almost all these fools had dance lessons, and I said nobody did except AJ. My bad backstreet boys, I was wrong. Uh, he took ballet tap, um, hip-hop, and jazz, and he went to Carl and DeMarco's School of Theater and Dance.

SPEAKER_01 1:24:58

Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_02 1:24:59

That's where he went.

SPEAKER_01 1:25:00

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 1:25:01

Big business name. One of his dance teachers there, Sandy, put him in his first little group called Nick and the Angels. And for a few years, between 1989-93, Nick and this group, they actually recorded, like, they were a cover band group. Uh, they sang songs, like mostly like doo-wop songs, like Breaking Up is Hard To Do, Uptown Girl, and then they even had some few original songs. They would actually perform at local events and stuff. And this, these actually appeared on an unofficial release um that was released in October 2002, and it was called Before the Backstreet Boys 1989 through 1993. So I don't know how that got out there. I don't think he did it, I think somebody else did it. Yeah, that's wild. So he actually started going to auditions and performing locally. He also did commercial work, just like um A.J. and Howie. He was the lead in his fourth grade production of Phantom of the Opera. Okay. Now why did traitors doing Phantom? What? And in this documentary, he goes back to this school, Miles Elementary School, and he finds his teacher there, and she shows him a video of him singing as Phantom, and he breaks down. And um it makes me want to cry. Uh, cause because I can relate a little bit to what he was saying, because he was saying that the stage was his escape away from what was going on at home. And he like had to just sit there and like cry. And I was like, God, like I obviously we don't I can relate to that, and that's all we'll say. Um so anyway, during this time he also did an educational video called Reach for a Book. What? I know. Um he um also performed at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers home games a lot for two years. He performed there. I think he probably sang the national anthem or whatever. I don't know what he did. Um, he also made a brief appearance in the 1990 movie Edward Scissor Hands. Really? When Edward's standing at a window and like looking out at the neighborhood, Nick is on a slipping slide.

SPEAKER_01 1:27:21

Okay, I know that part. I'll have to watch okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:27:25

We need to do a rewatch of that movie. I love that movie.

SPEAKER_01 1:27:28

We can do that for Halloween.

SPEAKER_02 1:27:29

We well, it's really a Christmas movie.

SPEAKER_01 1:27:31

That's true. So we'll do it like maybe right after the Halloween step stops and we're going into Christmas.

SPEAKER_02 1:27:38

I love Tim Burton. Okay, so as we know from part one, Nick auditioned for Mickey Mouse Club at the same time as Baxtery Boys, but he obviously chose Baxtery Boys. He um he also didn't finish high school in person, he had to also um do tutoring, but he never completed it, he didn't get his G A D till later.

SPEAKER_01 1:28:00

So he started off tutoring and then I would I would guess based on his age, he had a lot more to go. Oh yeah. I mean he was young. So and with the correspondence and even tutors, I that would probably be hard to do.

SPEAKER_02 1:28:12

Yeah. So they actually documented him getting his GED in um the reality show he did in 2013 called I Heart Nick Carter, and we'll talk about that when we get there. Um but during the peak of popularity of Backstreet in 2000, Kevin wasn't the only one who got a title from uh people magazine because Nick was voted number nine of remember when they used to do the 50 most beautiful people?

SPEAKER_01 1:28:36

He was number nine.

SPEAKER_02 1:28:37

He's at the top ten.

SPEAKER_01 1:28:38

Top ten. I'd take it, man. Take it and write. He probably lost to like um Tom Cruise or something.

SPEAKER_02 1:28:44

I don't know, probably. Who knows? So in part one, we talked about the group and their issues with the management because they felt like they were promoting Nick's solo album more than theirs. So that solo album uh debuted in 2002, Now or Never. And the first single was called Help Me, and it did really, really good on radio countdowns. It was like number one across the nation on lots of radio stations, and then but it had mostly a success in Europe. Seems to be prevalent. Um let's see what else we can leave. I don't need to care about that. So in 2003, he went on tour to promote the solo debut album and he started working on the second one, but that got but put on hold because Backstreet got back again in 2004 and recorded a new album. And so then he didn't pick back up work on that album for eight years. Whoa, yeah, that's so many. I know. So, um, okay, we have some fun little acting tidbits. We had some fun ones with Kevin. We need to watch this at Halloween in October of 2004. He starred as a high school football player named Brody in the ABC family Halloween special, The Hollow.

SPEAKER_01 1:29:56

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_02 1:29:57

Okay, so it the the film premiered, you know how they do like their 13 nights of Halloween? Um, it actually was originally rated R, um, but they edited it for TV and younger audiences. But but the full version was released on DVD at a later date. So we need to find it.

SPEAKER_01 1:30:17

Well, that sounds really good.

SPEAKER_02 1:30:18

It's it's like a modern day Sleepy Hollow.

SPEAKER_01 1:30:20

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:30:20

Yeah, yeah. Anyway, um, so 2006. This is like reality show time. Okay. Nick and all his siblings are on a reality show called House of Carters. Did you watch this? No, but I know I remember it. Did you? Yes. Okay. I did. And this is kind of when so they all lived, what, but basically they all lived together in a house in LA, and they did that to kind of reunite and to kind of try and heal some of their stuff. Um, but um it was kind of hard to watch because it showed like a lot of their dysfunction, it showed their personal struggles, it it attempted to kind of mend their brokenness together, but it kind of just highlighted like deeper unresolved things, in my opinion. Um, there's only one season, it had eight episodes, and it is hard to watch even clips from. It's really hard. Um, so yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:31:16

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 1:31:17

Um, I'm trying to think what else. And at that time, all the sibling siblings were still living, and then the three have passed away since then. Yeah. It's so sad.

SPEAKER_02 1:31:27

Um, so his second solo album, I'm taking off, took place during downtime between the Baxtery Boys Touring in 2010. Came out in Japan in February 2011. 11. And then it came out in the US in May of that year, but only it was exclusively on iTunes. Do you remember that? I remember when that I know, I know. It but this is important because it was his first solo album without the help of a major label. Okay, so that's kind of a big deal. He co-wrote every single song, except there was one bonus track that only came out in Japan that he did not write. I don't care. Okay, so remember how I told you that he had a sci-fi movie?

SPEAKER_00 1:32:10

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 1:32:10

Okay, so the backstory of this is really interesting. In 2013, he launched a fundraising campaign on Indiegogo. You know what that is? Oh, I don't even know what that is. Okay, I'm glad you do. So it's like a crowdfunding site, I guess. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:32:24

It's like Kickstarter, but more specific to film.

Nick’s Solo Hustle And Crowdfunded Movie

SPEAKER_02 1:32:29

Okay. So he wanted to start this for a movie called Evil Blessings. Now, that's not, we'll get there. Uh, he wrote a screenplay for this, and the goal was to raise$85,000. Guess how much he raised?$156,000 and some change. Um, so basically he was saying in return for donations, there was like all these perks, depending on how much you donated. Um, it included chats with Nick on Skype, um, adding the donor's name to movie credits, um, movie merch, acting roles, even like extra roles, um, premiere tickets, um, backstreet boy tickets, like concerts, and all this stuff. It was like really good perks. So no wonder he raised so much money. Um, but there were delays in filming, um, including the director died. Oh, geez. When they were in the middle. Yeah. So Nick ended up using the funds that he raised to produce a different film, which at first was called Dead West, but was renamed to Dead Seven, which I told you about. Um, in part one. This was the post-apocalypse zombie western, and it came out on the sci-fi channel in April 2016. So Nick, Howie, and AJ are all in it, as well as Chris and Joey from NSYN and Jeff from 98 Degrees.

SPEAKER_01 1:33:50

Wow. Man, that alone is worth watching it.

SPEAKER_02 1:33:54

I know, I know, and I mentioned before in 2014, him and Jordan Knight had an uh an album together called Nick and Knight, and it's good. Please go listen. Uh, he returned to reality TV in 2014 with his fiancee, uh Lauren. They had a VH1 show called I Heart and It Carter, and it basically centered around them planning their wedding while he was touring and doing all this other work. And I remember he was like trying to lose weight, and he was like, You can't marry a fatty, which is cringy because whatever. But um, he was trying to lose weight. I think she was like into fitness, like I think she was a fitness person, but anyway, the wedding was like the one-hour season finale.

SPEAKER_01 1:34:34

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:34:35

So you remember this time in reality TV. Yeah, it was like everybody I that's probably when Jessica Simpson. The newlyweds or whatever they had, yeah. Yeah. So in 2015, he had a third solo album. I told you, this sir is busy, called All American, and Avril Levine is actually featured on a song on there. And Natasha Bettingfield co-wrote a song on there.

SPEAKER_01 1:34:56

Okay. She writes a lot of songs.

SPEAKER_02 1:34:57

That's I know. She's so talented.

SPEAKER_01 1:34:59

Everywhere.

SPEAKER_02 1:35:00

That same uh year, he placed 21st on Dancing with the Stars. Oh, really? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:35:06

I would have thought like Dancing with the. First of all, I didn't know they had 21. I know. That was like as I said it, I'm like, that doesn't seem right. It was the 21st season. He placed second. My bad. I would have said fan votes alone would have gotten him at least in like the top four, I would have thought.

SPEAKER_02 1:35:25

My apologies.

SPEAKER_01 1:35:26

My apologies on the 21st season.

SPEAKER_02 1:35:30

That's it. Got it. We got it. Okay. In 2020, he was on the mask singer as well. Of course. He was crocodile.

SPEAKER_01 1:35:37

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:35:39

And he finished third.

SPEAKER_01 1:35:40

Okay. Do you know who beat him?

SPEAKER_02 1:35:42

I don't. I'm just curious. Girl, no, there's only so much I can find out. This is so much.

SPEAKER_01 1:35:46

I'm curious. Like who beat the who beat Nick Carter, you know? Yeah. Um it was the Buffaloes. I think it was that season.

SPEAKER_02 1:35:52

Um, I sent you a clip of this song, but don't watch it. I should have warned you what it was.

SPEAKER_01 1:35:56

Okay, I'll watch it later.

SPEAKER_02 1:35:58

Um, in 2022, two months after his brother, his younger brother Aaron Carter died, um, he wrote a song for him, and it's called Hurts to Love You.

SPEAKER_01 1:36:07

Oh.

SPEAKER_02 1:36:08

Oh girl.

SPEAKER_01 1:36:08

Okay.

Nick’s Legal Troubles And Allegations

SPEAKER_02 1:36:09

The music video had pictures and videos of them when they were young, and it was oh. Here's some of the lyrics. It hurts to love you, but I love you still. Miss you with all my heart. You know I always will. Oh man. Oh gosh. It was is but I get it. Um, and the that same year he released another single called Superman, and he dedicated it to his family after everything they've been through with Aaron's death, as well as how his sister Angel got involved with a foundation called On Our Sleeves, um, which works to help children who are facing um mental and emotional health struggles. So had to put that there because that's important. He actually, a few years ago in 2023, went on a solo tour. Like, I'm like, where do I not know all this? Uh, it's called uh it was the Who I Am World Tour, and it was kind of a personal show for fans. He did um, he wanted to show like his early influences, so he did Backshree Boy songs, some of his original songs, but he also did covers from the 80s and 90s. Fun. So that's a good time. Um, in recent years, he had a couple other singles that he released, but now we're gonna get into his controversy because he's had a lot of legal stuff. Okay, and then we're done. So uh he's gotten into several legal incidents over the years related to alcohol. Uh he got arrested at a bar in 20 uh in 2002 for resisting an officer while he was intoxicated. 2003, 2005, he got DUIs. 2016, he was arrested at a Key West bar. Um, they were refusing to serve him because he was intoxicated, and uh he got into a physical altercation, I think, with a bouncer. So that happened. Um in 2019, uh, he actually filed a temporary restraining order against his brother Aaron because he threatened to um kill his then pregnant wife.

SPEAKER_01 1:38:05

Aaron threatened to kill Nick's wife.

SPEAKER_02 1:38:08

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 1:38:08

Dang.

SPEAKER_02 1:38:09

Um also one of their one of his sisters and her husband at the same time had a restraining order against Aaron for the I think he was really in the depths of drug addiction.

SPEAKER_01 1:38:21

So lots of people were worried about Aaron or feeling. Well, and they were worried for their safety.

SPEAKER_02 1:38:27

Which is heartbreaking. Yes. Um I should have said this when I mentioned the DUI stuff. Nick has talked about his unhealthy relationship with alcohol over the years. Um, he even wrote a memoir. Memoir? Memoir. Memoir.

SPEAKER_01 1:38:43

Memoir.

SPEAKER_02 1:38:45

Called Facing the Music and Living to Talk About It in 2013. He's talked, he talked a lot about it. I don't think he um, I don't think he is like sober completely, but he definitely has worked on his relationship to alcohol. I think he has recognized he's got an unhealthy connection to it and is doing that. Like I I think he still has a cocktail here and there, but is for the most part has a much better relationship. So um here comes the yucky part. He's had a lot of sexual assault allegations against him. And I don't not gonna go into the super weeds about it because it's kind of a lot and kind of murky. But between 2022 and 2025, several women came forward with accusations of various types of sexual assault by Nick Carter uh in the early 2000s.

SPEAKER_01 1:39:39

Okay. So they didn't happen those years. They didn't happen in 2022, 2022.

SPEAKER_02 1:39:45

No, it's when they came forward.

SPEAKER_01 1:39:47

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:39:48

Um a couple of these women were teenagers, like underage at the time. And when these happened, some of the cases were dismissed automatically because of the Statute of Limitations.

SPEAKER_01 1:40:03

Ugh.

unknown 1:40:03

I know.

SPEAKER_01 1:40:04

I hate the statute of limitations.

SPEAKER_02 1:40:05

I know, I know. Now, it gets a little tricky because Nick has consistently denied the accusation. And I don't I'm not gonna go in the details of all the events because I don't, we don't need to do that. If you want to look it up to find out what the sexual assault allegations were, please go ahead. Um, he's constantly denied all of the uh allegations, and they were kind of detailed in this 2024 investigation documentary called you would probably really like this because you like that kind of stuff, called Fallen Idols, Nick and Aaron Carter. Now, Nick did not participate in this. This was an this was not something he did, it was an investigative one. Uh, the series dives into the sexual assault allegations against him as well as his brother's mental health stuff. Um, it um it talks to family members, it talks to some close friends, talked to some like industry people, and it also talked to some of Nick's accusers. So um, as of today, right now, all the cases have either been dismissed for whatever reason or have still not been fully resolved. Because we all understand stuff stays in litigation forever. Um, well, maybe you do understand that that was a dumb thing to say. None of you get it. What you may not understand. That's a better way to say it. There you go. So Nick has actually filed like a countersuit against one of the women and her father for defamation and conspiracy against his reputation.

SPEAKER_01 1:41:32

Yeah. So I mean I know.

SPEAKER_02 1:41:37

I I don't, I I know, I know.

SPEAKER_01 1:41:41

On one hand, people could be like, oh, well, people are just after his whatever, his money, his fame, but like of the five we just talked about, he seems to be the only one, and we know that he has substance issues. I know, and he was young, which is not an excuse, but it plays into that kind of stuff sometimes.

SPEAKER_02 1:42:00

Yeah, and he was young and partying and not as aware of his issues, probably. So and I and I know a lot of times people are like, well, why did people wait so long to come forward? Well, because you're terrified and you don't feel empowered to say anything sometimes. We like yeah, you don't feel empowered to say something until you do.

SPEAKER_01 1:42:28

Totally.

SPEAKER_02 1:42:29

And even then the backlash, it's like, is it worth it? In fact, I one of the stories I read about um one of the girls who was a teen at the time did come forward at the time, um, and then ended up uh she came forward and then ended up not pressing charges.

SPEAKER_01 1:42:48

Yeah, I mean, because you're putting your own privacy and business out there.

SPEAKER_02 1:42:53

Well, and unfortunately, I mean, not to get too too into this topic, women always ask themselves, what did I do? Like, was it my fault? Did I do this? And that's because society has placed that upon us, and I hate it. It's not fair and it's not true. Sexual assault has nothing to do with the victims being at fault at all. It is 100% the perpetrator's issue. Um, and I don't know, I just it was yucky. I it it was yucky to read about, but I was like, I have to, I have to talk about this.

SPEAKER_01 1:43:30

So he's not your favorite anymore. No, he was yeah, who's your favorite after doing all this?

SPEAKER_02 1:43:35

I gotta, I gotta, I gotta say probably Kevin now. I think I'm with you on the Kevin.

SPEAKER_01 1:43:40

Yeah. AJ's pretty far up there too. No, and I he had his issues.

SPEAKER_02 1:43:45

I respect what I respect that he kept going, he kept trying.

SPEAKER_01 1:43:49

I respect that too.

SPEAKER_02 1:43:50

Because some people, you know, get clean and then relapse and they're like, oh, just forget it. It's too hard.

SPEAKER_01 1:43:56

Right. And how he's Howie's high up.

SPEAKER_02 1:43:58

Oh, yeah, of course. Well, we know we love Howie. We already talked about it.

SPEAKER_01 1:44:00

Howie's like ghosts without something.

SPEAKER_02 1:44:02

He's such a good, he's such a nice guy.

SPEAKER_01 1:44:03

So great. We love him.

SPEAKER_02 1:44:04

He's such a nice guy.

SPEAKER_01 1:44:05

Wow, that was so much. And I told y'all loved it though. I warned you.

SPEAKER_02 1:44:10

Now tag you're it. It's your turn.

SPEAKER_01 1:44:11

Woo, guys, InSync is next.

SPEAKER_02 1:44:13

And you know what? They're gonna have a lot.

SPEAKER_01 1:44:15

A lot, a lot.

SPEAKER_02 1:44:16

You gotta watch the dirty pop.

SPEAKER_01 1:44:18

I started the first one. You did, okay. There's a lot of info there. Yeah. Okay. I will. I will finish that because I think that's kind of ties to this and give me more information. And I started researching too, but there's so much more. Girl. So much more. Buckle up butter. We'll revisit boy bands later. We're gonna no.

unknown 1:44:42

No.

SPEAKER_01 1:44:42

No, we won't. Well, we can. We can. We can, but like we're not in this this um phase of the podcast.

SPEAKER_02 1:44:48

Thank god we split it into two parts. Thank God. How would we ever fit all this?

SPEAKER_01 1:44:53

There's no way. There's no way. I think we would have figured it out and been like, uh maybe two parts.

SPEAKER_02 1:44:58

It's so hard because you can't leave stuff out. Like that's the thing, is like it's important to say they had a solo album. That was this. That's a course it is. It's like, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:45:06

It's and and they all all their different endeavors is are important. And then like you can't tell controversy about one but not another. And you know, so it's yeah, it's a lot. Well, thank you very much. And hopefully you guys have um enjoyed the boy band series so far. I know. And stick around for InSync.

SPEAKER_00 1:45:25

Oh boy.

SPEAKER_01 1:45:25

Coming your way. Bye bye.

unknown 1:45:28

Bye bye.

SPEAKER_01 1:45:28

Oh, we should we'll have to do that at the very end of the in sync one. Oh, we should have saved it for the session. I ruined it. We're gonna do it again, though. Yeah, we'll do it. We're gonna have to. It's okay. And you know what I get to say on that one because of when it's gonna go live. What? It's gonna be May. It'll go live before May, but at least part of it'll go live in May. You're so right. I am so excited. Oh my god, that's amazing. Let's fill on social too. Okay. Okay. Anyway, we will see you guys next time on Generation Queen. Bye.