* Who are BSB and how did they form *
The history of the Backstreet Boys (BSB) goes as far back as 1989 when American millionaire Lou Pearlman decided to put together a pop group!
Auditions began in June 1992!
AJ (Alexander James McLean), a 14 year old from West Palm Beach, Florida was the first of hundreds to be chosen for the group! He was a fantastic dancer and he had a wild personality! AJ had also appeared in over 25 classics including 'The Nutcracker' and 'Fiddler On The Roof'. Whilst still in junior school AJ also landed himself a part in Nickelodeon film, 'Honey, I'm Home'!
Second to be chosen was Howie (Howard Dwaine Dorough), a 18 year old from Orlando Florida. He also had experience in both singing and acting. Howie appeared in the films 'Parenthood' and 'A Cop And A Half' as well as adverts for Nickelodeon and Disney World!
Nick (Nicholas Gene Carter), a cute 12 year old with a stunning voice was third to join the group! Nick had a very small role in the hit Johnny Depp movie and Edward Scissorhands!
A friend of Lou Pearlman's spotted Kevin (Kevin Scott Richardson), a 19 year old from Lexington, Kentucky, also with a great voice! Before becoming a Backstreet Boy Kevin worked at Disneyland in Orlando!
Lou still felt that the band needed someone else! This was when Kevin introduced his 17 year old cousin Brian (Brian Thomas Littrell) also from Lexington, Kentucky! Brian was very passionate about singing! Brian's first performances were singing in his local church and other regional churches, revivals and even weddings!

* Brian's hole in the heart condition *
Brian already considered himself to be very lucky! He was born with a hole in his heart, but the doctors didn't know about it! When Brian was just 5 years old he cracked his head on the pavement and was rushed to hospital! Complications set in and Brian got a blood infection! Brian said "I had no chance of living whatsoever. The doctors were telling my mother and father to go ahead and make the funeral arrangements." Brian surprised everyone and recovered! In 1998 Brian was to have heart surgery and relieved fans by coming through his surgery just fine!

* Their success *
Backstreet Boys' debut single 'We've Got It Goin' On' was released in August 1995 and it flopped in America, but became a hit in Germany so the Backstreet Boys tried their luck in Europe!
They slowly became one of the world's most successful pop groups and have now sold over 16 million copies of their third album MILLENNIUM all over the world!

* The album *
The album, Millennium was released in the summer of 1998!
There are 12 tracks on the album:
1. Larger Than Life
This was the second song released as a single from the MILLENNIUM album!
Although the video cost more to make the single didn't do as well in the UK as the first single to be released from the album, I Want It That Way!
It was written by Brian of BSB, Max Martin and Kristian Lundin. It's a catchy, dancy, loud, fun song!
It was described by Howie as "An anthem. It's for our fans" and Kevin said "The fans are the ones who make it all worthwhile."
I give it 10/10

2. I Want It That Way
This was the first single to be released in the UK from the MILLENIUM album and it went straight to number 1 in the UK charts! It also has a really catchy and dancy tune, but it is a lot slower than Larger Than Life!
It was written by Max Martin and Andreas Carlsson.
Howie describes the song as "a kind of cross between As Long As You Love Me and Quit Playing Games With My Heart."
I give it 10/10

3. Show Me The Meaning Of Being Lonely
This was the third single from the MILLENNIUM album!
This begins very slow and boring but the chorus is quite catchy! I think this is just a boring ballad and I think it's probably the worst song on the album!
Lots of instruments are played in this song including the guitar and the bass!
It was written by Max Martin and Herbet Crichlow.
Howie said "It's got some Spanish-style acoustic guitars in it. It's cool."
I give it 4/10

4. It's Gotta Be You
This song begins with some weird singing and no background music, but then after about 5 seconds music starts in the background, but it's not slow! This track is dancy, crazy and has a great tune! I think it would have done better in the UK charts than Show Me The Meaning Of Being Lonely, but it wasn't released!
It was written by Max Martin and R. J. Lange!
Kevin said "That's probably going to be a single, and it'll be a great one to do live. Nick and Brian did some writing on this track."
In the album booklet it does not mention that Nick or Brian wrote the song and it wasn't released as a single either!!
I give it 10/10

5. I Need You Tonight
This is another ballad, but this time it has a great tune! It is Nick's solo! AJ, Brian, Howie and Kevin only sing in the background at the end!
This song shows off Nick's singing excellently!
The piano, the acoustic guitar and the electric guitar are all played in this track!
It was written by Andrew Fromm!
Kevin said "Nick's sung this on tour for about six years, and we've finally got round to putting it on an album."
I give it 8/10

6. Don't Want You Back
This is yet another catchy tune written by Max Martin! It is fun and lively! I think it is similar to Larger Than Life! They are both loud and lively songs!
Howie said "This is about falling out of love rather than in love."
I give it 9/10

7. Don't Wanna Lose You Now
This is a ballad yet again with a great tune. It begins very slow and speeds up towards the chorus! A guitar is played throughout this track, which again was written by Max Martin!
(Max Martin has been writing songs for BSB since their first single which was written by him, Denniz PoP and Herbert Crichlow!)
I give it 10/10

8. The One
This song was also the last song from the MILLENNIUM album to be released! The video showed what they got up to on their world tour! The song was written by Max Martin and Brian of BSB!
With piano and guitars in the background this track is another lively, typical Backstreet Boys song!
Howie said, "This is kinda uptempo and it has a lot of acoustic guitar in it."
Kevin said, "This is another of my favourites, it's a good fun song."
I give it 9/10

9. Back To Your Heart
This song was written by Kevin of BSB, Gary Baker and Jason Blume!
"I wrote this; I play bass and keyboards and a bit of percussion on it. We recorded it in London."
It's another track that starts off very slowly and then you hear the tune at the chorus!
The chorus is sung by Brian! Kevin (who co-wrote the track doesn't sing on the track at all because he plays the bass and the keyboards on it!
I give it 8/10

10. Spanish Eyes
Written by Andrew Fromm and Sandy Linzer I think this ballad has an unmemorable tune. I think it's quite boring! It does get a bit better at the chorus though! It's more lively than Show Me The Meaning Of Being Lonely!
On this track there are keyboards, guitars, bass, drum programming and percussion!
Howie says " This is a very, very pretty song. I really enjoy singing this one and it's good to dance to." [he definately means slow dancing]
I give it 5/10

11. No One Else Comes Close
This has a good tune! It's slow and sounds a bit like As Long As You Love Me - slow with a catchy tune!
Drum programming, bass, keyboards and guitar are all played on this track! The track was written by Joe Thomas, Gary Baker and Wayne Perry!
Kevin says "This has been remixed in a Backstreet Boys style."
I give it 9/10

12. The Perfect Fan
This song was written by Brian of BSB with the help of Thomas L. Smith! Brian wrote it about his mother when he was on tour and missing her!
A choir of 46 also sings in the background of the song! Brian thanked them by printing their names in the MILLENIUM album booklet! Among the 46 in the choir was Nick's younger sister Leslie who followed in his footsteps to become a singer, who is big in America as well as Nick's younger brother Aaron (also big in Europe), who released his first single, Crush On You when he was just 10 years old!
I give it 8/10

* Inlay *
The Millennium booklet contains two photos of each member of the group and two group pictures, their thankyous in which Nick gives a code for his fans to crack...
"5483-5433-86-843-3855378-367-843-388873-47-722723."
Clue: Use your mobile phone to help you crack it!
The inlay also includes songwords to Larger Than Life, I Want It That Way, Show Me The Meaning Of Being Lonely, Don't Wanna Lose You Now, Back To Your Heart and The Perfect Fan!

I recommend this album to potential buyers and anyone who has enjoyed songs by the Backstreet Boys in the past!