In the end, Dorough took four years before he released his first solo album, Back to Me, in 2011. But he realized his Spanish wasn't fantastic and didn't want to pretend to be something that he isn't. Dorough, after all, is of Puerto Rican and Irish descent. The Columbus Dispatch said Dorough wanted this first album to reflect more of his Latin roots. Dorough felt this was the perfect time to start working on his own album too. A few years later, Richardson left the group. But Carter stayed because he wanted to go solo, and the company promised to support him. In 2002, the Backstreet Boys decided to leave their management company The Firm, wrote The New York Times, because they felt they weren't getting sufficient attention. As the group gained popularity, several other members began releasing solo albums. He told The Columbus Dispatch that he first met McLean during that time and was one of the first members of the group. That leaves Dorough, who is sometimes considered the least popular member of the Backstreet Boys, despite his talents and good looks.ĭorough joined the band when it started. McLean had bad-boy energy, and, at least according to The Cut, Richardson is actually the hottest member because he looks good with or without facial hair.

Littrell and Carter often took the lead in the singing department, plus Carter had that pretty boy blond thing going for him.

Over the course of their whole career, the Backstreet Boys have sold more than 100 million records, reported The Sydney Morning Herald. Those two albums together made the Backstreet Boys not just insanely popular, but also put them on the path to becoming the biggest-selling boyband of all time. They followed this with Backstreet's Back the next year. The group formed in 1993, though it wasn't until 1996 that they released their first album, unsurprisingly titled Backstreet Boys. The Backstreet Boys, as is known by most people who were pre-teens in the early '90s, is Nick Carter, Brian Littrell, AJ McLean, Howie Dorough, and Kevin Richardson.

Original members of backstreet boys