In a stirring display of unity and compassion, tearful members of the Backstreet Boys postponed the next month of their Black And Blue world tour to allow member AJ McLean, 23, to seek treatment for depression and alcohol abuse.
Speaking to fans from MTV’s popular countdown show Total Request Live, the other four boys explained the delicate situation to their young fans and promised the tour would resume in early August. “AJ came to us yesterday and said ‘Guys, I need help’,” said group member Brian Littrell. “I looked at him in the eyes and said, ‘I’m proud of you’. That’s the first time he said to any of us: ‘Guys, I have a problem, and I want to better myself and better the group and better our situation’.”
“When you’re trying to help someone who has a serious illness, they have to help themselves first before they can receive help,” says Brian. “They’ve gotta really want it.”
“I think he’s going to do it,” said a choked-up Nick Carter on MTV. “I don’t think there is an end to this group until one of us dies.”
When 21-year-old heart-throb Nick broke his right hand earlier this week, the group was forced to cancel their remaining sellout run in Boston. The unexpected time off reportedly gave AJ a chance to think through some his problems, which include dealing with the loss of his grandmother.
“She passed away just recently and that really… just kind of sent him over the edge,” said Kevin Richardson. “His grandmother was like a second mother to him.”
However, the group had noticed AJ’s alcohol abuse and his retreat from the group before his grandmother’s death.
“He’s been burning the candle at both ends and partying quite a bit to escape it,” says Kevin. “His alcoholism is – it’s pretty bad. And we’re worried about him. A lot of people told us we could just lie about it, but we’re not going to lie to our fans. We didn’t want to push it under the rug. He’s getting help. He’s going to be better.”
Though AJ is checking into an undisclosed rehabilitation facility, some wonder if 30 days is enough for him to get healthy. “We’re betting on him to come back,” says Howie Dorough. “We want him to, because we don’t feel that the Backstreet Boys are the Backstreet Boys without AJ… But if he needs more time – if we have to possibly revisit the idea of continuing on tour and us kind of covering for him, we might have to do that at that time. His life, his health is more important than this.”
The Backstreet Boys tour kicked off in January, with sellout shows in Mexico, South America and Puerto Rico.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
