The Boys Pop Their Bubblegum Rap

In returning, the Backstreet Boys tell Steve Hochman of the Los Angeles Times that they wanted to avoid contrivances such as New Kids on the Block’s comeback a decade ago with a calculatedly updated sound and a shortened name, NKOTB, to downplay the “Kids” aspect. “All we care about is making good music, and the whole baggage will still be there,” said Nick Carter, the youngest member at 25. “We’re not trying to break away from it, not trying to say we’re all grown up. People were saying we should change the name to the Backstreet Men or something. The Beach Boys never changed their name. We’re not going to change.”