The Boys Before Backstreet (BSB Part 1)

Thirty (30!! Three-zero! 3 X 10!) years ago in April of 1993, Howie Dorough, Nick Carter, AJ McLean, Kevin Richardson, and Brian Littrell came together to form the best-selling boy band of all time: Backstreet Boys. Since then, Backstreet Boys have sold over 100 million records worldwide, making them the best-selling boy band of all time, and one of the world's best-selling music artists. In this three-part Backstreet Boys series, Mary and Kelsey are retelling the incredible story of when they popped, chronicling their rise to fame and their impact on pop culture. Part 1 examines the boys’ backgrounds, their upbringings, and their first years as a music group just before their big break.

BSB Girlies - let's meet up at the Nick Carter Who I Am Tour this October. Here is my exclusive link to his Florida shows.  Make sure to enter the Who I Am Tour Sweepstakes for a chance at a prize! 

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Transcript

Kelsey:
And three, two, one. Hello and welcome to When They Popped. I'm Kelsey.

Mary Gagliardi:
And I'm Mary.

Kelsey:
What's going on there? How's your week going?

Mary Gagliardi:
Ah, T-G-I-F. How is yours going?

Kelsey:
Literally, ditto.

Mary Gagliardi:
Thank you.

Kelsey:
It's

Mary Gagliardi:
Bye.

Kelsey:
Friday. I want to record this. It is the last day of March. Tomorrow is April 1st, and this is not an April Fool's joke.

Mary Gagliardi:
No.

Kelsey:
That April here on the pod means... It's Backstreet Boys Month.

Mary Gagliardi:
AKA if you're not a Baxi Boys fan, you might want to log off, but please don't go. But you just might not be as interested in this series we have. But I think you might be interested if you're, if you're a fan

Kelsey:
Maybe

Mary Gagliardi:
of.

Kelsey:
we have to sell it, we have to sell it. No, you're gonna love it, even

Mary Gagliardi:
You're

Kelsey:
if

Mary Gagliardi:
going

Kelsey:
you're

Mary Gagliardi:
to

Kelsey:
an

Mary Gagliardi:
love

Kelsey:
instinker.

Mary Gagliardi:
it. Even if you're an un-sinker, whatever, like it's

Kelsey:
Thank you.

Mary Gagliardi:
a

Kelsey:
Bye.

Mary Gagliardi:
really interesting story. And we're good. We're getting to the nitty gritty where, you know, we're going deep. And so, yeah.

Kelsey:
Listen, listen, we have officially entered the 30th year of the Backstreet Boys. So ladies and very few gentlemen, we've seen our stats.

Mary Gagliardi:
Thank you.

Kelsey:
We know there's only like five of you out there, but we value you. 30 years ago on April 20th, 1993, Howie, Nick, AJ, Kevin, and Brian formed the greatest selling boy band. Sorry, let me redo that. We've officially That's right. We'll be like that's right blah blah blah

Mary Gagliardi:
Mm.

Kelsey:
Um, I feel like you can't make it 30 years and not be incredibly magical and dynamic and wonderful So we feel like they're deserving of a couple episodes to give their story justice so 30 years ago on April 20th 1993 Howie Nick AJ Kevin and Brian formed the greatest selling boy band of all time. And since then, Backstreet Boys have sold over 100 million records worldwide, making them... Sorry. Sorry. Sorry.

Mary Gagliardi:
Yep. Making them like house.

Kelsey:
It's the best-selling boy band.

Mary Gagliardi:
It's been a long week you guys. Okay.

Kelsey:
Let's reach it.

Mary Gagliardi:
What happened? She's looping.

Kelsey:
I did have a glass of wine, but this is another thing. Okay.

Mary Gagliardi:
That's okay.

Kelsey:
Okay, 30 years ago on April 20th, 1993, Howie, Nick, AJ, Kevin, and Brian formed the Backstreet Boys. And since then, they have sold over 100 million records worldwide, making them the best-selling boy band of all time, and one of the world's best-selling music artists in general. So, TBH, this is the perfect opportunity to retell when they popped an incredible detail.

Mary Gagliardi:
That's right, Kels. And just to put it simply, we think a boy band that has been around for 30 years and that continues to consistently put out good music, sell out arenas and put on a hell of a show deserves this kind of recognition, plain and simple. Kelsie and I also have a very personal affinity for the boys and they are basically the foundation of our friendship and this podcast. Kels, I'm gonna have to, you're gonna have to tell me your BSB origin story but I very clearly remember mine. I was on a road trip with my mother and we had a tape cassette from like a drug store with like the top songs of the year. And I remember the Backstreet Boys, as long as you love me came out. I must have been 99 this year that we were doing this. And they, as long as you love me was on this nice little tape cassette that we had. And we were listening to it and in our little car trip. And I remember just like swooning and being like, oh my God, I like can't wait to be in love of like, this is incredible. My mom literally turned to me and was like, you know, that's not love, right? Like you can't,

Kelsey:
Thank you. Thank you.

Mary Gagliardi:
you can't not love someone. You can't love someone and not care who they are, where they from or what they've done, Mary. You have to care about those things. I was like, whatever, party pooper. But the message remains the same. What is your origin story?

Kelsey:
Well, it's funny that you mentioned as long as you love me because at my wedding, our string

Mary Gagliardi:
Mm-hmm.

Kelsey:
quartet that played during our ceremony, they learned as long as you love me for

Mary Gagliardi:
Amazing.

Kelsey:
our families walk down the aisle. So that is one of my favorite songs by them.

Mary Gagliardi:
Oh yeah.

Kelsey:
But yeah, me too. I was a cassette girlie all the way,

Mary Gagliardi:
So fun.

Kelsey:
except I'm a little embarrassed to admit this, but I was originally an in-syncer.

Mary Gagliardi:
Neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Kelsey:
I was obsessed with in-sync. Here we go. Just got me. It really just lured me right in. someone, I don't know who was some adult. They were like, well, if you like in sync, you should really listen to the Backstreet Boys because they are like the OG like in sync only exists

Mary Gagliardi:
Ah!

Kelsey:
because of Backstreet Boys. And I was like, interesting. So I got their Backstreet Boys like Backstreet's Back, Backstreet Boys self titled first album in the US

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah.

Kelsey:
on tape.

Mary Gagliardi:
Okay.

Kelsey:
And I was like in love with it. I read it back like front to back.

Mary Gagliardi:
Oh yeah.

Kelsey:
I think we mentioned this in the Max Martin episode. I remember seeing like Max Martin's name on the credits secret sixth the fact report

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah, like who is he? Why is he on every song? Yeah.

Kelsey:
And it was, it was just love at first sight. I never looked back

Mary Gagliardi:
Oh

Kelsey:
except to marry someone else. But aside

Mary Gagliardi:
yeah.

Kelsey:
from that, back

Mary Gagliardi:
That

Kelsey:
she

Mary Gagliardi:
doesn't

Kelsey:
boys for

Mary Gagliardi:
count.

Kelsey:
life, man.

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah, that doesn't

Kelsey:
But

Mary Gagliardi:
count.

Kelsey:
this isn't, it doesn't count. He's like six in line to my heart and he knows it, but it's fine. It would just be like impossible to fit everything that Mary and I want to say about a group this big who made such an impact on pop culture as a whole into one episode. So we're going to tackle this in parts. Three parts to be exact. to tell this amazing story. So in this episode, we're gonna focus on setting the foundation. We're gonna talk about the upbringing of all five boys, how they were plucked from their lives and chosen to be in the Backstreet Boys. And we'll also touch on like their first couple years of formation performing right before they made a big. And then in our next episode, we'll cover when they officially popped in the late 90s. So without further ado, let's talk about the boys before Backstreet.

Mary Gagliardi:
Um, I have one question. Would it be 78 with AJ or would it be Kevin? If he's the oldest, like, I don't know. Is it okay if I stay at this way, you think?

Kelsey:
say what.

Mary Gagliardi:
Like as I said, our story starts in the year 1992. Well, actually it starts in 1978. The year A.J. McLean

Kelsey:
Oh,

Mary Gagliardi:
was born.

Kelsey:
yeah, yeah, yeah. Cause he's

Mary Gagliardi:
You

Kelsey:
the

Mary Gagliardi:
think

Kelsey:
first

Mary Gagliardi:
we're

Kelsey:
one. It wouldn't

Mary Gagliardi:
gonna,

Kelsey:
have happened

Mary Gagliardi:
okay.

Kelsey:
if he wasn't born. You know what I mean?

Mary Gagliardi:
That's true. Okay, good point. Okay, before I backstreet. Our story start... Is it 92 or 90s? I guess technically 92? Oh my

Kelsey:
It's 93.

Mary Gagliardi:
god, I'm gonna start.

Kelsey:
Well, he joined in 92, but the band was 93. The band was born in the United States. The band was born in the United States. The band was born in the United States. The band was born in the United States. The band was born in the United States.

Mary Gagliardi:
So is 92 okay? Or am I gonna get corrected? Shhh. Shhh. Shhh. Shhh. Shhh. Shhh. Shhh. Shhh. Shhh. Shhh. Shhh. Shhh. Shhh. Shhh. Shhh. Shhh. Shhh. Shhh. Shhh. Shhh. Shhh. Shhh. Shhh. Shhh. Shhh. Shhh. Shhh. Shhh. Shhh. Shhh. Shhh.

Kelsey:
I think we have it in here that he joined in 1992.

Mary Gagliardi:
Okay, I just don't want people to think

Kelsey:
Yeah,

Mary Gagliardi:
I'm

Kelsey:
in

Mary Gagliardi:
saying

Kelsey:
March

Mary Gagliardi:
the...

Kelsey:
1992, McLean

Mary Gagliardi:
Okay,

Kelsey:
was the first member.

Mary Gagliardi:
okay, just wanted to make sure.

Kelsey:
Who

Mary Gagliardi:
All

Kelsey:
corrects us?

Mary Gagliardi:
right,

Kelsey:
Does

Mary Gagliardi:
ours,

Kelsey:
anyone listen that closely?

Mary Gagliardi:
I don't know. The BSB fans can be feisty. You should see Twitter sometimes, but okay, you should see what's, Lauren is getting shredded on Twitter. I don't know, I don't know.

Kelsey:
Why?

Mary Gagliardi:
I don't know. They just say that just people are, I don't know, just bullying.

Kelsey:
Lauren stayed by her husband during the craziest thing ever and showing up at court looking like a badass with her Birkenbag.

Mary Gagliardi:
Her face looks a lot different to me. Not that that matters.

Kelsey:
I like her. You need to watch I Heart in a Carter

Mary Gagliardi:
I

Kelsey:
again.

Mary Gagliardi:
know,

Kelsey:
I

Mary Gagliardi:
I know.

Kelsey:
really like her.

Mary Gagliardi:
I'm open

Kelsey:
She

Mary Gagliardi:
to

Kelsey:
protects

Mary Gagliardi:
liking her.

Kelsey:
him.

Mary Gagliardi:
I hope

Kelsey:
I don't

Mary Gagliardi:
so.

Kelsey:
like that everyone tries to blame this on a woman. I think it's sexist.

Mary Gagliardi:
Well, I don't think it should be blamed on Lauren. I like, I don't think, I think like, I think the bullying is wrong. You know, we all have opinions about things, but like, they're just like, you know, she's just there. I might even get into it. It's, it was bad, but, um, okay, I'm ready.

Kelsey:
It's fucking weird. Like who spends their time? It's weird. Well listen, neither

Mary Gagliardi:
I know.

Kelsey:
you or me are married

Mary Gagliardi:
I told,

Kelsey:
to a

Mary Gagliardi:
that's,

Kelsey:
bad shape boy so

Mary Gagliardi:
that's

Kelsey:
no one gives

Mary Gagliardi:
what

Kelsey:
a shit

Mary Gagliardi:
I'm

Kelsey:
about

Mary Gagliardi:
saying.

Kelsey:
it. I'm not gonna lie.

Mary Gagliardi:
The,

Kelsey:
I'm not gonna

Mary Gagliardi:
the

Kelsey:
lie. I'm

Mary Gagliardi:
fandom

Kelsey:
not gonna lie. I'm not gonna

Mary Gagliardi:
is

Kelsey:
lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm

Mary Gagliardi:
nitpicky.

Kelsey:
not gonna lie. I'm not

Mary Gagliardi:
Okay.

Kelsey:
gonna lie.

Mary Gagliardi:
I'm.

Kelsey:
I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm

Mary Gagliardi:
Yes,

Kelsey:
not gonna lie.

Mary Gagliardi:
and we're not perfect and I might misread a year or something so please

Kelsey:
Who

Mary Gagliardi:
don't

Kelsey:
cares?

Mary Gagliardi:
come for me with a knife. But our story starts in the year. Our

Kelsey:
Come

Mary Gagliardi:
story.

Kelsey:
for me with that knife!

Mary Gagliardi:
Do not come for me with a knife if I get a date wrong because I'm

Kelsey:
or

Mary Gagliardi:
still

Kelsey:
anything.

Mary Gagliardi:
or any yeah or anything, not just knives exclusively please. Oh my God.

Kelsey:
I'm sorry.

Mary Gagliardi:
It cannot come with for me with anything if I get anything wrong.

Kelsey:
I'm

Mary Gagliardi:
I'm sorry,

Kelsey:
crying.

Mary Gagliardi:
I'm losing my minds. Here I come. Whoo! Okay, okay. All right.

Kelsey:
Okay.

Mary Gagliardi:
Our story starts... Okay. Our story starts... I feel like I'm saying stork. I'm sorry. Our story starts in the year 1992. Technically, it starts in the year 1978. The year AJ McLean was born because AJ was the first Backstreet Boy.

Kelsey:
Yaaaaaaaaaah!

Mary Gagliardi:
Ah, listen, I feel like you can recognize AJ's voice anywhere.

Kelsey:
Yeah.

Mary Gagliardi:
Sorry, I'm doing some commentary and critique. But,

Kelsey:
Yeah, that yeah, ha ha rocked the world.

Mary Gagliardi:
and it's still super iconic and recognizable today. But so AJ,

Kelsey:
I could tear

Mary Gagliardi:
you hit me faster than a shock attack. Sorry,

Kelsey:
Yuck

Mary Gagliardi:
okay.

Kelsey:
a tach!

Mary Gagliardi:
So as we said, Alexander James McLean, AKA AJ McLean was the first, the original and the founding Backstreet Boy. He was born in 1978 West Palm Beach, Florida to Denise and Bob McLean. He was an only child, just like me. And his parents were divorced when he was two years old, so he was pretty much raised solely by his mom and his grandparents. And him and his father were estranged for almost 17 years. He did have a very close relationship with his stepfather, though. And yeah, he was a part of his life when he was a child. I don't know what I'm saying. So as a kid, AJ has always talked about and been very open about how he had a speech impediment and that resulted in a lisp and a tendency to stutter. I wouldn't even imagine that today hearing him speak and saying, but it's very interesting to hear how far he's come. And he's also talked a lot about bullying he suffered and kind of the impact that had on his psyche and morale growing up. I just

Kelsey:
Can

Mary Gagliardi:
gave

Kelsey:
you

Mary Gagliardi:
you

Kelsey:
hear

Mary Gagliardi:
a chance

Kelsey:
me?

Mary Gagliardi:
to, no, I can't now.

Kelsey:
Sorry.

Mary Gagliardi:
Oh, it's okay.

Kelsey:
OK,

Mary Gagliardi:
Oh,

Kelsey:
sorry.

Mary Gagliardi:
okay.

Kelsey:
I was on mute before.

Mary Gagliardi:
I'm sorry.

Kelsey:
Well, who's laughing now, bullies?

Mary Gagliardi:
I know, right? Like all those bullies better, shut the hell up, shut the hail up.

Kelsey:
Rot in hell!

Mary Gagliardi:
What the hell are you doing bullying people for a speech impediment? But so

Kelsey:
Oh, Nakao.

Mary Gagliardi:
he, oh, Nicole, go back to our Simple Life episode for more of that.

Kelsey:
Nick.

Mary Gagliardi:
But so he was bullied a lot as a kid. But by four years old, classes. He was modeling for J.C. Penny ads. His grandma taught him how to play the piano. But ultimately, he's been, he said that dancing was his thing when he was younger, and he would do anything from ballroom to hip hop. He is a multi-talented king. He was cast in multiple local and school plays, the musicals, Fun Fact. He played Dopey in Snow White, not the Here's when it starts to get a little interesting. In 1988, he participated in a talent show at a Latin festival in Florida and won first prize. I couldn't find the name of it, it's just called a Latin festival. So I'm sorry that that sounds kind of vague and random, but infamously at this 1989 festival, he met one Howard DeRoe when they were introduced by a vocal coach that they both knew. So the stars are starting to align here, to cross. It's getting very exciting. Very exciting. Sorry. Okay. So now it's 1990. Him and his mother relocate from West Palm to Kissimmee, Florida, so he could attend a private acting school. And in 1991, he landed a role on a Nickelodeon show, Hi, Honey, I'm Home, but was cut for being too tall, which I thought was interesting and was probably a devastating blow at that time.

Kelsey:
Also,

Mary Gagliardi:
Yes.

Kelsey:
the first time a Backstreet Boy has ever been accused of being too tall.

Mary Gagliardi:
Kevin's pretty tall. Kevin's pretty tall. Come on now, but no, yes.

Kelsey:
The rest of them are short kings.

Mary Gagliardi:
Yes, but so, okay, it was cut for being too tall. And he also, at the age of 13, he also tried out for Star Search, but never got a call back. So, you know, there's a theme. There's a lot of these guys are, okay, cut that out. And then during his junior high years, similar time, AJ went out and auditioned for another Nickelodeon show, I don't know if you've heard of this, but it was one of the few Nickelodeon shows besides all that. And I think Kenan and Kel that was actually shot in Orlando. So that makes sense. A lot of them

Kelsey:
Yeah,

Mary Gagliardi:
were done

Kelsey:
there

Mary Gagliardi:
in

Kelsey:
was

Mary Gagliardi:
LA.

Kelsey:
slime involved.

Mary Gagliardi:
Yes.

Kelsey:
Of course I knew what it was.

Mary Gagliardi:
Yes. See, I never saw guts, but

Kelsey:
I think there was slime involved, unless I'm thinking of something else. I

Mary Gagliardi:
no,

Kelsey:
think they need to do like different challenges and stuff.

Mary Gagliardi:
that makes

Kelsey:
And there was

Mary Gagliardi:
sense.

Kelsey:
always like a giant nose and they had to pick something out of the nose. There was like a flag.

Mary Gagliardi:
Oh

Kelsey:
It was like

Mary Gagliardi:
god!

Kelsey:
a relay race type vibe. Maybe I'm confusing that with like double dare. Oh, maybe I don't know what that says. Either way, I'm impressed. I'm impressed. I'm impressed. I'm impressed. I'm impressed. I'm impressed. I'm impressed. I'm impressed. I'm impressed. I'm

Mary Gagliardi:
Well,

Kelsey:
impressed.

Mary Gagliardi:
we're

Kelsey:
I'm

Mary Gagliardi:
gonna

Kelsey:
impressed.

Mary Gagliardi:
look

Kelsey:
I'm impressed.

Mary Gagliardi:
up

Kelsey:
I'm

Mary Gagliardi:
guts.

Kelsey:
impressed.

Mary Gagliardi:
Yes, but, and again, I hope your spidey senses are tingling during the audition process. AJ actually ran into Howie D again, and Nick, Nick Carter, who were also auditioning for guts. And so again, this is just destiny. Their paths are crossing, their meeting. It's only a matter of time. While in Orlando where he would be doing these Nickelodeon shows or other things that he was auditioning for, this is a fun fact. AJ lived in the same building as, get this, Bernie Spears, Justin Timberlake, and Ryan Gosling. And this was in 92. And so just imagine, you know, did they all hang out? Did they have

Kelsey:
Like what

Mary Gagliardi:
movie

Kelsey:
was the point?

Mary Gagliardi:
nights? Yes, like, I just have so many questions that we'll probably never get the answer to. But, but AJ has told the story. that one day he was playing, shooting some hoops with Ryan Gosling. And AJ asked him if he'd like to join his band one day. And it obviously never happened, but Ryan did respond with a simple nod. So it sounds like this was before the Backstreet Boys were formed and it may have been while they were being formed. And AJ was trying to find other guys and get gauge their interests. But it sounds like Ryan was moderately, but not very interested. But again,

Kelsey:
It's simple nod. That sounds very, very Ryan, very mysterious,

Mary Gagliardi:
yes, vague. Yes.

Kelsey:
very man a few words.

Mary Gagliardi:
Like

Kelsey:
It's a very simple nod. It's a very simple nod. It sounds very, very Ryan, very mysterious, very man a few words. It's a very simple nod. It's a very simple nod. It sounds very, very Ryan, very mysterious, very man a few words. It's a very simple nod. It sounds very, very Ryan, very mysterious, very man a few words. It's a very simple nod. It sounds very, very Ryan, very mysterious,

Mary Gagliardi:
maybe, maybe not. But

Kelsey:
Thank you. Bye.

Mary Gagliardi:
so that was in 92 when they all lived in the same year. And I assume this interaction with Ryan happened during this time because in March of 92, there was an ad placed in a local Orlando newspaper young man between, seeking young men between the ages of 16 and 19 for an audition for a new music group. Ooh, I wonder who that's for. And despite being a mere 14 years old at the time, AJ auditioned for the group. Why not? Shoot your shot. And by April of 1992, AJ was officially the first member of the Backstreet Boys who was being formed and created by Lou Pearlman. That's the man behind the ad. And obviously, please go back to our Lou Pearlman episode if that name isn't ringing a bell or this formation story is not ringing a bell because that's where you can get all that information.

Kelsey:
Also, what an inspiration. I read this stat that men apply for jobs that they're only like, that they're like 20 to 40% I'm making that setup, but they aren't fully qualified for and women will only apply for jobs that they're

Mary Gagliardi:
Yes.

Kelsey:
like 80 to 90% qualified for. So you know what? AJ's an inspiration to us all. And so, I think that's a great question. I think that's a great question. I think that's a great question. I think that's a great question.

Mary Gagliardi:
Yes!

Kelsey:
I think that's a great question. I think that's a great question. I think that's a great question. I think that's a great question. I think that's a great question.

Mary Gagliardi:
Yep, just apply for the job, take the trip, go to the concert, you know, shoot

Kelsey:
respond

Mary Gagliardi:
your shot.

Kelsey:
to the vague ad for young

Mary Gagliardi:
Yes,

Kelsey:
men in the newspaper.

Mary Gagliardi:
by another, like placed by an older man, looking for young men for his boy band, like just throw your hat in the ring, what the hell. But so I'm gonna tie a nice little bow right now on AJ's origin story. This is his story before the Backstreet Boys. He has plenty more on him for later. But next I wanna talk about our second member of the Backstreet Boys. Please Howard Dwayne DeRoe. And what do you know, another Florida boy. Howie was born in 1973 in Orlando, Florida to his mom Paula and Hoke, his father, Hoke. Howie is the youngest by 10 years of five siblings. Notably his sister Caroline died of lupus in 1998. And after her death, Howie did wonderful things and established the DeRoe lupus foundation. and her honor, but I think that had a really big impact on him and they were very close when they were young. He also has a sister named Pollyanna who is also a singer and I think he credits to kind of getting him into singing a bit. But friends and family remember how we singing baby face songs at the age of three. I mean was I even talking at three? Like I don't even know, but he at three. And at the age of six, again, thanks to his wonderful sister Pollyanna, thank you, Pollyanna, how he started singing in his church choir and eventually

Kelsey:
Wait,

Mary Gagliardi:
landed it. Yes.

Kelsey:
he played the guitar at three years old.

Mary Gagliardi:
Well, that's what...

Kelsey:
Like in what way? Like I played the harmonica quote unquote when

Mary Gagliardi:
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no

Kelsey:
I was 10 months old because I just breathed into it.

Mary Gagliardi:
I'm trying to, I mean...

Kelsey:
No, I just think it's like a funny little fodder moment.

Mary Gagliardi:
Oh,

Kelsey:
I

Mary Gagliardi:
okay.

Kelsey:
don't think it's like an actual...

Mary Gagliardi:
Oh, I thought you were like fact check. Okay.

Kelsey:
No, no, I'm not fact checking you. I just think it's funny.

Mary Gagliardi:
No, no, you're right. It's probably like he played the recorder at three, you know, like, like played hot cross buns or something. You know, like just like bang down the strings, whatever.

Kelsey:
Oh my, your recorder impression is very good, Mary. Hahaha. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh

Mary Gagliardi:
So that's

Kelsey:
Oh my

Mary Gagliardi:
how

Kelsey:
god!

Mary Gagliardi:
I play it.

Kelsey:
Mary is a musical prodigy. I think I'm learning in this episode.

Mary Gagliardi:
Oh, yes, yes. I have some clarinet footage that would probably send you, but okay, where was I? Okay, at the age of six, thanks to his sister, again, to his sister, Pollyanna, thank you, Pollyanna, how he started singing in his church choir and eventually landed a role in the Wizard of Oz. And he was really into the theater, like in middle school, he was in Camelot, showboat, like that's pretty big for middle school theater, first of all, but he had that falsetto range and that Howie D has that high voice. He can hit those notes that most people cannot. And he just remembers, and there's a theme here, Kels, he remembers getting teased a lot for that. And I can totally,

Kelsey:
Literally...

Mary Gagliardi:
yeah, I can see that.

Kelsey:
If you bullied a backstreet boy, you have horrible karma coming your way. That's all I have to say.

Mary Gagliardi:
Yes, yes.

Kelsey:
Also, if you just bully anyone in general...

Mary Gagliardi:
Amen. Don't be nice to everybody. Message of the pod. But so, you know, he had a great voice and despite being teased and bullied, he enrolled in a performing arts academy where he took singing, you know, vote, he took vocal lessons and acting class and he took dance and that included classical ballet, tap and jazz. So I know that's like so funny to me because he literally gives me nothing in the DNA tour, but I can just imagine. Oh, he buzzed back

Kelsey:
know,

Mary Gagliardi:
at

Kelsey:
he

Mary Gagliardi:
it.

Kelsey:
seems kind of like rigid when he dances,

Mary Gagliardi:
Yes!

Kelsey:
you know.

Mary Gagliardi:
I need to see him like, give me some ballet, how he like, ah.

Kelsey:
I feel like Howie when he performs, he's just like watching him. I feel like he acts, like it's kind of like a joke to him. Like

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah,

Kelsey:
he always

Mary Gagliardi:
he's kind

Kelsey:
has like

Mary Gagliardi:
of like

Kelsey:
a little smirk on

Mary Gagliardi:
a

Kelsey:
his

Mary Gagliardi:
smirk.

Kelsey:
face.

Mary Gagliardi:
Yes.

Kelsey:
Like he's not taking it totally seriously, but then he sounds so good that it's like, how could you

Mary Gagliardi:
of.

Kelsey:
not take it seriously and sound this good? Like, that's not a dig at him. Like it's actually

Mary Gagliardi:
No.

Kelsey:
a really, it's a nice, I think contrast to Nick Carter, who on the other hand is like so into it and so into himself when he's performing

Mary Gagliardi:
We

Kelsey:
in a

Mary Gagliardi:
love

Kelsey:
good

Mary Gagliardi:
Nick.

Kelsey:
way.

Mary Gagliardi:
Yes, we love Nick.

Kelsey:
Like he's a great performer. It's just funny to see their different styles

Mary Gagliardi:
Yes.

Kelsey:
and how he's I'm always like surprised to see that He knows the dance moves

Mary Gagliardi:
I know, and I feel like you make eye contact with him and he'll kind of like chuckle and like smirk and like

Kelsey:
Yeah,

Mary Gagliardi:
laugh

Kelsey:
it's like

Mary Gagliardi:
with

Kelsey:
a joke.

Mary Gagliardi:
you. Yeah, but

Kelsey:
Yeah,

Mary Gagliardi:
I

Kelsey:
it's

Mary Gagliardi:
mean.

Kelsey:
like an all-ah joke like, ha ha, I can't believe we're doing this guys, this

Mary Gagliardi:
We're

Kelsey:
is crazy.

Mary Gagliardi:
still doing this choreography

Kelsey:
Yeah.

Mary Gagliardi:
30 years later, but we love them. This is not a dig. It's just kind of an observation. They're also like in their late 40s or 50s, so I understand to an extent, but where was I? So he was in this Performing Arts Academy, so he was doing all the arts, and he qualified for all state chorus. He was a classically trained dancer, Howie was, you know, no surprise, discovered by a talent agent and landed a couple of movies. He was in Parenthood, which had Steve Martin in it and Cop and a Half with Bert Reynolds. Like, that's a pretty big deal. And a side note at that time, he was acting under the stage name Tony Donetti. He was not going by Howie D, Howie DeRoe. He didn't really like this, but his, and this was a different time, obviously. This was, you know, the mid 80s. I guess, 78, 88, 92. He didn't like it, but his agent thought he was... His agent thought he was Italian and that it would help him land roles if they like made him more Italian Which is kind of

Kelsey:
It's

Mary Gagliardi:
uncomfortable.

Kelsey:
gross.

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah

Kelsey:
It's gross. They were trying to like shoehorn him into being like an Italian persona because

Mary Gagliardi:
crooner

Kelsey:
I guess it was more marketable quote unquote at the time.

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah.

Kelsey:
How he's Puerto Rican right.

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah. Yes.

Kelsey:
I'm pretty sure he's fighting.

Mary Gagliardi:
Yes. He is, he is, oh, my boyfriend was just in Puerto Rico. Puerto

Kelsey:
His mom is Puerto Rican and his dad is Irish American.

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah, so, okay, so Howie is actually Puerto Rican, not Italian, and his dad was Irish American, is Irish American. And so again, it was just kind of a different time. But in high school, here's this is a, here is a real, not heartwarming, but inspirational story for you about Howie. He was asked to sing the national anthem at a high school basketball game. And we had, this happened in our high school, like we would have students do it, and everybody would be there, and it was kind of a big deal. But so how he was asked, and when he got up there to sing, he forgot the words. Like, just imagine, I bet people were laughing, I, you know, jeering, I bet he got teased about that for a long time, but here's the inspiration for you all. Instead

Kelsey:
I literally

Mary Gagliardi:
of,

Kelsey:
made her cry.

Mary Gagliardi:
I know, instead of letting that get him down, which if it did, I would totally understand, I would be down, he performed shortly thereafter school talent show and blew the crowd away with his rendition of Enchained Melody. That is Elvis, I believe, right?

Kelsey:
Oh my,

Mary Gagliardi:
Oh my God, yes.

Kelsey:
that one,

Mary Gagliardi:
That one is

Kelsey:
my

Mary Gagliardi:
so,

Kelsey:
time.

Mary Gagliardi:
such a beautiful song. And I can just hear Howie singing it. And after hitting that like high note at the end, he received a standing ovation. Howie D was back, baby.

Kelsey:
Just as for how we...

Mary Gagliardi:
We love Howie. And he was dubbed the most talented upon his graduation from Edgewater High School, like very fitting. He moved right past that setback. No big deal. Um, fun fact during this time, he actually auditioned for the Latin group. Menudo. I can't say it. Menudo. Menudo. Menudo. Menudo.

Kelsey:
Girl, I took French.

Mary Gagliardi:
He auditioned for the Latin group. Menudo, but did not get selected. So again, there are going to be road bumps. There are going to be setbacks. We just got to stick with it, people.

Kelsey:
Brush

Mary Gagliardi:
And

Kelsey:
yourself up and try it again.

Mary Gagliardi:
shout out to Aliyah. While in high school, okay, tell me if this is fitting for Howie D. While in high school, he was actually a member of a peer counseling group called Friends, where he talked to other kids about living a clean life, having fun, going to school and avoiding drugs. Like,

Kelsey:
Oh my God,

Mary Gagliardi:
oh

Kelsey:
is he

Mary Gagliardi:
my

Kelsey:
like a founding

Mary Gagliardi:
God.

Kelsey:
member of Dare? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Mary Gagliardi:
It sounds like it. I mean, he's just such a sweet prince. I want to protect him. I just

Kelsey:
He

Mary Gagliardi:
want

Kelsey:
is

Mary Gagliardi:
to give

Kelsey:
a sweet

Mary Gagliardi:
him a

Kelsey:
prince.

Mary Gagliardi:
hug.

Kelsey:
That's where he gets his nickname, sweet D.

Mary Gagliardi:
Sweet

Kelsey:
Duh.

Mary Gagliardi:
D, he just definitely seems very sweet and kind and caring. And so this, this makes sense to me. That story made sense to me. But so, you know, besides pursuing music, he's a hardworking guy. He worked as a tour guide at Universal Orlando. And one summer him and his sister went to New York and he worked at Zorro's bread basket when he was 14 years old. So he was kind of all over the place, uh, doing different things, keeping

Kelsey:
He sings, he

Mary Gagliardi:
busy.

Kelsey:
dances, he bakes, he's a good friend. I mean, what can't the man do? What can't the man do? What can't the man do? What can't the man do? What can't

Mary Gagliardi:
He

Kelsey:
the man

Mary Gagliardi:
tour

Kelsey:
do? What can't the

Mary Gagliardi:
guides?

Kelsey:
man do? What can't the man do? What can't the man do? What can't

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah.

Kelsey:
the man do? What can't the man do? What can't the man do? What can't the man do? What can't the man do? What can't the man do? What can't the man do? What can't the man do? What can't the man do?

Mary Gagliardi:
We love Howie D. But after high school, Howie also heard about and or saw the ad about the Backstreet Boys and he actually auditioned to be a member of the band under his stage name Tony Donetti, not Howie D'Rup. But in this process, people lost his headshot and his contact information. Him down, sweet D, thanks to AJ remembering him from that Latin festival years ago when they were introduced through their mutually shared vocal coach. So how he almost slipped through the cracks. But once again, not only did AJ found the Backstreet Boys, but he was pivotal in making sure that didn't happen.

Kelsey:
Damn, imagine how good he had to have been to have made an impression on AJ, like that

Mary Gagliardi:
I

Kelsey:
hard,

Mary Gagliardi:
know,

Kelsey:
you know, that's

Mary Gagliardi:
I know.

Kelsey:
like pretty cool.

Mary Gagliardi:
Just another fun fact about Howie, and I couldn't find a timeline on this. I was doing a deep dive on this little tidbit, but apparently, howie attended the University of Central Florida and Valencia College, which is a community college in Florida and received an associate degree. I don't know when

Kelsey:
Hmm.

Mary Gagliardi:
that happened. I don't know how that fits into the timeline, found that he went to one of these colleges with INSYNC member Chris Kirkpatrick. Again, just like a bizarre, everybody was in Florida at that time. All these talented kids were there working, getting their education, trying to do auditions. It was just like this haven of young talent. Again, I can't tell you when this happened or if they maybe didn't finish it quote, though, that I read that Howie has said that him and Chris sang in the college choir together. And he, I don't know if this was a joke, but he's the reason Chris was even interested in pursuing a boy, being in a boy band or being in in sync after he saw what Howie did. So that could be a Howie's version of events. That could be the absolute truth. I can't find dates. So I might cut this out. But yeah, I wanted to date or it didn't happen. So we'll see TBD. All right, anything to add about Howie?

Kelsey:
No, I will say of all the Backstreet Boys, how he has the most perfect skin. I don't know what

Mary Gagliardi:
Oh.

Kelsey:
he does, but he looks incredible. And

Mary Gagliardi:
Howie?

Kelsey:
I just think I think he has not that it's a competition, but I feel like he has aged the least

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah,

Kelsey:
over

Mary Gagliardi:
I agree.

Kelsey:
over the years.

Mary Gagliardi:
And Howie, please drop your skincare routine and or your

Kelsey:
Literally.

Mary Gagliardi:
Botox lady. We are all interested.


Mary Gagliardi:
 But let's go to the next member of the Backstreet Boys. Are you ready?

Kelsey:
I'm ready.

Mary Gagliardi:
And I have another question for you. Am I sexual?

Kelsey:
Yeah!

Mary Gagliardi:
That is the iconic vocal stylings of the one and the only Nicholas with a K, Gene Carter. And we were talking about favorites. And Nicholas Gene Carter, I'm willing to die on this hill, is then my favorite. He stood the test of time. reasons besides him being my celebrity crush since I was like 10 and also his voice. I mean you just cannot deny the voice, his voice and I think it's honestly gotten better with age. I could write a thesis on this but I just want to look up his birthday before I continue. Nick Carter Nick was born, Nick was born on January 28th, 1980. And let me tell you, I was born in 1991 and I still thought I had a chance. So if you're, if you're,

Kelsey:
You

Mary Gagliardi:
look,

Kelsey:
and every other

Mary Gagliardi:
yes.

Kelsey:
girl.

Mary Gagliardi:
Like what's, you know, 11 years at this point, but he was born at, and you know, this is a very famous, infamous family. He was born to Jane Robert has since passed in 2017 and he has four siblings. He has Leslie who has since passed in 2012. He has his sister BJ. He has his sister Angel and he has his brother Aaron who as everybody knows just recently passed in 2022 who is Angels twin brother. Nick was the older brother. list of the bunch. And while he's breaking through, breaking from the trend of being technically a Florida boy because he was born in New York, they relocated to Ruskin, Florida when he was very young. So don't you worry, he is still is with the Florida trend, everybody. But Nick just began singing and acting at a very young age when his mom, Jane, one day a voice teacher named Marianne Prinke. And I believe we might see her in the show, Mucher Made of Documentary, but this is when they relocated to Ruskin and eventually the Tampa area. He also was enrolled in dance classes. He did local ads and commercials for different things around Florida. I actually read something Carolies book in honor of the Backstreet Boys 30th celebration order it if you don't have it it's an incredible book but he did like he had a segment I don't know if you saw this Kels he was like with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and it was like Nikki's Angels and that's like one of his

Kelsey:
You're

Mary Gagliardi:
first

Kelsey:
leaders.

Mary Gagliardi:
yes yes the cheerleaders and he was like the star of the show and there were like articles in the newspaper about him and this little group

Kelsey:
Yeah.

Mary Gagliardi:
do you have do you you have that in front of you or no.

Kelsey:
can pull it up. So he performed with their cheerleading squad,

Mary Gagliardi:
Yes.

Kelsey:
basically, and they called it Nick and the Angels.

Mary Gagliardi:
And it was one of his dance teachers kind of helped him get in this group. And I just think there's like a little picture of him and is so cute. And I'm starting to understand why he's such a big Buccaneers fan.

Kelsey:
We'll post it on our IG. So

Mary Gagliardi:
Yes,

Kelsey:
keep, yeah.

Mary Gagliardi:
hopefully we'll ask.

Kelsey:
Yeah.

Mary Gagliardi:
Maybe, we'll find it on Google. But so he, just like the other guys, he's doing different auditions, he's learning all these, the singing, the dancing, the acting, he is self-described as a weird kid and he said he was picked on a lot. This seems to be a common trend, no? No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,

Kelsey:
Like literally whoever bullied a back shaped boy, jail! Jail!

Mary Gagliardi:
I know. I

Kelsey:
Jail!

Mary Gagliardi:
hope you're,

Kelsey:
You're probably in jail!

Mary Gagliardi:
yeah.

Kelsey:
Like... ..

Mary Gagliardi:
Oh my God. So one of the guys who was supposed to be in the Backstreet Boys went to jail for like trespassing just recently. That's a whole other story. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

Kelsey:
Okay, wait, yeah, that was crazy. Mary and I recently discovered that there was supposed to be another back. What's his name? Charles?

Mary Gagliardi:
There was two. It was Charles and...

Kelsey:
There were two potential Backstreet Boys who were not touching on this

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah,

Kelsey:
episode.

Mary Gagliardi:
I think

Kelsey:
And

Mary Gagliardi:
it's in Kara's

Kelsey:
we

Mary Gagliardi:
book.

Kelsey:
probably should have

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah.

Kelsey:
included them. And they like didn't make it a cut cause they weren't good enough.

Mary Gagliardi:
One of them,

Kelsey:
And...

Mary Gagliardi:
one of them's a pastor now, if I remember correctly. And one like, one also like tried out for in sync and like bailed on them. And then I did,

Kelsey:
Damn.

Mary Gagliardi:
there was just maybe like three or four years ago, he was arrested for like trespassing or something. It was like, and it was like, like rejected Backstreet Boy arrested for

Kelsey:
Thank you.

Mary Gagliardi:
being

Kelsey:
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Mary Gagliardi:
on neighbor's lawn. Like I, it was a fever

Kelsey:
That's awful.

Mary Gagliardi:
dream, but I did see, I did see that. But so, Nick, So Nick's dance teacher, Sandy, helped him get started with this group, Nick and the Angels, this dance and singing, whatever. So let me just take that out. So between 1989 and 1993, Nick, he did a lot of cover songs. That was kind of his big thing for his auditions. And there's a really cute album that he released during that time. It's called Before the Backstreet. 1993 and he has you know Uptown Girl on there He has a couple I think God bless the USA maybe just like cute little innocent songs that he he belts out and sounds great Obviously and but

Kelsey:
That's cute.

Mary Gagliardi:
it I know and he just has that blonde hair those blue eyes and just

Kelsey:
That

Mary Gagliardi:
know

Kelsey:
haircut, can we talk about the mushroom cut?

Mary Gagliardi:
That was a that was a thing

Kelsey:
It was a watershed cultural moment, that haircut.

Mary Gagliardi:
And thankfully it is over.

Kelsey:
Thank you. Bye.

Mary Gagliardi:
But man, I was into it back in the day. But so these auditions, again, this is when he's running into befriending, getting to know AJ and Howie. Nick's obviously, you know, 10 years younger-ish, you know, 8 to 10 years younger than them. But they're all showing up in the same circles at the same auditions. And that's where the connections were starting to be made. And just as a background, as many of you already know, he and his siblings grew up in a very dysfunctional, unconventional family. He definitely has spoken about having a tough childhood due to the constant fighting and screaming and almost violence between his parents. And he's reflected that a lot of the things friends that he's had growing up, we have either turned up dead or are addicts or in prison. And performing and going to these auditions and perfecting his craft, his talent, became a huge escape for Nick from what was going on at home.

Kelsey:
really sad.

Mary Gagliardi:
I know. I mean, if you guys watch House of Carders, you can kind of see the remnants of that. I think it's just...

Kelsey:
House of Carter's and I Heart Nick Carter, which was a VH1 like one season wonder when he is

Mary Gagliardi:
married.

Kelsey:
planning his wedding to his current, to his wife, they're still married now, Lauren Kit Carter. It's really sad, no one, not one member of Nick's family was at their wedding.

Mary Gagliardi:
Yes.

Kelsey:
And it's really a sad story.

Mary Gagliardi:
And so that's exactly right, Kels. You can kind of see remnants of this dysfunctional family life and issues that still remain, even in these shows, from when they're grown up. So I feel empathy. It's empathy for Nick for that. But I'm going to pivot to the good news. And I hope your spidey senses are tingling, Kels, because in 1992, so he was 12, I was So again, still had a chance. Nick auditioned for the Mickey Mouse Club and the Backstreet Boys. He landed two big auditions and he nailed the both. Are we surprised? No, listen to that voice. Look at that performance charisma and that attitude. We are not surprised. The Mickey Mouse Club had an upfront $50,000 contract. That money was guaranteed. Or he could join the Backstreet Boys and see how it went. it did, how they did. And I remember I either saw it in show what you made of or read it in Nick Carter's autobiography. His mother Jane gave 12 year old Nick the choice and Nick chose to go with the Backstreet Boys rather with the you know the sure thing, the Mickey Mouse Club. And I remember reading Nick or seeing that Nick always expressed surprise, he was always surprised that that he was surprised that he was given this choice. You know, what 12 year old is given the such a life changing career defining choice. And I just, he seemed like he was kind of disappointed that he, his parents didn't make that decision for him, but, and I can completely get that, but I think it worked out.

Kelsey:
Right, like thank God he made the right one. Also,

Mary Gagliardi:
Ah!

Kelsey:
like what if he picked Mickey Mouse Club and he ended up in in sync?

Mary Gagliardi:
Oh my

Kelsey:
Yeah.

Mary Gagliardi:
god,

Kelsey:
Yeah.

Mary Gagliardi:
like he became best friends with Justin Timberlake and J.C.

Kelsey:
Right.

Mary Gagliardi:
and they went off like that definitely like couldn't

Kelsey:
In a

Mary Gagliardi:
like yes.

Kelsey:
parallel universe, I think Nick Carter's in in sync.

Mary Gagliardi:
Like, cause I mean, he was too talented not to, you know, not to make it. He was gonna make it some way or the other, but yeah, so thank God we got him. We got him guys, don't worry. And again, there's a lot more to Nick's story, but here we are, right as the boys are coming together. We have AJ, we have Howie, we have Nick Carter now. Kelsey, who's next?

Kelsey:
Kevin Scott Richardson. Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da

Mary Gagliardi:
Thank you. Thank you. Oh my God. Look at hat.

Kelsey:
Bucket hat, he has a

Mary Gagliardi:
Hmm.

Kelsey:
bucket hat at all his concerts now. And when we were growing up, like all of the moms liked Kevin because he was so much older than the other guys in the group. I love

Mary Gagliardi:
Thank

Kelsey:
Brian, my mom

Mary Gagliardi:
you.

Kelsey:
loved

Mary Gagliardi:
Bye.

Kelsey:
Kevin. Did you have the same experience with your concert, Chaperones, mayor? I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.

Mary Gagliardi:
No, my mom was a Brian girl. Like we were arguing about it all the time,

Kelsey:
YAH!

Mary Gagliardi:
Nick versus Brian, we were at odds.

Kelsey:
Okay,

Mary Gagliardi:
I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

Kelsey:
so Mary's mom and I would be

Mary Gagliardi:
Eugh!

Kelsey:
mortal enemies because I would have felt very competitive with her in the concerts because I too was a Brian Gurley, but I'm a recently converted Kevin Gurley.

Mary Gagliardi:
same.

Kelsey:
So anyways, here's a little bio on Kev Kev. So he was born in Lexington, Kentucky, and he was raised on a 10 acre farm with his parents and his two older brothers. Kevin, much like the other guys in the group, he was musically inclined from a young age. by ear at the age of nine. Like by, that's like Charlie Puth's perfect pitch, shit.

Mary Gagliardi:
Wow. Wow. That.

Kelsey:
He also sang in the church choir and participated in the local theater. So this man's a triple threat. And so, that's the end of the video. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope you enjoyed it.

Mary Gagliardi:
Ah.

Kelsey:
When he was nine, he moved to a log cabin at a youth camp that his father ran, where he worked as a camp counselor and he was a regular at the camp talent shows until he was 18. Contrary to the other

Mary Gagliardi:
No,

Kelsey:
boys

Mary Gagliardi:
no,

Kelsey:
we've

Mary Gagliardi:
no.

Kelsey:
discussed today though, Kevin seems like TBHE was always like a total

Mary Gagliardi:
Mm.

Kelsey:
babe. And in high school, he was voted most popular, best dressed, best dancer, best looking. Wait, sorry. And

Mary Gagliardi:
I don't know. Best look, maybe at the best look and best looking.

Kelsey:
Okay, okay,

Mary Gagliardi:
I

Kelsey:
okay,

Mary Gagliardi:
don't know

Kelsey:
sorry.

Mary Gagliardi:
though.

Kelsey:
I don't know. Sorry. Let me redo that part. So contrary to the other boys we've discussed today, Kevin seems like TBH. He was always a total babe. So in high school, he was voted most popular, best dressed, best dancer, best look, and best looking. Mary, did you have a high school superlative?

Mary Gagliardi:
Okay, well, first of all, how could you, I mean, look at that bound structure. I mean, that it would have been over for me if we went for us. We went to high

Kelsey:
The

Mary Gagliardi:
school

Kelsey:
brows though,

Mary Gagliardi:
with

Kelsey:
like

Mary Gagliardi:
Kevin

Kelsey:
it was like thick

Mary Gagliardi:
Richardson.

Kelsey:
brows. It was like almost

Mary Gagliardi:
Like,

Kelsey:
like intimidating

Mary Gagliardi:
are you kidding

Kelsey:
to look directly

Mary Gagliardi:
me?

Kelsey:
at him, you know? Like he was like

Mary Gagliardi:
Oh

Kelsey:
a man.

Mary Gagliardi:
my

Kelsey:
And

Mary Gagliardi:
God.

Kelsey:
I was like, I'm not gonna do that. I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna do it.

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah.

Kelsey:
I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna do it.

Mary Gagliardi:
But I did Kelsey. I think it was most likely to get in a car accident.

Kelsey:
That

Mary Gagliardi:
That was

Kelsey:
is...

Mary Gagliardi:
my high school superlative.

Kelsey:
That's dark. That's dark.

Mary Gagliardi:
Oh, that holds

Kelsey:
Anyways, mine was best laughs. So there

Mary Gagliardi:
up.

Kelsey:
we go.

Mary Gagliardi:
That holds up. That holds up. That holds up.

Kelsey:
Anyway, so obviously with Kevin's good looks and his musical talent, we know that he's not sitting at home on a Friday night twiddling his thumbs or whatever they did back then before AIM.

Mary Gagliardi:
Thank you. Bye.

Kelsey:
So he joined a band called Paradise, which did covers of Bobby Brown and Journey, and they performed at restaurants and weddings. After graduating high school in 1989, Kevin spent the summer working at a Pizza Hut and Tobacco Farms, and his future was uncertain. He was torn between entering the Air Force, to specifically

Mary Gagliardi:
Thank you. Bye.

Kelsey:
join the Air Force Band. Like

Mary Gagliardi:
Oh!

Kelsey:
who knew the Air Force even

Mary Gagliardi:
Oh my

Kelsey:
had

Mary Gagliardi:
god,

Kelsey:
a band?

Mary Gagliardi:
I didn't.

Kelsey:
So he was torn between that or going to the New York American Music and Dramatic Academy in New York City. Two very different paths.

Mary Gagliardi:
Yes, yes.

Kelsey:
But spoiler

Mary Gagliardi:
Thank you. Thank you.

Kelsey:
alert, he did literally neither of those things. And instead in 1990, Kevin moved to Orlando, Florida, where he got a job as a cast

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah.

Kelsey:
played a bunch of different characters, Aladdin, Prince Eric, you know, all the hot ones.

Mary Gagliardi:
Oh,

Kelsey:
Tigger, Tigger was the hottest one of Winnie the Pooh.

Mary Gagliardi:
yep. Hot tigger. What

Kelsey:
Tigger was the hottest one of Winnie the Pooh. Tigger was the hottest one of Winnie the Pooh. Tigger was the hottest one of Winnie the Pooh. Tigger was the hottest one of Winnie the Pooh. Tigger was the hottest one of Winnie the Pooh. Tigger was the hottest one of Winnie the Pooh. Tigger was the hottest one of Winnie the Pooh. Tigger was the hottest one of Winnie the Pooh. Tigger was the hottest one of Winnie the Pooh. Tigger was the hottest one of Winnie the Pooh. Tigger was the hottest one of Winnie the Pooh.

Mary Gagliardi:
about the next one?

Kelsey:
Sebastian the Crab, hot, hot,

Mary Gagliardi:
Arguably

Kelsey:
hot, hot.

Mary Gagliardi:
hot.

Kelsey:
And he was also a backstage choreographer at MGM Studios. At night, he did dinner theater and he played an Italian gangster in a musical review and they performed a bunch of songs from like Chicago,

Mary Gagliardi:
Ooh!

Kelsey:
guys and dolls, cabaret. So he clearly had like a Broadway voice and was sort of playing a bunch of different roles and genres. So it's like, is there anything that the man can't do? He's worked on a farm. sings

Mary Gagliardi:
I

Kelsey:
Journey and Under the Sea. Like just when I thought we couldn't love Kevin anymore, we uncover these fun little gems.

Mary Gagliardi:
Thank you. Thank you.

Kelsey:
So here's a sad part of Kevin's story. A year later in 1991, Kevin was told that his father's cancer had taken a turn for the worst. This was kind of a surprise to Kevin because his dad was originally, apparently what I read, his father was originally diagnosed with cancer in 1990, but his family kept this a secret from Kevin because they didn't want him to worry for afar. He was doing

Mary Gagliardi:
Mm-hmm.

Kelsey:
his own thing, trying to make it onto the scene. But once things got bad, Kevin moved back home to Kentucky. And sadly, in August of 1991, Kevin's father passed away. So Kevin stayed in Kentucky for almost a year. And then after encouragement from his mother, he went back to Florida to pursue his music career. So he's back at Disney. He's working there doing more of this character work. He has some other side hustles. He's a model because duh, he wrote music, at dinner clubs and get this, he even taught ballroom dancing.

Mary Gagliardi:
Woo.

Kelsey:
Like Kevin was a certified Latin and ballroom dance instructor. And I feel like that tracks, cause he's so angelic and graceful to me. He has terrific posture.

Mary Gagliardi:
Oh.

Kelsey:
I feel like dancers always have really good postures. I'm not a dancer. So I really admire

Mary Gagliardi:
Yes.

Kelsey:
that skill in other people. And it was around this time that Kevin also made his big screen debut and was an extra in my girl,

Mary Gagliardi:
Amazing.

Kelsey:
the movie. So now it's 1993, Kevin's going to auditions and a friend told him about an acapella group. Around this time, Kevin was working at a convention as an atmosphere dancer.

Mary Gagliardi:
Hmm.

Kelsey:
What is an atmosphere dancer, you wonder?

Mary Gagliardi:
Hmm. Huh.

Kelsey:
I presume that it's like one of those hype up dancers that like bar and pop meds fuzz to get like the 13 year old's hype.

Mary Gagliardi:
Uh...

Kelsey:
And it was there that Kevin met a woman named Lisa Fischetti whose husband was Lou Pearlman's right hand man

Mary Gagliardi:
Thank you. Thank you.

Kelsey:
So all these worlds are colliding. It's sort of like a perfect storm. And he sees this ad about a vocal group called the Backstreet Boys. He went to check them out. He auditioned and he joined the group. So then there were four, but something was missing. And they needed one more member to complete that iconic blend. So Kevin called his cousin Brian Littrell. Brian's father and Kevin's mother are siblings. to ask him to audition for the group. And that is a perfect segue to Brian Thomas Littoral. I'm here. Mary, when I tell you, my heart beat for this man

Mary Gagliardi:
Hmm.

Kelsey:
for 25 years of my life, it is not an exaggeration. Like his face, sorry, go ahead.

Mary Gagliardi:
I'll do it after your next part.

Kelsey:
Like his face was on my birthday cakes every year. I had all the Brian posters on my walls. I'd go to the ice skating rink where you'd like put in four quarters and then you'd get out like those stickers. Like I would keep doing it and spend all my hot chocolate money cause I wanted

Mary Gagliardi:
Hahahaha

Kelsey:
the Brian sticker growing up. I had six,

Mary Gagliardi:
Oh my

Kelsey:
I don't

Mary Gagliardi:
God.

Kelsey:
even know if I wanna admit this to the public, but

Mary Gagliardi:
Say

Kelsey:
I'm

Mary Gagliardi:
it,

Kelsey:
going

Mary Gagliardi:
say

Kelsey:
to.

Mary Gagliardi:
it,

Kelsey:
This

Mary Gagliardi:
just say

Kelsey:
is,

Mary Gagliardi:
it.

Kelsey:
did you know that growing up, I had six. Yes, two hands needed to count six pet hermit crabs and I named them all Brian. Like I was like George Foreman before George Foreman,

Mary Gagliardi:
Hmm

Kelsey:
like naming all my hermit crab children the same name.

Mary Gagliardi:
Oh, so,

Kelsey:
So.

Mary Gagliardi:
oh

Kelsey:
So.

Mary Gagliardi:
my God, that's, I will say I did get a pug because Nick Carter got me into pugs because he came from a pug family, but six hermit crabs is next level.

Kelsey:
I love them all equally, I didn't have a favorite. Hahaha.

Mary Gagliardi:
Was it like Brian, one, two, three, four, five, and six?

Kelsey:
No,

Mary Gagliardi:
Or was it

Kelsey:
it

Mary Gagliardi:
just?

Kelsey:
was

Mary Gagliardi:
I also.

Kelsey:
just Brian. And the thing about her, the crab, you're not really calling them by their it's

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah,

Kelsey:
like

Mary Gagliardi:
like

Kelsey:
it's going

Mary Gagliardi:
come

Kelsey:
to come

Mary Gagliardi:
here,

Kelsey:
to me when

Mary Gagliardi:
come

Kelsey:
I call

Mary Gagliardi:
here, Brian.

Kelsey:
it.

Mary Gagliardi:
Oh my god, imagine. I also wanted to mention like, what are the odds that Kevin and Brian cousins both have like such incredible voices?

Kelsey:
I know it's like a nature versus nurture thing. Like, do

Mary Gagliardi:
I...

Kelsey:
you think that people are just born with really good voices? Well, I guess they must be born with like some sort of natural talent. And then it's encouraged,

Mary Gagliardi:
Some.

Kelsey:
they get the right training. I don't, it's interesting. I don't

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah.

Kelsey:
know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.

Mary Gagliardi:
I, it, mind blowing.

Kelsey:
I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.

Mary Gagliardi:
Keep going, tell me more. I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie.

Kelsey:
It's the literal, it must have been the literal in them, right? Because

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah?

Kelsey:
Brian's dad, Kevin's mom. So here's a little bit about Brian. So he's the final Backstreet Boy to join the group and his addition just changed the entire group dynamic. This is a little tool we like to call foreshadowing because

Mary Gagliardi:
Mm-hmm.

Kelsey:
Howie was originally meant to be the lead of Backstreet Boys and this caused some tension to, what's

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah.

Kelsey:
the word I'm looking for? It's like not an appropriate word, but to undersell it. Well, you know what I'm trying to say?

Mary Gagliardi:
It caused, well

Kelsey:
Never

Mary Gagliardi:
tension

Kelsey:
mind.

Mary Gagliardi:
seems right, but.

Kelsey:
No, it's never mind.

Mary Gagliardi:
Okay,

Kelsey:
Okay.

Mary Gagliardi:
sorry.

Kelsey:
So this caused some serious tension, to say the least, when Brian came in as the last member and also the new lead voice. But that's another story for our next episode. So for now, let's give some background about my boy Brian. So Brian is a Pisces February birthday 1975. He's sensitive, artistic. He was born in Lexington, Kentucky, And Brian was born with some serious health issues. He had a congenital heart condition, which made him really susceptible to infections. He was diagnosed with a heart murmur at just six weeks old. When he was five years old, he was hospitalized for several months due to an infection. And unfortunately, Brian's health issues would persist and eventually become so severe that he needed open heart surgery during the height of Backstreet Boys popularity. So we'll cover this more in our next episode. but it's just important to understand that this was a huge part of his life growing up and something that he's always had to deal with in the back of his mind. Aside from his health issues, another core theme to Brian's story is his faith. The literals were a religious Baptist family and it also seemed to have helped foster his love of singing. Brian sang his first solo in Porter Memorial Baptist Church at age seven and he was voted president of the youth chorus by his peers one year. I feel like there's some natural there that's coming

Mary Gagliardi:
Okay.

Kelsey:
to light. And throughout his childhood, Brian had one persistent dream to play professional basketball. But one thing about Brian is he is a short

Mary Gagliardi:
Mm-hmm.

Kelsey:
king. He is five seven. So while he was good at basketball, this was not a career choice for him. Like listen, the man may be vertically challenged, but his voice at least has ranged luckily

Mary Gagliardi:
Yes.

Kelsey:
for us. So at age 16, he's pursuing music. and making some money on the side until April 19th, 1993. Kevin, his cousin, made the fateful call to Brian. And legend has it that Brian was sitting in his American history class when Kevin called Brian's school to inform Brian of an audition. So this is pre-sale phone

Mary Gagliardi:
Hahahaha

Kelsey:
era, right? So picture Brian is like at school, in his class, he gets a slip that's like, go to the office, you have a phone call.

Mary Gagliardi:
Thank

Kelsey:
I feel like

Mary Gagliardi:
you.

Kelsey:
I would have

Mary Gagliardi:
Bye.

Kelsey:
been like, oh my god, who died? Like, did you ever get called out of class? Like, that was like a scary experience.

Mary Gagliardi:
sure I did, but I don't have any cool recollection like getting picked to be in the backstreet boys or something or anything like that.

Kelsey:
I got called out of class once and I thought that someone died. My parents were in Italy with my little

Mary Gagliardi:
Oh my

Kelsey:
brother

Mary Gagliardi:
God.

Kelsey:
on like a family vacation that I wasn't allowed to go to because I couldn't miss school. And I got a like the yellow slip or whatever that was like, you can leave your class to call your parents back. And I was like, oh,

Mary Gagliardi:
Oh

Kelsey:
my, like

Mary Gagliardi:
no.

Kelsey:
my grandparents were watching me. And I was like, oh my God, something happened to my papa. I like wasn't even thinking about my parents. I was like, why is my papa?

Mary Gagliardi:
Eugh!

Kelsey:
My

Mary Gagliardi:
It

Kelsey:
mom

Mary Gagliardi:
was...

Kelsey:
was just calling me from Italy to yell at me for losing my retainer the week before

Mary Gagliardi:
Ugh,

Kelsey:
on a chorus trip in

Mary Gagliardi:
I

Kelsey:
New

Mary Gagliardi:
always

Kelsey:
Jersey.

Mary Gagliardi:
lost mine too. I know, I know. I know.

Kelsey:
From Italy, I was like, Mom, I'm in chem. Like, what are you

Mary Gagliardi:
Leave

Kelsey:
doing?

Mary Gagliardi:
me be.

Kelsey:
Anyways, I deserved it. I was horrible. So I don't know if this is how it went down in actuality, but I'm like imagining Brian at the office, at his high school, being like, oh, my god, something's wrong. And then he calls back. Kevin's like, dude, you need to audition for this music room. Like, I would just be like,

Mary Gagliardi:
What?

Kelsey:
what

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah.

Kelsey:
the f? Brian allegedly just auditioned over the phone on the spot and they immediately loved him. Lou was on the other end. They flew Brian to Orlando the next day

Mary Gagliardi:
Wow.

Kelsey:
and he was formally accepted into the group on April 20th, 1993.

Mary Gagliardi:
Thank you. Thank you.

Kelsey:
And the Backstreet Boys were born. And here are a couple other interesting Brian tidbits because I can't help myself. So Brian finished high school remotely. He graduated the next year in 1994. He got his degree. I just think it's so wild that he got the phone call that changed his life. Everyone talks about the phone call that changed his life, but like, no, like he literally physically left his life and never came back.

Mary Gagliardi:
And like his parents left let him, like my mom would be like, uh, no, sorry. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Kelsey:
Brian?

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Kelsey:
I

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah.

Kelsey:
know.

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah. Yeah.

Kelsey:
It's

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Kelsey:
like,

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah.

Kelsey:
how

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah.

Kelsey:
do you

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah.

Kelsey:
know

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah.

Kelsey:
if

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah.

Kelsey:
this

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah.

Kelsey:
is legit?

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah. Yeah.

Kelsey:
I

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah.

Kelsey:
guess

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Kelsey:
also

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah. Yeah.

Kelsey:
Kevin

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah. Yeah.

Kelsey:
being in it lends a lot of legitimacy. So I'm sure Brian's still being in school and having Kevin already be like have a foot in the door.

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah.

Kelsey:
I'm sure that he played a role in it, but it's just crazy. And the following year when Brian was 19 and Nick Carter was just 13, Nick's parents signed over guardianship of Nick to Brian. So Nick and Brian will touch on as we progress through this series, relationship because while they're almost like brothers, there's more of like a parent-guardian

Mary Gagliardi:
Mm-hmm.

Kelsey:
type relationship there. There's some resentment that's been building over the years. Mary mentioned a couple times the documentary, Show them what you're made of, which is all about the Backstreet Boys sort of revisiting their roots. You see some really heated moments, particularly between Brian and Nick

Mary Gagliardi:
of.

Kelsey:
as to sort of who's the main guy, who's the lead guy of the group. And it's just really interesting and also kind of sad that, you know, know, what 13 year old should be trusted with a 19 year old? Like I feel like I

Mary Gagliardi:
I know.

Kelsey:
trust a 13 year old boy more than a 19 year old boy.

Mary Gagliardi:
I know that there's a lot there. There's a lot there, that's all I'll say. I'm not sure if you can see

Kelsey:
There's

Mary Gagliardi:
it, but I'm not sure.

Kelsey:
a lot there. So obviously I'm like a really diligent researcher, as you all can tell. So as part of my Brian Deep Dive, I had to look into his dating history because it's responsible journalism. So I found that when Brian first joined Backstreet Boys, he had this girlfriend named Samantha. And they dated up until Backstreet Boys' big break in 1996,

Mary Gagliardi:
Thank you.

Kelsey:
1997-ish.

Mary Gagliardi:
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Kelsey:
So Samantha had a front row seat to their rise to fame. And she literally wrote a book time together, which was released in 1999, like peak BSV.

Mary Gagliardi:
Thank you. Bye.

Kelsey:
It's called What You Want to Know, Backstreet Boys Secrets Only a Girlfriend Can Tell. And it has three and a half stars on

Mary Gagliardi:
Ooh.

Kelsey:
Amazon, and I would like to do a dramatic reading of the book's official description.

Mary Gagliardi:
Mm-hmm.

Kelsey:
I am Brian Littrell's first love and high school sweetheart. Brian and I were best friends for four years. I was with the Backstreet Boys from the beginning when they were just about to catch their shooting star.

Mary Gagliardi:
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Kelsey:
From signing their record deal to touring across Europe, Brian and I were inseparable. I saw the ups and downs and wanna share this amazing story with you. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to date one of the Backstreet Boys signing out literally

Mary Gagliardi:
Yes,

Kelsey:
every day

Mary Gagliardi:
yes.

Kelsey:
of my life? Sorry,

Mary Gagliardi:
Yes.

Kelsey:
back to the description. Are there questions you've always wanted to know the truth about? After the lights go down, what are the Backstreet Boys really like? I also wanna call out that the Backstreet Boys every time

Mary Gagliardi:
weird.

Kelsey:
in every instance. And it's like, no, that's their name.

Mary Gagliardi:
No,

Kelsey:
That is, okay.

Mary Gagliardi:
but like why?

Kelsey:
I digress. I wanna share with you some personal stories about the band and some really fun, never before seen photos of Brian and the Backstreet Boys. If it could happen to me, it could happen

Mary Gagliardi:
Eugh.

Kelsey:
to you. And I want you to be prepared. I'm just a normal girl who was the first love of one of

Mary Gagliardi:
Ugh.

Kelsey:
the Backstreet Boys. If you're gonna be the next girlfriend Just want the hottest secrets about the Backstreet Boys. I think you'll enjoy this book. You'll definitely feel closer to those boys you love. Have fun with it and enjoy. Smiles, Samantha. Honest, I'll pause for reaction. I'm

Mary Gagliardi:
Oh

Kelsey:
sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

Mary Gagliardi:
my

Kelsey:
I'm

Mary Gagliardi:
god.

Kelsey:
sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

Mary Gagliardi:
Oh my god. I...

Kelsey:
So I don't remember ever seeing this book at like a borders or a Barnes & Noble, but I'm pretty sure if I had, my mother would have done her best to hide it from me because I would have like devoured this like as literature as an eight year old.

Mary Gagliardi:
I'm gonna die.

Kelsey:
And I probably would have tried to like write a book report on it for school. Like remember, deer drop everything in read.

Mary Gagliardi:
Yes!

Kelsey:
You always had to like have a book in your desk after read. Like that would be my book after recess.

Mary Gagliardi:
I wonder if that was a cause, if he was really mad at her for doing that, or if he cared, or I almost kind of want to get it now and see what it says. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay.

Kelsey:
don't know that it's worth purchasing. But

Mary Gagliardi:
Okay.

Kelsey:
obviously I stalked this girl's Instagram and her

Mary Gagliardi:
Oh.

Kelsey:
first post ever, she's married. It seems that she has children. Her first post on Instagram though, it was still like a throwback photo of her and Brian when they're in high school. So it's

Mary Gagliardi:
Oh

Kelsey:
just

Mary Gagliardi:
my...

Kelsey:
kind

Mary Gagliardi:
uh...

Kelsey:
of interesting. You know, now people sell stories to magazines, or they like, I don't know, try and find

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah.

Kelsey:
ways to capitalize off of their famous relationship. So this has always been a thing that's happened. It doesn't seem like she's doing anything like salacious

Mary Gagliardi:
No.

Kelsey:
or like mean. It seems pretty innocent, but just the fact that she says, if it could happen to me, it could

Mary Gagliardi:
oof

Kelsey:
happen to you and I want you to be prepared. Do you know how fast I would have chugged that Kool-Aid?

Mary Gagliardi:
Oh yeah, I mean I'm still interested in reading it, so you know, whatever. Whatever!

Kelsey:
So, those were the boys. Now that we know who everybody is, let's talk a little bit about how they all came together. So we've touched on this a little bit. The common thread here is Lou Perlman. He is an Orlando-based businessman turned Ponzi scheme operator who placed an ad in a local paper for boy singers to create a band. So as Mary mentioned, we have a lot to say about Lou. And you can learn all about him and how he formed Backstreet Boys and in sync and basically defrauded them both and hundreds of other people in our Lou Perlman episode. Highly recommend you listen if you haven't already because it's going to explain a lot of the behind the scenes and lead up as to why a random businessman who was in the blimp industry

Mary Gagliardi:
Thank you. Bye.

Kelsey:
won the star of boy band in the first place. But anyways, we're glad he did what he did and he started the Backstreet Boys because we have a new national holiday. 1993, which is when the Bacchipoys were officially formed when Brian traveled all his way to Orlando to officially join the group.

Mary Gagliardi:
So should I do this part? You think this is like okay?

Kelsey:
Yeah.

Mary Gagliardi:
Because they're not like.

Kelsey:
Yeah, I think so now it's like, okay, so we, because I kind of touch on that, like, we know who they are, let's talk about how they came together. You can be like, so their first, this

Mary Gagliardi:
Okay.

Kelsey:
is what it was like their first couple years after forming.

Mary Gagliardi:
Okay, so, okay, let me see where he's, what's the last thing you said? And as you said, as we said earlier, this is a three-part series. They obviously didn't pop off right away. They're still, you know, trying to get signed, doing local high school and mall performances. So on May 8th, 1993, BSB actually had their first performance at SeaWorld Orlando. Why the hell not? happens in Orlando, I'm telling you, Shamu was there. That's like the bat, you know, let's put on the show. And

Kelsey:
Shemu just wasn't there. They were opening

Mary Gagliardi:
yes,

Kelsey:
for Shemu.

Mary Gagliardi:
I can't take that. I can't take that. And that that was in front of 3000 people though, right? So you got to start somewhere. That's a pretty big first crowd.

Kelsey:
Yes, Shamu drew the crowd and they were all like teenage girls and they went bananas. This performance, it's on YouTube

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah.

Kelsey:
and it is iconic. The boys are wearing these leather jackets. They have crazy choreography and the audience is literally going like these girls are climbing over themselves

Mary Gagliardi:
Yes,

Kelsey:
trying to get

Mary Gagliardi:
yes.

Kelsey:
closer.

Mary Gagliardi:
And I'll cut this out if this is wrong, but Kels didn't Kara Lee first see the Backstreet Boys at an Orlando performance or am I misremembering that?

Kelsey:
It was like 2011 though.

Mary Gagliardi:
Oh my

Kelsey:
I

Mary Gagliardi:
god,

Kelsey:
think she

Mary Gagliardi:
that's

Kelsey:
said

Mary Gagliardi:
crazy. Okay, never. Yeah, she was probably like four when this happened.

Kelsey:
she's a late bloomer when

Mary Gagliardi:
Okay,

Kelsey:
it comes

Mary Gagliardi:
we're going to

Kelsey:
to

Mary Gagliardi:
cut,

Kelsey:
the fandom.

Mary Gagliardi:
uh, but I cut. Okay. So, so the backstreet, so they had this, you know, they opened for Shamu. This is a big deal. And they're called, they're called the backstreet boys. Now, what the hell does

Kelsey:
I

Mary Gagliardi:
that mean?

Kelsey:
can't

Mary Gagliardi:
I

Kelsey:
get

Mary Gagliardi:
mean,

Kelsey:
over it. They open for shame.

Mary Gagliardi:
Shamu.

Kelsey:
Everyone's got to start somewhere, you know?

Mary Gagliardi:
Shamu is like Elvis. Like you're a one name.

Kelsey:
You're right.

Mary Gagliardi:
Like

Kelsey:
You're so

Mary Gagliardi:
everybody

Kelsey:
right.

Mary Gagliardi:
knows like it. I

Kelsey:
Beyonce!

Mary Gagliardi:
mean, yes, Shamu, Beyonce, Elvis, Prince, like they were

Kelsey:
Madonna!

Mary Gagliardi:
opening, Madonna, they were opening for a great.

Kelsey:
God!

Mary Gagliardi:
So literally, I digress. Have you ever wondered, you know, how they their name, how they came up with their name, the Backstreet Boys? I remember my moms being like, they sound kind of like or like, you know, bad. It sounds like negative.

Kelsey:
I thought that their name came from, or you know the song Uptown Girl by Billie Joel,

Mary Gagliardi:
Huh?

Kelsey:
that she never had a backstreet guy. I thought that song was about the backstreet boys when I

Mary Gagliardi:
Well,

Kelsey:
was younger,

Mary Gagliardi:
that's

Kelsey:
because

Mary Gagliardi:
cute.

Kelsey:
I am delusional and thought everything all roads led back to

Mary Gagliardi:
Well,

Kelsey:
backstreet boys.

Mary Gagliardi:
same page says, but,

Kelsey:
Also, Mary, did you

Mary Gagliardi:
yeah.

Kelsey:
know, like I was Googling, obviously I spend a lot of my time Googling them.

Mary Gagliardi:
Yes, yes.

Kelsey:
Their official name doesn't have the in it.

Mary Gagliardi:
Backstreet Boys, the

Kelsey:
just

Mary Gagliardi:
Backstreet Boys.

Kelsey:
backstreet boys.

Mary Gagliardi:
I guess

Kelsey:
I

Mary Gagliardi:
that,

Kelsey:
always thought it was the

Mary Gagliardi:
the

Kelsey:
backstreet

Mary Gagliardi:
Backstreet

Kelsey:
boys.

Mary Gagliardi:
Boys. Go see Backstreet Boys, go see the Backstreet Boys. I feel

Kelsey:
I kind

Mary Gagliardi:
like,

Kelsey:
of stayed up all night thinking about it.

Mary Gagliardi:
I feel like I say it like Backstreet Boys. Like,

Kelsey:
I've always said that, like, only the Bacchee boys.

Mary Gagliardi:
the backstreet boys. We'll

Kelsey:
But when you Google them, like,

Mary Gagliardi:
do a poll. Yeah.

Kelsey:
they're like, they're like, what the fuck?

Mary Gagliardi:
What do you guys say?

Kelsey:
What the fuck? What the fuck? What the fuck? What the fuck? What the fuck? What the fuck? What the fuck? What the fuck? What the fuck? What the fuck? What the fuck? What the fuck? What the fuck? What the fuck? What the fuck? What the fuck? What the fuck? What the fuck? What the fuck? What the fuck? What the fuck? What the fuck?

Mary Gagliardi:
Well, vote on our Instagram, TBD. Backstreet Boys or the Backstreet Boys?

Kelsey:
I feel like it makes a difference.

Mary Gagliardi:
No, but I think I just say backstreet boys. I have to record myself. I have to record myself.

Kelsey:
You're correct, then you're correct. Like I'm just saying I after 25 years, I'm wrong.

Mary Gagliardi:
Oh my god, that's amazing. Well, so Backstreet Boys, not the Backstreet Boys. Where did their name come from? Are they dirty, grungy, Backstreet? No, false. It actually came

Kelsey:
Thank

Mary Gagliardi:
from

Kelsey:
you. Bye.

Mary Gagliardi:
a flea market, which I guess could be kind of dirty and grungy, in Orlando, Florida. Yes, they're named after a flea market.

Kelsey:
All sides point to grungy.

Mary Gagliardi:
Oh god, the Orlando connection just never stops. But back in the day, Apparently this flea market was a trendy meeting place for the youths to hang out. So given the boys Orlando connection, the name was a perfect fit for this up and coming boy band. If you want to call it, they're not a band. They're a boy group. I don't know. I get like triggered by that phrase, but

Kelsey:
Why?

Mary Gagliardi:
because

Kelsey:
Because

Mary Gagliardi:
they're

Kelsey:
they

Mary Gagliardi:
not

Kelsey:
don't play

Mary Gagliardi:
a band.

Kelsey:
instruments?

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah. Like they're a, they're a

Kelsey:
Kevin

Mary Gagliardi:
singing

Kelsey:
plays

Mary Gagliardi:
group.

Kelsey:
the piano sometimes.

Mary Gagliardi:
plays the drums. So I don't

Kelsey:
And also piano.

Mary Gagliardi:
know. So I mean, that's just like, that's me. It's not them. It's me. Just a tick. But so the back. So fun fact, there's, that's what they're named from.

Kelsey:
I

Mary Gagliardi:
And so they're doing all these, you know, they're, they're starting to create some buzz in the local Florida Orlando area. And they caught the attention of Mercury Records in I'm not sure that's a pretty big deal, you know, and they wanted

Kelsey:
Yeah.

Mary Gagliardi:
to sign the boys But get this we have a diva moment here John Mellon camp John Cougar Mellon camp one of Mercury's biggest acts understandably did not want to be associated with the bet with backstreet boys or any boy band, you know for that matter and He's threatened to leave the label if they signed BSV So be it mercury record was like, all right, we're not touching these boy banders with a 10 foot pole. We want to keep John Cougar mulling camp. So

Kelsey:
You know what I have to say to John Mellencamp?

Mary Gagliardi:
yes, what?

Kelsey:
Every time I hear... .. the opening

Mary Gagliardi:
Jack

Kelsey:
notes of

Mary Gagliardi:
and

Kelsey:
Jack

Mary Gagliardi:
Diane.

Kelsey:
and Diane. I'm disappointed when it's John Mellon camp, Jack and Diane, and not Jessica Simpson. I think I'm in love with you. I'm in love with you. I'm in love with you. I'm in love with you. I'm in love with you. I'm in love with you. I'm in love with you. I'm in love with you. I'm in love with you. I'm in love with you. I'm in love with you. I'm in love with you. I'm in love

Mary Gagliardi:
I

Kelsey:
with you.

Mary Gagliardi:
think

Kelsey:
I'm in love

Mary Gagliardi:
they

Kelsey:
with

Mary Gagliardi:
don't,

Kelsey:
you.

Mary Gagliardi:
yeah, I know. That's definitely a thing, I agree.

Kelsey:
So you know what, John Mellon camp, STFU.

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah, I mean, there are you a blade. I'm not gonna get into them being better than him, but. I'm not gonna get into them being better than him, but. I'm not gonna get into them being better than him, but. I'm not gonna get into them being better than him, but. I'm not gonna get into them being better than him, but. I'm not gonna get into them being better than him, but. I'm not gonna get into them being better than him, but. I'm not gonna get into them being better than him, but.

Kelsey:
It's also just like really interesting that the same year that they formed, they already had a record, you know, interest for a record deal. That's a huge deal. And I feel like that just goes to show how strong they were

Mary Gagliardi:
Yes.

Kelsey:
so quickly.

Mary Gagliardi:
And they had the blend, the infamous blend, their voices and their harmonies are what catapulted them into superstardom. And you can see that a little bit. There's some great YouTube footage. We're going to play a couple of clips throughout, but I suggest you go find this on YouTube because before they eventually got their record deal in 1994, the boys were trying to get out there and they spent the rest of 93 touring across high schools throughout America. And there is some incredible video footage of this out and about. And they were performing at a high school in Cleveland in February of 1994. I wonder if Shay was, because Shay, our friend Shay that's going to be at another episode, saw them perform in their high school tour and is

Kelsey:
Wow.

Mary Gagliardi:
from the Cleveland area. I don't I won't cut that out, but I wonder if that's the one she was at. But that's

Kelsey:
Oh my God, that's so cool.

Mary Gagliardi:
at one of their high school performances in Cleveland in 1994. They actually caught the attention of Jeff Fenster and David Rensner, who signed them to their first record deal with Zamba. And there's some great footage, as I said, here's how we singing the lead for the cover of If I Ever Fall in Love Again. And you can just really hear how he continues to have very strong vocals in my opinion. We also get them singing Darlin' in high school in 1993. I know, amazing.

Kelsey:
Tell me what to do to make

Mary Gagliardi:
Make

Kelsey:
these

Mary Gagliardi:
this one.

Kelsey:
right

Mary Gagliardi:
And then this one's my favorite. I love they do shy's baby I'm yours and I was just dead when I heard this. And you can just hear again with these clips. My commentary and critique is that you can just really notice that voices really go well together. The blend, the Backstreet Blend is coming together. The stars are aligning and as we said in 1994 they were noticed and Backstreet Boy signed with Zamba and headed straight to Sweden to Sherion Studios. I might sound familiar to some of you. Actually, I don't think it was called Sherion then but I digress. To record with Max Martin and Dennis Pop, at length. They are pop music legend, legend writers and producers. I cannot say enough about them. And in on September 5th of 1995, for the first single from the Backstreet Boys, We've Got It Going On was officially released. It really didn't land in the America right away. We're a little bit slow over here sometimes.

Kelsey:
I hate us

Mary Gagliardi:
It only peaked at 69 by December of 95. But you know, those year parents are ahead of us. We were top five in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France, and the Netherlands. And Agent McLean actually just did a TV interview in, I believe, Toronto today or yesterday. And he echoed this story, but basically he credited Canada for bringing the boys over to America because they had heard some DJ in Montreal had heard them in Europe and started playing them in Montreal. And then that's how it started to trickle over, trickle down to America. So the boys, where are they at, Kelso? Have they popped? Where are they? Where are we right now? Help me, help me. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Kelsey:
Well, Mary, they're about to pop.

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah. Ha ha ha ha ha.

Kelsey:
I think it's so interesting that both Baxi boys and the same thing happened to NSYNC,

Mary Gagliardi:
Yes.

Kelsey:
the same thing happened to 90 degrees. America just wasn't ready for

Mary Gagliardi:
No.

Kelsey:
boy band mania, which is interesting because new kids on the blog, boys to men, we already had these really great

Mary Gagliardi:
That's true.

Kelsey:
men's vocal groups. Why weren't we ready for them?

Mary Gagliardi:
I don't know.

Kelsey:
just fascinating to me. So we need to cut ourselves off here. Otherwise,

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah.

Kelsey:
this episode will literally be 17 hours

Mary Gagliardi:
Yes.

Kelsey:
long. So on our next episode, we will cover the moment Backstreet Boys popped with Backstreet's back, Millennium, Black and Blue, and essentially took over the world and also Mary and my entire lives.

Mary Gagliardi:
Yes, that will be episode two and that's a jam. That might be a little longer one. It's jam packed of those three albums which were, you know, had an incredible impact on Y2K, pop culture, music, et cetera.

Kelsey:
et cetera, et cetera. So thank you guys so much for listening. Before we sign off, we did want to acknowledge some sad news about one of our other favorite boy bands of Y2K who were also assigned to Lou Proman, interestingly, LFO. Also, I did not realize that LFO stood for light funky ones.

Mary Gagliardi:
Nope, me neither.

Kelsey:
I learned that this week. But earlier this week, Brian Briz Gillis, one of the original members of the band passed away. He was just 47 years old. It's really sad. He has a really interesting story. He left the group in 1998 before LFO's first album was released, but he was still such an important part of the group's DNA and their rise to fame. And sadly, Brian was predestined by two other LFO

Mary Gagliardi:
Uh.

Kelsey:
band members, Rich Cronin and David Lima. It's just a really sad story and we're, this is a boy band to love fest today. So we're

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah.

Kelsey:
just sending all of our love to Brian's family and friends and all the LFO fans We listen to LFO a lot. I

Mary Gagliardi:
Of

Kelsey:
love

Mary Gagliardi:
course.

Kelsey:
the line. What is that one line? And then I think about

Mary Gagliardi:
About

Kelsey:
the

Mary Gagliardi:
the

Kelsey:
time

Mary Gagliardi:
time

Kelsey:
that

Mary Gagliardi:
that

Kelsey:
we

Mary Gagliardi:
we broke

Kelsey:
broke

Mary Gagliardi:
up

Kelsey:
up.

Mary Gagliardi:
before

Kelsey:
Up

Mary Gagliardi:
the

Kelsey:
on the,

Mary Gagliardi:
prom

Kelsey:
sorry, I think. We're not.

Mary Gagliardi:
Are we like off sync? Oh God, we're not in sync, we're off sync. Okay, I'll let you do it. Wi-Fi!

Kelsey:
Before the... Prima. Okay, I want to be... I want this to be sincere. Okay.

Mary Gagliardi:
Yes.

Kelsey:
So, we're sending all of our love. We listen to Ella Full the time. We love them. Mary and I always sing that song from every other time. And then I think about the time that we broke up before the prime. And you told everyone that I was gay. Okay. So iconic.

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah.

Kelsey:
So, we're going to play that as our little outro today as a little tribute to Brian and the LFO fans out there. Thank you so much everyone for listening. Hope you have a great week and we'll catch you next week.

Mary Gagliardi:
Bye.

Kelsey:
Bye.

Mary Gagliardi:
Every other

Kelsey:
I feel

Mary Gagliardi:
time.

Kelsey:
like that's nice, right?

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah, yeah. And

Kelsey:
Okay,

Mary Gagliardi:
then it goes.

Kelsey:
you should record your self singing it too and then can we blend?

Mary Gagliardi:
Oh God, I mean, Max Martin in here.

Kelsey:
Let's try ready one two three

Mary Gagliardi:
And

Kelsey:
and then

Mary Gagliardi:
then I think...

Kelsey:
Okay, you start and then all

Mary Gagliardi:
Okay.

Kelsey:
join ready one two three

Mary Gagliardi:
And then I

Kelsey:
and

Mary Gagliardi:
think

Kelsey:
then I

Mary Gagliardi:
about

Kelsey:
think

Mary Gagliardi:
the time that we broke up. Okay.

Kelsey:
Just sing it like normally. Ready?

Mary Gagliardi:
And then I think about

Kelsey:
I'm

Mary Gagliardi:
the time when I

Kelsey:
not

Mary Gagliardi:
broke up.

Kelsey:
saying that, I'm just lagging for you because I'm singing on beat to when you're going.

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah, I hear you later.

Kelsey:
Oh,

Mary Gagliardi:
But

Kelsey:
that's so funny. That's so

Mary Gagliardi:
it's

Kelsey:
funny.

Mary Gagliardi:
like you're echoing me. So I like try to slow down and

Kelsey:
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Mary Gagliardi:
then it doesn't. That's so funny. Well, I thought that was good. I hope it

Kelsey:
That

Mary Gagliardi:
sounds

Kelsey:
was great!

Mary Gagliardi:
good. It was fun.

Kelsey:
There's

Mary Gagliardi:
Whatever,

Kelsey:
a lot

Mary Gagliardi:
it was

Kelsey:
of...

Mary Gagliardi:
fun. It was fun.

Kelsey:
Yeah, this is for us. It's not

Mary Gagliardi:
Yeah,

Kelsey:
for anybody else.

Mary Gagliardi:
sorry. All right, well, I will,

Kelsey:
um,

Mary Gagliardi:
yeah.

Kelsey:
when's our next record?

Mary Gagliardi:
I think we're doing Thursday night, right?

Kelsey:
Yes, thank

Mary Gagliardi:
Oh,

Kelsey:
you so much for being so flexible.

Mary Gagliardi:
I think that's, it shouldn't be any, it should be no problem, no big deal. And I'm glad I'll be in the carpet room, but, yeah,

Kelsey:
The carpet.

Mary Gagliardi:
my padded carpet room. But when my other idea, I forgot, this could be like these upcoming, you know, May or June, we could do another now. Like now

Kelsey:
Good

Mary Gagliardi:
five,

Kelsey:
call. Yeah,

Mary Gagliardi:
you know?

Kelsey:
that'd be so easy.

Mary Gagliardi:
And like we could do that for June and just like record that like sometime in May like

Kelsey:
Yeah,

Mary Gagliardi:
locked

Kelsey:
we can

Mary Gagliardi:
and

Kelsey:
knock

Mary Gagliardi:
loaded

Kelsey:
that out.

Mary Gagliardi:
and

Kelsey:
Yeah.

Mary Gagliardi:
I can just do a little like if there's any news I can do a little intro you know talking about it and just have it ready to go and so

Kelsey:
Perfect.

Mary Gagliardi:
excellent so well I can't wait and well I'll talk to you later I'll start editing

Kelsey:
Thanks,

Mary Gagliardi:
tomorrow

Kelsey:
Mare. Okay, so do I hit Lee? I'm not gonna click anything, cause I'm scared.

Mary Gagliardi:
I'm gonna hit stop. Let's see if I hit stop.