Backstreet's Back! My Son's Gonna Be Bigger Than Me

Brian has some fatherly advice for wannabes

- Leena Tailor

Twenty years after their Kiwi fans rallied together to launch a nationwide petition to bring the Backstreet Boys to New Zealand, the boy band is gearing up for two nostalgia-filled shows in Auckland.

And while they’ve still got many of the same hits and moves, much has changed for the quintet, who are now all doting dads whose bottle service these days is more likely to involve baby formula than vodka.

Woman’s Day caught up with Brian Littrell about how New Zealand reminds him of home, the group’s resurgence, fatherhood and watching his 17-year-old son Baylee follow his footsteps into music with the release of his debut album 777-Country.

Having witnessed his bandmates Nick Carter and AJ McLean experience the downsides of fame with drug and alcohol addiction when they were around the same age as Baylee, Brian is conscious of helping his son stay on the right path as his career takes off.

“The best thing we can give Baylee is love and support, and just guide his thought process,” says Brian, who met his wife Leighanne on the group’s 1997 “As Long as You Love Me” video shoot. “With success comes fortune and fame, and that’s when young people can lose their heads. Everybody around you says ‘yes’ to everything you want and you lose perspective.