For years, the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC have been labelled rivals despite sharing deep friendships and embarking on professional collaborations. But in the ultimate reminder there’s no bad blood between the two mega pop groups, AJ McLean and Nick Carter have revealed one *NSYNC member made a mark on the group’s upcoming holiday album, “A Very Backstreet Christmas.”
The band quietly dropped the album’s first single, a cover of Wham!’s “Last Christmas,” today (Sept. 6), ahead of the project’s Oct. 14 release. Their first holiday collection features both covers and original music, and when asked about any surprising influences on the new tracks, McLean tells PvNew that Justin Timberlake inspired one song.
“Nick would be the first to tell you he really wanted ‘Can’t Stop the Feeling!’ to be the inspiration for one song,” McLean says, referring to Timberlake’s 2016 dance smash from the “Trolls” soundtrack. “He wanted that really happy, funky vibe.”
Adds Carter: “It’s funny because there’s all this stuff about Backstreet versus *NSYNC, but we’re all about good songs and good movies and ‘Trolls’was a movie we watched a lot with our kids. Justin wrote a really great song and we wanted to write a happy, uplifting song that had the same feel. Especially with the way the world is right now. It was like, ‘Let’s put some positive stuff out there,’ so we wrote ‘Happy Days.’”
McLean and Carter cowrote the new tracks with Kevin Richardson, Howie Dorough and Brian Littrell. The group, which is are currently on their “DNA World Tour,”also worked with musicians including Beck’s father, David Campbell, who conducted “incredible” string arrangements.
The record sees them covering classics they loved during their childhoods, like “White Christmas,” and “Winter Wonderland,” alongside the new tracks, “Christmas in New York,” “Together,” and “Happy Days.”
“With another one of the new songs, we wanted something that was Marvin Gaye/Otis Redding old-school vibes,” McLean said. “We never mention Christmas in that one, so it could also be for New Year’s, a party or anything.”
“This is Backstreet in its truest form,” McLean continues. “It’s very mature and the vocals sound incredible. It’s the best we’ve sounded as a group in years. My wife’s like, ‘This will be on repeat in our house.’ She starts playing Christmas music in July.”
Just a pic from Last Christmas…
