Backstreet Boys

Standard-bearers of millennial mainstream pop, the Backstreet Boys are an American quintet that emerged atop the boy band pack at the height of a commercial teen pop explosion in the late '90s. Trailed by friendly rivals *NSYNC and a crop of imitators, they spun a hybrid of harmonic R&B balladry, hip-hop edge, and dance pop which initially found its greatest audience in Canada and Europe. Success in their native U.S. soon followed, when mainstream pop hit it big on radio and MTV toward the end of the decade. Early singles "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)" and "Everybody (Ba...