Backstreet Boys tailors show to fans

The Backstreet Boys are back.

The singing quartet — Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell and A.J. McLean — have sold more than 76 million records worldwide and won a bucketload of MTV Music Awards on both sides of the Atlantic, VH1 Music Awards, Teen Choice Awards and Grammy Nominations.

The group has also seen two of its albums ("Backstreet Boys" and "Millennium") sell more than 10 million copies each.

As recent at 2008, the boys were voted No. 2 and 3 on MTV's TRL list for Top 10 Best Boy Band and Most Iconic Video, respectively, for "I Want It That Way."

Last October, the Backstreet Boys released its ninth CD, "This Is Us."

In addition, the singers are each involved in their own solo careers and other projects.

Carter, calling from the Backstreet Boys stop in Connecticut, said the group's lives rely on priorities.

"The Backstreet Boys takes a lot of time and energy," he said. "And it takes a lot of balance to do what is expected of us and what we need to do."

Carter, who has had his share of trials with substance addiction, said each of the singers has a good support group.

"We are able to take family members and friends on tour with us," he said. "That helps us keep focused.

"The years have been a culmination of success and failure. We have made our mistakes and learned from them. And they all add up to one thing — experience."

Experience is what helped the group when it was recording "This Is Us."

The singers were in the middle of a world tour supporting the album "Unbreakable" when they began recording the new album.

Carter said the energy of the tour was contagious, and the group knew it wanted to capture that energy on a new CD.

The group would take their days off and record songs, and when the tour wrapped up, they went back into the studio to finish the CD.

"We really didn't have time to stop and think about the new CD," he said. "We just went in and did it. That was good for us because we didn't over think the CD and went with what felt good."

The boys recruited a list of producers for the "This Is Us" sessions. The list includes T-Pain, Max Martin, RedOne, Soulshock and Karlin, Jim Jonsin and Claude Kelly.