Music News for Thursday

CHANCE THE RAPPER DEVELOPING MOVIE MUSICAL: Chance the Rapper is expanding into movies as the producer of an upcoming musical, titled Hope. The film will follow a group of Chicago teenagers who band together to turn art into action within their community. Nico Segal, who formed the hip-hop group SaveMoney with Chance and Vic Mensa, will oversee the music. Empire writer/producer Carlito Rodriguez will write the screenplay. Chance will join Cardi Band T.I. as judges for Netflix’ upcoming hip-hop competition series, Rhythm + Flow, debuting in the fall of 2019.

BACKSTREET BOYS BRINGING THEIR KIDS ON TOUR NEXT YEAR: Shortly after announcing their new album DNA and a world tour starting in 2019, the members of the Backstreet Boys admit their upcoming string of performances will be a heck of a lot different than those past for one reason: their kids are coming. “We have a family room backstage for the family and the wives and the kids to hang out in,” 47-year-old dad Kevin Richardson told People. “It used to be the VIP room, stocked with alcohol for our friends and different people that come to see the show, but now it’s the family room.” Nick Carter added that they’ve even given the space a new name. “It’s the VIB room, Very Important Baby,” he said. “It’ll be daddy daycare.” Nick has a two-year-old son named Odin, Kevin is dad to 11-year-old Mason and five-year-old Maxwell, Howie Dorough has a nine-year-old son named James and a five-year-old son named Holden, AJ McLean has a six-year-old daughter, Ava, and 20-month-old daughter Lyric, and Brian Littrell has a 16-year-old son, Baylee. “BSB’s 10th studio album, DNA, comes out January 25th and their tour kicks off May 11th in Lisbon, Portugal.

AJ MCLEAN REVEALS HE’S RELAPSED OVER THE PAST YEAR: Backstreet Boys’ AJ McLean continues to be open about his struggles with alcohol addiction. He admits to People magazine that he’s relapsed over the past year. “You know, it’s interesting about sobriety with family and with kids – you still have to put yourself first, and that’s been a real big struggle for me,” he says. “Look, I have no shame in saying, I’ve relapsed over the past year. It’s no secret that this is a disease, and that it’s a daily struggle.” AJ previously entered rehab in 2001 for alcohol addiction. He credits his family – particularly his two young daughters, Ava and Lyric – for helping him stay on the right track. “For me, you don’t beat it,” he says of his addiction. “It’s not like, okay, I’m sober, it’s done. I’ll never drink again. No. You have to work at it daily.”