Backstreet Boys Open Up

Backstreet Boys opened up about their competition with NSYNC during the late ’90s and early 2000s. On Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen

Kevin Richardson revealed there was at least one NSYNC hit that was originally offered to the Boys. He said, “I’m pretty sure it was “Tearin’ Up My Heart” and we turned it down. But look, the thing with us and NSYNC, we were brothers; we were just on different teams. It was healthy competition.”

Brian Littrell added that, despite their friendship, the two groups were often pitted against each other by their shared management. He said, “When NSYNC came along, it was like, if we said no to something, it was threatened to us that ‘Hey, you know, somebody will say yes.’ That’s how it happened.”

Backstreet Boys are currently working on a Christmas album.