Why the Backstreet Boys think their Christmas album is 'some of the best work' of their career

When the Backstreet Boys crafted their first Christmas album, they aimed for a balance of emotion – blending the festive spirit of the holidays with the inevitable pensive aspects.

“A Very Backstreet Christmas,” which arrived in October stocked with the angelic harmonizing of Nick Carter, Kevin Richardson, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean and Brian Littrell, adeptly navigates the scope of sentiment.

From “White Christmas” to “Last Christmas,” “Winter Wonderland” to “Same Old Lang Syne,” the 13 songs – including three originals – are woven with BSB’s trademark vocals and an alluring sheen.

The album, which made its debut at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Holiday Albums chart, was actually ready to roll in 2021. But supply chain issues with vinyl and CDs, coupled with a few missed deadlines for promotional opportunities, prompted the quintet to delay a year.

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After wrapping up a European leg of their enduring DNA world tour this week, BSB will roll through a series of Jingle Ball radio concerts starting Dec. 6 in Detroit.

The guys sandwiched together on a video call a few weeks ago (prior to the death of Carter’s younger brother, Aaron) before a tour stop in Germany to share their yuletide feelings.

Question: Why was this the right time to finally do a Christmas album?

Carter: We’ve been busy the past almost 30 years! This is a bucket list for us as a group. When the pandemic happened, we had the opportunity to reflect on our lives and take some time. We set the whole studio up with trees and yule logs on the TV screens and we just picked our favorite songs, got in the studio together and had a blast.

What were the negotiations like as far as choosing which songs to cover?

Richardson: We made a spreadsheet with 20 songs and pretty much agreed on everything.

McLean: A few songs we had to cut midway through because they didn’t feel right, but we also learned about Christmas-adjacent songs. One of our new songs, “Happy Days,” could be talking about any time of the year and (Dan Fogelberg's) “Same Old Lang Syne,” too.

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That is one of my favorite holiday songs, so I appreciated you guys covering it. Who among you is the Dan Fogelberg fan?

McLean: My mother-in-law was a massive Dan Fogelberg fan and she was in tears, saying “I got chills; you guys sound the best you’ve ever sounded.” It really is a very powerful song.

Richardson: The producers we were working with (Shintaro Yasuda, Josh Conerly, Travis Sayles) were really young, hip dudes and they were like, “Really? You want to do this?” They’d never heard the song before, but after they did the arrangement and we recorded it, they were like, “This might be our favorite song on the album.”

Littrell: It was actually my wife’s idea. A couple of Christmases ago, we had the old (Fogelberg) album out and she said, “You guys should remake this.” I ran it up the flagpole and everybody liked it. I really believe this Christmas record, top to bottom, is some of the best work we’ve ever done. It’s not always easy adding five-part harmonies (to songs).

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What is the go-to Christmas song for each of you?

Dorough: “The Christmas Song,” definitely.

Littrell: Same. It was always playing when I was a kid, so we had to have it on the album.

McLean: Since I grew up in a single parent home with my mom, we listened to a different kind of Christmas music – Mannheim Steamroller. But for me now, it would be “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” and “Winter Wonderland.”

Carter: “White Christmas.” It brings me back to “Home Alone” every single time.

Your version of “Last Christmas” is very sweet and you stay pretty close to the original Wham! arrangement.

Carter: Out of all the songs, I told the guys, I care about one song, and it’s this. I’m a little younger than the other guys, so they got Dan Fogelberg (laughs) and “Last Christmas” was kind of my era that was on the radio. It was emotional for me because my daughter (Saoirse), it was the first song she ever danced to, so I was like, guys, I’ve got to have it for that reason.

Your other new song, “Christmas in New York,” has a very classic feel to it. Any backstory?

Richardson: A friend we’ve collaborated with for years, Gary Baker, told us when he found out we were doing a Christmas album that he had a song he’d been hanging on to for a long time. Tony Bennett had a hold on it a few years back but never cut it. It’s a very visual, lyrically written, theatrical song. (Our producer) did the vocal arrangement (the group starts harmonizing) and it’s like “The Wizard of Oz.” It’s very cinematic.

How do you all feel about the holidays? Overwhelming or fun?

Dorough: The gift we give each other is Christmas off! With us being married men and having kids, the holidays are a must for us to be home at Christmas.

Carter: Once we get off that plane, the wife is like, go up to the storage area, get the tree (laughs). I’m the one who has to load up my pickup truck and put the decorations up.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Backstreet Boys first Christmas album is 'best work' of their career