As Long as You Love Me

Background:

“The Backstreet Boys will be around as long as you love us!” Howie Dorough

An Orlando native, Howie Dorough reached stardom as a member of the renowned quintet boy band called Backstreet Boys. With the group, Dorough built a solid career in the world of music in the mid 1990s. Initially gaining prominence in the Canadian and European market, Backstreet Boys instantly became a favorite in America with their U.S version of Backstreet Boys in 1997. The group went on to score massive victories with the highly successful albums Millennium (1999), Black & Blue (2000), The Hits-Chapter One (2001) and Never Gone (2005). Furthermore, one of the best-selling boy bands in America, Backstreet Boys released a number of hit songs such as “We’ve Got It Goin’ On,” ”I’ll Never Break Your Heart,” “Quit Playin’ Games (With My Heart),” “As Long as You Love Me,” “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back),” “All I Have to Give,” “I Want It That Way,” “Larger Than Life,” “Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely,” and “Incomplete,” among others.

5’ 7” Dorough was once labeled as the ugliest man in an Asian magazine. He has a cat named Christopher and a Pekingnese named Oscar. Dorough is the founder of a charity called “The Dorough Lupus Foundation,” which was created after his older sister, Caroline Dorough-Cochraine, died from Lupus in 1998. Along with his family and celebrity friends, he has raised money to fight the disease while also trying to educate others about what Lupus is and encourage those at risk to get tested for it. As for his romantic life, Dorough has split up with his two-year lover, Leigh Boniello. He will begin a new relationship when he meets girls he likes, which includes blondes, those with good personalities, fun-loving and a good conversationalist. He adds, “She must be someone who knows what she wants in life and how to go about getting it.”


Sweet D

Childhood and Family:

In Orlando, Florida, Howard Dwaine Dorough, who would later be famous as Howie Dorough, was born on August 22, 1973. His father, Hoke Dorough, is an Irish American and his mother, Paula Flores, comes from Puerto Rico. The youngest of five siblings, Howie has three sisters, Angie, Caroline (died from Lupus in 1998) and Polly Anna (a singer), and one brother, John.

Charming and nice Howie, who earned the nickname Sweet D, showed an interest for the entertainment industry at a very young age. At age 3, he was discovered jumping on his grandparent’s bed singing Baby Face while plucking his tiny guitar. His mounting love for the business began to blossom as the six-year-old boy undertook a munchkin role in a musical production of “The Wizard of Oz.” After the performance, Howie was cast in numerous community theater productions of top musicals before finally forming a group named Backstreet Boys. A 1990 graduate of Edgewater High School, Howie continued his education at Orlando’s Valencia Community College.


Never Gone

Career:

Howie Dorough knew he wanted to be a performer as a child and at age 6, he got his start playing a munchkin in a regional production of “The Wizard of Oz,” where his sister also performed with him as The Good Witch Glenda. A music lover, young Dorough managed to gain roles in a number of community theater productions of top musicals like “The Sound of Music,” Camelot,” and “Showboat,” which helped win a part in a Disney World commercial and a pilot for the Nickelodeon series “Welcome Freshmen” and in the films Parenthood (1989) and Cop and a Half.

While joining auditions in Orlando, Dorough met Alexander James McLean and Nicholas Gene Carter. Having been inspired by Color Me Badd and Boyz II Men, these three wholehearted boys decided to create a vocal group while searching for two more members. With the help of manager and producer Louis J. Pearlman, they finally took Kevin Scott Richardson and his cousin, Brian Thomas Littrell, as the last two members of the group, naming themselves after an Orlando well-known flea market, Backstreet Boys.

“We’d go to local labels and sing a cappella in their foyers. We’d sing anywhere, for anybody.” Howie Dorough

The newly formed group tried to look for a suitable record deal by performing several cover tunes of their favorite songs. After Pearlman recruited Johnny and Donna Wright, who formerly had been the managers of New Kids On The Block, Backstreet Boys had some excellent opportunities to show off their music, staging performances at theme parks, high schools and even becoming the opening act for such artist as REO Speedwagon, Brandy, Village People, and Kenny G. In 1994, their solid harmony and perfect blending of pop and R&B music caught the attention of David McPherson who subsequently singed them up with Jive Records.

Shortly after, Backstreet Boys broke into the music scene with their first single, the international hit “We’ve Got It Goin’ On.” The single was an instant hit in Germany and went to become a favorite in other European countries, Japan, Canada, Australia and Southeast Asia. It was followed by the self-titled debut album that hit the European market in late 1995. Thank to the worldwide hit “We’ve Got It Goin’ On,” Backstreet Boys was named Best Newcomers at the Smash Hits Awards in the U.K. in 1995. Armed with another European hit, “I’ll Never Break Your Heart,” the band released their eponymous debut album in Canada and Europe in late 1996. Through the album, Dorough and the remainder of the group gained even more success and popularity as it sold 8 million copies, earning Gold and Platinum status in 38 different countries. Despite their victory in Canada and Europe, the band had to deal with a disappointment in the U.S. since their single” We’ve Got It Goin’ On” failed to reach the top 40 on the Billboard Chart.

After an 18-month overseas concert tour, Backstreet Boys concentrated on getting into the U.S. market by launching their American version of Backstreet Boys in 1997. Combining their international singles with new tracks like “Quit Playin’ Games (With My Heart)” and “As Long as You Love Me,” the American Backstreet Boys finally began their rise to U.S. success. Also released in Europe, with the title of Backstreet’s Back, the album went on to spin off the hits “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back),” “I’ll Never Break Your Heart,” and “All I Have to Give” and ended up with sales of over 13 million copies. This engaging achievement ascertained Backstreet Boys as one of the best-selling boy bands and new teen-idol in the United States

At the height of their success, however, Backstreet Boys faced many problems that endangered the existence of the band. In 1998, Dorough was in a dilemma because of the death of his sister and Littrell underwent surgery to correct a congenital heart defect. They also became embroiled in lawsuits against their management over royalties. Despite these lackluster conditions, the Boys kept working on their next album with Pearlman remaining as their manager, and their album, Millennium, was released in May 1999. It was a phenomenal album with first-week sales of over a million copies and debuted at number one. It was also certified thirteen times Platinum in the U.S. and earned Gold and Platinum in 45 other countries. Spawning such hits as “I Want It That Way,” “Larger Than Life,” “Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely,” and “The One,” Millennium was on its way to sales of more than 10 millions records in the U.S. alone by the end of the year.

Along with Backstreet Boys, Dorough continued to create sensation and hysteria in the following year with their next studio album titled “Black & Blue.” Released on November 21, 2000, the album received even greater victory than its predecessors, selling 6.6 million copies worldwide merely one week after its release. As a result, the group was launched as the first artist in the world to have this kind of achievement. However, a tragedy once again struck the existence of the band. A.J McLean made headlines with his stint in rehabilitation to overcome his depression, drug and drinking addiction and this led to the cancellation of the group’s tours. Backstreet Boys finally took some time off though they released The Hits-Chapter One (2001), which contained a new single titled “Drowning.” During the break, Dorough kept busy by working on the Dorough Lupus Foundation, a charity organization formed in honor of the sister.

Backstreet Boys rejoined in 2004 to start recording their newest album, Never Gone, which was released in June of 2005. With the hit single “Incomplete,” the album sold about 567,000 copies in the U.S. as of August 18, 2005. The group plans to hold their summer tour, sponsored by AOL, which begins July 22 in West Palm Beach, even though Nick was reportedly entering a rehabilitation center.

In addition to music, Dorough was also seen acting both on TV and films. In 2000, he made a cameo on the thriller Jack of All Trades, which starred Tony DeCamillis and Hunter Tylo. He made guest appearance in such series as “Roswell” (2000) and “Dora the Explorer” (2001), as well as appeared in two episode of “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch” (1998, 2002). In 2005, he was featured as a taxi driver in the Jordan Walker-Pearlman-production Constellation. The drama film starred Ever Carradine, David Clennon and Rae Dawn Chong.


Awards:
---