AJ McLean
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Alexander James McLean (born January 9, 1978[1]) is an American musician and member of the singing group Backstreet Boys. McLean was born in West Palm Beach, Florida to his mother, Denise Fernandez, and father Bob McLean. His parents divorced and his father left the family when McLean was 2, and he was raised by his mother and maternal grandparents, Ursula and Adolph Fernandez.[1] In 1990, he moved to Orlando, Florida with his mother and grandparents to concentrate on his acting and singing career. After numerous auditions for various Nickelodeon and Disney projects, including the Nickelodeon show "GUTS," he landed a role in Nickelodeon's Welcome Freshmen, and in a comedy series called Hi Honey, I'm Home! on which he played a character named "Skunk". However he was soon replaced by the producers nephew.
Rising to fame in his early teens, McLean became known as the bad boy or rebel of the Backstreet Boys. In 2001, the other band members reportedly became distressed by A.J.'s self-destructive behavior. Following an intervention, McLean entered rehab for alcoholism, cocaine abuse, and depression in July of 2001 during the Black and Blue tour, which was temporarily put on hold. After being sober for almost 2 years, he then had a relapse. His sobriety date is October 23, 2002. As of October 2008, McLean was 6 years sober. His mother, Denise McLean, authored the book Backstreet Mom in 2003/2004, describing A.J.'s life before, during, and after rehab.
On March 23rd and 24th, 2008, AJ McLean performed his first two solo shows (as himself) at the Anaheim House of Blues and The Roxy in Los Angeles. The show consisted of his solo material and a solo version of the Backstreet Boys hit, 'Incomplete'. The solo tour continued through Europe in May and June, in parallel to Backstreet Boys Unbreakable World Tour, and in support of his as-yet-untitled solo album. On a live Video Chat on November 22nd In Las Vegas, He announced his solo record will be release in Jan/Feb of 2009, first in Japan, Europe, and UK. In the US, he plans to have to released in the early spring. Two rumored titles are "Kinky Advice", and "RMWD" which is assumed to stand for "Real Men Wear Dresses." If the latter is the title he has mentioned that he will pose in a dress or skirt for the album cover.
The first single, due out by summer, is rumored to be the either 'Drive By Love' or 'London': 'Drive By Love' being the song McLean performed as his solo during the Backstreet Boys Unbreakable World Tour. During a solo show in Cologne (May 25th, 2008), McLean mentioned he was seriously considering 'London' as his first solo single. YouTube has played an integral part in distributing the new solo material, with thousands of fans logging on to hear what McLean has written himself. The track 'Sincerely Yours', as described by McLean, is a missive directed at his father and the non-existent relationship they have had for the last thirty years. McLean performed the song in front of his estranged father at a concert in Paris, June 3rd, 2008.
Other songs performed by McLean as part of his solo set list include: 'Gorgeous', 'Have It All', 'I Hate It When You're Gone', 'Love Crazy' (written with JC Chasez of *Nsync), 'What If', 'Life Is Just' and 'What It Do'. It is widely assumed that these songs will form the tracklist for the upcoming album.
