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Backstreet Boy leaves group
Saying he's ready for "the next chapter in my life," Kevin Richardson leaves the troupe that resuscitated the boy-band phenomenon.
At a certain point, age alone dictates that you are no longer a boy.
Backstreet Boys
For Kevin Richardson, that age is apparently 33.
The oldest member of the Backstreet Boys has quit the group, saying he is ready to start "the next chapter in my life."
"After 13 years of what can only be described as a dream come true, I have decided that it is time to leave the Backstreet Boys," Richardson said in a statement. "It was a very tough decision for me but one that was necessary in order to move on with the next chapter of my life."
The Backstreet Boys came out of the Orlando-based boy-band factory of Lou Pearlman, the aviation entrepreneur who sought to replicate the 1980s success of the New Kids on the Block with a series of clean-cut boy bands.
The group was at the center of the teen pop craze of the late 1990s, with their three albums selling more than 87 million albums worldwide and more than 35 million in the US. The Backstreet Boys took a hiatus in 2001 after group member A.J. McLean checked into rehab in the run-up to its much-hyped "Black & Blue" world tour.
The group reunited in 2005 with the release of Never Gone, an album that saw them change their sound to more of an adult contemporary approach. The album has sold more than 2 million copies worldwide, far fewer than any of its prior records but still substantial. Minus Richardson, the group--McLean, Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, and Brian Littrell--is currently recording a new album.
In a statement, the Backstreet Boys said they would not seek to replace Richardson.
"The door will always be open for him to return to the Backstreet Boys. We wish him the all the best in his future endeavors," they said on the band's Web site.
"Howard, Brian, Alex, and Nick will always be my little brothers and have my utmost love and support," Richardson said. "I wish my brothers continued success and look forward to their new album."
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