Backstreet Boys are an American vocal group, formed in Orlando, Florida in 1993. The band originally consisted of A. J. McLean, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, Nick Carter and Kevin Richardson. In 2006 Richardson left the group to pursue other interests leaving the band as a four-piece, but the remaining members did not rule out a possible return of the singer. They rose to fame with their debut album, Backstreet Boys (1996). The following album, Backstreet's Back (1997) continued the group's success worldwide. They rose to superstardom with their album Millennium (1999) and it's follow-up album, Black & Blue (2000). After a three-year hiatus, the band regrouped and have since released three albums: Never Gone (2005), Unbreakable (2007) and This Is Us (2009). The first single that was chosen to be released was "We've Got It Goin' On" which was sent to radio in August and released as a physical single on September 5, 1995. The song was a minor success in the States peaking at only No. 69 by December, the single; however, enjoyed quite a success in Europe entering the top-5 in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France and the Netherlands. European success sent them on a summer tour there and shifted the Backstreet Boys' promotion being mostly done in Europe. In November 1995 they filmed their second video music for their second international single, "I'll Never Break Your Heart", which was only issued in Europe on February 12, 1996. They finished recording their first album Backstreet Boys in April 1996 and filmed their fourth music video, "Get Down (You're the One for Me)" in Germany. On May 6, 1996, their debut album was released internationally, with an exception of the US and the Canadian markets; however, it was later released in Canada in October, 1996. The Backstreet Boys began recording their second album Backstreet's Back in January 1997. They also recorded the song, "If You Stay", for the Booty Call soundtrack in January 1997. They released "Anywhere For You" as the last single off their international album on February 17, 1997. The single "Quit Playing Games With My Heart" released on June 10, 1997 for their upcoming U.S. debut album managed to climb as high as No. 2 on Billboard Hot 100 eventually earning them a platinum-award for selling over one million units. While the album Backstreet's Back was released internationally (with an exception of the US market) in August 1997, their self-titled U.S. debut, which consisted of songs from Backstreet's Back and the previous self-titled international version of Backstreet Boys, was released in U.S. on August 12, 1997. The U.S. self-titled debut peaked at No. 4 on the U.S. album chart, which eventually sold 14 million copies at their home. Meanwhile, the second international release Backstreet's Back had already peaked at No. 1 in Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Finland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Austria, selling well over five million units in Europe alone. The two self-titled albums, the international version and the U.S. version of Backstreet Boys sold more than 28 million copies worldwide, 14 million of which were sold in U.S. In November 2003, A.J. McLean appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show where he talked for the first time in public about his addiction to alcohol and drugs, and his struggles rising to fame. The rest of the band surprised him by arriving in person to give him support, marking the first time the Backstreet Boys had appeared together in public in almost two years. The episode later aired in December 2003 to nationwide audiences. The band began to reform and reconcile their differences, planning to start recording a comeback album at beginning of the next year. After a three-year hiatus, their single, "Incomplete", was released to radio stations on March 28, 2005. The album is named after a song on the album which mourns the loss of Kevin Richardson's father. The drastic style change drew negative criticism from magazines such as Rolling Stone, which gave the album one star. On June 14, 2005, the Backstreet Boys released their comeback album Never Gone, which they spent more than a year recording. The album debuted at #3 on the U.S. chart with first week sales of 291,000 copies, and #1 debuts in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Germany, India, Chile, Brazil and South Korea. The Backstreet Boys began the first leg of their The Never Gone Tour in July in West Palm Beach, Florida. It was their first Australian tour. Never Gone was certified platinum in the US and four singles were released from the album. Their first single was "Incomplete", the second single was "Just Want You to Know", and the third singles were "Crawling Back to You" for the US and "I Still..." internationally. Never Gone has sold approximately 10 million copies worldwide. Backstreet Boys' second single "Just Want You to Know" hit the top 10 in the UK, but was not as successful in the United States. It was one of the group's weakest performing U.S. singles, only peaking at #70 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The third international single "I Still..." debuted at #1 on the Japan International Singles Chart. The third US single, "Crawling Back to You" peaked at #15 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary charts. In 2009, the group began working on a new album that was released on October 6, 2009, called This Is Us, and were confirmed to be working with Max Martin, OneRepublic singer Ryan Tedder, RedOne, Ne-Yo, Brian Kennedy, Pitbull, Claude Kelly, Jim Jonsin, Eddie Galan, T-Pain, Rami Yacoub, Kristian Lundin and many others. It was announced on the official website that Sony would be releasing a second Backstreet Boys greatest hits album on January 26, 2010. The compilation is titled Playlist: The Very Best of the Backstreet Boys and is part of a series of similar Playlist albums issued by Sony Legacy.