[exciting music]
- On this episode of "My Life on MTV"...
- No one brings the mania like boy bands.
- ♪ Everybody ♪
- Boy bands have been ruling the charts for decades.
- Two bands stand out
for causing mass hysteria wherever they went.
- Oh, my God!
- And MTV... - Hello.
- Got fans up close.
- [crowd chanting] Backstreet Boys!
- One Direction!
[cheering]
- I've never seen anything like this.
- Backstreet Boys are the
best-selling boy band of all time.
- Our fans rock!
- Their number one albums spanned over 20 years.
- You're on the Jumbotron.
It's gonna be hard to top a moment like this.
- ♪ Larger than life ♪
- ♪ So get out ♪
- The screams continued for One Direction,
the first band to debut their first four albums
at number one.
- There's so much pandemonium going on
because of 1D.
- Through the highs and lows...
- Well, there's always something more to learn.
- we've watched them grow up...
- We're just getting started.
- Right before our eyes on MTV.
- We've been with them every step of the way.
- And now, we're busting open the archives.
- There's some private stuff back here.
- I can't say too much because
I think everybody wants to keep it a secret.
- Sharing everything they did for our cameras only.
This is "My Life on MTV."
- You don't want to miss this.
- Ladies and gentlemen.
♪ ♪
Rock and roll.
- One, two, three!
- ♪ And we danced all night ♪
♪ To the best song ever ♪
♪ I don't, I don't, don't know what it is ♪
♪ But I need that one thing ♪
♪ You don't know you're beautiful ♪
♪ Tonight let's get some ♪
♪ And live while we're young ♪
♪ ♪
- Hi, we're One Direction.
[screaming and cheering]
- Before they were superstars,
they were contestants on "The X Factor,"
where they were all discovered by Simon Cowell,
who turned five unknown teens into One Direction.
- What was your first impressions of each other?
- The one that always stands out for me is Louis,
'cause Louis was so quiet.
Now you can't shut him up, so.
- Niall was really loud.
- Yeah, still am.
- Who would you want with you in a fight?
- Liam, one man I wouldn't like to pass in a dark alley.
- Who is the most likely to cry during a movie?
- Harry. - Hey!
- Here's Zayn. - I like my sleep.
And I like to just chill.
[upbeat music]
- Hey guys, I'm Lenay. Welcome to "10 on Top."
Can the hotties of One Direction
handle international fame?
- One Direction gained household name status
in the UK.
And with their album "Up All Night,"
they were ready to take over the world.
[fans screaming]
Some groups spend decades clawing their way to the top,
but it only took One Direction 12 months.
- We're so excited and actually quite nervous
to be performing at our very first VMAs.
- It doesn't get any bigger
than this group that's standing next to me right here.
They got three VMA nominations
and they'll be rookie performers
on the main show tonight.
One Direction, my guys.
- Now it's time to give out the Moon Man
for Most Share-Worthy Video.
One Direction! "What Makes You Beautiful."
Congratulations on your first VMA!
- They racked up their first Moon Man
before they even left the red carpet.
- ♪ That's what makes you beautiful ♪
♪ ♪
- They were barely in their seats
before they won a second.
- And the VMA for Best Pop Video goes to...
One Direction.
- And that VMA came with an added bonus.
[bell dinging]
- Thank you very much, Katy.
Thanks for the kiss.
- Thank you very, very much.
This one is for our fans.
- ♪ So get out, get out, get out of my head ♪
♪ And fall into my arms instead ♪
- Best New Artist goes to...
One Direction.
- ♪ I need that one thing ♪
- To win one Moon Man is amazing.
To win two is incredible.
To perform is absolutely ridiculous.
- ♪ You've got that ♪
♪ One thing ♪
- You never imagine that you're gonna have like
this little version of yourself.
- It's amazing.
Niall's doll actually looks a lot like him.
I think we all wanted them to be as authentic as possible
and obviously, like, if we got involved with,
like the outfits and stuff, then obviously
it's the sort of stuff that we'd probably wear.
- I think Louis is enjoying his more than anyone else,
to be honest with you. - I didn't know the knees bend.
That's why they're the best dolls ever made.
- So how would they top that first year?
Tapping into some talent on their side of the pond
and teaming up with a songwriting hit-maker.
Ed Sheeran wrote two songs for "Take Me Home,"
including the mega-hit "Little Things."
- ♪ I'm in love with you ♪
♪ And all your little things ♪
- The new single, "Little Things," is about
all those things about a girl
that she might not notice that you notice.
Or she might not like but it's about you kinda loving
all those little things.
- If a girl was gonna be in a relationship with us,
which is gonna happen one day,
what little things should she know about us?
- She'd have to be all right with the fact that
I have four nipples.
- We are live coming to you from the Video Music Awards.
Make some noise!
♪ ♪
- In 2013, the boys picked up another Moon Man.
- The song you voted to win Best Song of the Summer.
both: ♪ And we danced all night ♪
♪ To the best song ever ♪
- 1D!
- But the crowd wasn't having it.
[crowd booing] - Uh...
- Cue Lady Gaga.
She met with the boys for a backstage pep talk.
- Don't you dare let those people boo you.
I wanna leave right now.
I don't even want to stay anymore.
You deserve their applause.
- 1D hit their haters back
with their record-breaking album "Midnight Memories."
♪ ♪
The album delivered an edgier rock sound
and they poked fun at the business around them.
- One Direction are here to see you.
- Who? - One Direction.
- What huge fans we are. - Whatever you say, big guy.
- And five, six, seven, eight.
- Cute as a button, every single one of you.
- And why stop at musical domination?
Next they hit the big screen
with the premiere of their 3D documentary
"This Is Us."
♪ ♪
- We love 1D just the way they are.
But who would they like to see play them in the next film?
- I usually say Tom Felton,
who is Draco Malfoy from "Harry Potter."
- Ellen DeGeneres? - No.
Not Ellen DeGeneres, bruv.
- Owen Wilson. - Blonde hair.
Who would I be?
- You could be Orlando Bloom.
- Well, you're going straight up Leonardo DiCaprio.
- There's no messing about that one.
- Then you can be Robert Downey Jr.
- Robert Downey Jr. sounds ace.
I've recently grown facial hair.
- And who's Zayn? Who's Zayn?
Should we go James Dean?
- By 2015, One Direction had dropped their fourth album
and hit the road for their fourth world tour,
but things were brewing behind the scenes.
Rumors were starting.
[dramatic music]
So at least when it happened,
fans were able to hold it together.
[sirens wailing]
For real, though,
Directioners lost their [bleep] minds.
[baby crying]
- ♪ I've got fire for a heart
♪ I'm not scared of the dark ♪
♪ You've never seen it look so easy ♪
- It's One Direction without Zayn?
How dare they?
- ♪ Baby, you're my only reason ♪
- The Fab Five were now a Fab Four
and went on to release their fifth album,
"Made in the A.M."
Topping the charts in multiple countries.
[crowd cheering]
But then,
fans were dealt the final blow.
[screaming]
The thing about boy bands is,
they can't stay boys forever.
And like the rest,
One Direction grew up.
- Congratulations on becoming a dad.
- Yeah, it's fantastic.
- But the music didn't stop.
By 2017, all five band members
were thriving with solo careers.
- Now there are rumors
flying all around the internet
that there's gonna be some sort
of 1D reunion celebrating
the tenth anniversary.
- On One Direction's
ten-year anniversary,
reunion buzz took over Twitter.
And that day,
fans streamed their music
a casual 55 million times.
Four of their albums
blazed back onto the global charts.
Hints of a reunion are still being dropped...
- I can't say too much because
I think everybody wants to keep it a secret for now.
- And you better believe 1D's fans will never give up hope.
- ♪ You and me ♪
♪ Got a whole lot of history ♪
♪ So don't let it go ♪
♪ Baby, don't you know ♪
♪ We can live forever ♪
- Bye, thanks! - Peace.
- Ladies and gentlemen,
rock and roll.
- ♪ Everybody ♪
♪ Yeah ♪
♪ Quit playing games with my heart ♪
♪ Tell me why ♪
♪ Ain't nothing but a heartache ♪
♪ But my love is all I have to give ♪
♪ Looking back on the things I've done ♪
♪ Baby, don't go breaking my heart ♪
♪ Breaking my heart ♪
- Get ready to start this journey.
- It's very important to us because we want people to know
that the Backstreet Boys are for real.
We're five guys who love to sing and write music
and hopefully we'll be around for a long time.
- They were all born to be entertainers.
- Hi there. My name is Howard Dorough
and I'm reporting for The Edge.
I've been in the business
since I was like six years old,
acting, singing, or dancing.
- Hi, this is Kev.
- Kevin used his high school acting skills
to land a gig as Aladdin at Disney MGM Studios.
- This is AJ. - AJ was making a name
for himself all over Orlando.
- My family continuously filled my head with
"You're gonna be successful."
What's up, Orlando? [crowd cheering]
- Sup, I'm Nick.
- Nick Carter was a baby-faced 13-year-old
when he joined the group.
- I don't even have a sex life right now.
[laughter]
- Backstreet was coming together...
- ♪ As time goes by ♪
- But there was still a missing piece.
- Kevin suggested,
"You know what about my cousin Brian, here?"
- I'm B-Rok.
- ♪ Girl, it's time to let go ♪
- And Kevin's suggestion worked.
- ♪ I'll give you all of me ♪
♪ Honey, that's no lie ♪
- Before they lit the US on fire,
they sparked a flame overseas...
- Make some noise
for the Backstreet Boys.
- With their self-titled album
"Backstreet Boys."
[singing in Italian]
♪ ♪
♪ Oh no ♪
[singing in Italian]
- BSB took home MTV's exclusive
Viewer Select Award at the 1996 Europe Music Awards.
- And the winner is...
- Backstreet Boys. - Backstreet Boys.
[crowd cheering]
- MTV, thank you.
- It was time to head back home.
all: We are the Backstreet Boys.
[laughter] - Yes.
- Here we go.
Welcome. MTV US.
- Yes, USA. -Finally.
- America. - It's about time!
- I don't think America was really ready
for a group like us yet.
- But now, it's like,
we're like, "We want it."
- And boy, would they get it.
- Welcome to MTV Live.
The chart-robbin', heart-throbbin'
Backstreet Boys are here live.
I'm glad we finally got a chance to meet.
I've been playing your videos for a long time now.
- The secret was out worldwide.
- Man, look at all these limos.
- And the boys were now on the VMA list.
[crowd cheering] - What's up?
- Today is the day of the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards
and we are doing a performance today,
which I'm a little nervous about.
- Fun fact about that first VMA performance...
- How's that leg? - I have a torn muscle
but I'm still gonna perform. - Okay.
- I pulled it two weeks ago on tour.
- There's some private stuff back here
and you're still filming anyway.
- Kevin did the damn thing.
- ♪ Everybody - ♪ Come on, rock your body ♪
- ♪ Yeah ♪
- ♪ Rock your body - ♪ Everybody ♪
- And the only thing that could top that performance
- And the winners are
- Backstreet Boys, "Everybody."
- was their first VMA win.
- Thank you guys. Peace.
- I love you, MTV.
- They rode that wave to a new MTV show called "TRL."
- Welcome to "Total Request Live."
My name is Carson Daly.
- You might have heard of it.
Fans picked the number one video of the day
and they made the same choice over and over again.
all: What's up, TRL?
- ♪ But my love is all I have to give ♪
- "All I Have To Give" is the number one video
in the country. Who else could it be?
The number one most requested video in the country.
51 times at number one.
- ♪ But love is all I have to give ♪
- There's thousands of people out in Times Square.
- I have to say I've never seen a "Total Request" this crazy.
- NYC wasn't ready for
Backstreet's first time live
in the "TRL" studio.
- You guys gotta come back.
- When they came back to "TRL"
to premiere "Millennium"...
- ♪ All you people ♪
♪ Can't you see, can't you see ♪
- They shut Times Square down.
- Backstreet Boys! Backstreet Boys!
- I don't think this has ever happened but
they have officially declared a state of emergency
because of our little festivities on the show today.
- ♪ Every time we're down ♪
♪ You can make it right ♪
- The closest thing we've ever seen like this,
I suppose, is New Year's Eve.
- Our fans rock!
- Those fans were willing to do just about anything
to meet their idols.
- Was Christy, Mia, and Melissa.
We had three young ladies that earned the right
to meet the Backstreet Boys.
They had to spend 72 hours here at the studios
in a Backstreet bunker.
- ♪ I'll be the one ♪
♪ I'll be the light ♪
[screaming and laughing]
- Was it worth the wait? - Yes!
- How do you feel?
Can you speak?
- Fans ate up every moment that "TRL" had to give them.
- When your name is called, you'll be paired with
one of the Backstreet Boys.
You'll be a team in our trivia contest.
Did you ever imagine this was gonna happen?
- Uh, n-no, n-never, no.
- And MTV's exclusive access
went way beyond the studio walls.
♪ ♪
- Hello.
- Hola, MTV. Welcome to my little crib.
- This is the opening foyer in my house.
All these pieces of sculpture and everything,
my girlfriend and I went and picked out.
We pretty much designed the whole house ourselves.
- This is for the Viewer's Choice Awards
for the Backstreet Boys for "I Want It That Way."
- Fanatic. - Oh, my God!
I'm gonna meet the Backstreet Boys!
- Punk'd. - Hey, you guys can't
be over there! - Oh!
- [bleep] - Dude, shut the [bleep] up.
- We just got you punk'd, dude. [laughter]
- MTV, the Backstreet Boys, and their fans
share a connection that goes way beyond the music.
- ♪ Baby, please try to forgive me ♪
- MTV teamed up with the Backstreet Boys
to give fans from all around the world
something unimaginable.
♪ ♪
Six continents, 100 hours,
and five Backstreet Boys.
- Oh, boy. This is gonna be interesting.
- Like the same feeling you get on Christmas.
- With MTV on board, the Boys spent
55 hours in the air and 45 on the ground
to meet their fans at some of the world's biggest landmarks.
- When you can fly all the way to Tokyo
in a matter of hours
and just see fans that greet you...
- Hi Howie! - That makes me happy.
[all speak Japanese]
- [screaming]
- Rio de Janeiro.
- When we got to Rio, they were just so excited.
I mean, like I said, you would have thought like the President
or Michael Jackson or somebody was there.
- This is insane.
- Backstreet Boys fans are like the Secret Service.
They know what flight you're on,
what gate you're going to,
and to meet you at Customs
so they can get an autograph.
- Hello.
- I just wanna remember all of it.
Around the world in 100 hours. - Wow.
- Backstreet Boys have sold
over 100 million albums worldwide.
- The winner is
Backstreet Boys, "I Want It That Way."
- We have the Moon Man. - To all of our fans
all around the world, thank you.
- European ball. - We have the European one.
- Peace back home and we love you guys out here too.
- We have the Southeast Asia MTV Awards.
- Backstreet Boys.
- We'd like to thank MTV Japan.
- Each era brought new awards
and also new, interesting looks.
- You guys came up with some really great fashion choices
throughout your career. - Oh, boy.
- We look like "Dumb and Dumber"!
- Oh, my God. - That is "Dumb and Dumber"!
- But that is the boy band pose,
if you wanna see how Kevin has his arms.
♪ ♪
- Reaching for a soda?
- That's good, that was good.
[laughter and applause]
- While it was all good in front of the cameras,
most didn't know about the drama behind the scenes.
But MTV got the whole story.
- ♪ Quit playing games \h\h\h\hwith my heart ♪
- At the age of 23,
Brian Littrell had to go \h\h\h\hunder the knife
for open heart surgery.
- It was kinda disbelief because I felt so healthy
going into the surgery.
\h\h\h\h\hThat was kinda the hardest thing to believe was
why I had to do this in order to live the rest of my life.
- ♪ Everything I do ♪
♪ Is for you ♪
\h\h\h♪ So what is it that you can’t see ♪
- ♪ Sometimes I wish I could ♪
♪ Turn back time ♪
- Nick Carter and his mom, yo.
- Nick’s secrets were spilled \h\h\h\h\h\hby his own mother
in her 1998 tell-all
"Heart and Soul."
- ♪ Quit playing games \h\h\hwith my heart ♪
\h\h\h\h- Do you now think that maybe it’s not such a good idea
for family and business \h\hto be intertwined?
- I-I believe that I want to be \hjust family and not business.
- ♪ What do people \h\h\hreally want ♪
♪ They wanna be happy ♪
♪ I wanna be happy ♪
- Major news today \h\hhere on "TRL."
- AJ is gonna receive treatment
for depression, anxiety,
\h\h\hand his excessive consumption of alcohol.
- ♪ Show me the meaning \h\h\hof being lonely ♪
- We’re postponing the next 20 shows.
- We wanted to say it \hhere first on MTV.
- ♪ Tell me why ♪
♪ I can’t be there \h\hwhere you are ♪
\h♪ There’s something missing in my heart ♪
\h\h\h\h- In 2006, Kevin left the band for personal reasons.
- The Backstreet Boys \h\h\hare here today.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hKevin is out. He decided to take a break.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hHe’s spending some time with his family,
\h\h\hwhich is fine. - It’s totally cool.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hWe’re all at a good place with each other.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h- Right. - The door is always open
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hfor Kevin if he ever wants to come back.
- Kevin returned to the band \h\h\h\h\hin 2012 to record
"It’s Christmas Time Again."
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hall: Hi, We’re the Backstreet Boys
and you’re watching MTV Hits.
\h\h\h\h- He was ready to go, rocking a sleeveless sweater.
♪ ♪
- In 2018, the Backstreet Boys
made an epic return to the VMAs
for the first time in almost 20 years.
- ♪ Baby, don’t go breaking my heart ♪
♪ Breaking my heart ♪
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h- 20 years is a hell of a milestone
that Backstreet marked with
\h\h\h\h\ha star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame,
their album "DNA,"
a world tour,
and even an MTV Movie Award.
- I’ve always wanted to get \ha nice big golden popcorn
and now we got one. - And what happened
to all the adoring teen girls?
- ♪ Baby don’t go ♪
♪ ♪
- Oh, my God.
- Wait a minute!
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hall: ♪ I never wanna hear you say ♪
♪ I want it that way ♪
- Free concert.
- Back in the day, your die-hard fans
would camp out just for the chance to meet you.
We were able to track down \h\h\h\h\h\hthose same fans
18 years later.
- Their love for Backstreet \hhas only grown with them.
- Now, there was a third girl \h\h\h\h\h\hfrom the bunker.
\h\h\h\hShe couldn’t make it because she just had a baby,
but let’s say congratulations. \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h- Oh, congrats.
- Erica, you camped out \h\hand played trivia.
- Partnered up with Brian. \hWe won a trivia contest.
\h\h\h\h\h- We always win. - I don’t know what to say.
\hThank you so much MTV and I love the Backstreet Boys.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h- It’s not screaming teens anymore,
it’s more soccer moms.
[laughter]
- The thing I admire \h\h\habout you guys,
\h\hlike, you’ve had a lot of great groups like 98 Degrees,
’NSYNC, One Direction,
but at some point they all \h\hseparated and broke up.
You guys are still here.
- I think we’re meant to be \h\h\h\h\h\hthe five of us.
\hIt’s Backstreet Boys. - It’s Backstreet Boys.
- ♪ Everybody rock your body ♪
♪ Everybody ♪
♪ Rock your body right ♪
♪ Everybody ♪
♪ Backstreet’s back ♪
♪ All right ♪
♪♪♪