SEATTLE — Like most performers, the members of Backstreet Boys haven’t been able to perform live since March.
But Nick Carter is still keeping busy – and the iconic band is tentatively planning on swinging through Western Washington for a world tour in 2021.
Entertainment reporter Kim Holcomb talked to Carter from his home in Las Vegas about pandemic life, a new solo album, and his favorite charity.
CARTER: "How are you, how's Seattle?”
HOLCOMB: “I'm good, Seattle is good. It's a little cooler here than it is there, I imagine.”
CARTER: “I love the weather in Seattle. When we first started in the group, one of our first shows we did was there so I remember definitely Seattle being a very important and instrumental part of Backstreet Boys beginning."
HOLCOMB: "When you perform, is it just muscle memory?"
CARTER: "It's definitely kind of like jumping on a bike and going for me. It becomes kind of just a normal thing to do."
HOLCOMB: "What has 2020 been like as a performer who is unable to perform?"
CARTER: "It's given all of us as artists an opportunity to kind of just take a step back and just be normal at home. Raising my kids, I’m in 100% father mode right now. I have a little girl, she just turned one year in October, and my son is 4 1/2 years old, and obviously we're doing all the Zoom schooling for him, and just being present. But yeah of course we do miss it, and I've definitely put on some weight. (laughter)”
HOLCOMB: “Celebrities, they're just like us!"
CARTER: “Yes, just normal, normal people.”
HOLCOMB: "As soon as we become parents it kind of changes everything in our lives and snaps a lot of things into perspective. Is that partly why you've been working with (childhood diseases foundation) Cure 4 The Kids? Is this personal to you now?”
CARTER: “Absolutely. I'm blessed and grateful to be able to have a family, a healthy family and it's not that way for everyone. I can't imagine the pain that people go through, but there is hope. And that's what's great about Cure 4 The Kids. I was blown away by this place, what they did, how they did it, and the advancements that they have made."
HOLCOMB: "Now is really a time that we're all assessing our lives, and it seems like a good time to find something to sort of put your heart behind.”
CARTER: “100%. And that's the thing, I'm in a place in my life where I just want to give back."
HOLCOMB: "You have also been back in the studio."
CARTER: "That's probably the only thing I'm going to be able to do is release music. I can be in an isolation booth! If that's a way we can connect with our fans and bring a little bit of joy... it feels good, and I'm excited, yes, to be able to announce that I am doing a solo record right now."
HOLCOMB: “What is your Christmas song? Do you have a go-to?"
CARTER: "Other than Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer? (laughter) Actually I'm kind of a nerd and I love the Chipmunks Christmastime music.”
HOLCOMB: "So right now – tentatively - you are supposed to come back and visit us in the Seattle area next August.”
CARTER: “Yes. The most important thing is that we follow protocol and we're doing the right things, taking our masks everywhere we go. We're going to have to wait and see what happens, so to speak. We can't wait when it finally happens."
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