Brian Littrell, Kevin Richardson, Nick Carter, Howie Dorough and A.J. McLean of The Backstreet Boys arrive for the 12th Annual MusiCares MAP Fund Tribute Concert at The Novo by Microsoft on May 19, 2016 in Los Angeles, Calif.
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Backstreet’s Back — Eventually
Members of Backstreet Boys have been tweeting for months that they’re recording a new album, but fans shouldn’t hold their breath. At the Los Angeles Police Department’s Memorial Foundation Celebrity Golf Tournament on May 21, Nick Carter and A.J. McLean told Overheard that they’re in no hurry. “It’s our 10th album, so we are taking our time,” said McLean, who sported black fingernails. (“Sometimes I paint them pink for my daughter,” he explained.) He added: “We don’t have a record company, so we are doing it on our own.”
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?Kesha: ‘Not Allowed To Talk To You’
Kesha was not about to jeopardize her appearance at the Billboard Music Awards on May 22. The “TiK ToK” singer, whom producer Dr. Luke initially blocked from performing at the BBMAs until she agreed not to discuss her litigation with him, attended photographer Markus Klinko’s David Unseen exhibit of David Bowie images at Mr. Musichead Gallery in Los Angeles on May 19. Kesha, who arrived with transgender Internet star Gigi Gorgeous, mingled freely, laughing and taking photos with fans. But when Billboard approached her for a comment, she politely declined, saying, “I am not allowed to talk to you. Sorry. See you Sunday [at the BBMAs].” She then mimed locking her mouth shut with a key. Her rep did not respond to a request for comment.
Jazmine Sullivan: Looking for a Sign
Grammy-nominated singer Jazmine Sullivan says she’s looking for a sign to record a follow-up to her 2015 Reality Show album. On May 17, Sullivan performed at the Delete Blood Cancer DKMS benefit hosted by producer and former American Idol judge Randy Jackson at the the Bally Rodeo Drive Store in Beverly Hills. She sang her No. 1 Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop track “Bust Your Windows,” pausing mid-song to tell the crowd that the tune, about a jealous woman smashing the windows of her boyfriend’s car after catching him cheating on her, “is a true story.”
After her set, which also included her song “Masterpiece,” Sullivan told Overheard that she was “waiting for a natural inspiration to come” to record her next album. “I get my inspiration from life experiences, then I write something,” she said, adding that she “spoke to Missy Elliott [who served as a producer on Sullivan’s second album, Love Me Back in 2011] a week ago about getting into the studio and possibly working on something.” Elliott “taught me a lot,” Sullivan says although she also would like collaborating with Rihanna or Mary J. Blige. “[Mary and I] actually I did a song together for her new album so I would love to do something together for mine,” she says.
An edited version of this story originally appeared in the June 4 issue of Billboard.