Backstreet Boys' AJ McLean celebrates two years of sobriety, plans two-part solo album

Gerardo Mora/Getty Images

By Andrea Dresdale

Backstreet Boys' AJ McLean will mark two years of sobriety on Tuesday. And while he says he's doing great, he can never truly let down his guard.

Speaking to People, AJ says, "Life is grand right now. It never gets easier, but it just becomes a working part of the mind. You have to literally make it an everyday thing whether you make it to a meeting or not."

“I talk to my sponsor every day. I talk to people in program every day,” he adds. He also spent 10 weeks at an outpatient program for mental health recently, which he says "was totally worth it."

Thanks to his newfound sobriety, AJ says he now feels comfortable with Backstreet possibly doing another Las Vegas residency. During their last one, which ended in 2019, AJ said being in Vegas was "not good" for him. But now, he says, "Addiction goes anywhere you go, so I can't blame it on a city."

In April 2024, AJ and the group will host their vacation event Backstreet's Back at the Beach in Mexico. But he also has a solo album planned, telling People that part one will drop in January, followed by part two in April.
"It's funk, it's R&B, it's pop, it's soul. There's kind of an ‘80s flair," he says of this music. "There's some Silk Sonic vibes. It's some really good stuff.”
Meanwhile, you can see AJ and his daughter Elliott in the new holiday campaign for The Children's Place, along with *NSYNC's Joey Fatone and his daughter Kloey. Ironically, AJ says Elliott is a big *NSYNC fan, while Joey claims Kloey prefers Backstreet.
"Our kids had a blast," AJ tells People. "They talk all the time now."

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