Kevin Richardson News

(9/27/02, 12 p.m. ET) -- Fans of the Backstreet Boys can rest assured that work continues on the group's follow-up to their fourth studio album, Black & Blue, even as singer Nick Carter prepares to release his debut Jive solo album, Now Or Never, on October 29.

LAUNCH spoke to Kevin Richardson on Tuesday (September 24) about the status of the group's next album. "We are actually, writing, recording, and doing preproduction for our next record."

LAUNCH asked the singer if he could describe how the album is coming together so far. "We're experimenting. We're doing a lot of experimenting," explained Richardson. He added that, in addition to writing their own songs, the Backstreet Boys collaborated with several writers and producers for the album. "We've written and had writing sessions with everybody from Glen Ballard to Jermaine Dupri so, I mean, we're covering a wide spectrum there--an R&B and hip-hop producer to a rock producer--and we're doing a lot of writing on our own."

Richardson also told us that the Backstreet Boys are readying their next album for release in early 2003. "We're trying to have something ready by the beginning of next year," he said.

Meanwhile, Richardson is spending the little bit of spare time that he has raising funds for his environmental organization, the Just Within Reach Foundation (JWR). He will be hosting an exclusive benefit breakfast at the Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney (1515 South Disneyland Drive) in Anaheim, California, on Saturday (September 28) from 8-10:30 a.m. PT. Proceeds from the event will benefit JWR as well as Wildlife On Wheels, a wildlife-conservation organization.

-- Jason Gelman, New York and Neal Weiss, Los Angeles

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