Backstreet's Back ALRIGHT!!!

So maybe I am the only one on Earth excited about the Backstreet Boys upcoming release of their 6th album. But hey, I have been a loyal fan for 14 years now...and I deserve to be excited. I owned the Backstreet Boy's first album, and had it memorized, BEFORE they even hit the US. I was a bonafide boybander. When I went to the Superbowl in Tampa, FL my favorite memory wasn't of on the field festivities, it was when I got to meet Kevin of the BSB.
The boys are now men, and the five that started the journey are now only four (the aforementioned Kevin has called it quits) but the sound is still the same and the excitement is still palpable.
The BSB know what it takes to reach out to their fans. They are staying true to their roots and putting out a product that doesn't stray far from their original sound. Compare that to other artists recently who have tried to revamp their sound and you'll see why I think they know the key to success. Look at Mandy Moore. While "Wild Hope" is a solid album musically...it doesn't cater to the fans who made her successful. And while I am glad she didn't go back to sugary pop-Britney Spears like songs...I feel like she has alienated any fan base she might have had by excluded all of that sound from her new album.
Example deux: Hilary Duff. The teen queen has polished off too many albums to count in her 6 years of pop stardom...her last one, however, has stuck with me. Dignity is great. I love the new sound and the more mature tracks. They had to come sometime (you can't sing for Disney forever), but again...Duff didn't leave her tween fans even a HINT of the musical style they had grown accustomed to. Duff's fan base is in those High School Musical lovers. They want sugary pop, rather than dance rythms.
I could come up with a handful of other examples but all scream the same thing: the key to muscial success lies in the fans who BUY the music. As a result artists with staying power-Mariah Carey, The Goo Goo Dolls, The BSB- while growing and maturing through their music have left their fans with tastes of the original style that made them popular in the first place.
So back to the BSB...they have a new look (getting old will do that to you.) They have families and kids. And they have a musical style that hasn't aged a bit. I think part of the reason their sound hasn't gone off the deep end is because the individuals in the group have been able to go and explore their own unique sounds with solo albums. Brian is working on his second Christian album. Nick dabbled in the solo business a few years ago and even had a semi-successful solo (now after a reality show he is 40 pounds slimmer and ready to give the group thing another go). Howie is also working on his first solo album, a Latino influenced CD. So at the end of the day when the boys get together...well the boys can just be boys.