Almost five years since their last album release, the Backstreet Boys hit TEEN PEOPLE's Listening Lounge with all new music, a whole new look, and the same loyal fans.

They came out by the hundreds, girls from all over the country who've been waiting for a moment like this for five whole years. The lines wrapped around the building -- one fan arrived at 4 a.m. just to claim a spot at the front. When the doors finally opened, hands trembled, faces glowed, and the first tear of the night was shed.

This was the scene about an hour before the Backstreet Boys took stage at TEEN PEOPLE's Summer Listening Lounge. And the energy at the Canal Room in New York City only intensified with every passing minute.

Finally, as the crowd chanted the group members' names -- AJ, Brian, Kevin, Nick, and Howie -- the guys strutted up to the stage and delighted in the screams of their long lost fans. "Backstreet's back!" the dee-jay shouted, but AJ was quick to counter: "We were never gone."

It's been five years since Backstreet's Black & Blue hit shelves, then hit rock bottom. In that time, the Boys have, well, become men. Says AJ, "Now sober, my life has changed 360 degrees for the better. We’ve all had some time to grow up, experience things individually. Brian started a family. All of us have had the time to really do some personal growth and now we're able to bring something a little different to the table."

What they're bringing is Never Gone, an album Nick describes as their "favorite to date." They spent a year-and-half recording pop songs with a rock 'n' roll flair and of course those epic ballads the band became so famous for in the late '90s. Just don't expect to see the Backstreet stage performances of yesteryear: No more pyrotechnics, no more gravity defying dance numbers, and no more matching Velcro costumes. The guys have aged well, and they're showing it off without being show-offs. The crowd at the Canal Room certainly approved of the new look: jeans, tees, and freshly shorn hair.

This summer's Listening Lounge was a night to remember for everyone in attendance. Brian sang, Nick joked around, AJ did a few ballet moves… then the guys who were never gone gave out hugs and autographs to the fans who never stopped loving them.