My name is Trish and I'm an older Backstreet Boys fan. Older as in Nick could be my son, and older as in I've been a fan for almost five years. And I actually do have a daughter Nick's age who happens to adore him, so there has been lots of Backstreet adventures in our house. When I found the boys were doing a videoshoot for Shape of my Heart on September 24-26 in LA where I live, I decided to go see them. Real life almost got in the way. They began the shoot on a Sunday in downtown LA and I had to work in Las Vegas that day, but I hit LAX at 9 PM, picked up my daughters friend at USC and off we went. I guess I should mention that Kristin was stuck down in San Diego where she's in her 4th year at UCSD. Classes and work kept her from being able to come up for the weekend. Real life sucks doesn't it?

"Can I just tell you that this particular section of LA is NOT where you want to be after dark? We were happy to see about 10 other fans lined up in the driveway and sure enough, Howie and Brian had just come from inside where they were shooting the video, to sign autographs and speak with the fans. Marriage certainly agrees with Brian! He was relaxed and joked with us, when we asked him to get his cousin Kevin to come out. His response "just because I'm his cousin you think I can make him do something?" It was comical. Then the others asked if he would get AJ and he laughed and stood back and asked if he looked like he was the manager and in charge. It was great to see this goofy side of Brian. I enjoyed talking to Brian and took some pics. He talked about his wedding and showed me his ring and talked about designing it himself. He was very outgoing and those blue eyes are amazing. He did end up bringing AJ out for us and AJ was as animated as ever and very generous with his time. He signed autographs and took pics with all of us. Being a mom, I couldn't help myself and grabbed his hands to examine his dark nail polish. He sort of shrugged when I asked "what's with the polish". It was typically AJ. He wasn't wearing his trademark glasses, and I noticed his beautiful lashes. The thing I love about AJ is he is a talker (takes one to know one) so he was very outgoing and chatty. Then he was called away, but first he thanked us all for coming and wished us a good evening. Howie signed everything too and took pics. He looked incredible, and when I asked him about this transformation, he mentioned he had wanted a new look. His hair was DOWN and straight. He had on a peasant type shirt and need I say there were some lust filled sighs up and down the line of fans? He is so sweet and gives a great hug. I myself thought he was sexy as hell. When he left, he told us to watch for the video on MTV and wished us all well.

So they were back in the building shooting. The night wore on - with all the guys going back and forth and waving to us. Since they were on a work schedule, they only could come out at certain breaks. When they were free, they also could go to their individual bus/trailers. I spent the "down" time talking to the other fans, giving my daughter an update via the cell phone and talking to the security people. The hired ones - not the body guards. The whole crew gave the boys compliments and said they were nice guys all day long. (By the way - at this point my daughter HATED me since I was there and she wasn't) Then they had another long break and FINALLY Kevin came over. He is my favorite so I can't tell you how cool it was to hug him, and take pics. I took A LOT and he kept looking over. But he was cool about it and so polite. When Kevin speaks to you, he is so focused on what you are saying. Some people may take that as being intimidating, but I found him calming and incredibly attractive. He has a presence to say the least. We all congratulated him on his marriage and later we saw him holding hands with Kristin, who waved to us and smiled happily. Well, come on..what's not to smile about ....right? So Nick was the only guy I had missed, and they were beginning to "wrap" so I was really annoyed about missing him earlier. Then I felt guilty, because we had been SO lucky, but Nick IS my daughters favorite, and I had wanted some pics. Well, in typical AJ style, he came back to mingle one more time and I asked him if they were done. He said they had a few more hours to go tomorrow. I calmly told him good nite as I hugged him and inside I was doing the happy dance! Another day dawns...

So downtown LA mid Monday morning. It's much safer, but so very hot out, and the presence of the boys just naturally turns up the heat! I parked and only saw one other fan and her mom waiting at the "line". I felt weird going back again, especially being older, but hey - I was determined to see Nick. Kristin teases me about Nick, because I always "worry" about him. I see him as a sexy young man and also a charming little boy. That's what makes him so cute. So the wait begins and they had just finished doing wardrobe. Brian came out and saw us and waved hello and Howie too, then AJ joined them and into the building they went. Then Nick stepped out and glanced over. He smiled, we smiled and we indicated to him that we would LOVE for him to come over. He said he had to work but promised to come back. So just as the night before, the guys went back and forth all morning. My daughters friend joined me around lunch time and right after, Brian came over to the 5 of us waiting and calmly took pics and all. He was sweet but more reserved than the night before. However, maybe he remembered me as the OLD fan from the night before and he took another pic with me as we talked about his shoes. ( Don't ask.) We were both laughing and it's my favorite pic. I've decided that I love Brian more than I did before. He made me smile ...a lot.

Meanwhile AJ is bouncing all over, burning energy that none of us seemed to have. And Nick was flirting with us by going back and forth and waving - saying he'd be back. Right Nick ! They were all sitting at tables in the shade with the crew, having drinks and relaxing. Finally AJ and Nick move to go to AJ's trailer and being the person I am, I reminded him we weren't about to go away and we were going to hold him to his promise. The guy just smiled and melted our hearts as he closed the door. So a few minutes later, he comes out and comes over. May I just state that he is absolutely beautiful? He looked a little tired, and he was soft spoken but SO worth the wait. He took pics and signed stuff. It was the other girl's birthday and he wished her a happy birthday and when she gave him a gift, he said he should have been the one to give her one. Well, damn, how sweet was that? We asked him about Born Into Kaos and he talked a bit about them. He was a little shy and very cute. I was definitely wanting to adopt him now! He gave out hugs and headed back. Meanwhile AJ got behind the wheel of a SUV that needed to be moved - God Forbid, and Nick went over to tease him and they ended up screwing around with each other. Then AJ very calmly nods at us and proceeds to have a cigarette and relax by talking to a crew member. Right in front of us. Talk about torture. Finally, I pulled out my Mom's tone of voice and said "Alex?" and he looked right at me. "Could you please come over here for a minute?" And being the softie that he is - he did. We all took pics and thanked him for everything. Thanks AJ! Did I mention that my main man Kevin wasn't on the set? I was so thankful for the opportunity the night before. Next Howie came over and did his thing. I REALLY love this new look on him. He and AJ both look like they've been working out, and personally I thought Nick had gotten a little thin before, so he is back to being just right again! So we all sighed as Howie left and Nick disappeared. WE heard a door and he came out of his trailer in bball clothes. Ok , this is where I forgot about being a mom. He looked dammed good !!! Tattoos showing and looking so cute. He went to relax with the crew for a bit and then a van came for him. After 2 days of work - he was off to play some bball. For some reason, I loved knowing that he was going to go have some fun and relax. Be a kid for a bit. He hugged the crew and came toward us. He said bye, waved, threw us a kiss and climbed in. He kept waving over the back seat all the way down the block. It was a perfect way to end the two day experience.

I know this has gotten long, but I have to say that these guys are amazing to their fans and I realize just how lucky I was to get to see them in this environment. They were all gracious and sweet and they all have that something about them that draws you to them. I always wondered if I would be disappointed after building them up in my mind - but I wasn't. If anything, I love them more. They're just guys, but they are blessed with an incredible talent and as long as they are happy, I'm happy, because that means they will be entertaining us for a long time. Now, all I have to do is find a way to get back in the good graces of my daughter. Somehow the pics of Nick just aren't as appealing as the real thing. You can bet she'll skip class next time! Guess I have my work cut out for me. Ummm , so when is that next shoot guys?