Ryan Gosling told Backstreet Boys they won't make it when they were childhood pals: 'It's not gonna happen bro'

The actor used to live in the same apartment building as BSB founding member AJ McLean, and seriously doubted that the boy band would make it big
PUBLISHED FEB 13, 2020
Ryan Gosling and Backstreet Boys (Getty Images)
Ryan Gosling and Backstreet Boys (Getty Images)

When the Backstreet Boys appeared on 'Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen' (WWHL) on Tuesday, February 11, they shared a lot of cool stories and interesting nuggets of information from their time in the global spotlight. The mega-popular boy band, along with their contemporaries *NSYNC completely dominated the pop music market for well over a decade, starting in the early 90s.

One of the biggest things we gleaned from the five-piece outfit during their appearance on the show was that actor Ryan Gosling didn't really expect them to be all that successful at the start of their careers. I guess you could say that Gosling wasn't exactly a "perfect fan."

As astonishing as it sounds, apparently Ryan Gosling, used to live in the same apartment building as the Backstreet Boys founding member, AJ McLean, when the fledgling boy band was first starting out. “I told him that Backstreet Boys is gonna be huge and he’s like, ‘It’s not gonna happen, bro. New Kids [On The Block] did their thing, you know, whatever,’” McLean revealed on the show. “Cut to, he was wrong.”

Ryan Gosling couldn't have been more wrong! The group, which also includes Nick Carter, Brian Littrell, Howie Dorough and Kevin Richardson besides AJ McLean, went on to sell more than 100 million records worldwide and became one of the biggest-selling boy bands of all time. Check out the interesting clip below. 



 

Nick Carter also mentioned that the members of *NSYNC, another popular 90s boy band that should have failed by Gosling’s questionable logic, would definitely make excellent BSB collaborators in the future. Although *NSYNC member Justin Timberlake has been performing solo since 2002, he hasn’t performed with his former boy band buddies in years. However, the remaining members of the group — Lance Bass, JC Chasez, Chris Kirkpatrick and Joey Fatone — have since reunited and performed together at Coachella in 2019.

“Maybe in the future, after we’re done with our world tour,” said BSB's Carter, regarding a team-up with *NSYNC. “Maybe we could do a tour with Backstreet and the four of them, maybe like a package tour,” he teased. Something of this magnitude is definitely on the cards, considering BSB teamed with New Kids On The Block in 2010 for a successful string of concerts that both groups co-headlined, using the creatively combined moniker, "NKOTBSB."

Pop group ''N Sync arrives at the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards February 21, 2001, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. (Getty Images)

During their chat with 'WWHL' host Andy Cohen, BSB revealed that they were also currently working on their long-rumored Backstreet Boys Christmas album, with Kevin Richardson promising, "It's happening! You're not gonna have to wait more than a year." So there's plenty for BSB fans to be excited about!

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