The Backstreet Boys are splitting up just two months after they reformed, but member A.J. McLean still believes the group has more pop hits to come. The 28-year-old - who is planning a solo effort in his time away from the group - promises the band's hiatus will not be as lengthy as the period leading up to their latest album, Never Gone.
He says, "We're going to go our separate ways for a while. But Backstreet are definitely going to do another record. We're not going to wait another five years."
In 2000, after seven years of non-stop touring and recording, the band agreed it was time for a break. Brian Littrell became a father while Kevin Richardson tried his hand at Broadway and took a starring role in the musical Chicago. Nick Carter released his solo album "Now or Never" in 2002, Howie Dorough did charity work for the Dorough Lupus Foundation in honor of the sister he had lost to the disease, and A.J. McLean made headlines with his stint in rehab. In 2004 the band rejoined and began work on a new album. The result, Never Gone, was released in June of 2005.