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But AJ MacLean He has his share of public ups and downs. After years of openness about fighting addiction, the Backstreet Boyster has proven healable.
In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, the two proud fathers, who will star as hosts of Netflix’s Singing Competition series, Building the Band, got frankly about the challenges he faces within him. A drinking tripdetailing the lessons he learned along the way, explaining why he didn’t have a “another recurrence.”
“Today is calm. I don’t know what will happen tomorrow. Yesterday was calm. I’m staying now. I’ll stay in that moment. I’ll take everything in. “It’s an old proverb that stops roses and smells. I actually stop flowers and smell them. I don’t have the confidence I’ve never had.
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Backstreet Boys AJ McLean details the challenges he faces and how he “doded” bullets, and he “doded.” (Michael Cobach/Getty Images on our sleeves)
“It’s because of the job I have to put in and keep going and make the rest of my days exist,” he continued. “When you stop working, when you stop experiencing experience, strength, hope, and reach out to other addicts and others in the world, when you reach out to others who may be struggling with anything, it’s when you go south.
In 2021, MacLean called himself a “chronic rapeer” after recalling the moment he drank alcohol shortly after completing his rehabilitation.
“I can do a short burst, and I’m fine, because if I recur, I won’t go to the vendor,” he told host Alexis Haynes.Recover from reality“Podcast.” I’m a chronic rapeer, but I’ve never been to like a month of drinking and partying. It was like an overnight and I’ve been calm for a week or two. And it’s overnight. It was always going back and forth. ”
The pop star, who has been in and out of drinking for years, said he “dodged more bullets” in his life than people think.
“For me, drugs and alcohol were band-aids. I suffered from what my best friend called the ‘s-fie of s-isom’. I had no self-esteem. ”
Watch: Backstreet Boys “AJ McLean” dodged more bullets than he wanted to admit on his drinking trip.”
“I have no other recurrence,” he admitted Fox News Digital. “When you dodge a bullet, have never been to prison, have never gotten a DUI, you won’t finish the lucky way you ended up in the past. I’m sure the last time you did the drugs, there was fentanyl there. I’m still talking here.
McLean, Elliott (12) and 8-year-old Lyric (8), who share two daughters, share with his estranged wife Rochelle, but knows that most of his past is public knowledge, he wants to control the story by having honest, raw conversations with his children.
McLean, who has been in and out of drinking for years, said he hasn’t had another recurrence. (Christopher Pork/Pensk Media via Getty Images))
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“My girl was very clever and I was able to be cruelly honest about my past to some extent,” he said. “I don’t want to scare them… I want them to know enough about their fathers that when they are allowed on social media, when they are allowed these things, they can’t read it and get another perception. I want them to hear it from the horse’s mouth.”
As one member of Most Popular Boys Band In history, fame inevitably hit MacLean.
McLean was 16 years old, who joined the Backstreet Boys in the 1990s. (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for iHeartradio)
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“That’s really the root of the biggest problem,” he said. “For me, drugs and alcohol were band-aids. I suffered from what my best friend called the ‘s-fie of s-isom’. I had no self-esteem.
The pop star is the dad of two daughters: Elliot, 12, Lyric, 8. (axelle/bauer-griffin/filmmagic))
“I don’t want to hold him down any more,” he continued. “I know AJ McLean is a member of the band, but that doesn’t define me. I’m Alexander James. That’s me. AJ is a character in the band I’m very grateful for. He has a career of 32 years.
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McLean, who began his career as a pop star at just 16, said he and Liam Payne of Building the Band shared many similarities, both personally and professionally.
“We shared a lot of similarities. He died tragically I’ve been 31 years old since I fell off the hotel balcony in October.
Payne, who served as a celebrity judge on the Netflix show, faced his own addiction battle for the years leading up to his death, but McLean said he was lucky enough to see a singer who died on his “Truest” self on set.
AJ McLean said he shared many “similarities” with One Direction Band member Liam Payne, co-stars from “The Build the Band,” who tragically passed away in October 2024. (Getty Images)
“There were still many similarities between highs and lows, but I could see him in his true form and he lit up the room he walked into,” McLean said. “He was a gentleman. He was funny. He was extremely talented and he was very well talked about these bands and was able to give his feedback and get his points without any sleazy sounds or discouragement.”
“He always ended with positive anecdotes and positive comments to ensure these bands don’t inspire or lose hope or get frustrated, and you need a real stand-up guy to do that, and that’s what he was.
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(LR) Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Zayn and Louis Tomlinson formed One Direction. (Getty Images)
The show, starring Destiny’s Child’s Kelly Rowland and Nicole Scherzinger of Pussycat Dolls, will look for opportunities for talented singers to not see the next great music group site.
“There are two things I really like about it, unlike other music competition shows,” McLean said. “One of which is the prize money. It’s stuffed in a box with a massive record deal, and you don’t get on the shelf, what you wear, or tell them who the frontman or frontwoman is. These bands control their destiny and empower the artists.
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While McLean is preparing for another Las Vegas residency with the Backstreet Boys this summer, he is grateful for his past, but he is very excited for the future.
“To be honest, it was an incredible journey,” he said.
