Brian, We Love Ya…Happy Birthday!

So my goal is to try and be sure I do a birthday post for every Backstreet Boy. (Sorry AJ, your day happened just before I got my new computer). I’m 1/1 in a sense, and I have a very soft spot for our Georgia Boy here. It’s kind of hard not to. Brian, well his voice, was why I became a Backstreet Boy fan to begin with. Yeah, it wasn’t Nick that initially grabbed me. Not that it took long, but I digress because this is about Brian! It was his vocals on Just To Be Close, yup, right off their debut (aka The Red Album in the fandom). I heard him singing and was like…whoa. Then hearing him sing One Last Cry? I was done. Just done. I don’t know if he’ll see this, but I’m hoping like heck he does!

Brian,

You’re always the sweetest guy in the times I’ve met you. You grab fans’ hands as security is rushing us out of there. Why? Because you want to make sure we know you appreciate us being there. You want us to feel welcome. Your antics are silly and playful, your energy is boundless. Sometimes I wonder if you’re superhuman because of all the crazy flips and jumps you do on stage! Because you know, real humans aren’t supposed to be able to do those sort of things without a single scratch on them.

Then, in other ways I see your strength. I see it in your steadfast faith and you sticking to your beliefs. Years ago you took part in a Gay Pride Parade in California. (An issue near and dear to me as my best friend/cousin is gay.) You got a lot of heat from the Christian community that once embraced you for your solo album. Some stores stopped selling Welcome Home. Twitters appeared just to boycott you and harass you over this issue. Yet, you didn’t care. You didn’t try to apologize for it. Instead you reminded people that in the end, you love others, not condemn them. That it’s not our place to judge.

You are an inspiration to many. Your heart is so big that in a sense it’s no wonder you had to have surgery so many years ago. Hearts can’t take the type of love and compassion you seek to spread. I mean, how many celebrities go out to help random strangers out in the snow? Or help the crew take down the set after a show? Not many, let’s be honest. And then there’s the way you’re facing your muscle tension dysphonia and spasmodic dystonia. I could go on for days about how that struggle and the way you’re facing it head on speaks levels about the kind of person you are. In fact I dedicated an entire post because it’s mindblowing.

Your support for your son? Adorable. He looks just like you and is clearly just as talented.

There’s no real way to say how lucky we are that you said yes to Kevin’s phone call in ’93.

So from all of your fans, Happy Birthday Brian.

You deserve a great one.