October 25, 1964 (The Bronx, New York, New York, USA)
Kevin Richardson's biography
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Kevin Richardson's biography
October 25, 1964 (The Bronx, New York, New York, USA) Kevin Richardson's biography |
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Background:
A member of the international boy band Backstreet Boys, Kevin Richardson got his
first taste of fame after the group’s eponymous debut album in 1995 garnered
them a Smash Hits Award in the UK. He soon grasped bigger success with the
band’s massive hit albums, Backstreet Boys (US version), Backstreet’s Back
(1997) and Millennium (1999). The records went platinum and some of the singles
became award winners. The platinum hit “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)” won an
MTV Video Music Award, whereas the 1999 track “I Want It That Way” netted an MTV
Video Music Award and an ALMA Award. In 2000, the single “I’ll Never Break Your
Heart” was handed a BMI Pop Award.
Aside from his solid music career, Richardson also broke into acting. After
appearing as a bumper car driver in the drama comedy My Girl (1991), he went to
stage with the starring turn as lawyer Billy Flynn in the Broadway and London
West End production of “Chicago” (2003).
Outside the limelight, the “Sexiest Male Pop Star” according to People Magazine,
Richardson founded the environmental organization Just Within Reach (JWR) in
memory of his late father. He once raised more than $56,000 for the foundation
while visiting Chicago. The singer also made some donations to the Estill County
High School in Kentucky. In 2004, he appeared in a series of public service
announcements urging family members to educate each other about colon cancer and
colorectal cancer, as well as the treatment.
In contrast, in 1998 Richardson and other band mates embarked on a $100 million
lawsuit against their record label Zomba Music Group for barring them from
recording a new album, due to a problem with the record’s merger with German
media giant Bertelsmann AG. When the matter settled down, Louis J. Pearlman
continued to be the group’s manager, while the rest of the management team was
dismissed. On a more private note, Richardson is the husband of Kristin Kay
Willits, whom he married in June 2000.
Mr. Body Beautiful
Childhood and Family:
Kevin Scott Richardson was born on October 3, 1972, in Lexington, Kentucky, to
Ann Richardson and Jerald Wayne Richardson (died in 1991 of cancer). He is a
blend of Indian, Irish, English and Italian lineage. The brother of Jerald Jr.
and Tim, Kevin is also the cousin of Brian Littrell (born on February 20, 1975),
another member of the Backstreet Boys. Kevin, who carried the nickname “Mr. Body
Beautiful,” was raised in a farmhouse in Estill County, Kentucky.
Young Kevin developed talent and began to sing in church as well as duets with
his mother. He also enjoyed acting and later joined his high school’s drama club
and performed in community theater productions. After graduating high school,
Kevin headed to Orlando, Florida, with his brother Jerald to get a job. As for
his romantic life, 6’ 1 inches tall Kevin married dancer Kristin Kay Willits
(born on September 4, 1970) on June 17, 2000.
Billy Flynn
Career:
Teenager Kevin Richardson began entertaining when he was a freshman in high
school by performing in restaurants and at weddings. After graduating from high
school and moving to Florida, Richardson had his first job at Disney World,
playing the characters Ninja Turtle and Aladdin in stage shows and daily
parades. He also worked as a ballroom dance instructor. To satisfy his curiosity
about acting, he took an unaccredited part as a bumper car driver in the drama
comedy My Girl (1991), which featured Macaulay Culkin and Anna Chlumsky. In the
mid 90s, he followed his friend’s suggestion to join a singing audition for a
group called the Backstreet Boys. Soon, he was one of the band members, along
with Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean and cousin Brian Littrell, whom he
introduced to the group.
Managed by Louis J. Pearlman under Zomba Music Group, Richardson and his band
mates began to perform in front of recording representatives, including Jive
Records who were impressed by their performance and offered them a contract in
1994. Under the label of Jive/Zomba Records, Backstreet Boys’ self-titled album
was released in late 1995 throughout Europe, with the international hits “We’ve
Got It Goin’ On” and “I’ll Never Break Your Heart.” Before long, the album
achieved success and spent several weeks in the Top Ten position of the European
charts. The band gained critical appreciation and in the UK, they won a Smash
Hits for Best Newcomers. On the US charts, however, “We’ve Got It Goin’ On” did
not do as well.
The band launched the American version of the eponymous album (1997), which was
also released outside the US, under the title Backstreet’s Back. The record
tossed out the platinum hit “Quit Playin’ Games (With My Heart)” and “As Long as
You Love Me.” The album also spun off the re-released “I’ll Never Break Your
Heart,” as well as the platinum Top Five hits “All I Have to Give” and
“Everybody (Backstreet’s Back).” Aside from the commercial victory, the latter
single also nabbed an MTV Video Music for Dance Video. Selling over 13 million
copies, the phenomenal album received platinum certification. In 1998,
Richardson and the group took a break following Littrell’s heart surgery and the
Boys’ lawsuit against Pearlman and their management team.
The international band was back in the summer of 1999 with their next album,
Millennium, which boosted up to No.1 at its debut and sold over a million copies
in the first week. Although there was no official single released from the
album, tracks like “I Want It That Way,” “Larger Than Life,” “Show Me the
Meaning of Being Lonely,” and “The One” all broke the US charts based on their
heavy airplay. To complete their success, “I Want It That Way” netted an MTV
Video Music for Video of the Year and an ALMA for Song of the Year. By the end
of 1999, Millennium surpassed the US sales amount of 12 million copies, and the
Christmas Album was released. Meanwhile, the single “I’ll Never Break Your
Heart” was handed a 2000 BMI Pop for Pop Song. Following the success, Backstreet
Boys released an album titled Black & Blue (2000).
Outside the band, Richardson pursued his passion for acting by taking the
starring role of lawyer Billy Flynn in his Broadway debut “Chicago” (2003), a
role he reprised in the West End London production of the play. The same year,
he also worked with his friend, songwriter Keith McGuffey, to establish a music
academy in Louisville called The Music Workshop.
Richardson rejoined the Backstreet Boys in 2004 and began working on their next
album, Never Gone. Before the album launching in June 2005, he went on tour with
the Boys and released the group’s newest single “Incomplete” (April 2005). Still
in 2005, he appeared with Backstreet Boys’ Howie, Brian and A.J. as a musical
guest in an episode of the Japanese TV show “Smap x Smap.” Richardson will next
try his hand as a composer for the upcoming animated motion picture The Spirit
Bear (2006), for director Leon Joosen.
Awards: