He's not leaving the group, but Backstreet Boys' AJ McLean is finally releasing his solo project, which he says has been four years in the making.
Appearing on The Jennifer Hudson Show on Monday, the singer announced that he'll be putting out a solo EP, Hi, My Name is Alex, on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27. Why that day? It's his eldest daughter's birthday, but also, he told J-Hud, "I’m so thankful and grateful for fans that have waited so patiently for this.”
"I promise you it's worth the wait," he added. He'll follow that up with a full-length album on Jan. 9, 2026, which is his birthday. It's called Hi, My Name Is Alexander James, which is AJ's birth name.
"AJ is a character is a band. It doesn't define me as who I am. I want the world to get to know Alex," he explained.
He added, "I just want everyone to kind of get to know me as me because you know there’s not that much of a difference between the two, but one is part of a group, part of a team and then me on my own.” He noted that he's had low self-esteem his whole life, but he's come to a realization: "If you don’t like me, that’s your loss. I’m a good person.”
AJ also shared that his two daughters recently attended one of Backstreet Boys' shows at Sphere in Las Vegas. Afterward, they told him they were proud of him, for the first time ever.
"I can die happy now," he said. "That's just the coolest thing in the world."
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