Macklin, AJ

Alexander James Macklin was born in the city of West Palm Beach ( USA ) in the family of Denise Fernandez and Bob Macklin . Named by Alexander in honor of his paternal great-grandfather. His parents divorced when he was 2 years old. AJ was raised by his mother and her parents ( Ursula and Adolf Fernandez ) ^[1] . From the age of 5, he participated in shows as a model and participated in theatrical productions. For 2 years he played in 27 plays. The first role in a professional theater is the production of “ The King and Me ” in the Burt Reynolds Theater and Restaurant ^[2] . C 7 years old attended a dance class. At 8, he became interested in puppetry. At the age of 9, he starred in one of the main roles in the low-budget film Truth or Dare (the release of the picture did not take place). Up to grade 6, AJ studied at a joint elementary school ^[3] . at the same time he was engaged in playing musical instruments at the church ( piano , organ ).

In 1990, the family moved to Orlando . AJ continued his studies at Dan John High School ^[4] . After numerous auditions for various Disney projects and the Nikolodeon channel show and participation in the Welcome Freshmen and Guts projects ^[5] , AJ got a role in the comedy series “Hello Honey, I'm Home! ” ( English Hi Honey, I'm Home! ) At age 13, he entered the Florida Academy of Dramatic Arts ^[6] . In May 1992, from a local newspaper announcement, it became known about casting young people aged 12 to 18 in a vocal group. Alex became the first member of the Backstreet Boys , which he is to this day. After a year of high school, AJ began to engage with a tutor in parallel with group performances ^[7] . In 1996, he received a diploma at the Osceolsk High School ^[8] .

Since 1992 is a member of Backstreet Boys . At the beginning of their careers, the group was not popular in the States, despite the popularity of their first single on the radio stations of the band’s native city Orlando . Therefore, it was decided to try their hand in Europe, where the popularity of the group began to gain momentum. In the mid-nineties, the Backstreet Boys became one of the most popular bands on the world stage. In 2001, the group was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the most commercially successful teenage vocal team of all time. Backstreet Boys album sales are about 200 million copies of the records ^[9] ).

In 2007, the singer, along with a former member of the 'N Sync ) band, Jaycee Chasees, wrote a song for Backstreet Boys ' album “ Unbreakable ”, later several songs they co-wrote were included on AJ's solo album.

In April 2008, the group went to a studio in Manchester to record the song “Undone” written by Macklin and Ryan Tedder (a member of OneRepublic ) for the album “ This Is Us ” ^[10] . Another song they wrote did not make it onto the album. The English producer Simon Covell wanted to offer “Shadows” (from the English - “Shadows”) to singer Leone Lewis , but found that the song was more suitable for the boy band . The song was recorded by the Irish pop group Westlife for their new album “ Where We Are ” ^[11] .

Alter Ego

January 9, 2000 held the first charity show of AJ in the city of Orlando . He decided to speak on behalf of his alter ego - Johnny No Name (from the English - “Johnny Unknown”). After performances in rock clubs in New York followed by a tour of America under the name "Nine City Swang" (from the English. - "Tour of nine cities"). The proceeds went to VH1's “Save the Music” charity foundation ^[12] .

Solo career

In 2001, during an interview with MTV, AJ sang a fragment of the song “Happy,” which he worked on for a solo project. During the band’s tour in support of the album “ Never Gone ” (2005-2006), Maclean repeatedly mentioned in an interview that he was working on his solo album and one of the songs would be about his relationship with his father. As part of a concert tour in support of Unbreakable , each member of the group performed a solo song. AJ chose the dynamic Drive by love.

In 2007 - 2008, Alex worked in the studio, recording his debut album with the help of Ryan Tedder ( OneRepublic ), Jaycee Chasez ( 'N Sync ) and famous songwriter Christian Lundin . He himself describes the style of the album as "completely different from the Backstreet Boys style and reflecting his inner world." In March 2008, his solo tour began with concerts in Hollywood , where he used material recorded in the studio. The tour of Europe began on May 15 in London , and continued in Germany , Sweden , the Netherlands , Denmark and France in parallel with the Backstreet Boys .

The album, entitled “ Have it all, ” was released on January 20, 2010 in Japan . For the first week of sales in Japan, the album sold in the amount of 4,347 copies and took 34th place in the album charts . AJ started working on his second solo album.

Alcohol and drug addiction

In 2000, AJ first drew attention to problems with alcohol . Difficulties appeared in communication with colleagues in the group, new traits of his character ( aggressiveness , tendency to frequent depression ) began to appear. Since the group was at the peak of their career, there was no opportunity to cope with the emerging addiction. Occasionally he practiced with a psychotherapist . Later, it became clear that this did not bring results. In early 2001, AJ first tried cocaine on the set of The Call . After some time, AJ decided to undergo treatment for alcohol and drug addiction in a medical center in Tucson . October 23, 2002, Alex considers the date of the final victory over addiction. He later admitted that he suffered two overdoses .

In December 2003, during a break in the band's career (2002-2004), AJ Macklin took part in the Oprah Winfrey show, where he first publicly talked about his drug and alcohol addiction. The remaining members of the group decided to support him personally, their appearance in the studio was unexpected for Maclean. For the first time in 2 years, the group appeared in public in full force. This episode was watched by a record number of viewers ^[13] . A few years later, AJ said that sometimes he allows himself to take alcohol ^[14] .

Relationships

In 2001, AJ was engaged to singer Sarah Martin ^[15] , the relationship soon ended. On January 8, 2010, while celebrating his birthday at the Wasted Space nightclub in Las Vegas , Alex became engaged to his girlfriend, Rochelle Caridis . According to People magazine , the engagement ring was bought a few hours before the offer at a nearby jewelry store in the Hard Rock Hotel ^[16] . The wedding took place in one of the Beverly Hills hotels on December 17, 2011 ^[17] . At a concert in London on April 29, 2012, AJ announced that he and his wife were expecting their first child ^[18] . On November 27, 2012, their daughter Ava James Macklin was born ^[19] . On March 19, 2017, their second daughter Lyric Dean Maclean was born.

Charity

The charity work of AJ started with the donation of funds to the VH1 channel “Save The Music” . His JNN Foundation was founded in 2001 . The name is based on the abbreviation of the name of his alter ego. The goal of the foundation is to help organizations such as VH-1 “Save The Music” (support for music education in high schools in the USA), Lisa Merlin House (rehabilitation center for women with alcohol and drug addiction), Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (research for diabetes ) In 2012, Macklin was declared ambassador of the Save The Music foundation ^[20] .

See also Backstreet Boys Discography

Studio Albums

• Have It All ( 2010 )

Singles

• Teenage wildlife

Denise McLean. Backstreet Mom: A Mother's Tale of Backstreet Boy AJ McLean's Rise to Fame, Struggle with Addiction, and Ultimate Triumph. - Benbella Books, 2003 .-- 240 p. - ISBN 978-1932100150 .

• Official website
• Backstreet Boys Official Website
• AJ Macklin on Twitter
• Hey Jay Maclean's official Facebook page
• Hey Jay Maclean YouTube Video Channel
• Hey Jay Macklin official Myspace page
• AJ Macklin on the Internet Movie Database
• AJ Macklin on Discogs