While the Backstreet Boys are getting ready to release a new album, AJ McLean, formally known as the "bad boy" of the boy band, says he'd like to mix things up by releasing a country record.
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While on the red carpet at the ACM Awards, McLean told Entertainment Tonight that he felt compelled to make country music after working with Florida Georgia Line on a single.
"Doing that song with [FGL], "God, Your Mama, and Me," and then doing Crossroads, the Smooth Tour, just kind of being submerged in the whole Nashville scene, was so inspiring to me," McLean said. "And out of all genres, country is probably now one of my favorites. It's all about telling a story; every song is so relatable to anyone, but my goal is a little different. I want to come in and I want to disrupt country. I want to shift. I want to shake things up just like FGL did. So you guys are in for a treat."
Read More: Is Pop Going Country? And What Does That Mean for Country Music?
McLean went on to say that he wants to combine the soulful qualities of Chris Stapleton's music with a pop/urban sound. Though he doesn't currently have concrete plans for a release date of this new music on the horizon, McLean says he's working with writers in Nashville to make the project a reality.
