“Are you sure?” Brian asked Nick. They were at the backstage for Oprah’s show in Chicago where they will appear as musical guests to promote their new album. They were in Chicago for two days now, doing bar tours and mini-concerts before going on a world tour to promote their album in other countries.
Nick nodded. He’s talking about letting the public know about his relationship with Anna. He really wanted everyone to know it. Even though they took time apart, he still wanted to show everyone how much she means to him. He consulted his decision with their managers and they only advised him to be careful on saying something about the politics that is involved with Anna and her family. It’s a delicate matter and they don’t want anyone to delve further on that.
And before they go to the studio, Nick sent a text message to Anna about his plans in Oprah. He still wanted her to know about his plans.
“Did she reply on your message?” AJ asked him.
“No, but still, I wanted to do this.” There’s finality in his tone. He noticed his friends are looking at each other. They never interfered in each other’s affairs but they can express their concern. They have given him enough advice on the matter and he felt he had enough to go on with this. Later, they were called for their cue. Nick stood by the exit way as they waited for Oprah’s call.
“It’s been more than five years since the last time they’ve been here. I was honored to be part of the group’s rejuvenation back to the music scene. Now, they’re back again,” Oprah sang the tune of the last part in which the audience laughed. “They’ve sold millions of albums worldwide and their fan base never faded and still growing. Take a closer look,” she said as video clips were presented showing the fans of different ages and nationality. “And now to promote their new album and to raise awareness and support for saving the world from hunger and poverty, I welcome back my favorite guys in the show, the Backstreet Boys.” There was a huge applause from the audience, consisted mainly of the fans, as the Boys went out of the backstage. The song ‘Everybody’ is being played in the background. Oprah opened her arms to welcome each of them who hugged and kissed her on the cheeks in return. They seated in the sofa.
“First things first, how did you come up with this worldwide project?” Oprah asked.
“It started with Kevin and Nick who have been environmental advocates since the beginning of our career,” Howie replied. “And then the rest of us were focused on the awareness and support of human health and welfare. Soon enough, we ventured into our own projects of different advocacies. There has been an overwhelming support from the fans and now, we decided to go further.”
“While we’re making this album, we’ve thought about doing something for a cause because we think we’ve done enough of what we wanted in our lives. We got our dreams,” Brian added. “It’s a dream come true to have this career. We’re now enjoying the graces that God has given us and so now, we’d like to take another opportunity to contribute something to mankind.”
“Uh-huh. So what do you do?” There’s a look of interest in Oprah’s face.
“When people buy our album, a dollar of it will proceed directly to the United Nations World Food Programme,” Kevin said. “We managed to coordinate this project with the United Nations and they are very happy to be part of this project. We hoped that at least, everyone may participate in this because as you know, that we had enough food for everyone but still many of us didn’t have enough food mainly because of several factors: nature, war, poverty, agricultural infrastructure and over-exploitation of the environment. It is a serious subject that affects mainly the life of a person. Imagine if a young boy is poor and hungry, he couldn’t go to school; he had to work and sometimes would encounter sickness and disease. Hunger contributes to greater problems and we can start on solving the problem by providing a feeding program most especially to those in need.”
“It’s a noble project, I must say,” Oprah said. “But only a few left to you. You almost won’t earn anything at all,” she said. “I mean, correct me if I’m wrong, you’d need to pay the people who were involved in this album, from the songwriters to the musicians, and also you. I’m amazed because only a few artists have done this before. Bono is one, but we all know Bono.” They chuckled. Oprah faced the camera. “I’m glad that these wonderful guys have given us the opportunity to somehow take part in supporting an economic and social concern. And what’s another amazing thing here is that for one of the rarest time here in Oprah, I will sell stuff and not give it away.” The people laughed as Oprah nodded. “We need this for the project. We can start it by buying the CD.”
“Seriously though, I’d like to congratulate the Backstreet Boys on this humanitarian project. It’s a rare blessing of being internationally-known and uses it for a good cause. May God bless you.” Oprah clapped her hands and the audience followed. The five men nodded and muttered their thanks to everyone in the studio.
“The CDs will be available today after the show exclusively here in the studio and on my website, just right after the show. The album release will be tomorrow in all record stores but if you already want a copy, you may drop by the studio today until five in the afternoon or visit my website. The copies that will be sold today include some unique memorabilia from the Boys, as well as brochures about the program.” Oprah turned to the men. “Any more words about this project?”
“Thank you very much,” Kevin said.
“We’d like to take this opportunity to thank the people who helped us in this project,” Brian added, taking out a piece of paper.
“Wow, you’ve got a copy,” Oprah said amusingly. “Go on,” she added and Brian began to recite the people involved in making the album. Once he’s done, Oprah nodded. “Now, tell me about your new single, Beyond Boundaries, in which you will perform later in the show. It’s already at the fifth position in the Billboard Singles Chart in just a week of release. It’s a wonderful ballad with catchy mellow tunes. When I first heard of it, it reminded me about a wedding of a friend and it literally,” she emphasized on the term, “it literally had me in tears. It’s so sweet and promising and loving.”
The guys turned to Nick. The youngest one smiled. “The song is actually the one I personally wrote for my ex-girlfriend…”
“A recent ex-girlfriend?” Oprah asked and Nick nodded. “I assume she’s so special considering on how emotions are felt through the lyrics of the song. It’s about being together despite the differences that you have.”
“True,” Nick nodded. “I met her in the Philippines where we have had a shoot for a home video. We’re of different cultures and beliefs but I love her so much and that inspired me to write this song for her.”
Oprah’s eyes were wide and she’s smiling with amazement. “I’m glad but I’m sorry to hear that you broke up. What happened? You said you met her in the Philippines. That’s when a bombing occurred when you arrived at the airport, am I right? It was in the news here in the US.”
“Yes,” AJ replied with a nod.
“Yes, because I was watching TV at that time and you were on the news and I was concerned. What exactly happened there? The girl was pregnant, a senator’s daughter and has been your friend you’ve met on the plane. And I believe that now, her sister filed a case against her father and uncle in which turned out to have something to do with what happened.” Oprah said.
“It surprised us because we didn’t expect it. We’ve met the family in Faye’s wake and we didn’t notice anything about them to have something to do with their own family.” Kevin answered that.
“And you met your girlfriend there?” Oprah turned to Nick.
“Faye’s sister, who’s now in the news, was my girlfriend.” He replied. “Let’s just say that it was hard for us to have a long-distance relationship. Right now, we took the time off from each other but I still love her and so is she. We agreed to come in this term of our relationship. We’re still friends and she knows that I’ll be saying this about her in public today.”
“We hope she’s watching this,” Brian helped Nick out. “She’s a great person and all the guys liked her. We’re also hoping that she’s fine, now that her ordeal about the case is over.”
Oprah nodded. “Any message for her, Nick?”
The camera zoomed in to Nick’s face. “Hi, you know what we’ve talked about. I’m just here. I still love you.”
“That’s it?” Oprah smiled.
“There are words that I can’t express in public. She knows the rest.” Nick replied.
