The Backstreet Boys Take the High Road

That pinup squad known as the Backstreet Boys is flirting with history.

Retailers say the pop harmony group last week sold more than 1 million copies of its new album, “Millennium,” which could put them in the record books when the final numbers are tallied.

Sales totals from SoundScan won’t be released until Wednesday, but on Monday the music industry was abuzz with speculation about the horse race to history between the Backstreeters and country singer Garth Brooks, who last year set the record for single-week sales with “Double Live.” That concert album sold 1,085,373 copies in its debut week last November.

“Millennium,” powered by the hit single “I Want It That Way,” sparked a rush on record stores with its release last Tuesday, and by some estimates sold 500,000 copies during its first 24 hours on the racks. That’s almost as much as the estimated 661,000 copies that last week’s No. 1 album, “Ricky Martin,” sold in its entire week.

“It was a very healthy Tuesday, to say the least,” said Scott Levin, a music marketing executive for the Musicland chain. “This is the biggest release of the year so far, and we knew that was going to be the case, no question.”

Big enough to overtake Brooks? “I’d concur with that opinion, yes,” Levin said. If “Millennium” does fall short, it might be because there simply weren’t enough copies in stock--some retailers had unexpected first-day sellouts and had to turn fans away.

The first-day sales were so strong, in fact, that some industry insiders last week were predicting that “Millennium” would easily surpass the weekly mark set by Brooks. Instead, the numbers quickly dropped after the first-day spike, illustrating the fan urgency to quickly scoop up the long-awaited album.

The group’s self-titled 1997 debut album is also enjoying a boost from the debut of “Millennium” and is expected this week to top the 8 million mark in sales and to reenter the Top 30.

Critics haven’t embraced these teen pop heroes, but John Pattnosh, music director of Radio Disney, says the success is a clear sign that the Orlando-born singing group owns the hearts and wallets of young America. “I Want It That Way” is No. 1 on his network’s countdown, based on airplay and requests.

“There are a lot of boy bands out there, but they seem to be the ones really taking charge,” said Pattnosh, whose network has 45 affiliates and a youthful audience of more than 1 million. “They have great sound, great harmonies, great songwriting; they have all the tools.”

All the tools and a heavy dose of well-orchestrated marketing--and not just to young teens, the group’s primary target audience. Along with an upcoming Teen People magazine cover and a Disney Channel cable TV concert, for instance, the group has also made recent appearances on “Saturday Night Live” and the cover of Rolling Stone.

The group has also been ubiquitous on MTV, which has devoted entire evenings to its music and found thousands of fans at its doorstep in New York City during the Backstreeters recent live appearance.

“When 10,000 kids show up, it’s not just a trend, it’s a movement,” says Tom Calderone, the MTV executive who oversees music programming.