Kevin Richardson

Biography

Kevin Scott Richardson (born October 3, 1971) is an American pop singer, best known as a member of the vocal group the Backstreet Boys. Richardson was inducted into the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame with his cousin and bandmate Brian Littrell in 2015.

== Early life == Kevin Scott Richardson was born on October 3, 1971, in Lexington, Kentucky, the son of Ann Clyde (née Littrell) (June 11, 1943 – January 22, 2022), homemaker, and Jerald Wayne Richardson Sr. (December 27, 1941 – August 26, 1991), an outdoorsman, military veteran, construction worker, fireman, camp manager and handyman. Growing up, Richardson lived on a 10-acre farm with his parents and two older brothers (Jerald Wayne Jr. and Tim), one of whom is a model, for 9 years, and later lived in a log cabin at Cathedral Domain Camp, an Episcopal church-owned youth camp which his father ran, where he worked as a camp counselor, met his best friend Keith, singer and now bodyguard, and was a regular at the camp talent shows until he was 18. In school he played little league baseball and football, which led him to play football in high school and being captain of his team called the Estill Engineers. Along with the other Backstreet Boys, Richardson took a DNA test which revealed that he is 44.1% English, 36.2% North and West European, and 19.7% Irish, Scottish, and Welsh. At a young age, Richardson loved music and started learning to play the piano by ear when he was nine. He sang in his church's choir since he was a child and was a part of his community and high school theater. He got his first keyboard when he was a high school freshman. It was just a short time before he was entertaining in restaurants and at weddings in a band called Paradise, which did covers of Bobby Brown and Journey. He also adored performing, participating in the school theater, was a member of the school's drama club, and sang in the chorus. The latter ultimately won out over his two loves, acting and music. He was also a member of the chess club, Spanish club and participated in various school plays such as Bye Bye Birdie and Barefoot in the Park at Estill County High School in Kentucky, where he was voted "Most Popular", "Best Dressed", "Best Dancer", "Best Look" and "Best Looking". He also was in a lot of talent shows, one where he sang a duet with a female classmate and played in a band where he was on the drums and another where he sang a song he wrote with Keith called As Time Goes By. His father Jerald Wayne Richardson died on August 26, 1991, after a two-year battle with cancer, when Kevin was 19.

== Career ==

=== Early career === After graduating high school in 1989, Richardson spent the summer working at a Pizza Hut and tobacco farms, while helping out at the cathedral domain and was torn between entering the Air Force to join the Air Force band, or following the lure of performing by attending the New York American Music and Dramatic Academy in Manhattan. With encouragement from his father in 1990, Richardson quit his job, packed up and drove to Orlando, Florida with his best friend Jimmy, where he got a job as a cast member and performer at Walt Disney World. He played various characters, including Aladdin, one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Prince Eric, Tigger, and Sebastian the Crab in the Little Mermaid show. He was also a backstage tour guide at MGM studios. At night, he did dinner theater, playing an Italian gangster in a musical review performing various songs from the musicals Chicago, Guys and Dolls, and Cabaret. In June 1991, Richardson got a call from his mother, telling him that his father had taken a turn for the worse with his colon cancer. Richardson's father was diagnosed in October 1990, but his family did not tell Richardson so that he would not worry. After the phone call, Richardson moved back home to Kentucky and stayed with his family. On August 26, 1991, Richardson's father died. Richardson stayed in Kentucky for almost a year, then, after encouragement from his mother, he went back to Florida to follow his dreams of a music career. He continued to work at Disney while also earning a living as a model, writing music, performing in dinner clubs, teaching ballroom dancing as a certified Latin and ballroom dance instructor, and serving as an extra in the film "My Girl." In Florida, he got a job with a friend who had written a musical, he gave him a part and helped him get back on his feet again.

=== Backstreet Boys ===

In March 1993, Richardson was going to auditions at MGM Studios when a friend told him about "Three guys who sang a capella all the time." Around the same time, he was working at a convention as an atmosphere dancer when he met a woman named Lisa Fischetti, whose husband was Lou Pearlman's right-hand man for 12 years. After seeing an ad about the vocal group, called the Backstreet Boys, he went to check them out, auditioned, and joined the group. However, after joining, the group was still looking for one more member, so Richardson called Brian Littrell, who is Richardson's first cousin (Littrell's father and Richardson's mother are siblings), to ask him to audition. Littrell was immediately accepted, and the next day, he joined the group. Richardson is the oldest member and is often known as the group's big brother. In November 1999, he was named "People Magazine" 's Sexiest Pop Star, and the band signed a new $60 million deal with Jive Records. Richardson was a part of the group until June 2006, when he announced his departure from the group to pursue other projects and to start a family and "move on with the next chapter of [his] life." He recorded five albums with the group in 13 years. On June 23, 2006, he issued the following statement on the band's official website:

After 13 years of what can only be described as a dream come true, I have decided that it is time to leave the Backstreet Boys. It was a very tough decision for me, but one that was necessary in order to move on with the next chapter of my life. Howie, Brian, A.J., and Nick will always be my little brothers and have my utmost love and support. I would like to thank the Backstreet fans for all the beautiful memories we have shared together and look forward to including you in the next phase of my life. I wish my brothers continued success and look forward to their new album. On November 23, 2008, for the first time since leaving the group, Richardson rejoined his former bandmates on stage in Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, performing the encore, "Shape of My Heart" with the group. The Backstreet Boys, including Richardson, appeared on the November 4, 2010, episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show. Richardson first appeared in a pre-taped segment in which they surprised a fan who thought she was merely being flown in to participate in a "Backstreet Boys' Biggest Fan" contest. Moments later, Richardson joined the group in the show's studio and performed "I Want It That Way" live with them. On July 1, 2011, Richardson again joined the Backstreet Boys on stage at the Staples Center, Los Angeles, as part of the NKOTBSB Tour, performing "I Want It That Way" with the group and the mash-up at the end of the show along with NKOTB members.

On October 25, 2011, an episode of On Air with Ryan Seacrest featured Richardson stating that he would be at a Backstreet Boys beach party in Nassau, Bahamas on December 3, 2011. The party is part of the group's second annual cruise. In addition to being at the party, Richardson performed several songs with the group on the boat in the evening ("Drowning" and "I Still..."). In the announcement, he also stated that he would love to perform with the group again regularly. The group had hinted at a possible return for Richardson during the beach party, but nothing was confirmed. Several months later, in April 2012, before the group's European tour with New Kids on the Block, Richardson flew to London with Nick and AJ. Fans at the airport asked if he was back with the group and why he was with them. Richardson stated that he was only there to hang out with them. On April 29, 2012, during a live show in London, England, the Backstreet Boys confirmed that Richardson had returned permanently to the group and would be recording a new album with them in July 2012. Richardson also appeared along with the group on Good Morning America on July 17, 2012, announcing his return, their new album, and their first performance as a five-piece group for the first time together since 2006 at the morning show's Summer Concert Series on August 31, 2012. It was also his first TV appearance with the group since he returned. Regarding his return, Richardson gave the following statement about why he had left the group: "I'm a person that always follows my heart and follows my gut, and my heart said now's the time. It just felt right. I feel inspired to make music again with these guys, and you know, when I left, it had nothing at all to do with our relationship. It just had to do with me just needing to be inspired, so I had to step away for a while." In an interview with On Air with Ryan Seacrest on July 24, 2012, Richardson explained that he returned to the group because he realized how much joy singing and music gave him. He cited his holiday show with Rob Gonzalez called "Home for the Holidays" (December 18, 2011, in Los Angeles), which helped him rediscover his love of music and how much he missed it.