Kevin: His grandmother, who he recently lost, was like a second mother to him. His mother and father were divorced. He was an only child and he lived with his grandparents and his mother. I think when she passed away, that just sent it over the edge. [RealVideo]

Howie: He was consistently trying to figure himself out. Fame brings a lot of stuff to people. Sometimes it brings happiness, it can bring a lot of money, but the money and all that stuff doesn't always bring you happiness. Each of us has had to deal with it differently. Getting back to what Kevin was saying, thank God we came from families that were really together. We had the support. I think A.J., through all this, was looking for support and trying to find himself. As we all know, A.J's the crazy rebel with the tattoos, always trying to find that security. [RealVideo]

Norris: Brian, you said discussions about doing something about this went back to Orlando when you started this leg of the tour. When was the earliest that you guys thought maybe there is something to be concerned about?

Kevin: If you read the Rolling Stone article, almost a year ago.

Brian: As success grows and your career grows, things change and evolve and you're either going to become your own man and deal with your problems or you're gonna become a recluse and take things in[ward]. ... We didn't spend every waking moment together at all times. He went off on his own quite often, but it was something that worried me. ... I was worried about him vocally. I was worried about him physically. He has a lot of duties when it comes to showtime, singing a lot of leads. We want the fans to get the best show they came to see.

Kevin: He doesn't have a mean bone in his body and he was changing, he wasn't being himself. He was doing things behavior-wise that weren't normal for him to do, as far as disrespecting group meetings and things like that. That's not him. He lives for this, so that's when it really became evident to us.

Brian: When we approached it, he said he would take the precautions necessary. ... But when you're dealing with someone who has an illness, they have to believe in their hearts that they have to be better. He came to us yesterday and said, "Guys, I need help." I looked at him in the eyes and I said, "I'm proud of you." Because that's the first time he ever said it to any of us.

Norris: You mentioned that it was beginning to affect his performance. We were just with you guys in Boston this weekend and from what I hear there was no indication, outwardly anyway, that there was anything going on. He seemed fine, fine voice and everything.

Kevin: We'd notice vocally more than other people.

Brian: We're more critical.

Kevin: We remember how his voice used to sound when he used to rest and take care of himself.

Norris: How bad did it get? At night when you guys were on the road, would he go off and party until the morning?

Kevin: I don't want to get too specific, because I don't want to be disrespectful to him. But we would do something together as a group, maybe have some dinner and have a few cocktails at dinner. It would be late and we'd have to do something the next day, and after that he would go on his own. He just didn't want to go back to the room and go to bed. He wanted to continue. He was becoming a vampire.

Howie: The next morning when we'd all have to be together as a unit, he would sometimes call and say he was too tired. After a while it was disrespect[ful] to us. If you have a cancer, a weak link, you have to fix the problem.

Norris: Was it just alcohol, as far as you guys know?

Kevin: As far as we know.

Norris: Are you guys confident that it's going to take care of this in 30 days?

Kevin: We are confident. We believe in him. That's one thing about A.J., like Brian was saying earlier, he loves to be onstage. When we're off tour, he doesn't know what to do with himself.

Norris: Sometimes when people go through what he's about to go through, it's such a reassessment that it comes to a point where they decide, for whatever reason, they have to make changes in one area of their lives. If those changes involve the group or his continuing on as part of the group, are you guys prepared for that?

Nick Carter: Sorry I've been a little quiet, because I'm just a little sad ... It's just kind of difficult. [Covers his mouth and begins to tear.]

Howie: We've talked about it and we're betting on A.J. to come back. We want him to because we don't feel like the Backstreet Boys without A.J. At the same time, if he doesn't feel it in his heart or if this environment isn't the best place for him, we love A.J. If he needs more time, if we have to revisit the idea of continuing on the tour and us covering for him, we might have to do that.

Nick: It's not about the group. It's about his life and who he is and that's the most important thing. [Crying]