NEW YORK -- The superstar teen quintet Backstreet Boys endured what may have been one of the hardest years of their lives in 1998, they say, only to come out with an album that points to the group's newfound maturity and better times ahead.

Speaking at a press conference in midtown Manhattan on Monday (May 17), group member Howie Dorough called the record "our strongest. ... We feel the lyrical content, the musical quality, the message within the lyrics is a positive step."

The band used the occasion to announce a world tour beginning in June to promote the new album Millennium, due Tuesday (May 18). In addition to experiencing deaths of family members and the group's confidante and producer/songwriter, the Backstreet Boys suffered through the disruption of a change in management.

And now they want to give something back to their fans, they said. That feeling, Dorough added, almost convinced the band to name their new album Larger Than Life, after a song on the record (RealAudio excerpt) dedicated to their loyal devotees.

"It's almost like a thank-you song for all they've done," Dorough, 25, said. "They're there for us through all our ups and downs."

They may be pop superstars known the world over, but the Boys from Orlando, Fla., were taken aback by the fuss made over them in New York on the eve of their latest album's release.

Journalists from Australia, Germany, Brazil, Chile, South Africa, Argentina and other countries were among the swell of reporters and photographers that rushed to greet the Backstreet Boys, who face hysterical teenagers on almost every stop around the globe. The five teen idols emerged from behind a projection screen to encounter the blinding light of flashbulbs as they stepped onto a midtown stage.

Group member A.J. McLean, 21, the Backstreet Boy with the most adventurous fashion sense, wore a rainbow-colored cowboy hat and white muscle shirt. He announced the group is now in dance rehearsals for the tour. The outing begins June 2 in Belgium and is scheduled to move through Europe into early August.

No U.S. itinerary was announced, but publicists for the group said the U.S. leg would begin Sept. 19 in Miami and end Dec. 1.

The Backstreet Boys are in New York until Thursday. They performed over

the weekend on "Saturday Night Live" and appeared Sunday at MTV's Times

Square studio for an audience that rivaled Beatles crowds for sheer

noise.

But none of those screaming fans measures up to

"The Perfect Fan"

(RealAudio excerpt), according to baseball-cap-wearing Backstreet Boy

Brian Littrell, 23, who co-wrote that song, which is about his mother.

It is one of two songs members of the Boys, who traditionally have worked

with outside writers, co-wrote for Millennium; the other is the

piano ballad "Back to Your Heart," credited partly to Backstreet Boy

Kevin Richardson, 27.

Millennium is the Backstreet Boys' second album; it follows Backstreet Boys (1997), which featured "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" and "As Long as You Love Me."

It comes on the heels of what some of the Backstreet Boys called a difficult year. Richardson, who said he endured two deaths in his family, called the past year the hardest of his life.

In addition, the band suffered the death from cancer of producer/songwriter Denniz Pop, who worked on "We've Got It Goin' On" on the first album (as well as on Swedish pop group Ace of Base's 1993 album, The Sign).

"Denniz was like a second father to us," said Nick Carter, who at 19 is the youngest Backstreet Boy. "His music definitely changed what everybody hears nowadays."

The band also experienced a change of management -- it's now handled by the Firm, which manages rapper Ice Cube and top-selling metal bands Korn and Limp Bizkit.

Millennium includes more collaborations with Swedish songwriter Max Martin, whose earlier Backstreet Boys credits included "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)" and "As Long as You Love Me." The first song released to radio, the mid-tempo love song

"I Want It That Way" (RealAudio excerpt), is at #18 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Throughout the press conference the Backstreet Boys downplayed their phenomenal success.

"We've been boys since the group began," McLean responded to a reporter who wondered whether the group would ever change its name to the Backstreet Men. "['Boys' is] kind of like a slang term. You've got the Beach Boys. They're in their 50s and 60s and they're still 'boys.' So we'll always be Backstreet Boys for the duration of this group."

Backstreet Boys European Tour Dates:

June 2-3; Ghent, Belgium; Expo

June 4; Frankfurt, Germany; Festhalle

June 5; Amsterdam, Netherlands; Arena

June 7; Koln, Germany; Arena

June 8; Paris, France; Bercy

June 10; Manchester, England; NYNEX

June 11; Newcastle, England; TelWest Arena

June 13-14; Birmingham, England; NEC

June 16-17; London, England; Earl's Court

June 20; Mannheim, Germany; Malmarkthalle

June 21; Bielefeld, Germany; Seidenstickerhalle

June 22; Oberhausen, Germany; Arena

June 24; Munster, Germany; Musterlandhalle

June 25; Stuttgart, Germany; Schleyerhalle

June 26; Munich, Germany; Olympiahalle

June 27; Zurich, Switzerland; Hallenstadion

June 29; Rome, Italy; Paleur

July 2-3; Milan, Italy; Forum

July 5; Wiels, Austria; Arena

July 6; Rieden, Germany; Ostbayernhalle

June 7; Friedrichshafen, Germany; Messehalle

July 9; Via Reggio, Italy; Commumal

July 11; San Sebastian, Spain; Velodrome

July 13-14; Barcelona, Spain; Palau St. Jordi

July 16; Madrid, Spain; Estadio

July 21; Bremen, Germany; Stadthalle

July 22; Leipzig, Germany; Messehalle

July 23-24; Berlin, Germany; Velodrome

July 29; Copenhagen, Denmark; Multi-Hall

July 30-31; Oslo, Norway; Spectrum

Aug. 2-3; Helsinki, Finland; Hartwell

Aug. 5; Gothenburg, Sweden; Scandanavium

Aug. 6-7; Stockholm, Sweden; The Globe