Oh, the agony of being a teen pop idol.
Brian Littrell, of the Backstreet Boys, could not even list his girlfriend, Leighanne Wallace, in his thank-yous on the group's new album, Millenium, because there was fear of a backlash against her.
Littrell, who also had open heart surgery last year, instead makes oblique reference to Leighanne at the end of his notes: "I love you baby and all your family too, also as well." Not exactly "Oh Yoko" or "Layla," but it's something.
Leighanne told me by phone from her Orlando, Florida, home Thursday: "At first we were afraid to 'come out' because we thought the girls would be mad. But they've really come around. I actually have girl fans now. I have 700 e-mails to answer."
One BSB fan even created a web site for Leighanne.
"She wasn't even a fan of the Boys," says the late '90s version of Linda McCartney.
Leighanne says she pals around with one other BSB girlfriend, Mandy Willaford, the steady of Nick Carter.
Eighteen-year-old Mandy, who records under the name Mandy Moore and has her own web site which includes a frequently updated journal, has just signed a record contract with RCA, the label that distributes Jive, for whom the Boys themselves record.
Do the other Boys have girlfriends? "It depends on what day it is," laughs Leighanne.
"When they choose to admit it. Sometimes AJ does, sometimes he doesn't. We have to be careful."
When I tell her about the Beatles and their travails with girlfriends and wives long ago, she tells me: "I never liked the Beatles. Neither does Brian."
Leighanne, however, is not sitting around answering BSB fan mail. Come November, she's going to be filming her first movie, an independent feature called Olive Juice, which will shoot for six weeks in Orlando.
It's being put together by a pair of thirtysomething brothers, Nick and Alex Karvounis. The Karvounsises, who hail from Baltimore but live in Las Vegas, say they went to film school at NYU. When that was over they migrated to Orlando where they developed a juggling act called Doubble Troubble. (The marketing scheme of two b's is coincidental to the Backstreet Boys' twin b's.) Most of their appearances were on cruise ships.
Alex Karvounis says that when the casting call went out for Olive Juice, neither of them knew who Leighanne was and had never heard of the Backstreet Boys.
"The lead character falls in love with a dog," he reports. "So when Leighanne came in with her dog to the audition, we could see she was comfortable with pets. Also, she has a quality like Julia Roberts. Her eyes light up."
Leighanne's credits, according to the Internet Movie Database, include a couple of BSB videos, a couple of minor appearances in forgettable movies, and a print ad for Muscle magazine. She turned 30 in July.
"I've never really starred in a movie before," she admits, but she's looking forward to her big break. She will accompany Brian to the MTV Music Awards in New York on September 9th.
The Karvounis brothers, meantime, are currently negotiating with the Boys' music publisher so they can include one of Brian's personally penned tunes in the film.
"It may be too expensive," says Alex. "It may not be feasible."
The song, called "The Perfect Fan," is included on Millenium. Brian wrote it about his mom.
"In the movie, my character's mom dies, so it's perfect," says Leighanne. One song they are definitely including is called "How Do You Like Me So Far?" It's performed by actor Joe Pesci, who last year released his first album of vocal treats.
For more on Olive Juice, you can check out the web site. That's right: even though no movie has been made, there is an extensive web site where fans (of a film that doesn't yet exist) can e-mail the "stars" and the crew and buy souvenirs such as coffee mugs and T-shirts. The shirts have already sold out in most designs.

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