Alexander James McLean, known as A.J., is
 technically an only child. But he considers the Boys his
 adopted brothers, and his mom, Denise, is the groups
 unofficial den mother. She monitors their schedule, deals 
with emergencies ( like when Kevin Richardson had to
 have his appendix taken out in Germany last October )
 and is the liaison for the band's international fan clubs. 
	Denise and A.J.'s dad, Robert, got a divorce 
when A.J. was four years old. Then, when he was six, A.J
 says, "I saw him for about two days at Christmastime.
 That was it. I never saw him again." Until he was 18, that
 is, when A.J. decided to pay his dad a suprise visit. "This
 guy opens the door and I'm like, 'Is there a Robert McLean
 home?'" says A.J, who earlier the same morning had
 discovered that his father lived just minutes away from
 his Orlando apartment complex. "He said, 'Alex?' I was
 like, 'Whoa! Dad, you recognize me?' I walked in, and
 there's Backstreet Boys stuff everywhere! He'd been
 keeping up with me since the day I started!"
	The most rebellious Boy, 20-year-old A.J. plays
 up his nonconformist image with frequent hair color
 changes, a variety of tattoos and a gruff, rap-style singing 
voice. But he wasn't always so tough, it seems. Laughs Howie,
 "The first time I met him at a talent competition he was just
 a little pipsqueak, a little geek." Howie and A.J. were both
 aspiring actors as kids, and Howie reports they were often
 up for the same parts because of their similar Latin looks.
 "He was doing this little puppet show to the Paule Abdul
 song 'Opposites Attract.'" 
	A.J.'s still an occasional puppeteer~ and he
 still loves to be in control. In fact, although the Boys'
 record company executives and management aren't 
exactly thrilled with his bad-boy look, he keeps pushing
 the limits. Even today, with the smell of peroxide fuming
 his newly bleached hair, he's pondering his next style
 statement: a pierced eyebrow. Why is A.J. so intent on 
challenging the powers that be? One good reason: "The
 fans love it."