On July 12, Backstreet Boy Howie D will release his first-ever family album, Which One Am I?
The collection of songs offer musical reflections of his own childhood, sharing experiences of overcoming insecurities to discover his true self. In the music video for the first single, “No Hablo Español,” Howie is seen in a cameo appearance, rockin’ a First Act guitar for the Latin-flavored jam that taps into Howie’s mixed-race heritage. Howie grew up in Florida as the son of a Puerto Rican mom and an Irish-American dad. “No Hablo Español” expresses the dilemma of being a thoroughly American-raised kid who is also part of a minority community. The video also features Howie’s 10-year-old son, James as a younger version of the Backstreet Boy, with Howie’s mom, Paula, playing her own mother — the song’s “abuelita.”
“The goal of Which One Am I? is to remind people that no matter what they’re going through, they can emerge victorious,” says Howie D. “I especially want kids who listen to the music to come away knowing that everything that happens teaches you how to develop into the person you were meant to be.”
The album was produced by Grammy nominee Tor Hyams, and inspired an upcoming family musical theater production, Howie D: Back in the Day, which will debut next year at the Rose Theater in Omaha, Nebraska.
“When I started writing these songs with Tor Hyams and veteran Broadway performer Lisa St. Lou, it became clear that together they revealed my own story,” Howie says. “These songs are about a kid who conquers a myriad of his own fears and learns to accept himself for the unique person he really is.”
Which One Am I? is available for preorder at iTunes, Amazon, and other digital retailers.
