After Losing 12 Friends To Fentanyl, Backstreet Boys’ AJ McLean Talks About Sobriety At iHeart Radio Music Festival

by Rose Anne Cox-PeraltaSeptember 29, 2023, 5:56 pmDaily Digest, Homepage Slider, News >

The annual iHeartRadio Music Festival kicked off and hosted many famous and talented faces, such as 90s boyband Backstreet Boys member AJ McLean and rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars.

Although McLean did not perform for the two-day festival, he was one of the celebrity presenters. Backstage, he and Thirty Seconds to Mars’ lead singer, Jared Leto, took a picture together.

McLean wore a white shirt layered with a plaid button-up and black pants, as he accessorized with sepia sunglasses and a black trucker hat. Leto, on the other hand, wore a black hoodie with the word “STUCK” printed on the front, red and blue shark pants, and accessorized with dark sunglasses and a black ball cap with “THIS ACTUALLY IS MY FIRST RADIO” written on it.

While McLean was there to join the music festivities and present celebrities, he was also preparing to celebrate his sobriety.

This week marks his second year of sobriety, as he told People during the festival that he would be two years sober on Tuesday.

“Life is grand right now,” he said. He also shared that after the Backstreet Boys DNA World Tour came to an end in May, he decided to register in an intensive 10-week program for his mental health, calling it “totally worth it.”

“I know how it’s going to end if I pick up a drink,” McLean said before saying he had lost 12 friends to fentanyl in the last two years.

“It’s terrifying,” he added. “It’s scary out there. You don’t know what’s out there. So just don’t walk through the door, just stay on this side of the door.”

As McLean was having fun off the stage, onstage, Leto and his bandmates were partying with a large bag of popcorn and an Elvis Presley impersonator.

Leto reportedly had the King of Rock’s impersonator join them to prepare the audience to sing “Stuck,” a song in their new album, It’s the End of the World, but It’s a Beautiful Day, released on September 15.