Nick Carter.

Backstreet Boy Nick Carter has long appreciated that once the gays embrace you, they don't let go--no matter how many years the fivesome took off between albums (nearly five) or how many tabloid headlines they've generated (a lot). "Our gay fans are dedicated to us, and dedication is very limited nowadays," says Carter, who is currently promoting "Crawling Back to You," the third single from the Boys' newly platinum album, Never Gone. "The old Backstreet Boys was of a certain era," he explains. "This is the start of something new." Backstreet's back, all right!

When did you realize that the gays liked the Boys?

I do remember doing an interview back in the day with XY magazine [in 1997]. Initially some people thought, What's going on? but our mentality was, We want to reach out to everybody.

Two members of U.K. boy bands have come out of the closet. Could that happen in America?

Yeah, I think it will happen eventually. Everybody is always worried about what other people think, which is kind of the problem right now in America. It's a little sad sometimes. It's not easy for anybody to be hiding something, but if people were more true to themselves, the world would be a better place.

Are there a lot of gay people behind the scenes in Team Backstreet?

We've had dancers who've been gay ...

Stop the presses! Are you kidding me?

[Laughs] We've had all sorts of different people that we've worked with, and they always bring a special characteristic. For example, we did a photo shoot for Rolling Stone with [out photographer] David LaChapelle where he had all these naked women standing in the background. That was something that was out of the box for us. He's a genius.

Apart from the occasional foray into eyeliner, what's the gayest thing about you?

I play basketball in West Hollywood. [Laughs] And one of my favorite places to go is Key West. I love the freedom and the vibe down there. I'm an ocean baby, big-time. One of my really good gay friends is a commissioner of Key West. I'm hoping he'll be mayor someday.

Do your gay male fans ever throw underwear at you when you're onstage?

We get all sorts of stuff--bras, condoms--so I'm sure we've had that a couple of times.

You should keep them. You wouldn't have to shop.

Right. [Laughs]

Do you want to perform when you're Mick Jagger's age?

It's funny you say that, because the other day I was thinking to myself, God, Mick actually kind of looks good onstage. If we still got legs and we still got arms and we still can sing, I'm sure we'll be doing it.