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Backstreet Boys offer advice to One Direction: 'Stay on your own path'

With 22 years of boy band experience under their collective belt, the Backstreet Boys have earned the right to offer a little advice to modern musical heartthrobs like One Direction."[The guys of 1D] don’t need much advice; they’re obviously doing quite well," noted A.J. McLean during his visit to TODAY with band members Howie Dorough, Nick Carter, Kevin Richardson and Brian Littrell. "I would

With 22 years of boy band experience under their collective belt, the Backstreet Boys have earned the right to offer a little advice to modern musical heartthrobs like One Direction.

"[The guys of 1D] don’t need much advice; they’re obviously doing quite well," noted A.J. McLean during his visit to TODAY with band members Howie Dorough, Nick Carter, Kevin Richardson and Brian Littrell. "I would just say ... stay on your own path … we’ve just stuck with doing what we love to do: great pop music, having fun and loving what we do."

It shows: While the fivesome haven't always made music together in perfect harmony, they are still a tight unit of friends even after all this time. 

"We all share ups and downs, trials and tribulations, and I think that makes us stronger as a group," said Littrell.

Fans will get a chance to see how they've navigated fame and its attendant joys and sorrows over the years in their new documentary "Backstreet Boys: Show 'Em What You're Made Of." 

"We really reveal a side of ourselves that no one has actually ever seen before," said Carter. "We are in a boy band — man band, so to speak — and there's a lot of things that are undercover for years."

The Backstreet Boys yesterday (1999) and today.
The Backstreet Boys yesterday (1993) and today.Today

Maybe the guys in One Direction will watch and take notes. 

"Backstreet Boys: Show 'Em What You're Made Of" opens in theaters on Jan. 30.

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