Howard Dorough, better known as Howie D, distinguished himself among the founding lineup of the Backstreet Boys by postponing his solo debut the longest, finally issuing Back to Me in 2011—more than a decade after the group's commercial zenith. He had participated from the outset, teaming with Nick Carter, AJ McLean, Brian Littrell, and Kevin Richardson under the direction of manager Lou Pearlman in the Orlando-based boy band that steadily built momentum toward its 1999 breakthrough album Millennium.
The Backstreet Boys tallied an array of chart successes in the years that followed, undergoing a split after their 2011 greatest-hits collection before re-forming in time for Never Gone in 2005. From that juncture forward the ensemble sustained regular activity with new releases spaced every few years, even as Howie D explored outside ventures that included co-running the management company HC Entertainment with CJ Huyer of 3deep. He ultimately delivered Back to Me late in 2011.
