Phoenix Stone

Phoenix Stone, a Tampa native and founding vocalist of the Backstreet Boys, pursued a brief solo path after his 1993 removal from the lineup. While a high school freshman, he earned the lead in a school staging of Grease, an experience that produced a recurring part on a television comedy aimed at young adults. In his sophomore year he received a vocal scholarship to the University of South Florida yet remained only one semester. Finding operatic training ill-suited to his goals, he shifted his attention to pop. Proficient at reading music and playing by ear, Stone secured a publishing contract. Ties to Trans Continental Records—whose founder Lou Pearlman had assembled the Backstreet Boys several years earlier—opened tours supporting Britney Spears and Deborah Cox. Universal Records then signed him, issuing his self-titled debut in the summer of 2000. He also served as a consultant while Pearlman assembled the pop band O-Town and later operated his own label in Los Angeles. Stone entered contemporary country with the 2010 single “Proud to Be (Born Again American).” He returned in 2012 with the EP Honky Tonk Superstar.