Early life

Dorough was born in Orlando, Florida, where he met future friend and bandmate A. J. McLean. His mother, Paula Flores, is Puerto Rican, and his late father, Hoke Dwaine Dorough, was Irish American. He is the youngest of five siblings. He came to fame in the mid-1990s as a member of the Backstreet Boys. He graduated from Edgewater High School and attended Valencia College.

Career

Backstreet Boys

Main article: Backstreet Boys

Howie Dorough, along with A. J. McLean, Brian Littrell, Nick Carter, Kevin Richardson started the Backstreet Boys in 1993. They were then booked to perform at many venues such as high schools and shopping malls and eventually managed to sign a contract with Jive Records in 1994. They slowly became popular in European countries, starting with Germany, and embarked on a tour in support of their debut album. The album slowly climbed up to the top ten slots in most countries and was on its way to sell more than 8 million copies.

As their second album, Backstreet's Back was being released in Europe, they released their first album in the United States which was a compilation of both their international debut and Backstreet's Back. The album climbed to No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and eventually sold over 14 million copies. Meanwhile, Backstreet's Back became an even bigger success than their debut album, opening at the number one spot in many countries.

They started recording Millennium in 1998 and released it in May 1999. It became one of the biggest selling albums of all time taking the number one place in many countries. Their first single from Millennium's follow up album, Black & Blue, Shape Of My Heart was released to radio on October 3. Black and Blue recorded first week sales of 1.59 million copies in the US, making the Backstreet Boys the first artists to back to back million-plus sales of albums. After releasing their greatest hits album they went on hiatus and regrouped in 2003. They released their next album, Never Gone in 2005. While it was negatively reviewed by critics it enjoyed a lot of commercial success. They released their next album, Unbreakable in 2007 and the follow-up This Is Us, in 2009. All in all, they have become one of the biggest selling artists of all time with record sales exceeding 100 million copies. Their eighth album In A World Like This was released on July 30, 2013.

Solo projects

Dorough worked as a producer for singer/song-writer George Nozuka and Katelyn Tarver as part of his management partnership with former 3deep member CJ Huyer, called HC Entertainment formed in 2004. Since 2010 he's also managing a Canadian band Neverest, who was under Dorough's company, 3 Street Management.

His first solo album "Back to Me" was released on November 9, 2011. The first single "100" received moderate success and airplay primarily in Canada. Also in November 2011 he joined Britney Spears for her Femme Fatale Tour in South America.

TV and film appearances

Dorough guest-starred in the television series Sabrina, the Teenage Witch in the episode "The Big Head" as an egotistic rock star named Strum. He also guest-starred on an episode of Roswell, and voiced Santa Claus on the Nickelodeon preschool animated series Dora the Explorer in the Christmas episode "A Gift for Santa". In September 2002, Howie and the rest of The Backstreet Boys made special guest appearances on the children's cartoon Arthur. In 2013 Dorough made his motion picture debut by appearing in the comedy This Is the End along with the rest of the Backstreet Boys.

Other ventures

Dorough also founded a company called Sweet D, Inc. with his older brother John. The company specializes in real estate development and has built numerous condominiums, hotels, and waterfront properties. He's also founded and held the positions of CEO, chairman, and director in several other companies, most notably Dorough Lupus Foundation and Howiedoit Productions, Inc.

Personal life

In 1998, Dorough's sister, Caroline Dorough-Cochran, died of lupus. After her death, Dorough established the Dorough Lupus Foundation. The foundation helps raise awareness about the disease, financial support for those who cannot afford treatment, and money for research.

On December 8, 2007, Dorough married his longtime girlfriend Leigh Boniello in a traditional Catholic ceremony. Their first child, James Hoke Dorough, was born on May 6, 2009. In August 2012, Dorough stated via Twitter that he and his wife were expecting another baby boy. The couple welcomed their second child, Holden John Dorough, on February 16, 2013.

Discography

See also: Backstreet Boys discography

Albums

Title	Year	Peak Positions
		US	JAP
Back to Me	Released: November 9, 2011 (Japan) Released: November 15, 2011 (United States) Label: avex trax (JP), RCA (US) Formats: CD, digital download
Live From Toronto	Released: March 13, 2012 Formats: digital download

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions		Album
		US	JAP
2011	"100"	—	—	Back To Me
	"Lie to Me"	—	—
2012	"Going Going Gone"	—	—

Collaborations

• "Show Me What You Got" (Howie Dorough feat. BoA)
• "I'll Be There" (Howie Dorough feat. Sarah Geronimo)
• "It Still Matters" ~愛は眠らない(Ai wa Nemuranai)~ (The Gospellers feat. Howie Dorough)
• "I Like It" (co-writer) (So Real, Mandy Moore)
• "If I Say" (Howie Dorough feat.U)
• "Worth Fighting For" (Howie Dorough feat.U)
• "New Tomorrow (feat. Howie D)" (A Friend in London feat Howie Dorough)

Charities

Howie Dorough supports the following charitable causes: Alzheimer's, Lupus, Children.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]