Britney Spears has a way of staying in the headlines, whether through her viral dancing videos or the shade she throws at her family. One has to wonder what it would be like to live next to the retired pop star, especially with her recent DUI arrest and police making wellness checks at her residence. Well, it just so happens that AJ McLean of the Backstreet Boys is one of her neighbors, and he talked about crossing paths with the pop princess.
AJ McLean was asked about Britney Spears as he walked the red carpet at the iHeartRadio Music Awards last week, and he had only nice things to say about their interactions, telling Page Six:
We see each other every so often. We live in the same neighborhood, in the same area, so we do cross paths. If I ever do run into her, I always just give her a hug, just check on her and wish her the best.
Now, between the gated properties and sprawling estates that these celebrities call home, I wouldn’t assume that just because you’re neighbors, you’re bound to run into each other. Privacy is a big deal in these music icons’ lives, but McLean makes it sound like these pop stars are just out and about, walking around and bumping into each other on the sidewalk.
There’s no way this is like seeing your neighbor when you’re out checking the mail and calling out a friendly greeting. Maybe they’ve got nice, exclusive jogging paths where they can rub elbows with others of their stature. Either way, it’s nice to hear that the Backstreet Boys member has love for the singer — though he did admit he hasn’t spoken to her recently.
After Britney Spears was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in early March, an alleged insider said the “...Baby One More Time” singer “lives a very lonely life” and craves connection. There’s been a lot of concern about her wellbeing from her fans and her team alike, as they’re apparently hoping she’ll be sent to rehab and not jail when she heads to court in May.
The next time McLean runs into Spears and checks up on her, maybe he could ask for her advice on one big opportunity she’s had that the Backstreet Boys would love for themselves — the Super Bowl Halftime Show. The boy-bander said:
I put it out for us to do Super Bowl Halftime. I feel like that’s the icing on the cake for Backstreet Boys to finally do it. *NSync and Britney did it already with Aerosmith. We did the National Anthem that year. But if we could do Halftime, c’mon Jay-Z make it happen for us.
It was back in 2001 that Britney Spears joined Justin Timberlake et al. for the NFL’s celebration of rock and pop music during the big game. No matter how many years have passed, knowing how strong the competitive juices flowed between the Backstreet Boys and *NSync, I’m sure there is still a bit of jealousy amongst AJ McLean and his bandmates over the Super Bowl.
Thankfully, none of that jealousy appears to have affected his friendly relationship with his neighbor.
