Kevin Scott Richardson (born October 3, 1971)[1] is an American pop singer, best known as a member of the vocal group the Backstreet Boys.

Along with the other Backstreet Boys, Richardson took a DNA test which revealed that he is 44.1% English, 36.2% North and West European, and 19.7% Irish, Scottish, and Welsh.

It was just a short time before he was entertaining in restaurants and at weddings in a band called Paradise, which did covers of Bobby Brown and Journey.

[16] After graduating high school in 1989, Richardson spent the summer working at a Pizza Hut and tobacco farms, while helping out at the cathedral domain[17] and was torn between entering the Air Force to join the Air Force band, or following the lure of performing by attending the New York American Music and Dramatic Academy in Manhattan.

He played various characters, including Aladdin, one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Prince Eric, Tigger, and Sebastian the Crab in the Little Mermaid show.

[21] Richardson stayed in Kentucky for almost a year, then after encouragement from his mother, he went back to Florida to follow his dreams of a music career.

Around the same time, he was working at a convention as an atmosphere dancer when he met a woman named Lisa Fischetti, whose husband was Lou Pearlman's right-hand man for 12 years.

In November 1999, he was named "People Magazine" 's Sexiest Pop Star, and the band signed a new $60 million deal with Jive Records.

On June 23, 2006, he issued the following statement on the band's official website: After 13 years of what can only be described as a dream come true, I have decided that it is time to leave the Backstreet Boys.

[28] On July 1, 2011, Richardson again joined the Backstreet Boys on stage at the Staples Center, Los Angeles, as part of the NKOTBSB Tour, performing "I Want It That Way" with the group and the mash-up at the end of the show along with NKOTB members.

We just have a chemistry... a bond that will always be.On October 25, 2011, episode of "On Air with Ryan Seacrest," Richardson stated that he was going to be at a Backstreet Boys beach party in Nassau, Bahamas on December 3, 2011.

Several months later, before the group's European tour with New Kids on the Block, Richardson had flown out to London with Nick and AJ in April 2012.

On April 29, 2012, during a live show in London, England, Backstreet Boys confirmed that Richardson was back permanently with the group and would be recording a new album with them in July 2012.

"[34][35] In an interview with "On Air with Ryan Seacrest" on July 24, 2012, Richardson explained that he returned to the group because he realized how much joy singing and music gave him.

The academy opened to help others learn the 'tricks of the trade' of the music industry – studio technology, songwriting, and contract negotiations.

[42] Along with the rest of the Backstreet Boys, Richardson has made appearances on Arthur, Sesame Street, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and This Is the End.

He was a part of the show in New York City (January 20 – March 9), Pittsburgh (July 26–27), San Francisco (August 6–24), and the West End of London (September 22 – November 1).

His first film was the 2009 Christian drama Love Takes Wing, based on a book by Janette Oke, playing the part of Cyrus in 2009.

[50] It is an entry for Producers Guild of America premiere Weekend Shorts Event contest to benefit the Debra Hill Foundation.

Richardson formed the JWR foundation to provide environmental education and promote personal responsibility and accountability concerning the health of the Earth.

[56] Kristin was dancing in "Beauty and the Beast" as a jello-mold and a maid while playing the character of Snow White in "The Lion King" Show.

[59][60] Kristin was also featured in one of the Backstreet Boys' earliest videos, "I'll Never Break Your Heart," and as one of the dancers at the American Music Awards in 1999.

[61] He proposed to her over the holidays at the same place where they said "I love you," [62] and their engagement, along with bandmate and cousin Brian Littrell's to Leighanne Wallace, was announced on MTV on February 15, 2000.

[63] The couple married on June 17, 2000, at the Cathedral Domain Camp and Conference Center in rural Lee County in eastern Kentucky.