Backstreet Boys

Screaming girls were replaced with screaming babies yesterday when the Backstreet Boys arrived in Germany for the latest stop on their tour.

Trading groupies for families ... they want it that way.

Backstreet Boy Brian Littrell is sticking it to everyone hating on the tiny West Hollywood home he just sold -- cause it was only a back-up ... to his PHAT MANSION!!

Turns out Brian and his wife are also sitting on a 15,000 square foot palace in Georgia that's straight outta "Gone with the Wind" -- but better, 'cause this place has a lake, a recording studio AND tennis court.

Still don't hate your life? It also has 5 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms ... on 39 FREAKIN' ACRES!!

Brian's wife Leighanne says they only sold the WeHo spot because they weren't going to be there for months at a time.

Why would they be?

Backstreet Boys' Brian Littrell -- a devout Christian -- could be putting a little something extra in the collection basket this Sunday ... because he sold his West Hollywood bungalow.

Yeah, we were thinking the same thing. It's .... nice.

Brian snagged $1.14 mil for the cute little palace. He paid $725,000 in 2002 ... so he did ... ok.

What to say? Well, the kitchen's nice.

Everybody, Backstreet's back ... like it's the year 2000 ... because this weekend, hordes of fans lined up around the block outside an L.A. theater just to catch a glimpse of the iconic boy band.

Sure, they were probably mostly women aged 30-40 ... but it still counts.

FYI, the Backstreet Boys were celebrating their 20th anniversary (yes, you're old) at the Fonda Theatre in Hollywood Saturday ... and fans were invited to attend for free ... which explains the shockingly huge line.

Fans were also invited to take photos with the band, but that privilege cost $150.

Impressive, but it's still nothing like the old days ...

The Backstreet Boys are still a bunch of jackasses ... just ask Nick Carter, who went Johnny Knoxville all over AJ McLean's balls today ... WITH A BASEBALL BAT ... and it was all caught on tape.

The stunt took place during a photo shoot with celeb photographer Tyler Shields. We really have no other explanation for why this happened.

Now ... here are a couple of our favorite BSB songs ... Quit Playin' Games (With My Testicles), Ball I Have to Give, and Everybody (Backstreet's Sack).

Ryan Gosling could've ... and SHOULD'VE ... been a member of the Backstreet Boys -- this according to actual Backstreet Boy A.J. McLean.

FYI -- McLean and Gosling go WAYYYY BACK ... they were friends when they lived in the same apartment building when Backstreet was first getting together ... right around the time Gosling joined the "Mickey Mouse Club."

Gosling recently gave an interview saying he used to tell A.J. he didn't think the band had a shot in hell of making it big, 'cause it seemed like a New Kids ripoff ... obviously, Gosling was wrong.

When BB blew up, Gosling says he tried to reach out to A.J. (probably to kiss his ass and beg for a job) ... but McLean never returned his calls.

But this weekend, A.J. says it MUST have been a misunderstanding -- insisting he never INTENTIONALLY blew off The Gos ... he just doesn't have Ryan's digits.

In fact, A.J. says he wants Gosling to join the group -- saying Ryan not only has a killer voice, but he's damn handsome to boot (duh).

We're guessing Gos will probably turn down the offer ... he's doing pretty well on his own.

It's official: the New Kids on the Block/Backstreet Boys can't be held responsible for brain trauma -- at least, according to a judge who dismissed the bands from a $5 million lawsuit filed by an injured stagehand ... TMZ has learned.

TMZ broke the story in July ... William Wesley Styron sued NKOTBSB for injuries he allegedly suffered when he fell through a hole in the stage prior to a 2011 concert.

Styron said he fractured his skull and suffered brain trauma from the fall ... and was looking for a cool $5 million from the bands and other parties who he held responsible.

NKOTBSB denied the allegations, claiming it wasn't their fault Styron didn't see the huge hole in front of him ... and it looks like a judge agreed ... ruling that responsibility for the fall lies with the production company who hired him -- not the bands themselves.

The judge promptly dismissed the case against NKOTBSB, finding they "owed no duty to plaintiff that was breached when he was injured."

A.J McLean has rock-solid proof that the new boy band on the block -- One Direction -- is just a Backstreet Boys knockoff ... because Backstreet Boys wastotally original and definitely not a knockoff.

It's barely November ... but the Backstreet Boys are already pretending it's Christmas time.

The entire band -- even Kevin -- threw on their obligatory ugly winter outfits for a performance of their new Christmas song at Disneyland this weekend ... sparkly sweater, checkered jacket, scarf, etc.

For the record, it was 94 DEGREES in Anaheim yesterday.

We're told the performance was pre-recorded for an upcoming Xmas special.

Backstreet Boy AJ McLean came face-to-face with the long arm of the law early this morning ... and even though he didn't say it specifically, he TOTALLY tried to play the celebrity card to get out of a ticket.

McLean was pulled over in Hollywood around 1 AM when the LAPD noticed a problem with his license plates.

Once the boybander got out of the car, the plea for mercy was on ... with McLean explaining how he just wrapped up a concert tour ... and simply didn't realize there was a problem.

During the stop, McLean brings up the tour several times ... making sure the cop knew how big of a star he is.

Unfortunately, the officer seemed to be more of a New Kids on the Block fan ... and at one point, McLean says, "We actually just got off tour with them."

So how did it end? Turns out, McLean's registration was fine -- but the cop issued AJ a citation for not having the proper proof of insurance.

You're not the only one who thought last year's Backstreet Boys/New Kids on the Block tour was painful -- a stagehand claims he was nearly killed before a concert ... after falling through a hole ... and now, he's suing the bands.

William Wesley Styron filed the lawsuit in Tennessee, claiming he was hired to set up for the boy bands' show at Fedex Forum in Memphis on June 20th, 2011.

According to the lawsuit, Styron was going about his duties when he accidentally stepped into a hole in the stage ... and plummeted 13 feet to the ground ... fracturing his skull and causing "traumatic brain injury."

Styron claims he suffered a "loss of consciousness, seizures, and convulsions" during the accident before someone called 911 -- and he was rushed to the hospital.

According to the suit, it all could have been avoided -- but there was nothing in place to warn Styron about the stage's hazardous conditions ... no signs ... no cones ... nothing.

Styron says the accident cost him tons in medical bills -- and now he wants at least $5 MILLION.

Backstreet Boy A.J. McLean and his new wife Rochelle DeAnna Karidis showed off their wedding rings -- and more importantly, their matching his & hers manicures -- at the Guns N' Roses concert in L.A. on Wednesday.

He's getting married next week ... but Backstreet Boy A.J. McLean has blood on his mind -- sending out death-themed invitations that look like they were designed by Ed Hardy and Dracula ... and we got pics.

A.J. and his GF Rochelle Karidis are set to tie the knot on December 17 -- presuming all his guests aren't completely freaked out by the invites ... which contain bloody lettering and creepy gothic imagery.

The ceremony will take place at the Beverly Hills Hotel -- and celeb photographer Tyler Shields is officiating.

Brian went on Bob 93.3 in North Carolina this morning, telling the host, "I'm proud that he would go into this situation willingly ... Last time it was a lot worse. He really went into rehab unwillingly the last time."

TMZ has learned A.J. -- who's struggled with abuse for years -- was so hammered and rowdy on a BB fan cruise last month, that several passengers lodged complaints ... with some even demanding a refund.

One cruise staffer tells us A.J. and his crew acted like "drunken fools" for the entire five-day trip.

But after the cruise, the abuse continued ... and more people in his life threatened to jump ship.

Sources close to the singer tell us A.J. became so difficult to work with during rehearsals for the upcoming BB tour that multiple people were "ready to quit."