Showbiz 101

The Backstreet Boys (without Kevin Richardson) will release their ninth album, which entitled "This Is Us," this October 6, 2009, and will have a series of world tour.

The Jive Records, 11-track album features new material that Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell and AJ McLean collaborated on alongside with songwriters and producers like Max Martin, T-Pain, RedOne, Soulshock & Karlin, Jim Jonsin and Claude Kelly.

"We always try to set the bar as high as possible," Dorough told Billboard.com. "We've always been a pop/R&B group. We focus our songs around good melodies and group harmonies, and hopefully that will have a lot of staying power."

"We're really excited to release this new album and know that our fans are excited too," Carter said in a press release. "We worked with a group of amazing artists and producers that we've never worked with before, exploring new sounds and territory and know the final product turned out incredible."

The Backstreet Boys will be launches their world tour on September 27 in Singapore, then goes to Europe from October 30-December 6. North American dates for 2010 are expected to be announced soon.