BEIJING, July 30 -- Backstreet Boys announced Tuesday that they will release their ninth album, "This Is Us," Oct. 6.

    The lead single, "Straight Through My Heart," has just been released to radio and can be heard on the group's MySpace page.

    The 11-track Jive Records set follows the Backstreet Boys' platinum-certified 2005 reunion album, "Never Gone," and 2007's "Unbreakable," which sold 1.7 million copies worldwide.

    Group members Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell and AJ McLean contributed to the writing and producing of "This Is Us," joined by original Backstreet Boys hitmaker Max Martin, T-Pain, RedOne, Soulshock & Karlin, Jim Jonsin and Claude Kelly.

    Backstreet Boys has sold more than 76 million albums worldwide in the 12-plus years since the group debuted. And while the pop quartet is no longer the multiplatinum concern it was in the late '90s and early 2000s, Dorough said he and his groupmates remain confident about their place in the pop landscape.

    "I think every artist who wants to be around for a long time and have staying power has to go through that transition," he said. "Some records are going to be bigger than others. You're always going to be compared to your biggest record. All you can do as an artist is just strive to make the best record you can and ride the roller coaster as it goes up and down.

    "I think, overall, we're gonna be a group that's here for a long time. As long as people want us and our fans want us, then hopefully we can ride the wave - like I say, the roller coaster - up and down and be standing at the very end."

    The group launches a world tour Sept. 27 in Singapore, then goes to Europe from Oct. 30 to Dec. 6. North American dates for 2010 are expected to be announced soon.

    (Source: Shenzhen Daily/Agencies)