Jonas Brothers, Backstreet Boys: a boy band for each generation

We'll always have boy bands. Every generation finds room in its collective heart for at least one boy band. On Wednesday, two teen-pop generations hit Atlanta concert stages: the Backstreet Boys, the '90s-spawned best-selling boy band of all time, and of-the-moment teen dreams and Disney Channel favorites the Jonas Brothers. Here's a look at their boy-band convergence and divergence.

How old

BB: Alpharetta resident Brian Littrell is 33, Nick Carter is 28, Howie Dorough will be 35 on Aug. 22, and AJ McLean is 30. (Kevin Richardson left the group in 2006.)

JB: Nick Jonas is 15, Joe Jonas turned 19 on Aug. 15, and Kevin Jonas is 20.

Their big-boy inspirations

BB:

They would have loved nothing more than to reach the pop sublimity of Michael Jackson, but it's more like generic smooth R&B filtered through a Swedish pop factory and flavored with a touch of vanilla rap.

JB: Though Nick recently dropped names such as The Beatles and Elvis Costello in an interview with Billboard, rising single "Burnin' Up" sounds like a pasteurized Fall Out Boy/Maroon 5 hybrid.

The Svengali(s)

BB:

Lou Pearlman, who was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison in May, after pleading guilty to charges of conspiracy, money laundering and making false statements during a bankruptcy proceeding. Pearlman assigned Johnny Wright (see the Jonas Brothers) to manage the band.

JB: Dad Kevin Jonas Sr. gets an assist from Wright, former 'N Sync and Backstreet Boys manager who got his start when Maurice Starr hired him as tour manager for New Kids on the Block (they're back, too, with a new album coming in September and a sold-out show Oct. 29 at Gwinnett Arena).

The latest hits

BB: Nothing from the Backstreet Boys' latest album, "Unbreakable," has found its way to the Billboard Hot 100, though the first single, "Inconsolable," did hit the more specialized Pop 100 and Adult Contemporary charts.

JB: The Jonas Brothers' "Burnin' Up" is knocking at the Top 10 door, parked at No. 11 after five weeks.

How's the hair?

BB: Still looking pretty good, though they were never very hair-centric, except perhaps for the usually blond and tousled Carter.

JB: These boys' curly locks — especially those of mini-heartthrob Nick — are tween catnip.

Bonehead move

BB: Carter's solo album, "Now or Never," which seemed to cause some animosity within the group and was cited in a lawsuit filed by the group against record label Jive.

JB: Well, they haven't really made any yet, but the folks at former label Columbia have to be kicking themselves for dropping the boys after the 2006 debut album, "It's About Time."