Brian Littrell Net Worth

What is Brian Littrell's Net Worth?

Brian Littrell is an American singer and songwriter who has a net worth of $45 million. Brian Littrell rose to international fame as a founding member of the Backstreet Boys, one of the most commercially successful boy bands in music history. After being recruited by his cousin Kevin Richardson in 1993, Littrell joined the group, bringing his distinctive tenor vocals to their harmony-driven sound.

As a core member of the Backstreet Boys, Littrell contributed to worldwide album sales exceeding 130 million records. The group dominated pop music throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s with hits like "I Want It That Way," "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)," and "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)." Their self-titled international debut and follow-up album "Millennium" established them as global superstars.

Outside the group, Littrell pursued a solo career in Christian music, releasing his album "Welcome Home" in 2006, which earned a Dove Award nomination. He has written and produced songs both for his solo work and Backstreet Boys projects.

After a brief hiatus, Littrell rejoined the reformed Backstreet Boys for their comeback, including Las Vegas residencies, and continued touring. Throughout his career, he's balanced his pop stardom with his Christian faith while maintaining his position as a key vocalist in one of pop music's most enduring groups.

Early Life

Brian Thomas Littrell was born on February 20th, 1975, in Lexington, Kentucky. His father worked for IBM, while his mother was a secretary at a dentist's office. Brian was raised in a Baptist family, and he excelled at sports during his early years. He also became heavily involved in music, joining youth choruses and choirs. At the age of 16, he was convinced by a teacher to sing at social events to earn a little extra pocket money. During his high school years, Littrell also appeared in a number of school plays. In addition, he took a job working at Long John Silver's.

As a teenager, Brian envisioned himself becoming a basketball player one day. However, he rarely saw any playing time due to his height. He then switched goals, planning to become a music minister instead. Around this time, Brian's cousin Kevin showed up at his high school, pulled him out of class, and convinced him to audition for a new vocal group. Littrell flew out to Orlando the next day and earned his high school diploma via correspondence.

Career

The group Brian auditioned for was, of course, the Backstreet Boys. Formed in Orlando in the early 1990s, the five-piece vocal group—AJ McLean, Howie Dorough, Nick Carter, Kevin Richardson, and Brian Littrell—quickly developed a following across Europe before breaking out in the United States. Their first single, "We've Got It Goin' On," charted in several countries, and they soon followed with major international hits like "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)," "As Long As You Love Me," and *"Everybody (Backstreet's Back)." By the late 1990s, they were one of the biggest pop acts in the world.

The group's 1999 album "Millennium" produced the smash single "I Want It That Way," which remains their signature song. "Millennium" sold over 30 million copies globally and earned the band multiple Grammy nominations. Their follow-up, "Black & Blue," moved another 20 million units worldwide. By the early 2000s, the Backstreet Boys had sold over 100 million records, making them the best-selling boy band in history, with two diamond-certified albums in the U.S.

Despite their chart dominance, the band discovered that their earnings were being siphoned by their manager, Lou Pearlman. Littrell played a leading role in a high-profile lawsuit against Pearlman in the late 1990s, which revealed the extent of the financial deception. The lawsuit was a landmark moment in pop music, as it exposed exploitative industry practices that had impacted not only the Backstreet Boys but many of Pearlman's other acts.

In addition to group success, Brian pursued a solo career rooted in his faith. In 2005, he released the Christian pop album "Welcome Home," which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard Christian Albums chart and sold over 100,000 copies. The album's singles, including "In Christ Alone" and "Over My Head," performed well on Christian radio, cementing Littrell as one of the few mainstream pop stars to successfully cross into contemporary Christian music.

The Backstreet Boys never disbanded, though they went through periods of reduced activity in the early 2000s as members pursued personal projects. They regrouped for new albums like "Never Gone" (2005), "This Is Us" (2009), and "In a World Like This" (2013), and celebrated their 20th anniversary with a global tour. In 2019, they returned to the top of the charts with "DNA," which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200—proof of their enduring popularity more than 25 years after their debut.

More recently, Littrell has continued performing as part of the Backstreet Boys' massive DNA World Tour (2019–2024), which played to millions of fans across the globe, and the group's high-grossing Las Vegas Sphere residency, which has proven to be one of the most lucrative live engagements of their career.

Las Vegas Sphere Residency Earnings

Brian Littrell will earn roughly $18 million from the Backstreet Boys' Sphere residency. With net profits of about $2.8 million per night divided among the five members, Littrell's personal take comes to $560,000 per performance. Spread across 35 shows in a single city, the residency allows him to achieve some of the best financial returns of his career without the physical toll of a world tour.

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Relationships

Brian dated his long-term girlfriend, Samantha Stonebraker, until 1997. After this point, he began dating Leighanne Wallace, whom he met while the pair were working together on a music video (Wallace was an extra). After dating for two years, Brian proposed in 1999, and the pair were wed in 2000. Two years later, they welcomed their first child into the world, Baylee. This son has since gone on to star in Broadway musicals and release his own music.

Health Problems

Brian Littrell was born with a congenital heart condition, and he is very vulnerable to infections. At just 6 weeks of age, doctors discovered that he had a heart murmur. At the age of five, he was hospitalized due to a bacterial infection. These early health issues led to Littrell being held back in school, and he was forced to repeat the first grade. By 1997, doctors had become increasingly concerned about his heart, which had become quite enlarged. In 1998, he underwent open-heart surgery, which proved successful. He later established a non-profit organization to assist children suffering from heart conditions.

Brian's health conditions have impacted his career on more than one occasion. After contracting swine flu in 2009, the entire "This Is Us" tour of the Backstreet Boys had to be canceled. In 2011, he suffered immensely from dysphonia and dystonia, both vocal tension issues that affected his ability to sing. To this day, he relies on a therapist to address these concerns.

Real Estate

In 2013, Brian sold a bungalow in West Hollywood, California. He purchased it for $725,000 in 2002, and he managed to offload it for $1.14 million.

In 2019, it was reported that a community in North Fulton County, Georgia, was very unhappy with Littrell because of his decision to rent a mansion in the area. Nearby residents said that they purchased property in the area for "peace and quiet," but these hopes were dashed when Brian showed up and started to essentially use the rental as an events venue. Loud, obnoxious parties apparently became commonplace, and a helicopter landing pad was even constructed to shuttle in VIPs. The helicopters added to the noise and spooked farm animals. In an official statement, the Littrells explained that they had lived in the area for over two decades and they were "committed in preserving its rich history."

In December 2023, Brian paid $3.162 million for a beachfront home in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. In July 2025, he filed a lawsuit against the local police department for not enforcing his apparent rights to the beachfrontage, which he believes should not be publicly accessible.

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