Early career He discovered his love for performing and began pursuing a career in acting, dancing, and singing. When he was four, McLean began focusing on his love of dance. His mother signed him up for two hours of dance lessons every day. He took
ballet for four years,
jazz,
tap,
hip hop, rhythm tap, rhythm hip-hop,
contemporary,
ballroom,
salsa,
merengue, and
gymnastics. His mother got him into modeling when he was around five years old, and he was featured in
J.C. Penney catalogs and runways. Aside from that, he took up
fencing. His grandmother, who was like a second mother to him, taught him
piano and took him to auditions while he was growing up. At age six, McLean was part of a school play,
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, in which he played Dopey, at Unity of
Delray Beach church and school. He also appeared in more traditional musicals such as
The Nutcracker,
The King and I, and
Fiddler on the Roof before the age of 11. By age 12, he had performed in 27 classic school plays. In addition to singing and acting, he was a serious dance student learning everything from jazz to ballet to hip hop. In 1989, at age 11, he saw an ad in the newspaper for a Latin festival. Since his grandfather had Latin roots, he decided to audition. He won first place and a $1,000 prize. The festival's producer hired him to perform a 45-minute one-person show and did a puppet show, showcasing his singing, acting, and dancing. At the Latin festival, he met a young 16-year-old
Howie Dorough through a mutual vocal coach. and "wacky." The character has similarities to McLean; for instance, both had single mothers and lived with their grandparents from a young age. There are also differences – Johnny has been to prison, whereas McLean has not. McLean has occasionally performed as Johnny No Name in rock/metal clubs around New York. He established the JNN Foundation to fund diabetes research and other causes, such as keeping music programs in schools. McLean also performed a nine-city tour to support
VH1 Save the Music as Johnny No Name. A source said he would release a solo album under the name Johnny No Name, but it never happened. McLean's alter ego was originally named Johnny Suede. This shared a name with a character played by
Brad Pitt in a
film of the same name, and when the film's movie studio
Miramax threatened to sue McLean, he changed the name to Johnny No Name.
Have It All (2010) It was not until March 2008 that McLean finally performed his first two solo shows at the
Anaheim House of Blues and
The Roxy in
Los Angeles. The show consisted of his solo material and a solo version of the Backstreet Boys hit, "
Incomplete." The solo tour continued through Europe in May and June, parallel to the Backstreet Boys tour. His solo album
Have It All was released on January 20, 2010. On the Backstreet Boys cruise in December 2010, it was said that the US version would be released on February 8, 2011, but it has not been released since then. While creating his solo project, McLean worked with the
OneRepublic vocalist
Ryan Tedder, producers
Dan Muckala and
Kristian Lundin, as well as former
NSYNC member
JC Chasez. The album was a mix of
pop,
rock, and some
r&b. The first and only single from the album, "Teenage Wildlife," was co-written by Chasez. The album featured his co-written ten songs, including a personal song about his father, "Sincerely Yours." In 2011, McLean said he would release the album in the US in 2012, featuring songs from his first solo album, but he eventually scrapped the idea. In June 2012, McLean was working on a second solo original album. On July 23, 2012, he posted two new songs on
Socialcam: "Peach" and "P.L.A.R.S." The album was announced for release in 2012, but it was pushed back. Around early 2015, McLean said he was working on a new solo album with Jordan Omley of The Jam, who worked on several Backstreet Boys songs on the albums
This Is Us and
In A World Like This. The first single, "Live Together," was named for a charitable foundation started by McLean and Omley; a music video was filmed to help raise money for
Marshall Fundamental Secondary School in
Pasadena, California, which had had its musical instruments stolen. McLean, along with singers
Becky G, Omley, and
Blake Lewis, visited the school, and some even performed there. "Live Together" premiered on
People.com on May 12, 2015, and the video was released on October 5, 2015. Meanwhile, the album experienced delays, partly due to McLean recording new tracks and the Backstreet Boys' preparation and promotion for their 2017
Las Vegas residency
Backstreet Boys: Larger Than Life.
Collaborations (2013) On May 22, 2013, a Finnish rapper
Redrama released a single, "Clouds," featuring McLean. It peaked at No. 4 on the
singles chart in
Finland.
Naked (2016) A second solo album titled
Naked was scheduled for release in September 2016, but it was delayed. "Live Together" was released as the lead single on September 4, 2015, on
iTunes.
Sex and Bodies (2018–present) On April 15, 2018, at the
53rd annual
Academy of Country Music Awards, during an interview with
Billboard, McLean discussed his plans to "disrupt
country music" for his next solo project. He also said that the Backstreet Boys' collaboration on
Florida Georgia Line's "
God, Your Mama, and Me" inspired him to make a country album. On June 4, 2018, McLean released the single "Back Porch Bottle Service" from an upcoming album. McLean continued his foray into
country-pop releasing the ballad "Boy and a Man" in March 2019 as a single from an upcoming album
Long Road. The video was directed by
René Elizondo Jr., best known for his work with
Janet Jackson. During the
COVID-19 pandemic, McLean released "Love Song Love" on April 27, 2021, which showcased his support for the
LGBT community and then put out a new single "Smoke" on July 15, 2022, that he recorded with his group ATCK. McLean also announced he was set to release his second solo album, his first in 12 years since,
Have It All called
Sex and Bodies. On February 14, 2024, (
Valentine's Day), McLean released a new song called Electric under his full name, Alexander James. In March 2024, McLean announced that he and
NSYNC member
Joey Fatone were coheadlining a tour together.
Non-music works On July 22, 2015, McLean launched Skulleeroz Vapor, a line of liquids for use with
electronic cigarettes. In 2020, McLean announced his
nail polish line Ava Dean Beauty, which launched on November 30, 2020. He was inspired by his daughters. == Television and film appearances ==