Have It All (AJ McLean album)

Background

The album is McLean's first as a solo artist, although he once toured on his own as alter-ego Johnny No Name. McLean describes Have It All as "something fans of the Backstreet Boys will take notice of, thanks to its slightly risqué vibe". For the album, McLean worked with a number of hitmakers like Kristian Lundin and Dan Muckala. "It's kind of a cross between a little bit of rock and funk and a little bit of dance," McLean said of the album. "It's a well-rounded record. I'm really proud of it and I've been working on it for almost five years. It's going to be a great, great record." McLean released a single from the album, "Teenage Wildlife", with a video directed by Wade Robson.

Recording

The bulk of the album was recorded with songwriters and producers Kristian Lundin and Dan Muckala. Lundin had previously worked with the Backstreet Boys on some of their highest-charting songs, including "Quit Playing Games (with My Heart)", while Muckala had also previously worked with the band on all three of their albums since their reformation in 2005. McLean revealed that one of the first tracks to be written for the album was "London", although the chorus for the track was not added until many months after initial conception, after McLean was inspired following a visit to the city. Much of the material composed with Lundin was also co-written by Lundin's long-time writing partner Carl Falk, who had also worked with the Backstreet Boys. JC Chasez, formerly of rival boyband N'Sync, composed the album's lead single, "Teenage Wildlife", alongside Jimmy Harry and Simon Wilcox. Chasez revealed in the behind-the-scenes video to accompany the official music video that he had written Teenage Wildlife many years previously and had been waiting to find the right artist to perform it. When he heard that McLean was writing an album, he offered the track to McLean and he loved it on the first listen. McLean also wrote a track with producer Mark Hudson, the only track on the album not to have production or a co-writing credit from Lundin, Muckala or Chasez.