{"id":7189,"date":"2026-01-19T11:16:42","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T11:16:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/?p=7189"},"modified":"2026-01-19T11:16:42","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T11:16:42","slug":"aj-mclean-thought-he-was-there-to-talk-about-music-he-wasnt-prepared-for-this-mid-conversation-on-the-jennifer-hudson-show-just-as-he-was-opening-up-about-his-latest-work-the-moment-shif","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/?p=7189","title":{"rendered":"AJ McLean thought he was there to talk about music. He wasn\u2019t prepared for this.  Mid-conversation on The Jennifer Hudson Show, just as he was opening up about his latest work, the moment shifted without warning. The lights stayed the same. The set didn\u2019t change. But everything else did.  His daughters walked out.  For a split second, AJ froze. No words. No movement. Just a dad caught completely off guard as the people who matter most stepped into view. You could see it happen in real time \u2014 the artist disappearing, the father taking over.  There was no big speech. No dramatic buildup. Just silence, pride, and a rush of emotion he didn\u2019t try to hide.  In that quiet pause, the room softened. The audience felt it. So did Jennifer. Because sometimes the most powerful moments aren\u2019t planned or performed \u2014 they simply arrive.  And when they do, they remind you of who you are when the spotlight fades.  \ud83d\udc99.. WATCH VIDEO BELOW \ud83d\udc47\ud83d\udc47"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"featured-image page-header-image-single grid-container grid-parent\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-post-image\" src=\"https:\/\/litaupdate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/thumb-2026-01-17T225910.497.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/litaupdate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/thumb-2026-01-17T225910.497.jpg 650w, https:\/\/litaupdate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/thumb-2026-01-17T225910.497-300x162.jpg 300w\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"351\" \/><\/div>\n<header class=\"entry-header\">\n<h1 class=\"entry-title\">AJ McLean thought he was there to talk about music. He wasn\u2019t prepared for this. Mid-conversation on The Jennifer Hudson Show, just as he was opening up about his latest work, the moment shifted without warning. The lights stayed the same. The set didn\u2019t change. But everything else did. His daughters walked out.<\/h1>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p data-wp-block-name=\"core\/paragraph\" data-wp-block=\"{&quot;dropCap&quot;:false}\"><strong>AJ McLean<\/strong>\u2018s daughters stepped into the spotlight in support of their dad\u2019s newest venture.<\/p>\n<div class=\"mzGZA2fT\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/AiYIQrKdbgk\/maxresdefault.jpg\" alt=\"AJ McLean Thought He Was Just Promoting His Album\u2026 Then THIS Happened\" \/><\/div>\n<p data-wp-block-name=\"core\/paragraph\" data-wp-block=\"{&quot;dropCap&quot;:false}\">In an episode of\u00a0<em>The Jennifer Hudson Show<\/em>\u00a0that aired Wednesday, the\u00a0Backstreet Boys\u00a0icon was paid a surprise visit from his daughters Elliot, 12, and Lyric, 8, while he was chatting about his recently released solo album, \u2018my name is Alexander James.\u2019<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-4\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"zd63U65a\"><\/div>\n<p data-wp-block-name=\"core\/paragraph\" data-wp-block=\"{&quot;dropCap&quot;:false}\">\u201cNot fair! Oh my God,\u201d he said when the girls walked out on the set. \u201cYou\u2019re supposed to be in school right now!\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"CcWR7wMb\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AJ-McLean-2022-billboard-1548.jpg\" alt=\"AJ McLean Reveals Body Transformation Amid His Sobriety Journey: Pics\" \/><\/div>\n<p>McLean, 48, visibly became emotional and said, \u201cI was not ready for this today, this was not on my bingo card at all.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio video-embeds_videoEmbed__cfFLm fade-in-top visible\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"419065417\" class=\"rh-null\" title=\"AJ McLean Thought He Was Just Promoting His Album\u2026 Then THIS Happened\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/AiYIQrKdbgk?feature=oembed&amp;enablejsapi=1\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-rhp=\"1\" data-original-client-width=\"643\" data-original-client-height=\"362\" data-yt-skip=\"1\" data-rh-vid=\"1\" data-embed-url=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/AiYIQrKdbgk?feature=oembed&amp;enablejsapi=1\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\" data-origwidth=\"500\" data-origheight=\"281\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-8=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-wp-block-name=\"core\/paragraph\" data-wp-block=\"{&quot;dropCap&quot;:false}\">The album, which was released on his\u00a0birthday, Jan. 9, took him four years to create, he told Hudson. And the project definitely had the seal of approval from Elliot and Lyric as the two said they were \u201cvery\u201d proud of their dad.<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-5\"><\/div>\n<p data-wp-block-name=\"core\/paragraph\" data-wp-block=\"{&quot;dropCap&quot;:false}\">While the two girls have mostly stayed out of the public eye, barring various red carpet appearances at movie premieres with their dad over the years, they had a special role in the creation of the album, recording the prologue to introduce McClean with his full name, Alexander James, and not the initials he\u2019s always gone by as a boy band member.<\/p>\n<div class=\"styles_cardGrid__qJwyp custom-block card-grid grid-content-card styles_cardGridContentCard__QcfPl\">\n<div class=\"styles_cardGridContainer__c2qPm card-grid__container visible\">\n<div class=\"styles_cardGridItem__Ko5Ao\">\n<div class=\"styles_card__RdXPU card card--list-media-right content-card styles_list__sOQyj styles_mediaRight__QLJKU\" data-testid=\"article-card\">\n<div class=\"styles_cardContent__W7GvI card__content\">\n<p class=\"styles_cardDescription__BhuXZ\">\u201cWe started to really, really feel that 1999 nostalgia.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-6\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"styles_cardMetadata__fP3Hu\">\n<p class=\"styles_cardContributor__0RsIe\">Kayla Aldecoa<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/4013_haston_20250925_06375.jpg?w=1440&amp;h=810&amp;crop=1\" alt=\"Backstreet Boys' AJ McLean Reveals Solo EP Release Date, Title\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-wp-block-name=\"core\/paragraph\" data-wp-block=\"{&quot;dropCap&quot;:false}\">\u201cI asked them if they would do it, and immediately after they recorded it, they wanted me to hear it and I said, \u2018No, I don\u2019t want to hear it until the album is actually released,\u2019\u201d he recalled. \u201cSo we had a listening party in New York and that was my first time hearing it in front of fans, I bawled like a baby because I didn\u2019t know what to expect\u2026it was very genuine, I couldn\u2019t think of any better way to start the album, honestly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-wp-block-name=\"core\/paragraph\" data-wp-block=\"{&quot;dropCap&quot;:false}\">McLean shares Elliot and Lyric with ex-wife Rochelle who he was married to from 2011 to 2024.\u00a0In a November interview with Us Weekly,\u00a0the singer shared that the two are \u201cnot fully back together, but we are, hands-down, the best we\u2019ve ever been.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>AJ McLean thought he was there to talk about music. He wasn\u2019t prepared for this. Mid-conversation on The Jennifer Hudson Show, just as he was opening up&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7190,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7189","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7189"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7189\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7191,"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7189\/revisions\/7191"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7190"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}