Backstreet Boy Nick Carter [ tickets ] sets out next month to moonlight in venues much smaller than those he's used to hitting with his Backstreet cohorts.

Carter's outing gets underway in mid February, and supports his 2002 solo debut, "Now or Never." The singer has a co-writing credit on a handful of the album's 11 tracks, while songwriter Max Martin--best known for his work with the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears and Celine Dion--penned much of the material.

Carter and Martin "got into deep discussions about life and what Nick was going through at the time," which resulted in material that was "closely related to Nick's emotions, so they were a perfect fit for the record," according to Carter's record-company biography.

Carter talked in his bio sheet about the creative freedom that he experienced while making his first solo album.

"It's a release of energy--all sorts of energy that I've held inside for God knows how long." Carter said. "Now I get the freedom to do everything that I, myself, want to do."

The roster of producers with a hand in the album includes the Matrix, Steve Mac, Matthew Gerrard and Teddy Riley.

"Now or Never" features the tracks "Help" and "Do I Have to Cry for You," the music videos for which are streaming at Carter's official website. The album debuted at No. 17 on the Billboard 200 album chart following its late-October release, but plummeted to No. 63 its second week out, and has since dropped off the chart.