How ‘Drag Race’ made Backstreet Boy AJ McLean feel like ‘a completely different person’
AJ McLean is indeed feeling “Larger Than Life.”And the 44-year-old boy-bander has “RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race” to thank for it.“I am a completely different person, and it really all started with this show,” McLean told People ahead of competing in the Friday finale of the VH1 reality spinoff from the “RuPaul’s Drag Race” juggernaut.In addition to transforming into Poppy Love on “Celebrity Drag Race,” McLean has undergone a major makeover of his own this year. He’s lost over 30 pounds, had plastic surgery to tighten up his jawline — and, most importantly, celebrated a year of sobriety on Monday.The star credits “Celebrity Drag Race” for helping him to — in the immortal words of Mother Ru — “love myself.”“Hands down the biggest thing I took away from this amazing experience was to love the body that you’re in,” said McLean.