“I Want It That Way”
The Backstreet Boys’ biggest hit doesn’t make any sense at all – it was on purpose
The Backstreet Boys in April 1999 – the month that “I Want It That Way” was released
© Sven Simon / Imago Images
In 1999, the Backstreet Boys had a mega hit with “I Want It That Way”. But even if you listen closely, the text is barely understandable. Band and record company were aware of that – but they trusted their feelings.
You know it: there are certain songs that anyone can passionately sing along to on the dance floor or at karaoke, but it’s best not to ask what they mean. That’s what teenagers do with the English-language songs of their pop idols, and it’s not uncommon for adults too. Sometimes it’s because of the foreign language skills, sometimes because of a lack of interest – and sometimes because the song just doesn’t make sense.
Just like “I Want It That Way”, the mega hit by the Backstreet Boys. Everyone knows it, most of them can copy it. But with a synopsis of the lyrics, it becomes difficult. Sure, it’s somehow about love that shouldn’t be, but at the latest the chorus gets very confusing: “I never want to hear you say / I want it that way.” What the person in the song is speaking against, and what exactly is it about, so what is this it is not really clear. The Backstreet Boys even openly admitted this themselves.
A Swede and his bad English are behind the hit
On various occasions in the past, members of the band have commented that the lyrics don’t really mean anything. “The song doesn’t make any sense,” AJ admitted during an appearance on a US television show in 2020. Ultimately, however, it was fully intentional that this should be the case.
The lyrics are by Max Martin. He is Swede and meanwhile an institution in the pop business. He has mega hits like “It’s My Life” (Bon Jovi), “I Kissed A Girl” (Katy Perry), “Shake It Off” (Taylor Swift) or “Blinding Lights” by The Weeknd, which according to Billboard Biggest hit of all-time, Martin was relatively new to the US at the time and his English was still developing, but that didn’t stop him from writing seven of the twelve songs on Backstreet Boys’ 1999 album Millennium. All singles from this record are from his pen.
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Backstreet Boys recorded an alternate version
However, at least “I Want It That Way” showed that the language of the text wasn’t really mature. The members of the boy band didn’t even notice it when they first heard it. “It’s funny, but we all thought the lyrics were okay,” Nick Carter later said. But their record boss was bothered by the confused text and let the band record a new version. It said in the refrain: “I love it when I hear you say, I want it that way” – the exact opposite of the original in terms of content.
The alternative version can still be found on Youtube listen here. But only insiders know this – in the end the record company decided on Martin’s version. The lyrics might seem rather erratic, but that was accepted because the lyrics seemed to fit the melody better. And that is still the decisive criterion for a pop song. “Sometimes you think about things too much,” Kevin Richardson told the Huffington Post in an interview with the band. “Sometimes you just have to do what feels right.” There are many songs that don’t make much sense, the singer said: “But they feel good when you sing them along.”
With their gut feeling, Max Martin, the band and the record company were spot on. “I Want It That Way” became a mega hit, the biggest in the band’s history: It reached number one in the single charts in numerous countries – including Germany – and more than seven million copies were sold. Just don’t listen too closely.
Sources: “LA Weekly” / USAToday / “Huffington Post”