“I Want It That Way” was co-written by two Swedish songwriters, Max Martin and Andreas Carlsson. And that is exactly what the Backstreet Boys did. Of course, by taking this less adventurous approach, they ran the risk that their sound might become stale but that’s not such a big risk when you hire arguably the best pop songwriter of the last 25 years to pen your hits. On the contrary, the Backstreet Boys songwriting strategy seemed to be “let’s just leave well enough alone.” Although that sounds rather bland, it’s also a very intelligent game plan: let the songwriters write the songs. However, just because a song is more “adventurous” doesn’t mean it’s necessarily better, or even good for that matter. In fact, it seems this was the case with ‘N Sync (as evidenced by “Pop”). Of course it’s also possible that a young and inexperienced songwriter might be more likely to take risks and get more adventurous in the songwriting process.
BACKSTREET BOYS I WANT IT THAT WAY ALTERNATE VERSION PROFESSIONAL
However, I find it plausible to assume that if one lets a bunch of inexperienced songwriters in on the songwriting process, it is foreseeable that the songs they produce will be worse than the songs a professional songwriter would produce.
Obviously, I do not know the extent to which any of these artists participated in the actual writing of the songs or what their contributions to the songwriting process were. Members Justin Timberlake and JC Chasez had their hand in the writing process on a combined total of five songs on their second album No Strings Attached, and ten songs on their follow-up, Celebrity. Their second album, Backstreet’s Back, included one solo writing credit for Littrell, while their follow-up, Millennium, featured three co-writing credits from Littrell and one co-writing credit from Richardson. This is generally how things remained for the Backstreet Boys. On their debut albums, no member of either band has a songwriting credit (although ‘N Sync did share a collective credit on “Giddy Up”). One big difference in this post-Pearlman world was each band’s involvement in the songwriting process.
But it was upon completing this litigious right of boy band passage that the creative trajectories of 'N Sync and the Backstreet Boys seem to diverge. And both would eventually file massive lawsuits against Pearlman. Both groups debuted in Europe before coming to America.
Both bands were formed in Orlando, Florida: The Cradle of Boy Band Life. They were both founded and managed by The Tyrant Lou Pearlman. The bands have plenty in common, especially regarding their origin stories. By looking at the evolutions of both bands, we can see where they diverged creatively and glean some insight as to how ‘N Sync churned out a disposable piece of music like “Pop” and the Backstreet Boys ended up with a classic like “I Want It That Way.” However, a comparison of their music will be insightful in this case. Let’s take another listen.Ĭontrary to popular belief, it is possible (albeit difficult) to discuss the Backstreet Boys without mentioning their counterparts, ‘N Sync. It was as good as the Boy Band Era would ever get. McLean, Howie Dorough, Nick Carter, Kevin Richardson, and Brian Littrell but “I Want It That Way” was, and remains, otherworldly. The Backstreet Boys were just five Earthlings: A.J. “I Want It That Way” feels like it's been here forever like it spent millions of years vibrating through the cosmos, bouncing from planet to planet, careening through orbits, and pulsing past celestial bodies until it finally rained down upon Earth in a magnificent sonic tidal wave forcing our tuners onto its frequency. It might sound lofty and ridiculous, but something about this song just makes sense (and I mean that on a cosmic level as opposed to a contextual one). You knew all of the words before the song was over. Speaking of which, think back to that first time. Fourteen years later, it sounds just as good as the first time you ever heard it. “I Want It That Way” was released on April 12, 1999. And that song is “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys. Having taken a look at the transient and disposable side of boy bands, I thought it would be appropriate to examine a song on the opposite end of that spectrum something timeless and indispensable. The last installment of Singled Out re-examined “Pop” by ‘N Sync, which, in retrospect, turned out to be nothing more than a decarbonated relic of the bygone Boy Band Era.
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