Back I Want It That Way Danish I Want It That Way German I Want It That Way Spanish I Want It That Way Estonian I Want It That Way Basque من آنگونه میخواهمش Persian I Want It That Way Finnish I Want It That Way French I Want It That Way HE I Want It That Way Armenian
| "I Want It That Way" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Backstreet Boys | ||||
| from the album Millennium | ||||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | April 12, 1999[1] | |||
| Recorded | November 1998 | |||
| Studio | Cheiron (Stockholm, Sweden) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:33 | |||
| Label | Jive | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) |
| |||
| Backstreet Boys singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "I Want It That Way" on YouTube | ||||
"I Want It That Way" is a song by American boy band Backstreet Boys. It was released on April 12, 1999, as the lead single from their third studio album, Millennium. It was written by Max Martin and Andreas Carlsson, while Martin and Kristian Lundin produced it. The pop ballad tells of a romantic relationship strained by emotional or physical distance matters.
Critically, the song was met with a positive reception, with many critics commending its catchiness and calling it the pop ballad of the year. The song was nominated for three Grammy Awards, including Song and Record of the Year, and has been included in lists by Blender, MTV, Rolling Stone and VH1. In 2021, "I Want It That Way" was placed at number 240 on the revised list of Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[2]
"I Want It That Way" is the Backstreet Boys' signature song, and commercially it reached the number-one spot in more than 25 countries,[3] including Austria, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. In the United States, the song peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for eight non-consecutive weeks, while it topped the AC and Mainstream Top 40 charts.
The song has been widely covered and parodied by a range of artists, including other boy bands such as JLS and One Direction. At the same time, its music video, directed by Wayne Isham, received famous parodies, including Blink-182 in their music video for "All the Small Things," Big Time Rush in their music videos for "Like Nobody's Around" and "Worldwide," and The Wanted in their video for "Walks Like Rihanna". The original music video received four VMA nominations, winning Viewer's Choice. In 2021, "I Want It That Way" became the group's first music video to reach one billion views on YouTube.[4]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
usradiowas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. September 15, 2021.
- ^ "Backstreet Boys 'In a World Like This:' Before July 30 Release Date, Relive BSB's Discography with The 11 Best Backstreet Boys Songs [VIDEOS] : Music". Mstarz. July 25, 2013. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
- ^ Spangler, Todd (November 17, 2021). "Backstreet Boys 'I Want It That Way' Tops 1 Billion YouTube Views". Variety. Archived from the original on November 29, 2021. Retrieved November 18, 2021.