The popular boy band of the 90s, the Backstreet Boys, had a lot of hits. But, perhaps, one of the most famous compositions is “I want it that way”. This song was released in 1999, and immediately took off to the first places of the most important charts around the world. And even now, music lovers and just lovers of good music can easily sing this tune. And how many cover versions and parodies were made! Just don’t count! Why did this track become so famous? What is it about it that for so many years it has remained on the list of favorite songs of so many people.
History of I Want It That Way – Backstreet Boys
The song “I want it that way” was written by two songwriters from Sweden, Andreas Karlsson and Max Martin. These professionals have been producing hit after hit for many years and have worked with such stars of the global pop scene as Britney Spears and NSYNC.
At first, this composition was intended for completely different performers. But when they heard it, the guys from the Backstreet Boys immediately realized that this is a real masterpiece, and they cannot afford to give it to anyone else.
As the author of the text Andreas Karlsson later said, he was inspired to write the words by a conversation with his girlfriend. Once he said to her those very cherished three words that every girl wants to hear. But it seemed to her that he said them somehow wrong. And Andreas expressed his attitude to this situation in the song, showing that sometimes it’s not enough to just say “I love you”, but you need to give this phrase even more significance, adding, for example, “You are my fire, my only desire.”
I Want It That Way Lyrics Backstreet Boys
The song “I want it that way”, like many others, tells of the difficulties in the relationship between a man and a woman. And as it turns out once again, love is not such a simple thing. And even if the feeling for a person is very strong, then this may not be enough to create a single whole with your soul mate. There are always unforeseen barriers that get in the way of lovers. So the hero of the song cannot understand why his love distances itself from him. Why instead of joy, he feels deep disappointment. He wonders what he must do to finally make everything fall into place.
But despite all the pain from the current situation, the hero of the song does not lose hope. He knows that his love is so strong that he will definitely find an opportunity to show it to his chosen one. He asks her to reciprocate his words. And in the end, he will also hear from her “I love you”, said with the same emotional anguish and conviction in these feelings.
It is also interesting that many understand the meaning of this seemingly completely understandable song in a completely different way. So, some music lovers are sure that this song is sung on behalf of one guy to another young man. For some reason, it is in the phrase “Am I you fire? Your one desire ”(“ Am I your fire? Do you desire me? ”) They saw a clear homosexual subtext.
Other critics, with complete steadfastness, prove that the words of this hit are completely meaningless. It’s just a set of clichés, one way or another related to love dialogues that can be found in any melodrama. But still, there are more of those who see in the text only the suffering of a young man, because he cannot express his feelings in any way, and his hope that sooner or later his girlfriend will hear him.
No matter how many opinions there are, the only thing that absolutely everyone will agree with is that “I want it that way” by the Backstreet Boys is really one of the brightest and most famous songs of its time. The pop scene of the 90s of the twentieth century gave us many hits, but not all of them are so clearly engraved in our memory. It was sung and paraded by many. And it continues to sound on the air until now, albeit in the status of a retro song. One thing is for sure, the authors and performers of this one managed to create a truly hit for all time. And all because the theme of love is understandable and close to almost everyone. And everyone tried this melody on their own feelings. Yes, and Andreas Karlsson himself was initially confident in the success of this musical track.
