"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 talks about a relationship strained by matters of emotional or physical distance.
Critically, the song was met with positive reception, with many critics commending its catchiness, also 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 on the 2021 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 Adult and Top 40 Mainstream charts.
The song has been widely covered and parodied by a range of artists, including other boy bands such as JLS and One Direction, while its music video, directed by Wayne Isham, received famous parodies, including Blink 182 on their music video for "All the Small Things", Big Time Rush on their music video for "Like Nobody's Around", their music video for 'Worldwide', and the Wanted on their video for "Walks Like Rihanna". The original music video received four VMA nominations, winning Viewer's Choice.
