The first ‘English’ song a 90s kid listened to was either In the End by Linkin Park or a random Backstreet Boys number. Admit it.
After so many years, I look back at those days and have a nice laugh. How can a song with five dudes dressed in five white suits and fedoras shoot a song on an airport and still manage to become such an indispensable part of our lives? How the fuck did that happen?
I don’t have the answers to these questions but deep down inside of me, I know that they are my one desire. Not just mine though. You know it and you can still sing along to their greatest hits. And maybe that’s what makes BSB transcend generations. We will always know their entire collection of dance moves (which are far from cool *now*).
Backstreet Boys bring people together like well-cooked biryani. That’s why they are the Kings of pop-bands.
Backstreet Boys are such a cultural phenomena that they also have a star in the Hall of Fame. I really wouldn’t know the logic or physics behind this event, I mean, I remember each and every music video of them, but whatever, that’s not the point. The point for this post is to celebrate and reminisce those 90s days where pop reigned supreme and Backstreet Boys were all the rage.
The word ‘iconic’ gets tossed around too much by modern music fans, but everything about the I Want It That Way song and video felt instantly iconic: that opening couplet, the powder-white suits, the way AJ lurches his body forward during “It’s too-o-o la-ate!”
This legendary hit belongs in a space capsule. In the video AJ has a fedora, Nick is wearing a coat that’s too big for him, and the special effects are clearly indelible.
If you don’t join the chorus for a Backstreet Boys song, what’s wrong with you? Who hurt you, my friend?
With a barrage of pop-songs being uploaded on YouTube daily, one might think that one would remember the lyrics of quite a few songs. Sadly (or maybe not), that’s not the case. But play a Backstreet Boys in a house party, and see the whole gathering come to life. BSB brings 90s kids together like no one else does.
It’s the boy band song that people who hate boy bands still admit is pretty great. It’s my fire; my one desire. Is it not yours? If not, tell me why. Actually, don’t because I never want to hear you say anything against BSB.