Backstreet Boys is the reissue of the 1996 album of the same name, released by the vocal-pop group Backstreet Boys in the United States on August 12, 1997.[1] Its initial release contains six tracks from their first studio album, Backstreet Boys (1996) and five tracks from their second studio album Backstreet's Back (1997). Released a day after Backstreet's Back, both albums share nearly the same cover but with different titles. The album served as their debut in the United States, where their previous records were not released.
| Backstreet Boys | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album (reissue) by | ||||
| Released | August 12, 1997 | |||
| Recorded | November 1994 – May 1997 | |||
| Studio | Parc Studios (Orlando, Florida) Cheiron (Stockholm) Battery Studios, The Hit Factory (New York City) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 52:10 | |||
| Label |
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| Producer |
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| Backstreet Boys chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Backstreet Boys | ||||
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The album became one of their most successful albums and received acclaim from music critics. It peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 albums chart and has been certified 14× platinum (diamond) by the RIAA for sales to retailers, having sold over 14 million copies to date in the United States.[2] The album was reported as the second highest seller in the past fourteen years for Music Club sales as of 2003, selling 1.72 million units.[3]
Background
editThe original 1997 pressing of the album contains 11 songs—six from the 1996 Backstreet Boys album and five from Backstreet's Back. This version did not include "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)", which was included on Backstreet's Back.
The album was reissued for a second time in 1998. The reissue contains the single mixes of "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)" and "As Long as You Love Me" in addition to an extended version of "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)".[4] For the single version of "Quit Playing Games", the second verse was re-recorded to feature Nick Carter, replacing Brian Littrell's verse from the original version. The single version of "As Long as You Love Me" uses different instrumentation, arrangement, and mixing.
The original pressing of the album had a maroon spine and blue background on the back inlay. The second pressing of the album had a teal spine and a straw-colored background on the back inlay. Both versions of the album contained the same Enhanced Section, containing videos and other multimedia files.
Marketing
editTo promote the album the group appeared on Live with Regis and Kathie Lee, Saturday Night Live, MTV, The Ricki Lake Show, The Rosie O'Donnell Show, Soul Train and All That. The group also appeared on Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and a remix of "Hey, Mr. DJ (Keep Playin' This Song)" was included on the show's soundtrack.
Reception
editCritical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [5] |
| Billboard | Positive[6] |
| Christgau's Consumer Guide | A−[7] |
| USA Today | [8] |
The album received generally positive reviews. Steve Jones of USA Today rated it three stars out of four, commenting that the Backstreet Boys "are confident enough in their voices not to let them get lost in waves of harmonies."[8] Allmusic rated the album four out of five stars, with Stephen Thomas Erlewine calling it "thoroughly enjoyable" and the group "as reliant on their personality as they are their talent".[5] Billboard was complimentary of the different styles presented on the album, regarding "Quit Playing Games" and the lead singles as "lethally catchy" and the cover of "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" to show "more sophisticated musical leanings".[6]
In 2005, Bill Lamb of About.com described the album as "an engaging mix of uptempo dance music and sweet ballads".[9]
Commercial performance
editBackstreet Boys debuted at number 29 on the U.S. Billboard 200 the week of August 30, 1997, with 40,000 copies sold.[10] On January 31, 1998, it peaked at number four on the chart; by this point the album had sold two million copies in the United States.[11][12] According to Nielsen SoundScan, it was the fifty-second best selling record of 1997 in the United States with 1,300,000 copies sold and the third best selling album of 1998 with 5,700,000 copies sold.[13][14] The album was certified fourteen times platinum by the RIAA on April 5, 2001, denoting shipments of fourteen million.[2]
As of March 2015, the album had sold 11,687,000 copies in the US according to Nielsen Music.[15] It had sold additional 1.72 million units at the BMG Music Club as of February 2003.[16]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "We've Got It Goin' On" |
| 3:40 | |
| 2. | "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)" (original mix) |
|
| 3:54 |
| 3. | "As Long as You Love Me" (original mix) | Martin |
| 3:33 |
| 4. | "All I Have to Give" | Full Force | Full Force | 4:35 |
| 5. | "Anywhere for You" |
| Veit Renn | 4:41 |
| 6. | "Hey, Mr. DJ (Keep Playin' This Song)" |
|
| 4:25 |
| 7. | "I'll Never Break Your Heart" |
|
| 4:48 |
| 8. | "Darlin'" |
| Allen | 5:32 |
| 9. | "Get Down (You're the One for Me)" (featuring Smooth T.) |
|
| 3:52 |
| 10. | "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" |
| 3:30 | |
| 11. | "If You Want It to Be Good Girl (Get Yourself a Bad Boy)" | Robert John "Mutt" Lange | Lange | 4:48 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "We've Got It Goin' On" | 3:40 |
| 2. | "Quit Playing Games (with My Heart)" (single version) | 3:55 |
| 3. | "As Long as You Love Me" (single version) | 3:33 |
| 4. | "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" (extended version) | 4:48 |
| 5. | "All I Have to Give" | 4:35 |
| 6. | "Anywhere for You" | 4:42 |
| 7. | "Hey, Mr. DJ (Keep Playin' This Song)" | 4:26 |
| 8. | "I'll Never Break Your Heart" | 4:48 |
| 9. | "Darlin'" | 5:31 |
| 10. | "Get Down (You're the One for Me)" (featuring Smooth T.) | 3:52 |
| 11. | "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" | 3:30 |
| 12. | "If You Want It to Be Good Girl (Get Yourself a Bad Boy)" | 4:49 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "We've Got It Goin' On" | 3:40 |
| 2. | "Quit Playing Games (with My Heart)" | 3:55 |
| 3. | "As Long as You Love Me" | 3:33 |
| 4. | "All I Have to Give" | 4:35 |
| 5. | "Anywhere for You" | 4:41 |
| 6. | "I'll Never Break Your Heart" | 4:48 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" (extended version; only on 1998 reissue) | 4:48 |
| 2. | "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" | 3:30 |
| 3. | "Hey Mr. DJ (Keep Playing This Song)" | 4:25 |
| 4. | "Darlin'" | 5:31 |
| 5. | "Get Down (You're the One for Me)" | 3:52 |
| 6. | "If You Want It to Be Good Girl (Get Yourself a Bad Boy)" | 4:49 |
Charts
edit
Weekly chartsedit
Year-end chartsedit
|
Decade-end chartsedit
All-time chartsedit
|
Certifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[22] | 14× Platinum | 13,407,000[A] |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Backstreet Boys Come to America". MTV. August 14, 1997. Archived from the original on August 29, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
- ^ a b "American album certifications – Backstreet Boys – Backstreet Boys". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
- ^ Music Club Sales up to 2003 Archived 2015-09-25 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Backstreet Boys [ENHANCED CD]: Backstreet Boys: Music". Amazon. Retrieved January 15, 2012.
- ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Backstreet Boys – Backstreet Boys". AllMusic. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
- ^ a b "Reviews & Previews, Albums, Pop". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 36. September 6, 1997. p. 100. Retrieved August 19, 2024 – via Google Books.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (2000). "Backstreet Boys: Backstreet Boys". Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-24560-2. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
- ^ a b Jones, Steve (August 11, 1997). "Backstreet Boys". USA Today. Archived from the original on November 11, 1999. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
- ^ Lamb, Bill (2005). "Backstreet Boys Discography". About.com. Archived from the original on September 17, 2005. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
- ^ Faison, Datu (August 30, 1997). "Rhythm Section". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 35. p. 22. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
- ^ Newman, Melinda (January 31, 1998). "The Beat". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 5. p. 14. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
- ^ a b "Backstreet Boys Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 10, 2017.
- ^ "Best Selling Records of 1997". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 5. January 31, 1998. p. 76. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
- ^ "Best Selling Records of 1998". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 5. January 30, 1999. p. 75. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
- ^ a b Peoples, Glenn (March 26, 2015). "Why Zayn Malik's Departure From One Direction Won't Hurt Band's Music Sales". Billboard. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
- ^ a b David, Barry (February 18, 2003). "Shania, Backstreet, Britney, Eminem And Janet Top All Time Sellers". Music Industry News Network. Archived from the original on July 3, 2003. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
- ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1997". Billboard. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
- ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1998". Billboard. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
- ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2000". Billboard. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
- ^ Geoff Mayfield (December 25, 1999). 1999 The Year in Music Totally '90s: Diary of a Decade - The listing of Top Pop Albums of the '90s & Hot 100 Singles of the '90s. Billboard. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
- ^ "Greatest of All Time Billboard 200 Albums". Billboard. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
- ^ "American album certifications – Backstreet Boys – Backstreet Boys". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved September 21, 2017.