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Larger than Life (song)

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This article is about the Backstreet Boys song. For other songs with the same title, see Larger than Life.

"Larger than Life" is a song by American boy band Backstreet Boys from their third studio album, Millennium (1999). It was released on September 7, 1999, as the second single from the album. It was written by band member Brian Littrell with Max Martin and Kristian Lundin, who also produced the song along with Rami Yacoub. The song is a "thank you" for their fans' encouragement and devotion. Music critics praised its memorable melody, singalong lyrics, and the band's vocal performance. It was also on Blender's list of the 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born.[3]

"Larger than Life"
Single by Backstreet Boys
from the album Millennium
B-side"If You Knew What I Knew"
ReleasedSeptember 7, 1999 (1999-09-07)
RecordedNovember 1998
StudioCheiron (Stockholm, Sweden)[1][2]
Genre
Length3:52
LabelJive
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Kristian Lundin
  • Max Martin
  • Rami
Backstreet Boys singles chronology
"I Want It That Way"
(1999) 		"Larger than Life"
(1999) 		"Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely"
(1999)
Music video
"Larger than Life" on YouTube

Commercially, the song became a top-10 hit in over 14 countries. The song became the band's eighth consecutive top-five single in the United Kingdom, peaking at number five in October 1999. The music video, directed by Joseph Kahn, the 18th-most-expensive music video as of 2024, with estimated production costs of over $2,100,000 (equivalent to $3,840,911 in 2023). It also broke the record for longest-running number one on MTV's Total Request Live.

Background

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"Larger than Life" was written and composed sometime in 1998 by group member Brian Littrell. When the group traveled to Sweden in early November 1998 to record at Cheiron Studios, alterations and additions were later made to the lyrics by the producers Max Martin and Kristian Lundin. "Larger than Life" was initially registered and copyrighted in December 1998 as an unfinished demo, not being released on Millennium preview snippets.[4]

Before February 1999, to traditionally follow up the template of releasing upbeat numbers as lead singles (i.e., "We've Got It Goin' On," "Everybody"), "Larger than Life" was intended as the first single from the upcoming album. However, the decision changed upon hearing the completed version of "I Want It That Way" in a meeting with Max Martin and Andreas Carlsson in February 1999.[4] Thus, plans were canceled, and "Larger than Life" was later released as the second single.[5]

Composition and lyrics

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"Larger than Life" was written by band member Brian Littrell, with additional lyrics by Max Martin and Kristian Lundin. Lundin also produced the song,[6] while Martin and Rami Yacoub produced its "Video Mix" version.[7] The song opens with a boisterous talkbox and AJ McLean’s maniacal "yeah," setting an exhilarated tone. Brian Littrell and Nick Carter start singing, "I may run and hide/When you're screamin’ my name alright/But let me tell ya now there are prices to fame alright."[8] In the chorus, they sing about how having legions of fans have changed their lives, "All you people, can't ya see, can't ya see/How your love's affecting our reality/Every time we're down/You can make it right/And that makes you larger than life."[8]

Critical reception

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Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic, during his review for Millennium, picked the song as a highlight from the album,[9] while in its review for The Hits: Chapter One, he wrote that "it may be more tied to its era, but "Larger than Life" is infectious pop nonetheless."[10] Jim Farber of Entertainment Weekly wrote that the song casts "fans as the superhuman force in the exchange between listener and star."[11]

Emily Exton of VH1 listed the song at number 16 on The 20 Best Backstreet Boys Songs list, writing: "Such an introspective look at 'the prices of fame' surely deserves a second chapter dedicated to the social media era. Now that we’re older, can Nick please reveal the 'other' way he wishes he could thank us?."[12] Danielle Sweeney of The Celebrity Cafe listed the song at number 5 on the Top 10 Backstreet Boys Songs list, writing that, "This song was BSB’s dedication to all their loyal (and admittedly crazy) fans. Also, it contained the lyric, 'Looking at the crowd and I see your body sway, c'mon / Wishin' I could thank you in a different way, c’mon' which gave fans everywhere the tiniest glimmer of hope."[13]

Commercial performance

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"Larger than Life" was successful in most countries charted. In Australia, the song debuted at number 3, becoming their highest debut on the ARIA Charts, until "Incomplete", which debuted at number one in 2005.[14] In its second week, the song fell to number 7 until it reached number 3, its peak position, again, in its third week.[14] It was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association, for selling over 70,000 copies.[15] In Finland, "Larger than Life" was Backstreet Boys' highest-charting single, debuting and peaking at number 2. The song became the band's eighth consecutive top-five single in the United Kingdom, peaking at number 5 on October 30, 1999.[16]

In New Zealand, the song peaked at number 11,[17] while in Austria, the song peaked at number 15.[18] In France, the song reached number 58.[19] In the United States, the song peaked at number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[20] However, the song peaked at number 6 on the Top 40 Mainstream chart.[20] It also reached number 5 in Canada.[20]

Music video

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Background

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The music video for "Larger than Life" was a big-budget production directed by Joseph Kahn,[21] who also directed "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" video in June 1997. The video was shot on a soundstage at Universal Studios on August 12–14, 1999, in Orlando, Florida. The video takes place in a futuristic space setting and includes elaborate special effects and animation, as well as a breakdown with a dance number. It was inspired by the movies Blade Runner and the Star Wars saga.

Synopsis

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The video opens with a long pass of a spaceship over the top of the camera as several of the band's past singles cycle through as if on a radio dial. At the same time, a clock turns to the year 3000. A robot, whose face is portrayed by Antonio Fargas, who played the driver in the "Everybody" video, awakens the band members from their sleep in pods on the ship. Each of the band members is subsequently featured in their separate vignettes (Nick is with the robots, Kevin is the space fighter, Howie is with the dancers, Brian is fighting with a virus, and AJ is retrieving boxes of information) while being shown together on a large stage doing a dance routine with backing dancers. A breakdown was added to the remix version of the song before the final choruses for the extended dance sequence that continues to the end of the song. The vignettes are intercut with the dance sequence following the breakdown.

Reception

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John Hamilton of Idolator listed the video at number 3 on their 10 Best Music Videos from the ‘TRL’ Era, writing that, "Showing that they hadn’t lost the funk after all those slow-to-mid-tempo jams, the BSBs busted out this uplifting tribute to their fans, which served as the second single off 1999′s Millennium. Predictably, they scored another TRL chart-topper and sparked an international panty-melting situation."[22]

Track listing

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Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[67] 2× Platinum 140,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[68] Platinum 80,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[69] Gold 5,000*
Sweden (GLF)[70] Gold 15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[71] Silver 200,000‡

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

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Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States September 7, 1999
Jive [72]
Japan September 29, 1999 CD [40]
United Kingdom October 18, 1999
  • CD
  • cassette
 [73]

MAX version

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"Barairo no Hibi"
 
Single by MAX
from the album Emotional History
B-side"Wired"
Released2000
GenrePop
Length3:54
LabelAvex Trax
Songwriter(s)Yuko Ebine, Max Martin, Kristian Lundin, Brian Litrell
Producer(s)Max Matsuura
MAX singles chronology
"Magic"
(2000) 		"Barairo no Hibi"
(2000) 		"Always Love"
(2001)

"Barairo no Hibi" (バラ色の日々) is a Japanese-language cover of "Larger than Life" by Japanese girl group MAX. The song is their 18th single and fourth from their album Emotional History (2001). It features an additional writing credit from Yuko Ebine, who wrote completely new lyrics for the song. Upon release it peaked at number 11[74] breaking MAX's string of consecutive top 10 singles beginning with "Seventies" in 1996.

First press copies of the single came with a bonus track: "Barairo no Hibi (Bless Beat Mix)".

Track listing

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# Title Songwriters Time
1. "Barairo no Hibi" Yuko Ebine, Max Martin, Kristian Lundin, Brian Litrell 3:54
2. "Wired" Akira 4:49
3. "Barairo no Hibi" (Instrumental) Martin, Lundin, Litrell 3:53
4. "Wired" (Instrumental) Akira 4:47

Chart performance

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Oricon Weekly Singles Chart
Peak First week Total Chart run
11[74] 45,630[75] 74,920 5[74]

Personnel

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  • Executive producer: Johnny Taira
  • Produced by Max Matsuura
  • Co-produced by Junichi "Randy" Tsuchiya
  • Chief director: Vanity Maekawa
  • Director: Toshio Fujiwara
  • Assistant director: Kenichiro Kimura
  • Mixed and recorded by Shinichi Usui
  • Recorded by Yasushi Shiota
  • Mastered by Yuka Koizumi
  • Promotion: Takashi Kasuga, Yukio Takemura, Akira Kobayashi, Seiji Fukugawa

Art direction and design

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  • Art direction and design: Katsuhito Tadokoro
  • Photography: Sunao Ohmori
  • Stylist: Akarumi Someya
  • Hair & make-up: Maki Tawa
  • Creative coordinator: Hayato Mori

Covers, parodies, and usage in media

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The song appears in the 2019 Max Martin jukebox musical & Juliet. The song appears as the first song of Act 1.

References

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  1. ^ "Star Tribune Archives". Nl.newsbank.com. November 17, 1998. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
  2. ^ Cecilia Hahne (November 5, 1998). "Aftonbladet nöje: Fansen fångade Backstreet Boys". .aftonbladet.se. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
  3. ^ "Blender's 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born: 300-251". Archived from the original on April 10, 2009. Retrieved June 27, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. ^ a b Backstreet Boys: The Official Book. United States: Delacorte Books for Young Readers. July 5, 2000. p. 25. ISBN 0312261144.
  5. ^ "Amazon.com: Larger than Life - Single, Import: Music". Amazon.com. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
  6. ^ Millenium (liner notes). Backstreet Boys. Jive Records. 1999.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. ^ Larger Than Life (liner notes). Backstreet Boys. Jive Records. 1999.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. ^ a b "The Bland Is Out There > Music Review: Backstreet Boys "Larger Than Life"". The Bland Is Out There. December 19, 2013. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
  9. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Millennium: Backstreet Boys". AllMusic. Archived from the original on September 23, 2010. Retrieved August 27, 2011.
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  11. ^ Farber, Jim (May 21, 1999). "Millennium Review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 2, 2012. Retrieved June 28, 2012.
  12. ^ Exton, Emily (August 2, 2013). "Everybody Groove To The Music: The 20 Best Backstreet Boys Songs". VH1. Archived from the original on August 6, 2013. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
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  67. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2020 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
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  69. ^ "New Zealand single certifications – Backstreet Boys – Larger than Life". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
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  74. ^ a b c "Oricon Data: Barairo no Hibi".
  75. ^ "Oricon Weekly Singles Chart: 09/18/2000".
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