I Want It That Way

"I Want It That Way"
Single by Backstreet Boys
from the album Millennium
B-side	"My Heart Stays with You" "I'll Be There for You"
Released	April 12, 1999 (1999-04-12)[1]
Recorded	November 1998
Studio	Cheiron (Stockholm, Sweden)
Genre	Pop
Length	3:33
Label	Jive
Songwriter(s)	Andreas Carlsson Max Martin
Producer(s)	Kristian Lundin Max Martin
Backstreet Boys singles chronology
"All I Have to Give" (1998) "I Want It That Way" (1999) "Larger Than Life" (1999)
Music video
"I Want It That Way" on YouTube

"I Want It That Way" is a song by American vocal group 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 tells of a romantic relationship strained by emotional or physical distance matters.

Critically, the song was met with a positive reception, with many critics commending its catchiness and 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 at number 240 on the 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 AC and Mainstream Top 40 charts.

The song has been widely covered and parodied by a range of artists, including other boy bands such as JLS and One Direction. At the same time, its music video, directed by Wayne Isham, received famous parodies, including Blink-182 in their music video for "All the Small Things," Big Time Rush in their music videos for "Like Nobody's Around" and "Worldwide," and The Wanted in their video for "Walks Like Rihanna". The original music video received four VMA nominations, winning Viewer's Choice. It became the group's first music video to surpass one billion views on YouTube in 2021.^[4]