Backstreet Boys – I Want It That Way
15th May 1999
This was the song that made me realise how great the Backstreet Boys were, and it has been one of my absolute all time favourite songs ever since. The BSBs were my favourite band for 2 years, until Savage Garden (who sadly never had a no.1) overtook then and then I had no time for bands due to my Will Young obsession which began of course at the end of 2001 (more on that later I can assure you!). However, I never liked the BSBs any less, it was only that there were other acts that I loved that little bit more, and it’s likely that they will always be my favourite “proper” pop band. I finally got to see them live last October and it was one of the best concerts I’ve been to. The atmosphere of the crowd, every one of whom was clearly quite obsessed with the band at least for that night, was amazing, as was the music – a constant stream of songs better than most bands could dream of releasing.
I love every word and note of this song. There is not a thing I would change about it, and every time I hear it is as good as the first time. This one song represents being a naive but always cheerful young teenager, despite that period of my life probably being the least fabulous, but I only realised it later and having music like this at the time was probably what stopped me from ever feeling depressed. Pop music has really truly defined and often decided the path of my life for the past decade, and I would never change that.