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. Critically, the song was met with positive reception, with many critics commending its catchiness, also calling it the pop ballad of the year. The pop ballad talks about a relationship strained by matters of emotional or physical distance. It was written by Max Martin and Andreas Carlsson, while Martin and Kristian Lundin produced it. It was released on April 12, 1999, as the lead single from their third studio album, Millennium. What once seemed like a breakup song is now just a mushy, lovey-dovey ballad.'I Want It That Way' is a song by American boy band the Backstreet Boys. They change the meaning of the song entirely.

Here are the lyrics for that version, side by side with the original ones for an easy comparison. You can listen to the alternate version of 'I Want It That Way' here. In 2016, the band spoke with HuffPost and band mate Nick Carter said the then-president of JIVE records (among others involved) wanted to change the lyrics to have the song make more sense. 'On the other hand, I like the original version. That's why they recorded the other version of the song with different words,' Smith answered a fan on an archived site he ran on the band until 2001.

According to the band's former keyboardist Tommy Smith, it's an alternate version that was recorded when many noticed the chorus for the Martin-written song didn't make sense. The band recorded a more romantic version of 'I Want It That Way.' It isn't the original version of the song. 'We don't want you to want 'it' that way - that's the way we want it… for you to not want it that way.'Ī screenshot from the music video for 'I Want It That Way.' It's an old video, so forgive the blurriness. 'Don't wanna hear you say that you want heartaches and mistakes… or to be 2 worlds apart,' the official BSB account tweeted. The Backstreet Boys gave Teigen an answer that made everything more confusing for many. 'He wants to be the one to say it? Also what is 'it''? 'He doesn't wanna hear it because he is the one that wants it that way?' Chrissy Teigen tweeted in 2018, puzzled about the lyric's meanings. Then we get to the chorus, and we're completely lost. Cool.Ī little more muddy, but perhaps the girlfriend is suggesting in this situation the guy actually wants them to be 'two worlds apart.' Or maybe the girl is saying she wants to break things off. (You can listen along to the full song here.)Īt this point, they're singing about wanting to be in a relationship with someone who sets their heart aflame.

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