The Backstreet Boys Confirmed 'I Want It That Way' Makes No Sense

I was 10 years old when the Backstreet Boys released "I Want It That Way," and nothing rang more true in my stupid, little-kid heart.

The words made perfect sense, the melody taught me about life, and Nick Carter was so hot, you guys. So hot.

My wasted heart will love you until the day I die, Nick.

In 1999, the year of our Lord, BSB became a supernova of a boyband when they released "Millennium," selling almost 9.5 million copies.

With their lead single, "I Want It That Way," they sang and danced their way into the hearts of many, despite the lyrics making no f*cking sense whatsoever.

Many have tried to analyze the song and the lyrics, but they seem to contradict at every other line. No one knows if it is actually a love song or a breakup song.

Well, it turns out that the songwriter behind the hit, Max Martin, couldn't even explain it to you. He's Swedish, so his English wasn't stellar when he was penning the hit.

In fact, he also wrote Britney Spears' famous "...Baby One More Time," in which he thought "hit" meant to "call."

(Honestly, glad that's cleared up. I thought Brit was into some kinky stuff.)

Recently, the Huffington Post went directly to Nick Carter, Kevin Richardson and A.J. McLean to figure out just what those lyrics mean.

Carter said,

Well it's funny, we actually were OK with the lyrics when we heard it first. And then the president of JIVE records at that time ― I mean he's a genius ― but he and some of the A&R people wanted to change the lyrics. We hired some really well known producers at the time to redo the song. So, there was another version of the song out there and then we listened to it back. Then, we as a group voted on it and said, 'No.'

The band went with the original version, instead of the one that actually would make sense, just because it sounded better. I guess you could say they... WANTED IT THAT WAAAAY.

Richardson said,

Sometimes you overthink things. I think the newer version or the second version that we did that was more of a literal context didn't... It was the rhyming scheme that didn't feel right. Yeah, it just didn't feel as good, so sometimes you just got to go with what feels right.

Well the song makes sense to me, guys. It makes perfect sense.

Citations: Backstreet Boys Finally Confirm The Most Famous Legend About Them (Huffington Post)