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The following is a reaction to BSBFangirl’s 12th-anniversary tribute article to the Backstreet Boys’ This Is Us album My repost reaction on my self-hosted blog.

12 Years of @BackstreetBoys’ “This Is Us” — BSBFangirls.com

Backstreet BoysThis Is Us First Memories

In terms of the number of favorite songs from a Kevinless album, Unbreakable was the clear winner for me. But when I gave This Is Us a closer listen, I found some commendable things about it. I was out of the fandom during its original release. I vaguely remember Straight through my Heart and its video from that time initially. So I only came to know the Kevinless albums in hindsight. I must have been listening to a low-quality version of art first on Youtube because the song I have heard sounded better than I remember. But of course, I was driving, so I was not really paying attention. So I don’t know how I missed some of my favorites listed below.

SOng Highlights.

I liked the two singles, Straight through my Heart and Bigger. The Bigger video had nothing to do with the song. It was them goofing off and having a good time. Though I will say, it could have been a promo video for Japanese Tourism. But what the heck were they doing with those girls? It was also Max Martin’s last contribution to the group. they would later break entirely with the Swedish producers that made them initially

Of the non-singles, I first discovered If I Knew Then. It was a very true-to-life ode to love’s unpredictability with shades or regret about ending a relationship too soon. Of course, some people found the metaphors corny. But who cannot relate to the first line?

The title song is an additional favorite. It is a savior but not in an overbearing codependent way. Perhaps he was a friend or previously rejected suitor. It is ironic when you have to pick up the pieces of someone else’s betrayal. The chorus is bouncy, but at the point, it was hypothetical.

…and Lowlights

The worst was PDA. As I said in my questionable lyrics piece, I thought it was laughably unrestrained. Some of it didn’t make sense, and there was one line that still made me blush. I don’t know how they ever performed it with a straight face. . This will probably be in the performance dustbin along with Boys will be Boys and If You Want it to be a good girl in the future.

I agree with Aimes’ assessment of She’s A Dream. Between autotune and the cliche hip hop language, it was not for them. I found the T-Pains demo more believable. The better T-Pain song was definitely the Japanese Bonus International Love. It reminded me of a hipper version of Frank Sinatra’s Come Fly with Me. I imagine a video for this at ab airport. Even the guys never knew how to choose main tracks. And by 2009, was there even justification for regional bonus tracks with the increasing popularity of streaming and digital music? . According to what I heard, extra songs were to justify physical album import costs.

I would’ve preferred more the unreleased I Did It For You in PDA’s place. It sounded really like Nick and AJ’s story, which is probably why they led it. The Backstreet reference was kind of corny but seemed like a veiled reference to Nick and AJ. This had a similar theme to the title song, making it a great compliment.

No apologies in the end

This album marked a slight return to their original R&B-inspired roots, hence the title. So you will, but it was a bridge album between the new and old phases of Backstreet Boys. It was their way of sticking it to the critics, according to Brian in an MTV article. Nick’s networking magic brought some new producers to evolve their sound, as mentioned before. Ironically despite those efforts, the critics began to try to explain away their continued success. It was a shame that Brian even had to justify it the way he did. Fan, of course, knew that this was their actual sound. Honestly, that sound attracted me to them in the beginning.

The adult comptmearary and rock sounds were good. But it seems like producers were trying to protect them from this type of criticism, mostly appropriation accusations if you ask me. At that time, a group of white guys singing R&B was not cool An R&B version of what would become Never Gone was ultimately scrapped by producer fiat.

Rose of the Dark Side Blog remembered the era fondly with the same thought as me. The movie-themed set for the tour was designed to complement the album photography. They have their own little film-inspired bits that fit them. I think they had finally settled into their groove as a quartet, and possibly Kevin might not return. I also brought some of my favorite photos too as shown below. Given the significance for the guys and my feeling about this album, it might be time to re-listen to whole things. And like some song I have previously written off, I might come to like it more.

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