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Released: August 12, 1997

Rating: 3.400 (average of 5 ratings)

Genre: pop

Quotable: --

Album Tracks:

  1. We’ve Got It Goin On 1
  2. Quit Playing Games with My Heart 1
  3. As Long As You Love Me 2
  4. Everybody (Backstreet’s Back) 2
  5. All I Have to Give 2
  6. Anywhere for You 1
  7. Hey, Mr. DJ (Keep Playin’ This Song) 2
  8. I’ll Never Break Your Heart 1
  9. Darlin’ 1
  10. Get Down (You’re the One for Me) 1
  11. Set Adrift on Memory Bliss 2
  12. If You Want It to Be Good Girl, Get Yourself a Bad Boy 2

Notes:

This U.S.-only release is cobbled together from two overseas albums:

1 Backstreet Boys (1996)
2 Backstreet’s Back (1998)

Sales:

sales in U.S. only 14 million
sales in U.K. only - estimated --
sales in all of Europe as determined by IFPI – click here to go to their site. --
sales worldwide - estimated 30 million *

* Worldwide sales may include the 1996 self-titled international album in these totals as well.

Peak:

peak on U.S. Billboard album chart 1 10
peak on U.K. album chart 1 2

Singles/Hit Songs:

  • We’ve Got It Goin’ On (10/28/95) #69 US, #3 UK
  • I’ll Never Break Your Heart (12/19/95) #4a US, #8 UK, #1 AC
  • Get Down (You’re the One for Me) (6/1/96) #14 UK
  • Quit Playing Games with My Heart (1/18/97) #2 US, #2 UK, #2 AC. Platinum single.
  • Anywhere for You (3/29/97) #2 UK
  • Everybody’s Back (Backstreet’s Back) (8/2/97) #4 US, #3 UK. Platinum single.
  • As Long As You Love Me (10/11/97) #4a US, #3 UK, #3 AC
  • All I Have to Give (2/14/98) #5 US, #2 UK, #8 AC

Awards:

Rated one of the top 1000 albums of all time by Dave’s Music Database. Click to learn more. One of the Top 100 All-Time World’s Best-Selling Albums

Backstreet Boys (U.S. version)
Backstreet Boys
Review:
“The Backstreet Boys’ eponymous debut album was released in America nearly a full year after its original European release [and in a vastly different version – see “Notes”], and the wait proved to be a blessing in disguise. In that year, light dance-pop – such as the Spice Girls and Hanson – returned to the top of the American charts, paving the way for the frothy pleasures of Backstreet Boys. Like those groups, the Backstreet Boys divide their time between catchy, up-tempo dance numbers and syrupy ballads, and they are as reliant on their personality as they are their talent. As a result, there are a couple of slow spots on the record, but each of the singles, plus a handful of album tracks, are potent combinations of professional hooks and personal charm that make Backstreet Boys a thoroughly enjoyable affair” (Erlewine).

Review Source(s):

Related DMDB Link(s):

Previous Album: Backstreet Boys – International Version (1996) Next Album: Backstreet’s Back (1998)

Last updated December 25, 2008.