In the ‘90s, five huge boy bands dominated the Billboard Hot 100 charts: Take That, New Kids on the Block (NKOTB), Boyz II Men, NSYNC, and Backstreet Boys. While many will argue about which one was the best, there’s no doubt they all had smash hits in their chart-topping heydays.
Despite their enormous popularity, Backstreet Boys never ascended to the peak of the Billboard charts due to a technicality.
Six top-10 hits were pretty impressive for Backstreet Boys
Anyone who was a teenager in the ‘90s and early 2000s can recall a Backstreet Boys title. The act had six top 10 hits.
“Shape of My Heart” was the last of their songs to climb the charts, from their fourth album, “Black & Blue.” Although not technically a breakup song, it was definitely an “I’m sorry” song for the band. It spent 20 weeks on the charts, topping out at No. 9.
“Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely” earned Backstreet Boys a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at the 2000 version of the awards show. Yeah, it was a breakup song for sure. It reached No. 6 on the top 100 Billboard chart after spending six months above 100.
“Everybody [Backstreet’s Back]” showed everybody that their first album wasn’t a fluke. The first single on their sophomore outing made it to No. 4 after spending 22 weeks on the charts.
From “Backstreet’s Back” came the song “All I Have to Give”, which spent 21 weeks on Billboard rising to No. five. This was the band’s third top 10 single upon its release.
One song made it to number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100
“Quit Playing Games With My Heart” climbed the highest for Backstreet Boys, ascending to No. 2 while spending an impressive 43 weeks (two months short of a full year) on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The single alone sold 2 million copies in the U.S., according to Rolling Stone.
But this song wasn’t the one that played games with the No. 1 spot on the charts. That distinction goes to a song about having things that way.
“I Want It That Way” missed No. 1 due to a technicality
Despite being one of the most successful boy band singles in history, “I Want It That Way” never made it to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It’s one of several surprising artists who never had a bona fide No. 1 hit. The reason comes down to a technicality.
The single did have three successful weeks atop the Billboard Radio Songs airplay chart. It spent nine weeks (non-consecutively) at No. 6. However, inexplicably, the studio didn’t release “I Want It That Way” as a single until it soared up the charts. At the time, Billboard tracked the Hot 100 by combining radio airplay and sales of the single.
By the time the song peaked, the band missed out on a huge opportunity to claim the No. 1 spot for several weeks in a row. There is no telling if fans would have had it their way if the single was released sooner. The song garnered three Grammy nominations, so clearly, enough people in the music industry felt the song was worthy of a No. 1 slot.
The boy band can claim a No. 1 record, at least to this point. Backstreet Boys have sold the most albums of any boy band in history at 130 million albums worldwide. Until BTS dethrones them?
Other beloved bands who, surprisingly, never went to number one
Bruce Springsteen has had a vaunted, four-decade career. “Dancing in the Dark” topped at No. 2 on the Billboard Top 100.
Boy band fans can take heart that One Direction never had a chart-topping hit. Which one got the closest? Ironically, it was “Best Song Ever,” which debuted at No. 2 and stayed there but never broke through to the top.
Iconic Bob Dylan, who inspired generations of musicians following him, had two hits reach the penultimate spot on the Billboard Top 100. But he never once climbed to the top of the heap. His two most popular singles were “Like a Rolling Stone” and “Rainy Day Women #12 & #35.”
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