This Is Us (Backstreet Boys album)

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This Is Us
File:This is us.jpg
Studio album by Backstreet Boys
Released September 30, 2009
Recorded April 2008[1]–August 2009;
Henson Recording Studios, Conway Recording Studios, Westlake Recording Studios, Chalice Recording Studios, (Hollywood, CA)
Maratone Studio (Stockholm, Sweden)
The Village Recorder, Pulse Recording (Los Angeles, CA)
Blueprint Studios (Manchester, UK)
Genre Pop, dance-pop, electropop
Length 40:20
Label Jive
Producer Jim Jonsin, Brian Kennedy, Printz Board, Soulshock & Karlin, Claude Kelly, Max Martin, T-Pain, RedOne, Mr. Pyro, Michael Mani, Troy Johnson, Antwoine Collins, Jordan Omley, Emanuel Kiriakou, Ryan Tedder
Backstreet Boys chronology
Unbreakable
(2007)Unbreakable2007		 This Is Us
(2009)		 Playlist: The Very Best of Backstreet Boys
(2010)Playlist: The Very Best of Backstreet Boys2010
Singles from This Is Us
  1. "Straight Through My Heart"
    Released: August 27, 2009
  2. "Bigger"
    Released: December 14, 2009

This Is Us is the seventh studio album, sixth in the United States, from American pop group Backstreet Boys. It is their second and last album as a quartet. It was released on September 30, 2009[2] in Japan through Sony Music Japan, October 5, 2009 in the UK through RCA, and October 6 in the U.S. as the final studio album through Jive Records.

On the album, the group has reunited with previous collaborator and producer Max Martin (responsible for the previous hit "I Want It That Way") to try and create their best record since their 1999 worldwide hit album Millennium.[3] They worked with Ryan Tedder, Claude Kelly, Jim Jonsin, RedOne, Ne-Yo, Brian Kennedy, Alex James, Pitbull, Eddie Galan, Rami Yacoub, Kristian Lundin, and T-Pain amongst others for the album as well.[4][5][6]

The album debuted at number 9 on the US Billboard 200 making it their seventh top ten album following Unbreakable in 2007.[7] RedOne produced the album's lead single "Straight Through My Heart" which was released in August/September 2009 and reached number 1 in Taiwan, number 3 in Japan, number 5 in Spain, number 106 in Billboard Hot 100, 19 in Canada, 72 in the UK, and 18 on the US Hot Dance Club Songs chart. It was their final album under Jive and their last album as a quartet before original member Kevin Richardson rejoined the band in 2012.

Recording and production

In an interview with Extra TV, the group confirmed the title of their seventh album to be This Is Us.[8] In the official press release RCA/Jive Records describes the album as "a finely crafted R&B and pop album from four talented musicians who love what they do and who maintain the rare relevance in an industry that often disposes of pop acts. The 11 songs that make up album are the sounds of four skilled singers with a similar vision, who have dealt with the trials and tribulations that accompany fame at an early age and who came out as one of the most successful groups of all time. It shows remarkable growth as songwriters and continues to give us songs that has made millions smile."[4]

On May 1, 2009, the Backstreet Boys management team expressed discontent at the fact that four recorded songs had been leaked on the internet. In an interview, A. J. McLean said that the group were "P.O.ed that music had leaked especially since extra care had been taken to keep the record secret".[9] In the end, however, the group used the feedback from the leaks to help guide the direction of the album and even the song selection by comparing fan reviews to what producers thought about the songs.[9] It was later revealed in 2011, that songs recorded for This Is Us were targeted by the German hacker, Deniz A., also known as DJ Stolen. In July 2010, the Rasch law firm logged a criminal complaint against DJ Stolen for "constantly placing hacked songs on the internet". Amongst those songs listed in the complaint was one called "Masquerade", described at the time as a new recording by the Backstreet Boys.[10] However despite leaking, the song is still included on the album.

Regarding their collaboration with RedOne, McLean remarked that it had been largely a last minute affair. Due to timing, the group was not able to make any recordings with the in-demand producer; however, near to the album's turn-in date, RedOne revealed that he had worked on three songs for the group and was more than willing to collaborate. It was also revealed that there had previously been 5 or 6 songs in the running for the lead single, although a Kevin Borg production titled "PDA" was most likely to be released; however, the RedOne production felt like "it was meant to be".[9] Interestingly one Tedder song, "Shadows", which was co-written by McLean was written for this album, but failed to make it, so Simon Cowell bought the song for Leona Lewis's second album Echo but in the end felt it more suited for a boyband and it was featured on Westlife's 10th album Where We Are.[11]

Promotion and release

Tour

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Main article: This Is Us Tour

Release

The group simultaneously released the standard and deluxe editions of the album. The deluxe edition (limited first edition in Japan) featured a DVD with live performances of previous singles at The O2 Arena in London, along with the music video for the first single.

Singles

  • The first single "Straight Through My Heart", was premiered on the group's website on August 17 and released to radio the following day. It peaked at number 3 on the Japan Hot 100 and 18 on the US Hot Dance Club Songs chart. It was certified platinum in Japan.
  • The second single "Bigger" was released in the UK on December 14, 2009[12] and released in the US on February 1, 2010 in AC radios.[13]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 67/100[14]
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 4/5 stars[15]
Billboard positive[16]
Entertainment Weekly B[17]
Los Angeles Times 2/4 stars[18]
Slant Magazine 1.5/5 stars[19]
Toronto Star 2.5/4 stars[20]

This is Us received generally favorable reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 67, based on 5 reviews.[14]

AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine found the album's hooks more attention-grabbing than Unbreakable and the production more modern than pandering compared to New Kids on the Block's The Block, concluding that "the group sounds great for their age, and they sound like they're at their peak – which is no guarantee of a hit, but it sure makes for a better album than they've produced in quite a while."[15] Mikael Wood of Entertainment Weekly praised the album for bringing back the band's old teen-pop sound with new producers and delivering them with confident vocals.[17] Jason Lipshutz of Billboard admired the band's "foray into throbbing electronica" mixed in with the typical pop fare, concluding that it "may be a stepping stone in ushering [Backstreet Boys] away from their days on pop radio and firmly through the club door."[16]

August Brown of the Los Angeles Times gave credit to the band for continuing to deliver catchy tracks but ultimately called the album a "competent but very late-adopted pop-trance slurry."[18] John Terauds of the Toronto Star noted that the tracks have an '80s influence to them but said that "nothing sounds truly original." He also added that it will appeal only to diehard fans of the band.[20] Jonathan Keefe of Slant Magazine criticized the album's producers for crafting songs that range from retreads of other songs ("Straight Through My Heart", "If I Knew Then" and "Undone") to "flat-out embarrassing" ("She's a Dream" and "P.D.A."), concluding that, "No matter how strong their voices might remain and no matter how sincere they may be about keeping their career going, Backstreet Boys' collaborators have failed them here."[19]

Track listing

No. Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length
1. "Straight Through My Heart"   Nadir Khayat, Bilal Hajji, Novel Jannusi, AJ Jannusi, Kinnda Hamid RedOne 3:27
2. "Bigger"   Max Martin, Shellback, Tiffany Amber Martin, Shellback 3:15
3. "Bye Bye Love"   Soulshock and Karlin, Claude Kelly Soulshock & Karlin 4:20
4. "All of Your Life (You Need Love)"   RedOne, Charles Hinshaw, Jr. RedOne 3:55
5. "If I Knew Then"   Kenneth Karlin, Carsten Schack, Claude Kelly Soulshock & Karlin 3:16
6. "This Is Us"   Jordan Omley, Michael Mani, James Scheffer, Frank Romano, Howie Dorough Jim Jonsin, Jordan Omley, Michael Mani 3:03
7. "PDA"   Printz Board, Mario "Tex" James Printz Board 3:48
8. "Masquerade"   Busbee, Brian Kennedy, Alex James, Antwoine Collins Brian Kennedy, Collins 3:03
9. "She's a Dream"   Nick Carter, T-Pain, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, A. J. McLean, Daen Simmons T-Pain, Mr. Pyro 3:58
10. "Shattered"   Jordan "infinity" Suecof, Tiyon "TC" Mack, Chad "C-Note" Roper, Daryl Camper Emanuel Kiriakou 3:53
11. "Undone"   Troy Johnson, Ryan Tedder, Josh Hoge Johnson, Tedder 4:14

Charts and certifications

Release history

Region Format Date Label Catalog
Japan Standard edition[2] September 30, 2009 Sony Music Japan BVCP40100
Deluxe edition[41] BVCP40098
United Kingdom Standard edition,[42] October 5, 2009 RCA Records[9] 88697596182
Deluxe edition[43] 88697580882
United States Standard edition October 6, 2009 Jive Records 886975650422
Deluxe edition
Canada Standard edition[44] Sony Music Entertainment 88697565042
Deluxe edition[45] 88697580882
Taiwan Deluxe edition October 9, 2009 88697580882
Brazil Standard edition[46] October 15, 2009 886975961825

References

Notes
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  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Backstreet Boys – This Is Us". Hung Medien.
  22. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Backstreet Boys – This Is Us" (in German). Hung Medien.
  23. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Backstreet Boys – This Is Us" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  24. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Backstreet Boys – This Is Us" (in French). Hung Medien.
  25. ↑ "ABPD CD - TOP 10 Semanal". (In Portuguese). Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos. Retrieved August 9, 2010.
  26. ↑ "Backstreet Boys – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Backstreet Boys. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
  27. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – Backstreet Boys – This Is Us". Hung Medien.
  28. ↑ "Backstreet Boys: This Is Us" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  29. ↑ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH.
  30. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 41, 2009". Chart-Track. IRMA.
  31. ↑ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2009-10-12" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved September 5, 2010.
  32. ↑ "Mexicancharts.com – Backstreet Boys – This Is Us". Hung Medien.
  33. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Backstreet Boys – This Is Us" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 5, 2010.
  34. ↑ "Portuguesecharts.com – Backstreet Boys – This Is Us". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 9, 2010.
  35. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Backstreet Boys – This Is Us". Hung Medien.
  36. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Backstreet Boys – This Is Us". Hung Medien.
  37. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Backstreet Boys – This Is Us". Hung Medien.
  38. ↑ "Backstreet Boys | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart
  39. ↑ "Backstreet Boys – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Backstreet Boys. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
  40. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Select 2010年11月 on the drop-down menu
  41. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  42. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  43. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  44. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  45. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  46. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links


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