In A World Like This is the ninth studio album (eighth in the US) released by the Backstreet Boys through the group's own K-BAHN record label, under license to BMG Rights Management, and distributed by RED Music|RED Distribution. Although it serves as the follow-up to This Is Us (2009), it is the first album since Never Gone (2005) to feature Kevin Richardson, who left the group in 2006 and rejoined in 2012. It was their first and only independent album since leaving their original Jive Records label in 2010. The album debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200, making the Backstreet Boys the first act since Sade to have nine US Top 10 albums and the only boy band to do so.
On May 20, 2013, the group released "Permanent Stain" as a promotional single, which was co-written by band member Nick Carter. A free song download was offered with a ticket for their In a World Like This Tour. The first single from the album, also titled "In a World Like This," premiered on WHTZ|Z100 New York on June 18, 2013, and was released on June 25, 2013.
Background and recording[]
On May 25, 2010, Backstreet Boys, still a quartet without Kevin Richardson, left their long-time label, Jive Records. The group then sought to sign with Interscope Records, but the members couldn't agree on whether to take a one-album or three-album deal. In June 2010, Nick Carter revealed that they had started working on new material for the next album, and Brian Littrell said in a separate interview that they were planning to release the album in early 2011. However, in late 2010, they teamed up with New Kids On The Block for a joint tour called NKOTBSB, planned for 2011, so they had to push back the release of the album as they had to find time to work on the album in between tour dates. In March 2011, during a press conference in Vietnam, the band stated they had complete creative control for the first time because they were no longer with Jive.
This is the Backstreet Boys' first album with Kevin Richardson back in the group since their 2005 album Never Gone.
In November 2011, after the US leg of the NKOTBSB tour ended, Carter said in an interview that they hoped to get a single out in the spring of 2012 and the album in the summer of 2012. However, Carter's sister Leslie's unexpected death at the end of January 2012 made the group once again postpone the recording until the end of February 2012 to give him time to cope with his loss. Howie Dorough stated later that month that they would not rush the album and would try to release it in 2012 or 2013 at the latest.
In April 2012, a week before the European leg of the NKOTBSB tour started, the group and original member Kevin Richardson went to London to meet with producer Martin Terefe and to write some songs. On April 29, 2012, the group announced that Richardson had rejoined them permanently, and in July 2012, all five members moved into a house together in London to work on the new album. Besides Terefe, they also wrote songs with Sacha Skarbek and Craig David, while in London and the US, they worked with Morgan Taylor Reid, Mika Guillory, GoodWill & MGI, Lucas Hilbert, Geo Slam, and Porcelain Black. On July 27, 2012, the group held a lottery for fans to win a chance to hear rough mixes of their new album at their studio in London.
On April 20, 2013, during their 20th-anniversary celebration event, the group previewed eight new songs, "Soldier," "In Your Arms," "Show 'Em (What You're Made Of)," "Trust Me," "Permanent Stain," "Hot, Hot, Hot," "Try," and "Breathe." The following day, they posted a video containing six new songs' previews on their YouTube channel. On May 15, 2013, the group performed a song from the new album, "Permanent Stain," for the first time on Good Morning America. On GMA, they also announced that the purchase of each ticket for their In a World Like This Tour would include a free download of "Permanent Stain." They released a lyric video of the song on their YouTube Channel the following day.
Writing and musical style[]
In July 2012, Richardson stated in an interview that the album would be authentic and personal and that they hoped Terefe would produce the entire record. They also wrote a lot about it, and many songs were based on their life experiences. Carter said the band didn't want to make a traditional boy band album and record songs they didn't write themselves. Richardson also revealed that he wrote a song about his son. "We want it to be a personal album about what's happening in our lives now. A.J. is getting ready to be a father. Howie, Brian, and myself are fathers already. So we’re just trying to make it a personal record."
In an interview with Clizbeats, Carter discussed reinvention and drastic changes, and he said that he didn't feel the group was at that point anymore. The album itself is a mixture of modern pop, adult contemporary, and dance music, with a hint of the singer-songwriter genre, as demonstrated on "Try," "Madeleine," and "Trust Me."
Singles[]
- "In a World Like This" was released as the album's lead single on June 25, 2013.
- "Show 'Em (What You're Made Of)" was released as the second worldwide single on November 18, 2013. The music video was filmed in October 2013 and released on November 19, 2013.
Tour[]
Main article: In a World Like This Tour
The album was supported by the In a World Like This Tour, which started in China on May 24, 2013, and finished on June 28, 2015. The tour has so far lasted over 150 shows in 11 legs worldwide.
Critical reception[]
In a World Like This received mixed to positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a Standard score|normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received a Weighted mean|average score of 60, which indicates "mixed or average reviews," based on 11 reviews.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic found it "far more interesting" sonically than the two last albums and stated, "In a World Like This is a surprisingly mature and fine record from a former boy band that seems unafraid to act its age." MUZU.TV's Pip Ellwood opined that In a World Like This finds the Backstreet Boys continuing to mature with their sound. The album's title track sees the group working again with long-time collaborator Max Martin. The track keeps the Backstreet Boys’ sensibilities, allowing their strong harmonies to come to the fore on the chorus and giving each member vocal parts. Musically, the song is an acoustic-driven mid-tempo number that is as recognizable as them but different from anything they’ve done before.
In a mixed review, Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian opined that "their last record, released in 2009, recreated the dance-pop of their golden era; this time, perhaps goaded by fear of looking foolish, they've abandoned the beats for mid-tempo adult pop."
Commercial performance[]
In a World Like This was first released in Japan on July 24, 2013. It debuted and peaked at number one with 40,000 copies in its first week. It became the best-selling Western album of that week. However, the album was a far cry from their previous release, This Is Us, which debuted at No.2 with 98,000 copies sold.
On July 30, 2013, the album was released in the United States. It debuted and peaked at number five on the US Billboard 200 on August 17, 2013, selling 48,000 copies in its first week. The album, which was the first to be independently released by the group, was their highest-charting set since 2005's Never Gone debuted and peaked at number three. The album peaked at number 3 on the Independent Albums Chart and #7 on the Digital Albums Chart.
The album was released in most other countries in August 2013 and reached number one in the Netherlands, Switzerland, Taiwan, and Japan International Chart. It entered the top 5 in the U.S., Japan, Canada, Germany, and Spain, and the top 10 in Austria and Norway. In Canada, their 9th consecutive album peaked in the Top 3. In December 2013, it was released in China, where it peaked at number three. In March 2014, it was released in France and entered the SNEP|French SNEP Albums Chart at number 144.
Track Listing[]
The official track listing was posted on the group's site on June 17, 2013.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "In A World Like This" |
|
|
3:40 |
| 2. | "Permanent Stain" |
|
Reid | 3:58 |
| 3. | "Breathe" |
|
|
3:51 |
| 4. | "Madeleine" |
|
Terefe | 4:05 |
| 5. | "Show 'Em (What You're Made Of)" |
|
Reid | 3:45 |
| 6. | "Make Believe" |
|
Muckala | 4:47 |
| 7. | "Try" |
|
|
3:23 |
| 8. | "Trust Me" |
|
Terefe | 3:47 |
| 9. | "Love Somebody" |
|
|
3:25 |
| 10. | "One Phone Call" |
|
Reid | 3:51 |
| 11. | "Feels Like Home" |
|
Muckala | 3:26 |
| 12. | "Soldier" |
|
Reid | 3:54 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Hot, Hot, Hot" |
|
Terefe | 3:26 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Light On" |
|
Muckala | 4:05 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "In Your Arms" |
|
Reid | 3:46 |
| 14. | "Take Care" |
|
|
3:26 |
| No. | Title | Notes | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "In a World Like This (Live in Japan)" | Audio | |
| 14. | "Show 'Em (What You're Made Of) (Live in Japan)" | Audio | |
| 15. | "Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely (Live in Japan)" | Audio | |
| 16. | "Love Somebody (Live in Japan)" | Audio | |
| 17. | "The One (Live in Japan)" | Audio | |
| 18. | "Breathe (Live in Japan)" | Audio |
| No. | Title | Notes | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Hot, Hot, Hot" | Audio | |
| 14. | "In a World Like This (Live in Japan)" | Audio | |
| 15. | "Show 'Em (What You're Made Of) (Live in Japan)" | Audio | |
| 16. | "Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely (Live in Japan)" | Audio | |
| 17. | "Love Somebody (Live in Japan)" | Audio | |
| 18. | "The One (Live in Japan)" | Audio | |
| 19. | "Breathe (Live in Japan)" | Audio | |
| 20. | "Permanent Stain (Live in China)" | Video | |
| 21. | "Madeleine (Live in China)" | Video |
- Notes
Credits[]
Credits adapted from the album’s liner notes. The track numbers correspond to the special editions of Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Mexico, and Target.
Backstreet Boys
Additional personnel
- Nathaniel Alford - assistant engineer (tracks 6, 11)
- David Angell - violin (track 3)
- Cory Bice - assistant engineer (track 1)
- James Bryan McCollum|James Bryan - additional production, engineer, acoustic guitar, and programming (track 7)
- Jon Castelli - mixing (tracks 2-14)
- Grooveline Horns|Fernando Castillo - trumpet (track 8)
- John Catchings - cello (track 3)
- Adam Cole - engineer (track 3), assistant engineer (track 8)
- Tom Coyne - mastering
- David Davidson - violin and string arrangements (track 3)
- Brian Frederick - assistant engineer (tracks 6, 11)
- Serban Ghenea - mixing (track 1)
- Franny Graham - engineer (track 9)
- Grooveline Horns - horns and horns engineers (track 8)
- John Hanes - mix engineer (track 1)
- Sam Holland - engineer (track 1)
- Jordan Keller - additional background vocals (track 11)
- Sam Keyte - engineer (tracks 3, 4, 7, 8), programming (tracks 3, 8)
- Adam Lester - electric and acoustic guitars (tracks 6, 11)
- Tomas Ljung - handclaps (track 1)
- Kristian Lundin - producer, keyboards, and programming (track 1)
- Jaakko Manninen - producer, instruments, and programming (track 9)
- Max Martin - producer, guitar, bass, keyboards, programming, and additional background vocals (track 1)
- Tony Maserati - mixing (tracks 2-14)
- Dan Muckala - producer, engineer, keyboards, and arranging (tracks 6, 11); additional background vocals (track 11)
- Ryan Nasci - assistant mix engineer (tracks 2-14)
- Andreas Olsson - programming (tracks 3, 8), synthesizers and additional production (track 3)
- Jordan Omley - vocal production (track 9)
- Morgan Taylor Reid - producer, engineer, instruments, and programming (tracks 2, 5, 10, 12, 13)
- Tim Roberts - assistant mix engineer (track 1)
- Glen Scott - piano (tracks 3, 4, 8, 14); programming (tracks 3, 4, 14); engineer and synthesizers (tracks 4, 14); organ (track 3); Wurlitzer (track 4); producer, drums, and bass (track 14)
- Bryan Shackle - additional background vocals (track 11)
- Baeho "Bobby" Shin - strings engineer (track 3)
- Kris Sonne - drums (tracks 3, 8), percussion (track 4), programming (track 3)
- Carlos Sosa (musician)|Carlos Sosa - saxophone (track 8)
- Martin Terefe - producer (tracks 3, 4, 7, 8, 14), bass (tracks 3, 7, 8), acoustic guitar (tracks 3, 4, 8), percussion (track 8), additional programming (track 14)
- Nikolaj Torp - Hammond Organ and Wurlitzer (track 7)
- Justin Trugman - producer, instruments, and programming (track 9)
- Grooveline Horns|Reggie Watkins - trombone (track 8)
- Clinton Welander - additional engineering (tracks 3, 14)
- Kristin Wilkinson - viola (track 3)
Charts[]
Certifications[]
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| RIAJ) | Gold | 109,077 |
| United States | — | 180,100 |
Release history[]
| Country | Date | Edition(s) | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | July 24, 2013 | CD, Music download|digital download | K-BAHN, RCA Records |
| United Kingdom | July 29, 2013 | K-BAHN, BMG Rights Management | |
| United States | July 30, 2013 | ||
| Australia | August 2, 2013 | Digital download | Cooking Vinyl |
| August 9, 2013 | CD | ||
| Germany | August 2, 2013 | CD, digital download | K-BAHN, BMG Rights Management |
| South Africa | Digital download | Just Music | |
| August 23, 2013 | CD | ||
| Hong Kong | August 9, 2013 | CD, digital download | Love Da Records |
| Taiwan | |||
| Singapore | |||
| Malaysia | |||
| Korea | August 12, 2013 | Digital download | Sony Music Korea |
| August 22, 2013 | CD | ||
| Mexico | August 15, 2013 | CD, digital download | Sony Music Entertainment |
| Russia | August 26, 2013 | Gala Records, Warner Music | |
| China | December 15, 2013 | CD | Guangdong Starsing Records, Sony Music China |
| France | March 14, 2014 | CD, digital download |
Trivia[]
- This is the fourth Backstreet Boys album named after an included song. (After Backstreet's Back, Never Gone and This Is Us)
Video[]
Backstreet Boys In A World Like This (Full Album)