spacejam asked: "I Want You Back" or "Don't Want You Back"?
Easy peasy.
Our questions for each other are getting harder and harder to answer; this was legitimately agonizing. Out of the pure Backstreet Boys love in my heart that remains after thirteen years, I wanted to say “Don’t Want You Back” just out of principal, but then I remembered “I Want You Back” is easily my favorite *NSYNC tune.
Only for you, Reks: I listened to them both. Several times. And they’re both great. But
- “Don’t Want You Back” is a much more self-assured title.
- I still feel bad that “Don’t Want You Back” didn’t win that Choose-the-Single contest on TRL that Nick Carter sort of rigged.
- “I Want You Back” has weaker lyrics.
- “Don’t Want You Back” has nice follow-up references to “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back).”
So I chose the BSB.
(Spacejam and I have a history of fighting for solos. Do you also want to discuss 1999-era pop music with me? Ask away.)






