I Want It That Way

Andreas Carlsson, who co-wrote "I Want It That Way" with Max Martin, came up with the acoustic-guitar arpeggio that opens the song and returns throughout its verses. The riff was written at the very end of the recording sessions, and Carlsson said it was inspired by Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters". Martin and Kristian Lundin produced the track, which was released on April 12, 1999, as the lead single from the Backstreet Boys' third album, Millennium.

The Backstreet Boys heard the demo when they came to Stockholm in November 1998 for a two-week recording engagement, and at that stage it consisted only of the main chorus. Vocals were completed in two days before the group left Sweden for an Oprah taping. "Larger Than Life" was originally intended as the lead single, but after hearing the finished version the band chose the more mature mid-tempo track instead. Zomba Recording executives had to be convinced, warning that fans could be alienated by a song with vague lyrical meaning.

That vagueness became part of the song's story. Critics questioned what "that way" actually referred to, and band member Kevin Richardson admitted it ultimately made little sense, noting that Martin's English was limited at the time. An alternate version with opposite lyrics, co-written with Robert John "Mutt" Lange, was recorded in January 1999 and later leaked online before appearing on the 2025 reissue Millennium 2.0.