Happy Sweet Sixteen ‘Black & Blue’ - What are your favorite songs from the album?
By Karah-Leigh Hancock
http://backstreetboys.com/
Twitter: @Princess_Karah
Today, November 21, 2016, marks the 16th anniversary of the release of “Black and Blue,” the Backstreet Boys’ fourth worldwide release. The album sold more than 1.6 million copies in the first week and according to RIAA, as of today, has sold more than 8 million copies.
Pretty good for some boys from the south, right?
“Black and Blue” was a step to a more mature sound, with the usual ‘Backstreet’ playfulness with songs such as “Answer To Our Lives” and got a little harder with “Get Another Boyfriend.”
While the album only had three singles - “Shape of My Heart,” “The Call” and “More Than That,” - many of the songs are still widely popular with Backstreet Boys fans. During the 2016 Backstreet Boys cruise, fans voted for the boys to perform “Get Another Boyfriend” and the group did so acoustically.
But which songs from the album are favorites with fans?
In separate Twitter polls, narrowing it down to the final four songs, fans voted for their favorite.
The final results? “Shape of My Heart” (36%); “Get Another Boyfriend” (35%); “The Call” (19%); and “What Makes You Different (Makes You Beautiful” (10%).
But that is a Twitter poll. The real way to find out what songs from the album are favorites, we asked fans here on the Fan Club, on Twitter, Facebook and by email. This is the breakdown as to what are some fans favorite songs and why.
“THE CALL”
“My vote is for 'The Call.’ I loved the video when it came out. All the fans go crazy in concert when they hit the high 'chorus' at the peak of the song and also, when they do the marching choreography in the live concerts during the song, the crowd goes crazy for that too!” - gocanes34 from Florida
“‘The Call.’ Love the darkness surrounding the subject matter and video. Also because I got to touch Kevin’s jacket from the video.” - Andie from Canada
“SHAPE OF MY HEART”
“I have to say ‘Shape of My Heart.’ I was crazy over the song and video. I love the lyrics.” - trygirl78
“ My favorite song from ‘Black and Blue’ would have to be ‘Shape of My Heart.’ The reason why it’s my favorite is because it has helped me a lot throughout the years. I was about 3 years old when the album was released and I remember vividly watching the music video for ‘Shape of My Heart; for the very first time. Being the youngster I was, I didn't really understand the meaning of the song at the time, even getting most of the lyrics wrong. But growing up, as I got older and wiser, I finally started to understand the meaning of the song. Towards the end of middle school and the beginning of high school I was bullied a lot. I didn't understand why I was getting the disrespect that I was getting from my peers and I spent most of my nights trying to wrap my head around it. It got to the point where I even questioned if life was worth living. One night I was crying myself to sleep and ‘Shape of My Heart’ came on my shuffle. After listening to the song a couple of times and finally understanding the meaning, it brought even more tears to my eyes. The line that stood out to me the most was, ‘Sadness is beautiful, loneliness is tragical. So help me, I can't win this war.’ Ever since then, that line has stuck with me emotionally. This album and that song has impacted my life very much and not only is it tattooed on my heart, but also deserves to be tattooed on my body.” - Daneillia Russell from New Hampshire
“GET ANOTHER BOYFRIEND”
“I love 'Get Another Boyfriend.’ It's so fun to jam to. Those dance moves come to mind every time I hear it and Brian's voice just makes me melt! My next faves are 'The Call' and 'Shape of my Heart', they never get old!” - Christine from Canada
“I absolutely love 'Get Another Boyfriend' from the ‘Black and Blue’ album. This song just makes me want to dance. It's fun to sing along to and definitely pumps me up because it's an up-tempo song. I would love to see this song performed live!” - Erin from Iowa
“‘Get Another Boyfriend.’ I so like the beat of this song. It was a rhythm that the fans weren't used to hearing, but that was so good … and the dance moves.” Emma from France
“SHINING STAR”
“If you asked me years ago, my favorite what have been ‘What Makes You Different.’ I just connected to that song, thought it was so sweet, and really loved the vocals in it. Now-a-days, my favorite is ‘Shining Star.’ It's such a Backstreet song but with a little more sass. It just makes me happy”. - Jamie Frank from Ohio
“ANSWER TO OUR LIVES”
“My favorite one is ‘The Answer To Our Life’. (I) love that song, because it reminds me of myself in my bedroom singing it again and again and imagining meeting the boys. it happened 14 years later. These were really good times” - Mandy Cotton from Germany
“EVERYONE”
“I really like ‘Everyone.’ The message to the fans in that song shows us how much the boys appreciate how dedicated we are. Each time I listen to it, I still get pumped up and want to be at a concert!” - Julianna from California
“MORE THAN THAT”
"More Than That" has always been my favorite song on ‘Black and Blue.’ I can still identify with the lyrics, as I'm still looking for that special someone to love me ‘more than that. The person whose words, actions, and love for me is true.” - Jess from Arizona
“‘More Than That.’ I just really like the song. It's a lovely mix of different styles of music.” - MReightly from California
“My favourite song on ‘Black and Blue’ would have to be ‘More Than That’ simply because they just sound so dang good. When they perform it live it’s even better. I’d like for someone to say those words to me and not take them back. - Nicole Meighoo from Canada
“YES I WILL”
“My favorite song on ‘Black and Blue’ is ‘Yes I Will.’ I was in a total hopeless romantic mood during that time in my life. Even to this day, though, I think it makes a perfect wedding song! - Alyssa Sarmiento from California
“‘Yes I Will.’ From the time I was 11 it was the song I either wanted at my wedding or at my proposal and this past October, my fiancee used it to propose to me” - Rebecca Edwards from North Carolina
“ITS TRUE”
“‘It's True.’ I love that one partially because Kevin wrote it and it has a very ‘Back To Your Heart’ vibe, both lyrically and musically. I also love ‘Get Another Boyfriend’ and ‘What Makes You Different (Makes You Beautiful)’. ‘Get Another Boyfriend’ is just a bad ass song and ‘What Makes You Different’ is just classic Backstreet sound with a twist. - Kimberly Jones from Georgia
“WHAT MAKES YOU DIFFERENT”
“The whole album is great. My fave would be ‘What Makes You Different (Makes You Beautiful). I just think it’s an amazing and motivational song. It always cheers me up. I also really like “Time” and ‘Shining Star.’” - Elizabeth Heginbotham from New Zealand
“HOW DID I FALL IN LOVE WITH YOU”
“‘How Did I Fall In Love With You.’ It's always on a loop in my playlist. I love it especially (because) Howie sings (the) majority of the song.” - Rosette from New York
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Didn’t get the chance to share your favorite? Join in on the conversation below with other fans and discuss your favorite songs from this great album!
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Want to take part in posts on backstreetboys.com? Look out for my blog posts asking for input here on the fan club!