Backstreet Boys Wiki
Register
Advertisement

"As Long As You Love Me" is the second single by the Backstreet Boys. It was released as the second single from their debut album Backstreet Boys in the United States and Backstreet's Back internationally. It was released in September 1997 internationally and on the 21st of October 1997 in the United States. It is one of the band's biggest hits and considered one of their signature songs.

It peaked at #1 in New Zealand and the Philippines, #2 in Australia and Austria, #3 in the United Kingdom, #4 in Switzerland and Sweden, and #5 in the Netherlands and Norway. The song was also featured on the album The Hits - Chapter One.


Background[]

In an interview with Billboard, AJ McLean noted that he was initially meant to sing the song's bridge, while Brian Littrell and Nick Carter would both sing the verses. However, he had been infected with strep throat and was subsequently replaced with Littrell, whose vocals were featured on the album and single. The song was a last-minute addition to the album, as Clive Calder, then-chairman of Zomba, heard the song and called Jive Records president Barry Weiss, who then contacted the band's manager, Johnny Wright.

Due to an error on the part of someone in the production chain, an early mix of "As Long As You Love Me" was included on Backstreet's Back and the 1997 US Backstreet Boys album. The mistake was corrected in the second pressing of the US debut album released in 1998. This allegedly annoyed writer and producer Max Martin. This early version subsequently became the version released as a single to radio and video. It has different instrumentation and mixing, as well as a slightly different structure, very similar to their previous US single, "Quit Playing Games (with My Heart)". The final version is usually listed as the "Radio" or "Video Version".

Critical reception[]

CantStopThePop described it as "a throwback to the gentle halcyon days of our youth, where the boys next door crooning sincerely about ‘feelings’ was all it took to make us go weak at the knees." They added that "it’s yet another example of Max Martin’s ability to compose a song that sounds distinctly ‘90s and yet has a timeless, nursery rhyme-like simplicity to it. Moreover, he manages to make it look like the easiest thing in the world, when it most certainly is not."

Commercial performance[]

The song is their biggest selling single in the UK and the 13th biggest selling boyband single of the 1990s in the UK, selling 430,000 copies. It was never released as a commercial single in the US but became an MTV staple and radio airplay hit. It spent 56 weeks on the US Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart, peaking at #4. Due to the Billboard Hot 100 being off-limits to non-commercial singles at the time, including “As Long As You Love Me”, it did not chart on the main chart.

The single has sold over 530,000 copies in the United Kingdom.

Lyrics[]

[Intro: All]
As long as you love me

[Verse 1: Nick with Brian]
Although loneliness has always been a friend of mine
I'm leaving my life in your hands
People say I'm crazy and that I am blind
Risking it all in a glance
And how you got me blind is still a mystery
I can't get you out of my head
Don't care what is written in your history
As long as you're here with me

[Chorus: All]
I don't care who you are
Where you're from, what you did
As long as you love me
Who you are, where you're from
Don't care what you did
As long as you love me

[Verse 2: Brian with Kevin, Nick]
Every little thing that you have said and done
Feels like it's deep within me (Oooh, ooh-ooh)
Doesn't really matter if you're on the run
It seems like we're meant to be

[Chorus: All, Brian & Nick]
I don't care who you are (Who you are)
Where you're from (Where you're from)
What you did, as long as you love me (I know)
Who you are (Who you are)
Where you're from (Where you're from)
Don't care what you did
As long as you love me

[Interlude: Nick & All]
Yeah-eh-eh!
As long as you love me

[Bridge: Brian with Howie & Nick, (Nick) & All]
I've tried to hide it so that no one knows
But I guess it shows
When you look into my eyes
What you did and where you're coming from
I don't care
As long as you love me, baby (Oooh, ooh-ooh)

[Chorus: All, Brian & Nick]
I don't care who you are (Who you are)
Where you're from (Where you're from)
What you did, as long as you love me
Who you are (Who you are)
Where you're from (Where you're from)
Don't care what you did (Yeah-eh-eh)
As long as you love me (As long as you love me)

[Outro: All, Brian & Nick]
Who you are (Who you are)
Where you're from, what you did
As long as you love me
Who you are (Who you are)
Where you're from (Where you're from)
As long as you love me
Who you are, as long as you love me
What you did, I don't care
As long as you love me

Trivia[]

  • It is one of the bands' largest hits and considered one of their signature songs.
  • At The 1997 MTV Europe Music Awards, the song won Select Video.
  • Six women were featured in the video for this song so that it didn't seem like the women were paired with a band member.
  • One of the ladies in the video is Leighanne Wallace. After meeting her during the shooting of this video on June 15, Littrell would ultimately marry Wallace in 2000.

Music Video[]

Backstreet_Boys_-_As_Long_As_You_Love_Me

Backstreet Boys - As Long As You Love Me

Advertisement