DNA (Backstreet Boys album)

DNA
Studio album by
ReleasedJanuary 23, 2019 (2019-01-23)
Recorded2017–2018
GenrePop[1][2]
Length39:18
Label
Producer
Backstreet Boys chronology
In a World Like This
(2013)
DNA
(2019)
A Very Backstreet Christmas
(2022)
Singles from DNA
  1. "Don't Go Breaking My Heart"
    Released: May 17, 2018
  2. "Chances"
    Released: November 9, 2018
  3. "No Place"
    Released: January 4, 2019

DNA is the ninth studio album by the Backstreet Boys.[3] The album was first released in Japan on January 23, 2019, and everywhere else on January 25, 2019, through a collaboration with the group's own K-Bahn record label and RCA Records. The album features tracks written by Edei, Lauv, Andy Grammer, Stuart Crichton, Ryan Tedder and Shawn Mendes.[4] This is the group's second album, after 2007's Unbreakable, without involvement from long-time producers and friends Max Martin and Kristian Lundin. It also serves as the follow-up to their eighth studio album, In a World Like This (2013). The singles preceded it "Don't Go Breaking My Heart", "Chances", "No Place", and is supported by the DNA World Tour, which is the band's most expansive in 18 years. The tour began on May 11, 2019, in Lisbon, Portugal,[5] before visiting North America in July 2019.[6] The album is their first and only on one of Sony Music's subsidiary companies after In a World Like This was released independently through BMG.[7] It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, becoming the Backstreet Boys' third number-one album there and the first since Black & Blue in 2000.

Background and promotion

A press release stated that the group "analyzed their DNA profiles to see what crucial element each member represents in the group's DNA."[6] Kevin Richardson said of the album: "We were able to bring all of our influences and styles into one coherent piece of work. These songs are a great representation of who we are as individuals and who we are as a group. It's our DNA. We're really proud of that," yet any group members wrote no song on the album.[5] DNA is also short for "Digital and Analog", which is how the boys started recording in the 1990s.

The group announced the album's name and its release date of November 9, 2018. The same day, they also released the single "Chances" and announced the DNA World Tour in support of the album, which began in May 2019.[8]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic67/100[9]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[10]
Flood Magazine6/10[11]
The Guardian[12]
God Is in the TV2/10[13]
The Independent[1]
Rolling Stone[2]

DNA mainly received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 67 based on four reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[9]

Commercial performance

DNA debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 234,000 album-equivalent units, of which 227,000 were pure album sales.[14] It is the Backstreet Boys' third number-one album and first in 19 years, the last being Black & Blue (2000). It also makes this their eighth consecutive top-ten album following In a World Like This (2013) and set the group's record of generating number-one albums for three consecutive decades (1990-2010).[14]

In Canada, the album debuted at number one with over 46,000 first-week sales. On January 3, 2020, the album was certified platinum with over 80,000 sales. This is also the 5th highest-selling album in Canada in 2019 in terms of physical copies.[15]

In Japan, the album debuted at number one on the Billboard Japan Hot Albums chart selling 26,210 physical copies and 3,644 digital downloads.[16]

Track listing

Standard edition track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Don't Go Breaking My Heart"3:36
2."Nobody Else"3:38
3."Breathe"
  • Ogren
  • Bailey
  • Burnette
Ben Bram3:06
4."New Love"
3:00
5."Passionate"3:43
6."Is It Just Me"
  • Ian Kirkpatrick
  • Crichton[b]
3:37
7."Chances"
2:53
8."No Place"Steven Solomon2:59
9."Chateau"
Crichton3:08
10."The Way It Was"Crichton3:26
11."Just Like You Like It"
  • Copperman
  • Kear[a]
3:42
12."OK"Crichton2:31
Total length:39:19
Japanese edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(sLength
13."Said I Love You"Mike Sabath2:50
14."Do You Remember"
  • Alexander Isaak
  • Mason Levy
  • Tom Meredith
2:54
15."Best Days"
  • Newman
  • Jesso
Crichton3:40
Total length:48:43

Notes

  • ^a signifies an additional producer
  • ^b signifies a vocal producer

Personnel

Backstreet Boys

Additional personnel

  • Mitch Allan – vocal production (track 5)
  • Ed Boyer – mixing (track 3)
  • Ben Bram – producer, arranger, engineer, and additional vocals (track 3)
  • Ross Copperman – producer, engineer, mixing, programming, guitars, and keyboards (track 11)
  • Serge Courtois – mixing (track 8)
  • Stuart Crichton – producer, beats, and programming (tracks 1, 9, 10, 12); engineer (tracks 1, 9, 10); piano and synthesizers (track 1); vocal producer (track 6)
  • Josh Ditty – assistant engineer (track 11)
  • Eric J. Dubowsky – mixing (tracks 9, 10, 12)
  • Serban Ghenea – mixing (tracks 1, 4, 7)
  • Josh Gudwin – mixing (tracks 2, 5, 6)
  • John Hanes – mix engineer (tracks 1, 4, 7)
  • Kuk Harrell – vocal production (tracks 4, 7)
  • Jamie Hartman – producer, engineer, piano, synthesizers, and bass (track 1)
  • Erik Hassle – electric piano (track 4)
  • Hunter Jackson – mixing assistant (tracks 2, 5, 6)
  • Steve James – producer (track 2)
  • Josh Kear – additional production (track 11)
  • Scott Kelly – assistant engineer (track 7)
  • Joe Kirkland – guitar (track 12)
  • Ian Kirkpatrick – producer, engineer, instruments, and programming (track 6)
  • Dave Kutch – mastering
  • Ari Leff – additional production (track 2)
  • Elof Loelv – producer, instrumentation, programming, and engineer (track 4)
  • Elijah Marrett-Hitch – mixing assistant (tracks 2, 5, 6)
  • Ryan Ogren – producer (track 2)
  • David Phelan – engineer (track 4)
  • Michael Pollack – additional keyboards (track 9)
  • Rich Rich – engineer (track 7)
  • Zach Skelton – producer, guitar, drums, keyboards, and programming (track 7)
  • Casey Smith – backing vocals (track 7)
  • Steven Solomon – producer, guitar, bass, and programming (track 8)
  • Garrison Starr – guitar (track 10)
  • The Stereotypes – producers (track 5)
  • Ryan Tedder – producer and additional programming (track 7)
  • Simone Torres – vocal engineer (tracks 4, 7)
  • Jake Troth – additional production (track 4)
  • Tim Watt – mixing assistant (tracks 9, 10, 12)
  • The Wiild – producer (track 5)

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for DNA
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[46] Platinum 80,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release history and formats for DNA
Country Date Format(s) Label Ref.
Japan January 23, 2019 CD Sony [47]
United States January 25, 2019 RCA [48]
United States February 1, 2019 LP [49]

References

  1. ^ a b Williams, Holly (24 January 2019). "Album reviews: Backstreet Boys – DNA, and Blood Red Shoes – Get Tragic". Independent.co.uk. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  2. ^ a b Dolan, Jon (7 February 2019). "Review: Backstreet's Back With Contemporary-Pop Magic on 'DNA'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  3. ^ "Backstreet Boys Are Back With 'DNA': Stream It Now". Billboard.
  4. ^ Kelly, Aoife (November 9, 2018). "Backstreet Boys announce 3Arena date on world tour and new album DNA". Irish Independent. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  5. ^ a b Johnson, Zach (November 9, 2018). "Backstreet Boys Announce New DNA Album and World Tour in 2019". E! Online. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  6. ^ a b Kreps, Daniel (November 9, 2018). "Backstreet Boys Announce Biggest Arena Tour in 18 Years". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  7. ^ "Backstreet Boys Release Brand New Single & Video For 'Don't Go Breaking My Heart'". RCA Records. May 17, 2018. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
  8. ^ Bajgrowicz, Brooke (November 9, 2018). "Backstreet Boys Announce Massive 70-Date World Arena Tour: See the Dates". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  9. ^ a b "DNA by Backstreet Boys Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
  10. ^ Yeung, Neil Z. "DNA - Backstreet Boys". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  11. ^ Hurst, Josh (February 5, 2019). "Backstreet Boys, "DNA"". Flood Magazine. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  12. ^ Hutchinson, Kate (25 January 2019). "Backstreet Boys: DNA Review". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  13. ^ Etheridge, Loz (February 5, 2019). "They Also Ran - Albums Roundup". God Is in the TV. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  14. ^ a b c Caulfield, Keith (February 3, 2019). "Backstreet Boys Score First No. 1 Album in Nearly 20 Years on Billboard 200 Chart With 'DNA'". Billboard. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
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