Backstreet Boys - I Want It That Way

What this video is

Released April 12, 1999, as the lead single from Millennium, 'I Want It That Way' arrived at the absolute crest of the global boy band phenomenon. Produced by Max Martin and Kristian Lundin at Cheiron Studios in Stockholm, it topped charts in more than 25 countries and ruled Mainstream Top 40 and AC formats in the US. The video — shot at LAX and saturated in white wardrobe — became an instantly iconic visual…

Why it matters

Represents the commercial and aesthetic apex of the late-90s Max Martin-architected teen pop formula: lush vocal harmonics over mid-tempo Eurodisco production, wrapped in aspirational white-wardrobe imagery shot at iconic transit infrastructure. The video's airport setting and choreographed…

The director

Wayne Isham (born December 2, 1958, Vinita, Oklahoma) is an American music video and film director who has helmed over 150 music videos since the 1980s. A UC Santa Barbara alumnus, he cited David Bowie's 'Ashes to Ashes' as his career inspiration. He is…