THE YEAR IS 1997!
- The Backstreet Boys had already started to make their name known overseas. However, mostly unknown in the United States. Jive Records president Barry Weiss didn’t want to release “Everybody” as a single and initially kept it off the US version of the album altogether.
- The band argued the title could refer to their return home to the States, but Weiss didn’t budge until the song – which was the first single from the international release – started gaining steam on Canadian radio and nearby US stations. He added the song to the US album after a million units had already been produced. It was released as the fourth single.
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Jive Records also refused to fund the million-dollar video on the grounds that MTV wouldn’t go for the concept. The band put up their own money and, once the six-minute clip blew up, they fought the label to reimburse them.
- By 2001, the album sold a whopping 14 million copies in the US alone, earning a 14x Multi-Platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America.
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