Backstreet Boys is the debut studio album released by the vocal-pop group Backstreet Boys in the United States. The release of this album coincided with the release of their second international album Backstreet's Back (1997). Their international debut album released in 1996 was also titled Backstreet Boys (1996), but it was not released in the United States. The 1997 self-titled album became one of the most successful debut albums of all time. It peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 albums chart and has been certified 14× Platinum (Diamond) by the RIAA for sales to retailers, having sold over 14 million copies to date in the United States.[6] This was also reported as the second highest seller in the past 14 years for Music Club sales back in 2003, selling 1.72 million units.[7]
The compilation album is a collection of tracks from Backstreet Boys' first and second international albums, Backstreet Boys (1996) and Backstreet's Back (1997), respectively. Since the album and Backstreet's Back were released at the same time, both albums share the same cover, only with different titles.
There were two editions of this album available. The original pressing contained 11 songs and did not include "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)". Presumably, this may have been due to the title of the song, which correlates with the title of the international album, Backstreet's Back. The title would not necessarily make sense in the context of this album being their American debut. The decision to make it a single in the US contributed to a re-release of the album in 1998, which contained 12 tracks, this time including an extended version of the song.[8] There are also several differences between the songs from the international debut album: the second verse of "Quit Playing Games" was re-recorded to feature Nick Carter, replacing Brian Littrell's verse from the original version; "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" was only featured in an extended mix, and a demo version of "As Long as You Love Me", using different instrumentation, arrangement and mixing, was included in place of the final version. The demo version was released as a single in the US and the final version was released in the 1998 pressing of the album and on The Hits – Chapter One (2001).
The original pressing of the album had a maroon spine and blue background on the back inlay. The second pressing of the album had a teal spine and a straw-colored background on the back inlay. Both versions of the album contained the same Enhanced Section, containing videos and other multimedia files.
Backstreet Boys debuted at number 29 on the US Billboard 200 the week of August 30, 1997 with 40,000 copies sold while solicitation for the album stood at 602,000 units following the group's success of their song, "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)".[9] After five months, on January 31, 1998, it reached and peaked at number four on the chart, when this happened the album had already sold two million copies in the United States.[10][11] According to Nielsen SoundScan, it was the fifty-second best selling record of 1997 in the United States with 1,300,000 copies sold and the third best selling album of 1998 with 5,700,000 copies sold.[12][13] The album was certified fourteen times platinum by the RIAA on April 5, 2001 denoting shipments of fourteen millions.[6]
As of March 2015, the album had sold 11,687,000 copies in the US according to Nielsen Music.[14] It had sold additional 1.72 million units at the BMG Music Club as of February 2003.[15]
^As of March 2015, the album has sold 11,687,000 copies in the US according to Nielsen SoundScan, which does not count albums sold through clubs like the BMG Music Club, where it sold 1.72 million units.[14][15] Combined, it has sold over 13,407,000 copies in the United States.
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