Everybody (Backstreet's Back)


"Everybody " is a song by American boy band Backstreet Boys. It was released as the first single from their second international album Backstreet's Back in June 1997, and the third single from their debut US album in March 1998. The US debut was originally released without the song, which references the band's return via their second international album. However, once it was decided that the single would be released in the US, the album was re-released with "Everybody" included. Billboard commented that the song has "a contagious dance/pop beat and catchy hook that perfectly showcases this talented group's voices."

Background

chairman Clive Calder suggested the song as a single, but Jive president Barry Weiss thought it would be weird to have a song called "Backstreet's Back" on the band's first US album. The band suggested it could just mean that they were back home. After Canadian markets began playing the song, US markets near the border began picking the song up. The band met with Weiss and asked that the song be added to the US album after the first million units had already been produced. Written and produced by Max Martin and Denniz PoP, "Everybody" is one of the Backstreet Boys' most successful singles to date, reaching number 4 in the US Billboard Hot 100, running 22 weeks, and number 3 in the UK Singles Chart. It is certified platinum in the United States with 2.1 million sales.
There are two versions of the song. The international album features the album or 7" version, which is the standard recording. The US album features the extended version of the song which includes an extended breakdown section, but cuts the bridge. The music video for the song was cut to both versions of the song, with the extended video released to the US market, and the standard video released everywhere else. In late August 2012, Backstreet Boys member Nick Carter revealed via Twitter that the group was recording the song in Spanish, and it might be featured in their eighth studio record for Latin markets.

Music video

Background

The music video was directed by Joseph Kahn and filmed in Los Angeles, California from June 16–18, 1997. Kahn was contacted by Jive Records to direct a project with a "white Jodeci". He initially didn't know who the Backstreet Boys were, but was shocked by the group's European sales figures after being given a cassette tape and publicity release about them. Kahn initially started out as a grunge and hip-hop director, but wanted to explore the pop genre, since he grew up listening to music from the 1980s.
The haunted house treatment of the video was based on a treatment he envisioned for rapper Ice Cube a few months prior, and was inspired by the music video of Michael Jackson's "Thriller". Kahn and the Backstreet Boys wanted Antonio Fargas to portray the bus driver, as they were fans of Starsky & Hutch. The video shoot lasted for 36 hours, with Nick Carter's mummy shot being filmed last. Jive did not get behind the concept of the band in costumes or the $1 million requirements, and did not believe MTV would respect the video. The band ultimately had to put up their own money to shoot the video and had to fight with the label to get reimbursed once it was successful. The video premiered outside the United States in July 1997, although viewers with MuchMusic USA were able to see it as at the time it was still mostly a simulcast of the Canadian channel. In a 2017 interview with Billboard, Kahn reflected on the impact of the music video:
I was just trying to do something fun and make the pop video I’d always wanted to make," he says. "I love pop, and it just didn’t exist at that point -- so I guess this helped start the whole pop scene in America. It allowed me to help create a new pop scene and, through these videos, create my view of pop culture.

Synopsis

The video is bookended by scenes framing the context: When their bus breaks down, the band's driver insists that the group spend a night at a nearby haunted house while he gets help. It then shows Brian preparing to sleep in one of the bedrooms. While he is in bed, he pulls out a scary animal from under his covers, making him scream in horror. The musical portion of the video plays as a dream sequence in which each band member appears as a different movie monster: Brian as a werewolf; Howie as Dracula; Nick as a mummy; A.J. as Erik, the Phantom of the Opera; and Kevin as Two-Face-like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The boys, as monsters, mainly appear in their own individual vignettes related to their character, while the band as a group appears in the foyer of the house dressed in centuries-old clothing, performing a dance routine with a group of additional dancers. Supermodel Josie Maran appears as Howie's companion in his vignette. At the end of the video, Brian wakes up realizing that all was a nightmare. He says to all the boys about his dream, and all the boys do the same. They are trying to leave the house, with Howie in front, but the driver turns out to be the Frankenstein's monster, making the boys scream in horror.
There are two cuts of the video; one for the US market, and one for the international market, each of which features the edit of the song released on the album for that market. The international video cuts from the opening bookend to the first verse. The bridge of the song is intact and the first half of the dance routine, a ballroom dance portion, is intercut with the vignettes under it. This leads into the second half of the dance portion during the final choruses of the song which are not intercut with the vignettes. In the US cut, the ballroom half of the dance routine and the beginning of the second half are used at the start of the song during the first rhythm-only breakdown, and is not intercut with the vignettes. The second breakdown, which replaces the bridge, is accompanied only by shots from the vignettes, along with some shots of Brian's Wolfman character doing some tumbling moves in the foyer and in the various vignettes. When the final choruses begin, the second half of the dance routine is shown again from the start, but is intercut with vignette scenes. Most of the remainder of the video is cut identically, other than several minor instances of alternate scenes or takes being used. The dance floor in the video was painted.

Awards and nominations

MTV Video Music Awards

Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards

Grammy Awards

MuchMusic Video Awards

MTV Movie Awards

Track listing

US CD1 single
  1. "Everybody " – 3:44
  2. "Everybody "
US CD2 single
  1. "Everybody " – 3:57
  2. "Everybody " – 4:09
  3. "Everybody " – 8:02
  4. "Everybody " – 3:48
  5. "Everybody " – 4:46
  6. "Everybody " – 6:03
US 12-inch single
  1. "Everybody " – 4:48
  2. "Everybody "
  3. "Everybody "
  4. "Everybody "
  5. "Everybody "
UK CD1 single
  1. "Everybody " – 3:44
  2. "Everybody " – 4:45
  3. "Everybody " – 4:09
  4. "Everybody " – 3:55
  5. "Everybody " – 6:12
UK CD2 single
  1. "Everybody " – 3:44
  2. "Everybody " – 4:45
  3. "Boys Will Be Boys" – 4:05
Japan/Canada CD single
  1. "Everybody " – 3:44
  2. "Everybody " – 4:42
  3. "Anywhere for You" – 4:40
  4. "Boys Will Be Boys" – 4:05

    Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Chart Position
US Billboard Hot 10022

Certifications

Release history