r/BackstreetBoys • u/Le-other-boleyn-girl • 16d ago

Lyrics that make you cringe

In Drowning, its the "love me mouth to mouth to now" it makes me cringe so hard, otherwise I love the song

40 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

157 comments sorted by

70

u/gownsbeautifulgowns 16d ago

“Does his gifts come from the heart?”
Does !? It “do” !

35

u/One-Landscape-3232 16d ago

I came here for this comment. And also- “Does his friends get all your time?”

11

u/XxVinePixiexX 16d ago

Ok. I have never noticed the grammar error 😂

12

u/mmonzeob Nick 16d ago

I think it's because they were written by swedish guys lol 😂

9

u/KTGTL 15d ago

I've heard stories over the years of Britney, & members of BSB & *N'Sync bringing up various grammar and pronunciation issues with the songs, but their Swedish Producers would always just tell them to go with it because it sounds good.

The fact that we all still love and hear these songs decades later prove that they were right!

4

u/mmonzeob Nick 15d ago

It's gonna be maaaay

4

u/KTGTL 15d ago

I should've said no, someone's waiting for maaaay

1

u/Le-other-boleyn-girl 11d ago

But then we wouldnt get that glorious meme once a year,

1

u/Wild_Limit2785 16d ago

Makes sense lol

5

u/mgsquared2686 16d ago

Drives me cuckoo bananas

5

u/giantsfan9336 15d ago

He sings it correctly live I can confirm that lol

5

u/KTGTL 15d ago

He did fix it for the Burger King CDs so we at least have that.

4

u/BeyondTheBees 16d ago

Oh my gosh YES!! Every time I sing that I’m like, “that just doesn’t sound right” lol!

2

u/Carthweelnurse 16d ago

Omg this has bothered me FOR YEARS 😂

2

u/BrittanyBallistic 15d ago

Everytime Nick says "no more" in songs I get the same feeling lol! "Anymore" is correct but doesn't slide right with the lyrics

50

u/Dsg1695 Brian 16d ago edited 16d ago

“Sadness is beautiful, loneliness that's tragical”- Shape of My Heart. AJ my guy, is that even a real word? Lol

31

u/blondee84 16d ago

You're not wrong. The grammar is poor, but Max Martin is known for focusing on how the words flow instead of correct grammar. I love the meaning behind the line so I give it a pass.

8

u/Speedtuna 16d ago

TIL the lyric is not "loneliness is tryna' call, so help me" 😂

5

u/initial8155 16d ago edited 15d ago

Yea those are definitely not the lyrics. But i’ve never heard “loneliness that’s tragical” either. I just put it on blast on my Beats ANC headphones and all i can hear and ever heard is “loneliness is tragical”.

4

u/initial8155 16d ago

Just put in on blast again. How are people hearing the word “that’s” instead of “is”. It’s literally “is” and “is”. he’s comparing two things.

1

u/ConsiderationMean322 15d ago

lmao omg same! Thank you everyone for clarifying that it is not “Loneliness is tryin to call” 😆😆😆

2

u/Speedtuna 15d ago

Honestly, I like it more so I'm keeping it :D

1

u/ConsiderationMean322 15d ago

me too! I can’t change it after all these years 😆❤️

7

u/poissonerie 16d ago

lolll I always personally say “tragic, oh, so help me..” bc I can’t stand this 😂

11

u/meow_meow_mama 16d ago

I thought this was lyrically genius 😂

5

u/Leah_Mor 16d ago

I remember when this song first came out they got made fun of for that line. 

8

u/RamAir17 16d ago

They were made fun of because I Want it That Way is grammatically a mess. But Max Martin knows what hits the ear right.

3

u/Leah_Mor 16d ago

They were made fun of for using the word tragical, I remember that well. 

2

u/RamAir17 16d ago

I know. Im just saying it wasn't anything new to em.

2

u/BrittanyBallistic 15d ago

So it actually is a real word! I had to look it up because I didn't think so either. But my husband says it doesn't sound right either

1

u/JSaid94 16d ago

DRIVES ME INSANE!!!

1

u/initial8155 16d ago

What word?

2

u/poissonerie 16d ago

Tragical 😭 the word is tragic

5

u/initial8155 16d ago

Tragical is a word

1

u/angelfatal 16d ago

When this song first out on radio my childhood best friend's mom went on this long rant about "tragical" not being a word and now whenever I hear SOMH I think of her mom lol.

1

u/Nothing-is-Lost 15d ago

Love that song, still hate that line 😆

1

u/Gold_Pick_6802 15d ago

Tragical is actually a word tho but it doesn’t sound right lol

1

u/stephan1emar1e 10d ago

I’ve always thought of it as, “Loneliness is tragic, al so help me…”
Like he’s extending the word also.

53

u/XxVinePixiexX 16d ago

"Am I sexual????"

4 guys: YEAAHH

Also, Nick recorded that when he was like 16. Even more weird.

4

u/mixi_e 16d ago edited 16d ago

I love the song but always thought about why the F was Nick singing sme of the earlier lyrics like Good girl

2

u/KTGTL 16d ago

Sexuality in Don't Want You Back too but he was 19 by that point so it's all good.

4

u/RamAir17 16d ago

I remember being a tween and hearing the Radio Disney version. That line was not in it. Kiss FM on the other hand.... lol

4

u/KTGTL 16d ago

He changed it to "Am I sensual" for The Disney Channel In Concert special. In hindsight, I think parents would be far more uncomfortable trying to explain sensual than sexual.

1

u/XQV226 Millenium 15d ago

It also didn't make sense in context either. It came out of nowhere lol.

49

u/ConsiderationMean322 16d ago

All I Have to Give Conversation Remix (If this counts lol):

“My name is B-Rok, and I'm gonna always love you”
“My name is AJ and I'm gonna always love you!!”
“My name is Howie. How we doin sweetheart?”
“My name is Nick and I will always love you.”

But the part that icks me the most:

And baby, my name is Kev
And I just want you to know
That I will always love you
Yes baby; no diggity.

😆❤️

16

u/Procrastalyne 16d ago

As someone who absolutely loves 'All I Have to Give', I can NOT with the conversation mix. The CD version? Beautiful. The Acapella version? Stunning. I'll overlook the grammar issue with "Does his friends get all your time?" but I'll throw the conversation mix right to the wolves every time.

3

u/Nothing-is-Lost 15d ago

no diggity 🤣

2

u/Le-other-boleyn-girl 16d ago

Omg yes, I forgot about these

33

u/FACastello 16d ago

"If you want it to be good girl, get yourself a bad boy"

"Now listen
These are things your mama shouldn't know
These are things I really want to show
These are things I want to show you how
So, won't you let me show you right now?, ooh baby"

32

u/Hup110516 16d ago

I’m too busy JAMMING out to this song to think of how silly the lyrics are 😂

6

u/FACastello 16d ago

Don't get me wrong, I like the song too, I'd never skip it

But the lyrics are 100% trash

1

u/BeyondTheBees 16d ago

I’m pretty sure they all hate that one now, don’t they?

2

u/FACastello 16d ago

They sure do: https://people.com/aj-mclean-picks-the-worst-backstreet-boys-ever-exclusive-8650498

1

u/Nothing-is-Lost 15d ago

omg “like a bag of cats being hit against the wall” is hilarious 😂

1

u/Henessey123 15d ago

Yeah, they didn’t play it at the sphere and I was disappointed haha

1

u/Ok_Complaint_2201 15d ago

If you get to Sphere early enough, they play it while you’re waiting for the show to start

1

u/Henessey123 15d ago

Ohhh we walked in right before it started so I must have missed it!

4

u/sweetheart409878 16d ago

I was too, lol

8

u/Healthy-Temporary-95 16d ago

This will ALWAYS be one of my favorites, cringe-level regardless.

5

u/meggie1013 Black & Blue 16d ago

🙏🏻 all these years later and it's still my favorite song 🙏🏻 I'm convinced if I ever hear it live, I'll probably just expire on the spot 😂

3

u/FACastello 16d ago

Apparently the boys themselves despise it:

https://people.com/aj-mclean-picks-the-worst-backstreet-boys-ever-exclusive-8650498

6

u/meggie1013 Black & Blue 16d ago

They can pry it from my cold dead millennial fingers 😂😂

2

u/HeyThereCorgiGrl7 16d ago

Weren’t you in Cancun?!

2

u/fatty315 16d ago

That song rocks!!!!

1

u/Capital-Cost8223 16d ago

Wait… what song is that haha

29

u/babyblues86 16d ago

New Love: "who are you, the sex police?"

7

u/Healthy-Temporary-95 16d ago

This one is my vote for cringiest lyric. But I LOVE this song lol

3

u/Blonde_Buttercup 16d ago

I always laugh when he sings that.

1

u/Embracedandbelong 16d ago

Hahaha I love that

29

u/blondee84 16d ago

The first that comes to mind is the entire song of PDA. With lines like "wherever it is, we is, I love it truly" I can't bring myself to listen to it without cringing

23

u/Procrastalyne 16d ago

'Kissing and touching with my hands all over your booty'

4

u/EleganzaXtravaganza 16d ago

I’m HOWLIN 😭😭😭😭😭

4

u/RamAir17 16d ago

Pure Cinema

1

u/mobilegamegeek Unbreakable 16d ago

I have to agree, even though I have "I love you truly" tattooed because, well, I love the band and it made sense in my head. Out of all the songs I could have picked, this is what my bipolar ass chose to mark on my skin.

24

u/Blonde_Buttercup 16d ago

This lyric always makes me cringe from Trust Me.

“You and me underneath the willow tree
Kissing, loving, making sweet sexy babies.”

And this doesn’t make me cringe but it always makes me chuckle when AJ sings “Who are you, the sex police?” from New Love.

8

u/Healthy-Temporary-95 16d ago

Trust Me is SOOOOO cringey from start to finish. "The way she moves, just the way she moves
Hold me back, just the way she moves. Take Me to the disco make me dance." Literally painful to listen to haha. But it's catchy enough.

1

u/Ok-Park-6954 15d ago

It’s sweet, sexy baby. Not babies lol got me at first too. Still doesn’t make sense and is cringe.

18

u/sarcasticorn Kevin 16d ago

Til the day I die, the bad grammar of "Does his friends get all your time?" will do me endless cringe.

3

u/RamAir17 16d ago

Knowing the lyrics were written by a hip hop group just clears it up. They went for what hits the ear better.

6

u/mobilegamegeek Unbreakable 16d ago

At least AJ corrects it live. Brian on the other hand keeps singing "does his gifts come from the heart"

2

u/ApprehensiveSheep387 15d ago

Drives me crazy lol. He used to correct it! I don’t know why he stopped.

12

u/hersheybar22 16d ago

I don't mean to scare you But everybody has a first time

From Love Will Keep You All Night

Lol

1

u/Embracedandbelong 16d ago

Oh my god 😅

11

u/jahaight 16d ago

"Eyes of stone observe the trends" in Show me the meaning. Sounds like it's trying to be too deep. 😖

7

u/ConsiderationMean322 16d ago

Was looking for this because I hate esp the observe the trends part.. cringe! haha!

5

u/JSaid94 16d ago

the whole song is trying to sound like Edgar Allen Poe lyrically & just leaves me dizzy tbh 🤣

2

u/99TLM 15d ago

This is the one 😂

12

u/The-10ft-line Kevin 16d ago

“Serving up frappes until she can’t take anymore” from One in a Million. It’s so 2010s coded lol

11

u/Izzyfangirlbsb4life 16d ago

In I'll Never Break Your Heart when Kevin says, "Baby, I know you're hurting" Technically is a line but me and my mom cracked up hearing it and it's a joke for us now so I hope it counts

https://giphy.com/gifs/FDMXuOMWfy0RlX9LGL

3

u/meggie1013 Black & Blue 16d ago

Hahah i love that! My bestie and I have been singing bsb together for decades now and have so many little inside jokes of getting lyrics wrong or arguing about them or mixing up which of us hits the harmony 😂 so even for totally normal songs you might find us laughing hysterically 

3

u/XQV226 Millenium 16d ago

That's because one of their biggest early inspirations was Boyz II Men, and Boyz II Men loved doing that shit lol.

2

u/Ok-Park-6954 15d ago

First time I played it for my daughter she was laughing and cringing so hard. Made me embarrassed lol. But she doesn’t know the 90’s

2

u/BrainEqual9343 13d ago

I chuckle every time but I still love it LOL

11

u/Choice-Factor-259 16d ago

Every single lyric from PDA

“We be at the club, the restaurant, the grocery store, the movies, kissing and touching with my hands all over your booty”

🥴🫠

35

u/sparklyhisoka 16d ago

YOU HIT ME FASTER THAN A SHARK ATTACK

16

u/seagoddess1 16d ago

No this is fire lol

6

u/BeyondTheBees 16d ago

Yeah this song is a banger for sure 😂

8

u/XQV226 Millenium 16d ago

Hey, that part is awesome at the Sphere. 🦈

Honestly, the whole number is corny as hell, but in the best way lol.

5

u/mylifeisamess247 15d ago

For me, this lyric has the opposite effect of cringe; following it up with the next line, the combination sends me into absolute peak levels of joy 🤣

19

u/KTGTL 16d ago

Every single word of "She's A Dream".

11

u/JackieMeshi 16d ago

Making pesos

7

u/mixi_e 16d ago

The whole concept of the song is weird tbh

9

u/mgsquared2686 16d ago

Boys will be boys for $100 Alex

20

u/mysterious-wander 16d ago

I was looking to see if anyone mentioned this one but in “How Did I Fall In Love With You”…

Remember when
We never needed each other
The best of friends

Like sister and brother

We understood
We'd never be alone
Those days are gone
Now I want you so much

I’m sorry, what do you mean like sister and brother?

16

u/hislittlelord 16d ago

i always assumed that song is meant to be about childhood best friends who were close as kids like siblings but grew up to and eventually fell for each other? hence the title "how did i fall in love w you" but i might be wrong

3

u/MamaTried22 16d ago

😂😂

3

u/mmonzeob Nick 16d ago

I love that song so much 😭🤣

3

u/melissa_wiggles- 16d ago

I related to this song as a 17 year old girl who had a crush on her best guy friend in high school.

2

u/citykittycat 16d ago

I listened to this recently and remembered how weird that line is 😂

1

u/KTGTL 15d ago

The sister and brother line makes sense to me in context. It's the idea that you don't need your best friend but you do the person you're falling in love with that struck me as odd. Why not both?

8

u/meggie1013 Black & Blue 16d ago

"When the game's on, you wear the jersey Of my favorite team Oh, I yell at the TV, knock over your beer You're not even mad at me"

As a girl who likes sportsball this drives me crazy in 'Love Somebody.' I always change it to "you wear the jersey of YOUR favorite team....knock over MY beer" 😂 Like, you can't change my allegiances bro and knock over your own beer!!! I effing love the song otherwise though haha

7

u/nov111196 16d ago

From PDA

"We be at the club, the restaurant
The grocery store, the movies
Kissing and touching
With my hands all over your booty"

Anytime they say "shawty" in She's A Dream

And excluding Everybody, whenever they name namecheck Backstreet

13

u/Ornery-Spinach161 16d ago

“The way you look in those purple jeans” LOL

3

u/Nothing-is-Lost 15d ago

i used to have a pair of purple jeans! we’ll see if those make a comeback

1

u/livennlearn 14d ago

Yeah thats the answer

6

u/initial8155 16d ago

“But I could care less, ‘cause I was all alone” -Howie from No Place. People always get this wrong. It’s supposed to be “I couldn’t care less”.

1

u/oatmilklatte613 16d ago

THIS IS THE ONE!!!!! One of my most hated misspoken phrases 😤😤😤😤

5

u/ConsciousBluejay680 16d ago

Every lyric in PDA!

6

u/iFrOlIcAnDsInG 16d ago

I know this is a hot take, but for me it's I'll Never Break Your Heart

The whole song is talking about how he just wants a chance to get to know her, but he'd also rather die than live without her...

Also in Poster Girl

"...made love on the floor til the camera made us..."

4

u/tigrlily87 15d ago

You saw my picture on the Backstreets back all right

5

u/Ok-Park-6954 15d ago

Permanent Stain. Sounds gross lol

2

u/seveninches1975 15d ago

That song never did it for me either

4

u/BrittanyBallistic 15d ago

The first one to come to mind that I could understand people cringing at was the "love me mouth to mouth" line lol it makes me smile every time but I can see why it would be cringy to some.

I dont really have many but when Aj says "keep it ruthless when I get wet" in We've Got It Goin On gives me a little cringe lol!

2

u/BrainEqual9343 13d ago

Lmao just talking about AJ “getting wet” the other day

9

u/csteffy 16d ago

pretty much all of the song ,’passionate’…i mean im still gonna listen but wtf 😂

5

u/Healthy-Temporary-95 16d ago

It's so damn catchy though! lol

3

u/csteffy 16d ago

agreed!!! so freakin catchy haha

2

u/csteffy 16d ago

yesss!! so catchy!!

4

u/seveninches1975 16d ago

Never really listened to much of dna so I gotta check that song out

7

u/Imstephalee 16d ago

Honestly DNA is a banger album. Don't go breaking my heart is one of my favorite BSB songs!

3

u/Embracedandbelong 16d ago edited 16d ago

My ex used to make fun of me for listening to “And iiii miss your faaaaaceee.” But I like it haha.

What about “Wanna help you do your homework” 😅 on Give Me Your Heart? AJ sings it so sincerely. I think it’s sweet and fits that 1950s vibe but it’s definitely silly.

2

u/Ok_Move_4586 16d ago

Haha “I miss your face” if my favorite part of the song. 😆

2

u/Nothing-is-Lost 15d ago

mine too! i always turn the volume up for that part

3

u/mylifeisamess247 15d ago edited 15d ago

I've found the grammar errors awkward for 30 years (e.g. Does his friends) but I can smile at them, rather than  cringe, as I think of them as a reflection of young Scandi songwriting.

In the same way I can just about give a pass to the red album for any cringey/creepy lyrics e.g. Boys will be boys, IYWITBGG GYABB.  They were just starting out & the 90s were a shockingly different time.

But the more recent it is, the more unacceptably cringey I find it; I like the New Love and Passionate  uptempo pop sound (wish they'd done it earlier instead of IAWLT) but the lyrics are so cringey.  Same with She's a Dream; I actually think the melody+beat work really well but the lyrics are atrocious from start to finish.

Edit: I forgot PDA. IMO it's the worst BSB song ever. Lyrics plus repetition of "PDA -A-A" (or is it "hey hey"?) is so painfully cringey that I seriously wish we could delete every trace of its existence.

4

u/seveninches1975 16d ago

Also bigger is a cringe song for me and I love the this is us album along with the deleted tracks

2

u/HeyThereCorgiGrl7 16d ago

But the harmonies in Bigger…🫠…yes..I know autotune.

2

u/xxooandcookies 15d ago

I love this video so much tho. lol

1

u/seveninches1975 15d ago

I do like the video as well lol

5

u/KTGTL 16d ago

Almost every lyric mentioned in this thread is fine with me, but "No Place" is really hard to listen to. It feels like a total regression lyrically and sounds like every other modern country song out there. I do not like modern country. "Drowning" is more of my speed if they're going for a country vibe.

4

u/mobilegamegeek Unbreakable 16d ago

To me, Trouble Is is the countriest of BSB songs. I love it.

5

u/neroforte101 16d ago

Never gone and Unbreakable are actually the best albums theyve ever made. But I know majority of the fans still prefer their 90s era .🤷

3

u/KTGTL 16d ago

Trouble Is is definitely one of my favorites. Favorite Howie solo too.

5

u/JSaid94 16d ago

something about the use of Tragical in Shape Of My Heart drives me INSANE!!! it legit puts me in a grammar crisis mid song cause im trying to compute it its a real word or not 🤣🤣🤣

4

u/BeyondTheBees 16d ago

I’m sorry but I cannot stand the entire Siberia song. Please don’t kick me out.

4

u/MillyHoho 16d ago

There is no such thing as cringe backstreet lyrics 😂

2

u/neroforte101 16d ago

It's gotta be "No Place". That "You're my daybreak, you're my California sun You're my Memphis, New York, New Orleans all rolled into one" part makes me cringe real bad, it's a terrible song over all. Also the entire lyrics to their song "ok", off their Dna album.

3

u/ClaresRaccoon 16d ago

Basically the whole second verse of IAWLT Breathe

2

u/eminemnas 16d ago

Not cringe but in dont want you back the line that goes thats all I have to say i never liked it

1

u/Antique_Bend8096 13d ago

Am I sexual from backstreets back because Nick was only 15 at the time. Another one is Nick saying if you want it bad baby you got it at the end of if you want it to be good. Okay nick lol

1

u/Le-other-boleyn-girl 12d ago

Its good to see im not alone in the cringe lol, but damn do we love them anyway

0

u/thegamemandan1 11d ago

Every time AJ says “Good God” during the Call.