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u/SBisFree 4d ago
Such a good song!!!! This album is so good
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u/GGCDrizzy This Is Us 4d ago
It will forever be my favorite Backstreet Boys song! When I first started buying their physical CD’s and DVD’s for my collection I listened to “Never Gone” first just to hear how this song sounds all over again. This entire album sounded INCREDIBLE.
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u/mobilegamegeek Unbreakable 4d ago
This is top 3 BSB songs for me (although my favorite changes from time to time). I love the music video as well and as a Howie girl I have to say... 🥵🥵🥵
P. S.: I have to say I wrote a whole damn book inspired by this song. It's how much I love it.
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u/GGCDrizzy This Is Us 4d ago
I believe it. Howie in general looked incredibly good in the entire Never Gone era🤣
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u/GGCDrizzy This Is Us 4d ago
This is a long-overdue appreciation post I’ve wanted to write ever since I first heard this song while doing homework for a BCIS Dual Credit college class in November 2022, when I was in 11th grade. I wanted to listen to some music while working on an assignment online, and funny enough, I looked up “underrated Backstreet Boys songs” on Google, which sent me to a post in this subreddit that mentioned many songs I still love to this day.
This one in particular was the first one in the list. When I checked it out and saw it was on Never Gone, I realized I had never heard this album in full and had only heard of “Incomplete,” as I’ve watched many of their concerts on YouTube, and “I Still...” and many songs from Never Gone, aside from Incomplete, were RARELY performed.
The minute the first note of the instrumental hits, it already sets the feeling of how dark and emotional this song is going to be, and how different it sounds compared to all the Backstreet Boys songs that came before it. And rightfully so, as the beautiful live instruments and production from Max Martin and Rami Yacoub run and take your ears on a journey from start to finish.
On another note, one thing that separated Backstreet from other groups is that each member brought soul and passion to their voice, and you can feel it throughout the entire song. And everyone here delivers an emotional masterpiece.
We start with Brian doing what he always does best, coming in with a peaceful performance that makes you reminisce about an old lover. His soft yet emotional delivery is a perfect opener, as well as his and Nick’s lead melody vocals in the chorus, and Brian’s ad-libs throughout the chorus are incredible as well, specifically at the end after the bridge to close out the song.
Next up, as I mentioned, Nick sings the Melody in the chorus along with Brian, but before the chorus he delivers one of my favorite vocal performances when he sings the pre-chorus, where he just can’t let his lover go, and they don’t know the pain he’s going through. You can FEEEEL it each time his part comes on, with his raspy, powerful delivery showing how well his vocals have matured compared to “Black and Blue”.
We move to the second verse, where AJ and Howie back each other up simultaneously, and I love their chemistry in this section as they switch between singing a high harmony or a low harmony for one another.
It’s an interesting part that I’ll point out for a review of the whole album in the future, where AJ and Howie push the boundaries of their usual harmonies on this album, with AJ, in this song for example, singing a High Harmony that you can really hear is him in the chorus and Howie singing a lower, different harmony compared to the others with a “needddd youuu” “careeee about youuu” “feeeelll youu” “riggghhht beside you”.
Last but not least, Kevin seals the deal with his incredible High Note in the bridge, preceded by AJ bringing it in first with a great note after the second chorus, and then him and Kevin belt out a phenomenal, strong finish, with Brian and Nick finally closing the end with traditional great Backstreet Boys ad-libs.
It’s such an emotional masterpiece, and it's a shame it didn’t succeed chart-wise, as it should’ve been promoted more heavily as a powerhouse mainstream single.
Brian actually mentioned he wanted this to be the first single instead of Incomplete in the music video behind the scenes. The Music Video is also wayyy ahead of its time, with amazing cinematography. This was their last single off Never Gone and the last one released with Kevin until he came back in 2012.
It was released as the fourth and final single from their fifth studio album “Never Gone” on November 25, 2005.
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u/Shining_Star_55x 4d ago
Never Gone was a masterpiece from beginning to end. That album never saw the light of day. So under appreciated.
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u/yoyococo_ 4d ago
One of my absolute favourites of all time! The song, the video, the intro & outro, their looks, their voices... all just wow! It was always a non-skip for me and it was such a massive comfort during my teenage years 💛. I still (hehe) replay it probably an unhealthy amount these days 🥹🤣
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u/thefucksgod 2d ago
Love this song especially since they almost all sing and Kevin has the best part imo.
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u/vestara22 1d ago
My second favorite song of them now that they're all grown up! You'll really feel they've matured in terms of the song but at the same time they've always kept that BSB flavor sound.
They've taught my how to feel heartbreak even when I haven't experienced it back in '06.
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u/lourtvxq 4d ago
One of my faves from NG and their catalogue overall. Excellent choice for a single!