I Want It That Way

About this song

Max Martin and Andreas Carlsson wrote the lyrics, and Carlsson described the process as a play with words, starting from an original line that was kept after many other second-verse variations were tried. The guitar riff was inspired by Metallica, and an alternate version with more coherent lyrics was recorded, but the band preferred the original. The video was parodied by Blink-182 and won a VMA for Viewer's Choice, and the song earned three Grammy nominations in 2000.

What it's about

The song is about a strained relationship, though its lyrics are widely regarded as muddled and hard to make sense of.

Fun facts

• Sampled in 28 other songs, like “Decade Of Pop - The 1990s (100 Song Mashup) by DJ Earworm”.
• Covered 43 times, including “I Want It That Way by The King's Men, Cambridge”.
• Written by Andreas Carlsson and Max Martin.
• Produced by Kristian Lundin and Max Martin.
• Recorded at Cheiron Studios (Stockholm.