Unbreakable (Backstreet Boys album)

Unbreakable is the sixth studio album by American group Backstreet Boys. It was released on October 24, 2007 in Japan, followed by a worldwide release.^[1] The album marked the group's first release as a quartet, following Kevin Richardson's departure in 2006 to pursue other interests. It was also their first album without the involvement of longtime collaborators Max Martin and Kristian Lundin, who had worked on all of the group’s previous albums, with Dan Muckala assuming a larger role in the album's production.

The album received mixed reviews from critics, with praise for its polished harmonies, mature and radio-friendly pop sound, while others criticized it for a lack of standout songs and innovation. Unbreakable achieved strong international success, topping the charts in Japan and Taiwan, reaching the top ten across Europe, and debuting at number seven on the US Billboard 200, though its North American sales were lower and its chart run shorter than previous releases, with worldwide sales reaching 1.7 million copies.

"Inconsolable" and "Helpless When She Smiles" were released as singles from Unbreakable, both of which received music videos, with "Inconsolable" reaching the top ten in Italy and Switzerland. The group promoted the album with the 99-date Unbreakable Tour across Asia, Australia, the Americas, and Europe from 2008 to 2009. Originally Backstreet Boys' first tour as a quartet, Richardson rejoined the group for the final show, though he did not return permanently until 2012.

Following the commercial success of their fourth studio album Black & Blue (2000) and their return from a brief hiatus, Backstreet Boys released Never Gone in 2005, marking a shift toward pop rock and a more mature sound.^[2] The album received mixed reviews but sold over three million copies worldwide, supported by the lead single "Incomplete" and the nearly 80-date Never Gone Tour.^[3][4] On June 23, 2006, several months after the end of the tour, it was announced that original member Kevin Richardson had left the Backstreet Boys to pursue other interests.^[5] Both Richardson and the rest of the group issued a statement on their official site, stating that he departed amicably and the door was always open for him to return.^[6] Following Richardson's departure, the group turned down an offer to star in a reality show to find a new member and stated that they were not planning to replace him.^[7][8]

In July 2007, it was announced that the remaining members of the group would release a new album on October 30, 2007, marking their first album of new material in two years.^[9] Early rumors suggested titles such as End to Beginning, before Brian Littrell and AJ McLean confirmed on August 13, 2007, that the album would be titled Unbreakable.^[10] Members of the Backstreet Boys themselves co-wrote five tracks on this album along with longtime songwriter Jeremy Carpenter.^[11] Footage of the Backstreet Boys in pre-production and recording the album were featured on the reality series House of Carters.^[12] Musically, the band described Unbreakable as "a little bit of old and new,"^[13] with the album blending adult contemporary and contemporary pop, incorporating interwoven choral harmonies, piano, strings, guitar, and drums.^[14]

For Unbreakable, Backstreet Boys moved away from the Max Martin–driven sound of their early hits, instead collaborating with a variety of producers to craft a more mature, adult vocal-group style.^[14] Dan Muckala, who co-wrote and produced the group's previous single "Incomplete" from their previous album Never Gone, handled the majority of the album's production, while Emanuel Kiriakou, John Shanks, and Billy Mann also contributed.^[14] JC Chasez of *NSYNC additionally collaborated on the album, providing production and songwriting for several upbeat pop tracks.^[14]

The closing track of the album, "Unsuspecting Sunday Afternoon", is broken into two different parts. The first part leads off the album, and is a one-minute a cappella version of the chorus, listed as "Intro" on the record.^[15] The second track "Everything But Mine" is a synth-heavy dance track produced by Muckala.^[15][16] It strays from typical BSB territory with its electro inspired offbeat riff.^[17] The third song and lead single "Inconsolable" was produced by Emanuel Kiriakou and written by Emmanuel, Lindy Robbins and Jess Cates.^[15] It features the trademark emotional boy band romantic lyrics with very heartfelt vocals.^[17][18] "Something That I Already Know" was described as "a classic Backstreet Boys pop-rock ballad". The song is co-written by Kara DioGuardi and David Hodges and also features "slick power-ballad choruses."^[15][19] "Helpless When She Smiles" was produced by Shanks and is another pop ballad.^[15] It is a more visionary offering with an intriguing piano melody that provides some edge.^[17] The sixth track "Any Other Way" traffics in clips of funk guitar and drums comparable to Maroon 5.^[20] It is a funk rocker with a minor-key tune.^[19]

"One in a Million", which conjures memories of the stuttering eight-note beats of "Larger Than Life",^[21] has elements of hip hop and reggae.^[15] The eighth track "Panic" add rock elements to the group's sound^[14] and is another more adventurous outing; beginning with a dubby drum and bass rhythm.^[17] "You Can Let Go" was described as a "dreamy" ballad,^[22] while "Trouble Is" was deemed as "another big ballad with a mildly rootsy groove, that could actually do well on country radio, where melodrama rules.^[19] The eleventh track "Treat Me Right," co-written and produced by Chasez, was deemed as "the standout track" on the album.^[20] It is an electropop song and utilises the group's vocal interplay to admirable effect.^[20] "Love Will Keep You Up All Night" was classified as a "montage of almost every love-song ever written and with a chorus reminiscent of Aerosmith's 'I Don't Want to Miss a Thing'."^[17] "Unmistakable" was considered "one of the stronger tracks on the album." The song features very strong vocal arrangements and instrumentation.^[15] The second part of "Unsuspecting Sunday Afternoon" closes out the album, and is about three and half minutes in length. Commencing with only a piano, the song then adds a live drum beat and orchestral instruments, followed by an electric guitar solo and atmospheric harmonies.^[21] All four members co-wrote the song and hailed it as the best song in the album.^[15]

"Inconsolable" was released as the album's first single from the album.^[9] Written and produced by Emanuel Kiriakou, and co-written by Lindy Robbins and Jess Cates, it was issued to US radio outlets on August 27, 2007.^[9] The song entered the top 10 in Italy and Switzerland, reaching numbers two and eight, respectively. On October 2, 2007, the tracks, "Unmistakable" and "Something That I Already Know" were released on Promosquad and RateTheMusic. The next day, a Japanese radio station leaked the intro of the album, along with the track, "Everything But Mine".^[23]

"Helpless When She Smiles," produced by John Shanks, served as the second single from Unbreakable. Originally written in 2004 for Rascal Flatts,^[24] the song was first recorded by Dutch singer Bastiaan Ragas in 2005 and later by German singer Mike Leon Grosch in 2006 before being recorded by the Backstreet Boys.^[25] "Helpless When She Smiles" reached the top 40 of the German Singles Chart. A music video for the song was filmed on November 13, 2007, at Joshua Tree National Park in California and premiered on Yahoo! Music on December 12, 2007.

Backstreet Boys launched the Unbreakable Tour on February 16, 2008, in Japan, concluding on March 13, 2009, in Mexico. The tour included 99 shows across Asia, Australia, North America, Eastern and Western Europe, and South America, and aimed to visit countries the group had not toured in years as well as new territories, including Russia, Latvia, Estonia, and Peru. Planned dates in South Africa were canceled following the death of Howie Dorough's father Hoke.^[26] A show in Luxembourg was suspended after a fire broke out at the Rockhal venue on the day of the performance. No one was seriously injured, although the group's wardrobe sustained damage.^[27] The tour featured a variety of opening acts, including Brian McFadden, Stanfour, E.M.D., George Nozuka, Girlicious, Divine Brown, Kreesha Turner, Donnie Klang, Belanova, and Ádammo. Originally announced as the first Backstreet Boys tour as a quartet, Kevin Richardson rejoined the group for the final show in Los Angeles and later returned permanently on April 29, 2012.^[28]

Unbreakable received generally mixed reviews from most music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 56, based on 8 reviews.^[29] Bill Lamb from About.com gave the album four out of five stars, praising "the incomparably lush harmonies and instantly pleasing melodies" and labeling the songs "radio friendly."^[14] Lamb also commented that the band "have settled into a comfortable place as an adult vocal group" and named the album "a pure pop pleasure."^[22] Tammy LaGorce from Amazon.com judged that the album "boasts Super Glue-strength harmonies and an overall tightness of sound" and that "the music is more thoughtful and mature than ever."^[22] Simon Vozick-Levinson of Entertainment Weekly judged that "They come close to recreating the sheer euphoria of their biggest pre-Y2K smashes on many of the up-tempo dance-pop numbers that follow,"^[31] while Paul Connolly, writing for The Evening Standard, remarked that Unbreakable "just about manages to walk the fine line between mature and pop without becoming boring."^[32]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic gave the album three out of five stars, writing that "the basic sound of the album is good, but the problem is that few of the songs stick. Here, the Backstreet Boys don't have any songs that will lift them out of the adult contemporary world — but the audience who has turned from teens to adults with them will likely enjoy its easy sound, as there is nothing bad here. There's just nothing great, either."^[21] Gemma Padley of BBC Music felt that the album "is a valiant effort at reinvention and an at times gutsier record."^[17] Matt O'Leary from Virgin Media opined that "while there is nothing to match their crowning glory — karaoke classic "I Want It That Way" — this is a largely inoffensive collection of pop hits. It's bound to be huge."^[18] Lauren Murphy from Entertainment.ie called Unbreakable "far from the perfect pop album — in fact, it's rather boring for the most part — but it does confirm that Backstreet Boys aren't quite ready for the scrap heap just yet."^[20] Christian Hoard from Rolling Stone gave the album two out of five stars, summarizing that "Unbreakable makes small nods to adult pop, peppering the processed music with tasteful piano and light guitar riffs and keeping bright, danceable grooves to a minimum. But the material stinks worse than ever."^[19]

Unbreakable achieved strong international chart success upon its release. The album topped the charts in Taiwan and debuted at number one in Japan on the Oricon Albums Chart,^[33] marking some of the group's strongest performances in Asia.^[34] It sold 102,043 copies in its first week in Japan and remained at number one in its second week,^[33] surpassing all domestic Japanese releases during that period,^[35] a rare achievement for an international act. The album has since sold approximately 400,000 copies in Japan.^[36] Across Europe, the album performed consistently well, reaching the top ten in several countries, including Germany (number four),^[37] Spain (number seven),^[38] Switzerland (number six),^[39] and the pan-European Top 100 Albums chart (number eight).^[40] It also entered the top twenty in the Netherlands, Italy, Portugal, Austria, and the United Kingdom.^[41]

In North America, it peaked at number two in Canada and opened at number seven on the US Billboard 200 with first week sales of 81,000 copies,^[42][43] becoming Backstreet Boys' sixth consecutive top-ten album in the United States.^[44] Compared to the group's previous releases, Unbreakable's domestic sales accounted for a significantly smaller share of its overall commercial performance,^[45] and with only five weeks on the Billboard 200, it had a considerably shorter chart run than its predecessors.^[44] By March 2015, it had sold 229,000 copies in the United States.^[46] Worldwide, the album has sold 1.7 million copies.^[45]

Notes

• ^a signifies a vocal producer
• ^b signifies additional producer(s)

Credits adapted from album's liner notes. The track numbers correspond to the Australia, Europe, Mexico & Canada deluxe edition.^[16]

Lead vocalists

Musicians

Production

Technical