I'll Never Break Your Heart

"I'll Never Break Your Heart" is a song by American boy band Backstreet Boys. The song was written by singer-songwriters Eugene Wilde and Albert Manno and produced by Veit Renn and Timmy Allen. It was released in the United Kingdom on December 4, 1995, as the second single from their self-titled debut album and was issued across the rest of Europe later the same month. It was later included on their US debut album and was released as their fourth US single in June 1998.

"I'll Never Break Your Heart"
Artwork for early 1995–96 European release
Single by Backstreet Boys
from the album Backstreet Boys (international and US)
B-side"Roll with It"
ReleasedDecember 4, 1995 (1995-12-04)[1]
StudioParc, Platinum Post (Orlando, Florida)[2]
GenreR&B
Length
  • 4:48 (LP version)
  • 4:25 (radio edit)
LabelJive
Songwriter(s)Eugene Wilde, Albert Manno
Producer(s)Veit Renn, Timmy Allen
Backstreet Boys singles chronology
"We've Got It Goin' On"
(1995)		 "I'll Never Break Your Heart"
(1995)		 "Get Down (You're the One for Me)"
(1996)
Backstreet Boys US singles chronology
"Everybody (Backstreet's Back)"
(1998)		 "I'll Never Break Your Heart"
(1998)		 "All I Have to Give"
(1998)
Alternate cover
Artwork for 1998 re-release
Artwork for 1998 re-release
Music video
"I'll Never Break Your Heart" on YouTube

Background

The song replaced "I'll Never Find Someone Like You" on the album, which was to be the group's first single. The group's label, Jive Records, had not committed to using the song for the group, and as a result, it was offered to singer Keith Martin, who accepted it and released it as a single on the Bad Boys soundtrack, and his own albums It's Long Overdue and All the Hits. Brian Littrell discovered this when he heard Martin's song play on the radio one day.[3]

"I'll Never Break Your Heart" was supposedly recorded over two weeks, because Littrell and AJ McLean, the two lead vocalists on the song, had colds.[3][4] In an interview with Billboard, McLean stated that the song "was the longest recording for any single BSB record in Backstreet history", as they had to manually rewind the tape in order to add brand new vocals in the track while they were sick.[4]

In October 2014, the group took ownership of the master recording of the song as part of a settlement agreement with their ex-manager, Lou Pearlman's bankruptcy estate.[5]

Critical reception

Pan-European magazine Music & Media wrote that "with the up-tempo, infectious 'We've Got It Goin' On' still in the Benelux, German and Swiss top 10, the Backstreet Boys slowed their crystal clear vocals down to make one of those smooth R&B ballads which are typically aimed for the US market."[6] A reviewer from Music Week rated it four out of five, adding, "The soppiness factor is in to full effect on this romantic ballad, which displays the boys' vocal excellence. A November tour will help this become another top five hit."[7] Chuck Arnold from People Magazine said that Backstreet Boys gave their "smoothest Boyz II Men impression" on this R&B ballad, adding that "they make you believe every word of their vow to do no harm."[8]

Commercial performance

The song was first released in the United Kingdom and Europe in December 1995,[1][9] then in 1996 for a few other markets, including a UK re-issue in November.[9][10] It was subsequently serviced to US radio in June 1998.[11] Following a physical released on July 21, 1998, the song peaked at number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100.[12][13] It fared better on the Adult Contemporary chart, where it became the group's first number-one song on this ranking.[14] Outside the US, the song peaked at number eight on the UK Singles Chart and also reached the top 10 in Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland.[15][16][9]

Music videos

Two music videos were released for "I'll Never Break Your Heart".[4]

Original version

The accompanying music video follows a group of girls, one of whom has recently broken up with her boyfriend, as stated in the video's introduction. The band members are on a ski vacation, and each partners up with one of the girls. Brian Littrell gets together with the girl who had just broken up with her boyfriend. The girl Kevin Richardson is matched with was his then-girlfriend and now-wife Kristin Willits, as she was asked by the director to be featured in the video as an extra.[4] The group had not skied before or seen snow, and would constantly fall off after the cameras stopped rolling.[4] This original video was filmed in November 1995 in Snowbird, Utah.[4][17] It first aired in December 1995 in Germany, France, and other nations in Western Europe.

Alternate version

The second video, directed by Bille Woodruff, was released to MTV in June 1998 for the US market. It later appeared as the first #1 video on Total Request Live. The video features each band member singing in their own uniquely styled apartment which are stacked atop one another in a tall building. Late in the video, each of the members is shown to have a girl in their apartment. The group is also shown singing together in a cylindrical tunnel which has a rotating round porthole at the near end, though which the camera observes. A version of the video was also released for the Spanish version of the song.

The dog in Littrell's apartment was actually his dog, and the lady in his apartment was his then-girlfriend, now-wife Leighanne Wallace. Numerous teen magazines speculated that Nick Carter and his "girlfriend" in the video were engaged. In reality, Carter's girlfriend in the video was portrayed by 16-year-old actress, Jessica Mion, who had never met any of the Backstreet Boys until the filming of the video, and never met with them since.

This video version was published on YouTube in April 2011. It has amassed more than 59 million views as of September 2021.[18]

Other versions

The Spanish version of the song, titled "Nunca Te Haré Llorar", was later recorded in Zürich along with a Spanish version of "Anywhere for You".[3] The idea came after they had started gaining success in Spanish countries such as Mexico and Spain. The label suggested they created Spanish versions to dedicate to those countries. Andy Williams released a version in 2007 on his album, I Don't Remember Ever Growing Up. The video for the Spanish version was shot directly after the English video for the US market.

Track listings

Credits and personnel
  • Produced by Veit Renn and Timmy Allen
  • All Instruments by Veit Renn and Timmy Allen
  • Mixed by Chris Trevett at Battery Studios
  • Recorded by Joe Smith at Parc Studios and Platinum Post Studios, Orlando

Charts

Release history
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United Kingdom December 4, 1995
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
 Jive [1]
Europe December 13, 1995 CD single [9]
February 12, 1996 Maxi-CD single
United Kingdom (re-release) November 4, 1996
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
 [10]
United States June 30, 1998
[11]
July 21, 1998 CD single [12]

References
  1. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. December 2, 1995. p. 48. Misprinted as December 3 on source. The Albums section uses the correct date.
  2. "Entertainment Weekly 10th Anniversary". Retrieved May 30, 2012.
  3. Interview with Backstreet Boys, management, and others from Entertainment Weekly 10th Anniversary Issue.
  4. Weatherby, Taylor (August 10, 2017). "'It's What America Needed at That Time': Backstreet Boys Look Back on Their U.S. Debut, 20 Years Later". Billboard. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  5. "Backstreet Boys -- We Got Our Music Back!". TMZ. October 24, 2014. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  6. "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. February 17, 1996. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  7. "Reviews: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. October 26, 1996. p. 8. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  8. Arnold, Chuck (August 11, 2017). "Everybody, Celebrate 20 Years of Backstreet Boys with Their 20 Best Songs". People Magazine. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  9. "Backstreet Boys – I'll Never Break Your Heart" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  10. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. November 2, 1996. p. 41.
  11. "New Releases". Radio & Records. No. 1254. June 26, 1998. pp. 39, 45.
  12. Sandiford-Waller, Theda (July 25, 1998). "Hot 100 Singles Spotlight". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 30. p. 89.
  13. "Backstreet Boys Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  14. "Backstreet Boys Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
  15. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  16. "Backstreet Boys – I'll Never Break Your Heart". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  17. Stonebraker, Samantha (February 9, 2016). What You Wanna Know: Backstreet Boys' Secrets Only a Girlfriend Can Tell. ISBN 9781250112927.
  18. "Backstreet Boys - I'll Never Break Your Heart (Official HD Video)". YouTube. April 6, 2011. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  19. "Backstreet Boys – I'll Never Break Your Heart" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  20. "Backstreet Boys – I'll Never Break Your Heart" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  21. "Backstreet Boys – I'll Never Break Your Heart" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  22. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 6993." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  23. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 3183." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  24. Danish Singles Chart. April 19, 1996.
  25. "Hits of the World: Eurocharts". Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 8. April 13, 1996. p. 47.
  26. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (NR. 290 Vikuna 24.9. – 1.10. 1998)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). September 25, 1998. p. 10. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
  27. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – I'll Never Break Your Heart". Irish Singles Chart.
  28. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Backstreet Boys" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  29. "Backstreet Boys – I'll Never Break Your Heart" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  30. "Backstreet Boys – I'll Never Break Your Heart". Top 40 Singles.
  31. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  32. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  33. "Backstreet Boys – I'll Never Break Your Heart". Singles Top 100.
  34. "Backstreet Boys – I'll Never Break Your Heart". Swiss Singles Chart.
  35. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  36. "Backstreet Boys Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard.
  37. "Jahreshitparade Singles 1996" (in German). Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  38. "Jaaroverzichten 1996" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  39. "Rapports annuels 1996" (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  40. "Year End Sales Charts: Eurochart Hot 100 Singles 1996". Music & Media. Vol. 13, no. 51/52. December 21, 1996. p. 12.
  41. "Top 100 Single–Jahrescharts 1996" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
  42. "Top 100–Jaaroverzicht van 1996". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  43. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1996" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  44. "Årslista Singlar, 1996" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  45. "Swiss Year-End Charts 1996" (in German). Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  46. "ARIA Top 100 Singles for 1998". ARIA. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  47. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 6979." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  48. "1998 The Year in Music". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 52. December 26, 1998. p. YE-95. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  49. "1999 The Year in Music". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 52. December 25, 1999. p. YE-99. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
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