Maps of Music

DNA (2019)

Where the lyrics of DNA take you, and where it was really made.

The title is also short for 'Digital and Analog', the way the group first started recording in the 1990s.

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DNA: ninth studio album by the Backstreet Boys (eighth in the United States)
First released in Japan on January 23, 2019; released everywhere else on January 25, 2019
Issued through the group's own K-Bahn label in collaboration with RCA Records
Tracks written by Edei, Lauv, Andy Grammer, Stuart Crichton, Ryan Tedder, and Shawn Mendes
Second album after 2007's Unbreakable made without long-time producers Max Martin and Kristian Lundin
Follow-up to the eighth studio album In a World Like This (2013)

Name and release date were announced on November 9, 2018, the same day the single 'Chances' came out
A press release said the group analyzed each member's DNA profile to find the element each one represents in the group
Singles before release: 'Don't Go Breaking My Heart', 'Chances', and 'No Place'
Supported by the DNA World Tour, the band's most expansive tour in 18 years
The tour began on May 11, 2019 in Lisbon, Portugal, and visited North America in July 2019
The album is the group's first and only release on a Sony Music subsidiary, after In a World Like This was released independently through BMG
Debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, the group's third US number one and the first since Black & Blue in 2000

Formed in 1993 in Orlando, Florida, as an American vocal group and pop boy band.
Members Howie Dorough and AJ McLean met through a vocal coach; Nick Carter was found through auditions.
Cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson, both from Lexington, Kentucky, joined; Littrell formally joined on April 20, 1993, which became the group's anniversary.
Manager Lou Pearlman named them after Orlando's Backstreet Market flea market.

AJ McLean, Howie Dorough, Nick Carter, Brian Littrell (1993–present).
Kevin Richardson (1993–2006, 2012–present); he left in 2006 and rejoined in 2012.

Debut album Backstreet Boys (1996) was a hit in Europe; the US self-titled album followed in 1997.
Millennium (1999), led by the global hit "I Want It That Way", made them superstars; the album sold over 12 million copies in the US.
Black & Blue (2000) and The Hits – Chapter One (2001) followed; a two-year hiatus came after.
Comeback album Never Gone (2005) and later albums Unbreakable (2007), This Is Us (2009), In a World Like This (2013), and DNA (2019, debuting at number one).
Sold over 150 million records worldwide, one of the best-selling boy bands of all time.
Held Las Vegas residencies Larger Than Life (2017–2019) and Into the Millennium at Sphere (2025).

Metacritic: average score of 67 based on four reviews, indicating generally favorable reviews
AllMusic: editor Neil Z. Yeung called the album elegant and unexpectedly fresh, singling out electronic tracks
AllMusic: said the tail-end of the album loses some steam but remains pleasant and engaging
Rolling Stone: writer Jon Dolan found the group pairs its group-vocal magic with contemporary pop from top-tier technicians
The Guardian: Kate Hutchinson described it as well-manicured music that cannily plunders contemporary chart sounds
The Independent: Holly Williams said the album felt unnecessary, calling it standard boyband fare reheated with modern pop sprinkles
The Irish Times: Louise Bruton found a polished sound but without the band's classic ballads and signature hits
The Young Folks: Brian Thompson said the album can feel disjointed at times but shows the group free of pretence and name recognition

Billboard: Taylor Weatherby found the twelve tracks stay faithful to the group's pop sound while updating production for today's scene
Billboard: Weatherby said the album seemed a more conscious attempt to reach a wider audience

US Billboard 200 debut at number one with 234,000 album-equivalent units, of which 227,000 were pure album sales
Third US number one for the group, and the first in 19 years since Black & Blue (2000)
Eighth consecutive top-ten album for the group in the US, following In a World Like This (2013)
Canada: debut at number one with over 46,000 first-week sales
Canada: certified platinum on January 3, 2020 with over 80,000 sales
Japan: debuted at number one on the Billboard Japan Hot Albums chart with 26,210 physical copies and 3,644 digital downloads

The title is also short for 'Digital and Analog', the way the boys started recording in the 1990s.
A press release said the group analyzed their DNA profiles to see what element each member represents in the group.
The group's album is their first and only on a Sony Music subsidiary, following an independent release through BMG.
No group member wrote a song on the album, though members said the songs represent who they are as individuals and as a group.
The album came out during a Sony-era shift that the group described as a new direction for their sound.