This Is Us

The album debuted at number 9 on the US Billboard 200 making them the first group since Sade to have their first seven albums reach top 10 on the chart. RedOne produced the album's lead single "Straight Through My Heart" which was released in August/September 2009 and reached number 1 in Taiwan, number 3 in Japan, number 5 in Spain, 19 in Canada, 72 in the UK, and 18 on the US Hot Dance Club Songs chart. It was their final album under Jive Records before they moved to Legacy Recordings in 2010, and their last album as a quartet before original member Kevin Richardson rejoined the band in 2012. Recording and production In an interview with Extra TV, the group confirmed the title of their seventh album to be This Is Us. In the official press release RCA/Jive Records describes the album as "a finely crafted R&B and pop album from four talented musicians who love what they do and who maintain the rare relevance in an industry that often disposes of pop acts. The 11 songs that make up album are the sounds of four skilled singers with a similar vision, who have dealt with the trials and tribulations that accompany fame at an early age and who came out as one of the most successful groups of all time. It shows remarkable growth as songwriters and continues to give us songs that has made millions smile." On May 1, 2009, the Backstreet Boys management team expressed discontent at the fact that four recorded songs had been leaked on the internet. In an interview, A.J. McLean said that the group were "P.O.ed that music had leaked especially since extra care had been taken to keep the record secret". In the end, however, the group used the feedback from the leaks to help guide the direction of the album and even the song selection by comparing fan reviews to what producers thought about the songs. It was later revealed in 2011, that songs recorded for This Is Us were targeted by the German hacker, Deniz A., also known as DJ Stolen. In July 2010, the Rasch law firm logged a criminal complaint against DJ Stolen for "constantly placing hacked songs on the internet". Amongst those songs listed in the complaint was one called "Masquerade", described at the time as a new recording by the Backstreet Boys. However despite leaking, the song is still included on the album. Regarding their collaboration with RedOne, McLean remarked that it had been largely a last minute affair. Due to timing, the group was not able to make any recordings with the in-demand producer; however, near to the album's turn-in date, RedOne revealed that he had worked on three songs for the group and was more than willing to collaborate. It was also revealed that there had previously been 5 or 6 songs in the running for the lead single, although a Kevin Borg production titled "PDA" was most likely to be released; however, the RedOne production felt like "it was meant to be". Interestingly one Tedder song which was co-written by McLean was snapped up by Simon Cowell who wanted the song for Leona Lewis's second album Echo but in the end felt it more suited for a boyband and it was featured on Westlife's 10th album Where We Are. (LDS)