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"Drowning" is the single by the Backstreet Boys from their compilation album The Hits: Chapter One. The song was written by Andreas Carlsson, Rami Yacoub and Linda Thompson and produced by Yacoub and Kristian Lundin. The song was initially recorded for the Black & Blue album, but there wasn't any room on the track list for it. It was released as an iTunes Exclusive Play on January 14, 2008. It features member Kevin Richardson on piano. This was their last release before a three-year-hiatus from 2002 - 2005. The song reached #28 in the US on November 13, 2003. The song also did moderately well in the international charts, peaking at #3 in Sweden and #5 in Norway. The song also did exceptionally well on TRL, and the video for it was retired on February 26, 2003. The song was featured on the 2003 compilation album "Now That's What I Call Music! 9 (U.S. series).

Parts of the song, e.g. the piano intro and the chorus, are very similar to "Långsamt farväl" released by the Swedish artist Mauro Scocco in 1997. Andreas Carlsson, co-writer of "Drowning", actually sang backing vocals on Lisa Nilsson's version of "Långsamt farväl" released in 2003.

Charts

Track listing

International

1. Drowning (Album Version)
2. Back To Your Heart
3. Shape Of My Heart (Video)

UK CD1

1. Drowning (Radio Edit)
2. Everybody (Backstreet's Back) (Sharp London Vocal Mix)
3. I Want It That Way (Morales Club Version)

UK CD2

1. Drowning (Radio Edit)
2. Drowning (Dezrok Radio Mix)
3. Drowning (Rizzo & Harris Radio Mix)
4. Drowning (Video)

Music video

Official version

The official music video was directed by Paul Boyd. It featured the five Boys gathered around some monuments and an old building which resembles a church.

The video is notable for its frequent used of the contre-jour technique, which puts the subject directly against the source of light, thus giving a clear, dark outline of the figure. In the video, the Boys are often seen as dark figures dancing and singing against a beautiful background. This was filmed in Los Angeles in March 2003.

There are two edits of the video, one made for the album version (4:33) and a slightly shorter one made for the radio edit (4:14).

Unreleased version

Before the final video was produced, a different concept was in production. The concept was eventually abandoned and the official video was produced instead. One of the preliminary cuts of this original video was leaked to the public. This video was done in March 2003, then canceled and replaced by the end of the month.

It features the band dressed in black outfits, which can be seen in the photograph on the CD single cover. The video was shot mainly using green screen to place the band on an arid salt flat. The sun is initially shining, but dark clouds quickly fill the sky in the first chorus, and it begins to rain in the second verse. A flood of water fills the area and the storm continues to get worse. At the key change, and at the end of the song, the band is hit with a large wave. Through the rest of the video they simply sing in a shallow depth of water.

Other uses

"Drowning" appeared on the US Version of Now That's What I Call Music! 9, which was released March 19, 2003. The song was track #15. "Drowning" was licensed and used as the ending theme for the 2002-2003 anime TV series Hanada Shōnen Shi. One of their other songs, "The One", was also used for the opening theme.

References

1. "Groove" (PDF). 2003.
2. Billboard - Google Books. Books.google.com. 2001-12-08. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
3. "Romanian Top 100".
4. "Backstreet Boys – Drowning" Canciones Top 50.
5. Now That's What I Call Music! 9 (U.S. series)

External links

• Template:MetroLyrics song

• Backstreet Boys songs
• 2003 singles
• Pop ballads
• Music videos directed by Nigel Dick
• Songs produced by Rami Yacoub
• Songs written by Rami Yacoub
• Songs written by Andreas Carlsson
• Songs written by Linda Thompson (actress)