"Shape of My Heart" is a song by American

boy band A boy band is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform Love song, love songs marketed towards girls and young ...

Backstreet Boys Backstreet Boys (often abbreviated as BSB) are an American vocal group consisting of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson. Lou Pearlman formed the group in 1993 in Orlando, Florida. The gr ...

, released on October 2, 2000, as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

from their fourth studio album, '' Black & Blue'' (2000). The

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

was written and produced by

Max Martin Karl Martin Sandberg (; born 26 February 1971),Max Martin
allmusic.com known profess ...

and Rami, and co-written by

Lisa Miskovsky Lisa Miskovsky (born 9 March 1975) is a Swedish musician and singer-songwriter. Biography Miskovsky quickly placed herself on the Swedish rock music charts with her debut album ''Lisa Miskovsky'' and single "Driving One of Your Cars", with Swed ...

. The song earned a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

nomination during the

44th Grammy Awards The 44th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 27, 2002 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The main recipient was Alicia Keys, winning five Grammys, including Best New Artist and Song of the Year for " Fallin'". U2 won four ...

for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

Background

Due to the success of rival boy band

NSYNC NSYNC (, ; also stylized as *NSYNC or 'N Sync) was an American boy band formed by Chris Kirkpatrick in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich. Their self-titled debut album was successfully released to European ...

's album '' No Strings Attached'' selling over 2.4 million copies in its first week, there were high expectations from industry experts and fans that the Backstreet Boys' next album '' Black & Blue'' would break the first week sales of ''No Strings Attached''. "Shape of My Heart" was widely anticipated as the

of ''Black & Blue'', which would follow their previous singles " Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)", "

Everybody (Backstreet's Back) "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" is a song by American boy band Backstreet Boys, written and produced by Denniz Pop and Max Martin. It was released as the first single from the band's second international studio album ''Backstreet's Back'' in Ju ...

", and "

I Want It That Way I, or i, is the ninth letter and the third vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''i'' (pronounced ), plural ...

Composition

"Shape of My Heart" is stated to be "the sound of a boy band becoming a group of men". It consists of a

bubblegum Bubble gum or bubblegum is a type of chewing gum, designed to be inflated out of the mouth as a bubble. Bubble gum flavor While there is a bubble gum "flavor" – which various artificial flavorings including esters are mixed to obtain – it ...

chorus, clean pop structure, along with various vocal harmonies from

Max Martin Karl Martin Sandberg (; born 26 February 1971),Max Martin
allmusic.com known profess ...

's production. It also contains soft-pop guitar, low-key percussion, and a lyrical emphasis on the reflection of past mistakes. The song is performed in

D major D major (or the key of D) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor. The D major scale is: : Ch ...

with a key change to

E major E major (or the key of E) is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps. Its relative minor is C-sharp minor and its parallel minor is E minor. Its enharmonic equivalent, ...

at the third chorus.

Critical reception

Craig Seymour of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' gave the song a C− in his review, stating that the "mid-tempo

is more a joyless retread than a maturing makeover." Jason Lipshutz of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' considered the song to be a disappointment, stating that it was a muted mid-tempo reflection on mistakes and weaknesses, as well as being "miscast as a flashy comeback that would return serve against *NSYNC and hijack pop radio for months".

Chart performance

The song debuted at number 9 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United States, giving the group their sixth and last top-10 single in the US, while reaching number 8 on the ''Billboard''

Mainstream Top 40 Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/contemporary hit radio, CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played o ...

chart. It also topped the charts in Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, and Switzerland as well as the top 10 in several other countries.

Music video

Background

The music video for "Shape of My Heart" was directed by

Matthew Rolston Matthew Russell Rolston is an American artist, photographer, Music video director, director and creative director, known for his lighting techniques and detailed approach to art direction and design. Rolston has been identified throughout his care ...

at the Orpheum Theatre in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. The entire video is shot in

monochrome A monochrome or monochromatic image, object or palette is composed of one color (or values of one color). Images using only shades of grey are called grayscale (typically digital) or black-and-white (typically analog). In physics, monochrom ...

with a blue tint, creating a black and blue atmosphere in reference to the album's name. Rolston was inspired by "classic photography", utilizing the blue tint to evoke earlier periods of photography, as well as showcasing a mature side of the band in place of their previous over-the-top videos. On

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's ''

Total Request Live ''Total Request Live'' (known commonly as ''TRL'') was an American television program broadcast on MTV that premiered on September 14, 1998. TRL featured popular music videos played during its countdown, and was also used as a promotion tool by ...

'' the music video broke the Backstreet Boys' own record for longest-running number-one song, which was previously held by " Larger Than Life" (1999). The video spent 61 days at the top position. As of September 2021, the music video has over 222 million views on YouTube.

Synopsis

The video shows the Backstreet Boys rehearsing lines for a production titled Shape of My Heart, printed on a script around an empty theater in places such as the backstage wall, and on the stage. The actress

Sara Foster Sara Foster (born February 5, 1981) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Jen Clark on '' 90210''. She was a fashion model before moving to the film industry. Career Foster guest-starred as herself on the HBO series ''Entourage' ...

and the actor Ryan McTavish rehearse on the stage while another couple watches from a desk in front of the audience. Each of the people introduced are also featured alongside the Backstreet Boys as they rehearse.

Legacy

The song was the last single by the Backstreet Boys to peak in the top-ten of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, as they outgrew their teenage years. Jason Lipshutz stated that the song's influence spread to future Backstreet Boys singles such as " Incomplete", "

Show 'Em (What You're Made Of) "Show 'Em (What You're Made Of)" is a song by American pop group Backstreet Boys from their eighth studio album '' In a World Like This''. It was released as the second single from the album on November 18, 2013. The song was written by Morgan ...

", and "

Don't Go Breaking My Heart "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" is a 1976 duet by English musician Elton John and English singer Kiki Dee. It was written by John with Bernie Taupin under the pseudonyms "Ann Orson" and "Carte Blanche", respectively, and intended as an affection ...

", concluding that although it wasn't a smash, it has become "an important inflection point for one of the era’s biggest groups".

Cover versions

In 2008, one of the song's writers,

, released her own version of the song, "Another Shape of My Heart" on her 2008 album ''Last Year's Songs: Greatest Hits''.

Track listings

Standard CD single, UK cassette single # "Shape of My Heart" – 3:47 # "

All I Have to Give "All I Have to Give" is a song by American boy band Backstreet Boys, produced and written by Full Force, and released as the third and final single from their second album ''Backstreet's Back'' and the sixth and final single from their US debut ...

" (a cappella) – 3:48 # "

The One The ONE is a shopping centre in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is built on the site of the former Tung Ying Building at 100 Nathan Road. It was developed by Chinese Estates Holdings and opened in 2010. Owner Joseph Lau Luen-hung g ...

" (Jack D. Elliot Radio Mix) – 3:46 European CD single # "Shape of My Heart" – 3:47 # "All I Have to Give" (a cappella) – 3:48

Credits and personnel

Credits are taken from the European CD single liner notes. Recording * Recorded and mixed at

Cheiron Studios Cheiron Studios () was a recording studio located in the Kungsholmen district of Stockholm, Sweden. Founded in 1992 by Denniz PoP and Tom Talomaa, it was famous for being the place where popular music acts of the late 1990s/early 2000s such a ...

, Stockholm, Sweden. Vocals recorded at

Polar Studios Polar Studios was a recording studio in Stockholm, Sweden, which operated from 1978 through 2004. The studio was formed by ABBA musicians Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson and the band's manager Stig Anderson, owner of the Polar Music recording ...

, Stockholm, Sweden. Personnel *

Max Martin Karl Martin Sandberg (; born 26 February 1971),Max Martin
allmusic.com known profess ...

– songwriter, producer, recording, mixing, guitar *

Rami Yacoub Rami Yacoub (born 17 January 1975), also known by the mononym Rami, is a Swedish record producer and songwriter and former member of the songwriting/production houses Cheiron Studios and Maratone. Yacoub collaborated extensively with Max Martin ...

– songwriter, producer, recording, mixing *

– songwriter * Stefan Boman – vocal recording engineer * Esbjörn Öhrwall – guitar *

Peter Svensson Anders Peter Svensson is a Swedish record producer, songwriter, and musician. He is the main songwriter and guitarist of the band the Cardigans. He started playing guitar at the age of eight, and in his teens he went on to play with local bands ...

– guitar * Tomas Lindberg – bass * John Amatiello –

Pro Tools Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture (sound design, audio post-productio ...

and XBS Optical Vocal Enhancer engineer * Tom Coyne – mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Notes

References

{{Authority control 2000 singles 2000 songs 2000s ballads Backstreet Boys songs Canadian Singles Chart number-one singles European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Jive Records singles Music videos directed by Matthew Rolston Number-one singles in Italy Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in Norway Number-one singles in Poland Number-one singles in Sweden Pop ballads Song recordings produced by Max Martin Song recordings produced by Rami Yacoub Songs about loneliness Songs written by Max Martin Songs written by Rami Yacoub Torch songs UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles