Bye Bye Bye
"Bye Bye Bye" is a song by American boy band NSYNC from their third studio album, No Strings Attached. It was released on January 17, 2000, as the lead single from the album. The song was written and produced by Kristian Lundin and Jake Schulze, with additional writing by Andreas Carlsson. Its lyrics describe the end of a romantic relationship; it was reported to also reference the group's separation from their manager Lou Pearlman and their record label RCA Records.
For other uses, see Bye Bye Bye (disambiguation)."Bye Bye Bye"
"Could It Be You"
January 17, 2000
- Battery (New York City, U.S.)
- Cheiron (Stockholm, Sweden)
- Cove City Sound (Orlando, Florida, U.S.)
3:20
- Kristian Lundin
- Jake Schulze
- Andreas Carlsson
- Lundin
- Schulze
"Bye Bye Bye" was a commercial success, peaking at number four on the US Billboard Hot 100 and within the top 10 in almost every country in which it charted. The song received a Grammy nomination in 2001 for Record of the Year, but lost to U2's "Beautiful Day".
Background and development[edit]
"Bye Bye Bye" was written and produced by Kristian Lundin and Jake Schulze, as part of Cheiron Productions, with additional writing by Andreas Carlsson. Lundin stated that it was "totally production driven" and "created from the kick and the bass up".[1] Carlsson wrote the song's lyrics while he was taking a driver's test in Stockholm, Sweden.[2] The song was intended to be recorded by English boy band 5ive, but they rejected it as they wanted to become a rap band.[3] Carlsson recalled that one of the band members immediately called for his security and left for the airport.[2] The song's chorus was initially written as a rap, where 5ive feared that they would be competing against Eminem.[4]
Prior to its official release, NSYNC performed "Bye Bye Bye" at the Radio Music Awards on October 28, 1999,[5] at the LIFEbeat AIDS benefit concert in New York on December 1, 1999,[6] and on The Rosie O'Donnell Show on Christmas Eve in 1999.[5] The song was released on January 17, 2000,[7] although it was not available as a commercial single in order to increase demand for NSYNC's 2000 studio album No Strings Attached. Jive Records feared that "Bye Bye Bye" was released too early vis-à-vis the album, which caused them to consider releasing a second single in order to sustain interest.[5]
Composition[edit]
The song opens with a string crescendo that climbs before Justin Timberlake's nasal falsetto ad-libs the phrase, "Hey, hey", which leads to the five-part harmony of the song's title. Instrumentation consisted of "buzzy electronics" adding texture to the band's vocals in contrast to the doo-wop of the Backstreet Boys, as well as hard drums, with a snare and kick drum.[4] Lyrically, "Bye Bye Bye" describes a man's desires to end a romantic relationship with a difficult significant other. Carlsson initially wrote the song after his girlfriend left him for another man, whom she married and had children with.[2] Sheet music for "Bye Bye Bye" shows the key of A-flat minor with a tempo of 173 beats per minute in common time.[8]
Critical reception[edit]
"Bye Bye Bye" was met with generally favorable reviews from music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic described the song as a "piledriving dance number with the catchiest chorus they've ever sang."[9] Robert Christgau commented that it featured "prefab rhythm at its most efficient."[10] In 2015, Billboard's Jason Lipshutz ranked it third on the list "Top 20 Essential Boy Band Songs," describing the song as "an absolute monster of a lead single."[11] Additionally writing for the same magazine in 2018, Billboard staff placed "Bye Bye Bye" at number 12 on "The 100 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time", stating that it was one of "the most decisive breakup anthems in pop history" that contained "an iconic dance move to match".[12] Rolling Stone staff ranked it as the sixth-greatest boy band song of all time, writing, "it remains their defining track, a four-minute blast of big hooks, tight harmonies and intriguingly meta subtext."[13] However, another editor from the same magazine listed it as the 17th most annoying song of all time in 2007.[14] In 2013, Complex's Kathy Iandoli ranked it as the best boy band song ever.[15]
The song won "Best Pop Video", "Best Choreography in a Video", and "Viewer's Choice" at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards, the most awarded to a single video that year. It also won a Radio Music Radio award in 2000 for best song of the year. The song was nominated for "Record of the Year" and "Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal" at the 2001 Grammy Awards. Other awards included 3 Teen Choice Awards in 2000 (Choice Single, Choice Music Video, and Song of the Summer), MuchMusic Video Music Award (Favorite International Group for "Bye Bye Bye") and Blockbuster Entertainment Award 2001 (category Favorite Single for "Bye Bye Bye").
Chart performance[edit]
"Bye Bye Bye" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 42, the week of January 29, 2000, reaching the top 10 by the week of March 4. The song remained in the top 10 through May 20, 2000, for 12 weeks. The single peaked at number four in April 2000 for two consecutive weeks. On the Mainstream Top 40 chart the song reached number one on March 4, 2000, and stayed at the top of the chart for ten weeks, making it one of the songs with most weeks at number one on that chart.[16] The song topped of the charts in Australia and New Zealand, and at number three in the United Kingdom. On the week of March 24, 2014, the song re-entered the New Zealand Singles Chart at number 14.[17]
In other media[edit]
"Bye Bye Bye" is featured in the 2003 film X2 and the 2021 film Red Rocket as well as being the latter's trailer.[27][28]
Credits adapted from the back cover of "Bye Bye Bye".[33]
Recording
Personnel