Quit Playing Games (with My Heart)

"Quit Playing Games (with My Heart)" is a song by American boy band Backstreet Boys, released in October 1996 by Jive Records as the fourth single from their international debut album (1996). It was written by Max Martin and Herbie Crichlow, and produced by Martin with Kristian Lundin. The song reached 1 in five European countries and No. 2 in the United Kingdom. It was later included on the band's debut US album and was released as its second single in April 1997, reaching No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart that September, making it their highest-charting single on the chart. It sold two million copies in the US.

The accompanying music video for the song was directed by Kai Sehr and filmed in Florida, featuring the band members performing in the rain with their bare upper bodies. In 2020, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked "Quit Playing Games (with My Heart)" at No. 26 in their list of the "75 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time".

Background

Initially, Nick Carter, aged 15 at the time, was unable to sing on the recording of the song as he was undergoing puberty. The remaining band members were brought over to Stockholm for a week to record " We've Got It Goin' On" in late June 1995. They unexpectedly finished the song in just two days and decided to record "Quit Playing Games (with My Heart)" immediately afterward.

"Quit Playing Games (with My Heart)" was first given an international release in 1996. In the United States, up to that point, only "We've Got It Goin' On" had been released, but the single was not a chart success. Jive Records planned to relaunch the group in the United States in 1997 with the new song "If You Want It to Be Good Girl (Get Yourself a Bad Boy)". The group instead pushed for a US single release of "Quit Playing Games (with My Heart)", and the song was released to radio in the United States in April 1997. Jive president Barry Weiss claimed that the other serious contenders included " Anywhere for You" and " All I Have to Give." The group also wanted to reshoot the music video, but the label refused, arguing that they only planned to market towards radio, not video. The song ultimately succeeded without MTV support. The background vocals in the song, besides McLean's self-harmonization on the bridge, consisted of Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson, who decided to finish the song while the other members were having lunch.Interview with Backstreet Boys, management, and others from ''Entertainment Weekly'' 10th Anniversary Issue.

Versions

The song's original recording features Brian Littrell singing both verses. This version was featured on the initial releases of their 1996 and 1997 self-titled albums. In August 1996, Max Martin flew to London in to re-record the second verse with Nick Carter at Battery Studios. This version was released as a single and was added to the later pressings of their 1996 international debut album and on the 1998 re-release of the US debut album. There is also an Italian version, "Non Puoi Lasciarmi Così," included in the Italian release of their debut album, in which Kevin Richardson and Howie Dorough sing the lead vocals of the first two verses.

Critical reception

AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that the "slick production adds luster to the singles 'Quit Playin' Games (With My Heart)' and ' As Long as You Love Me', making them as irresistible as teen pop can be." Larry Flick from ''Billboard'' noted that the song "cruises at a sweet jeep/funk pace, leaving plenty of room for a romantic lead vocal and layers of smooth harmonies." Can't Stop the Pop commented, "This is very much the archetypal Backstreet Boys mid-tempo, which laid the groundwork for many of their subsequent hits. ..It expertly weaves together a distinctive guitar melody with shimmering '90s pop production (and a pseudo- R&B beat) to create a song that glistens with a halcyon sunniness from start to finish. Cheiron would refine and evolve the formula in the years that followed, but here we have it in its purest form. And it is terrific."

Greg Kot from ''Chicago Tribune'' said that on 'Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)' and 'As Long As You Love Me', "the boys embodied teen-dream vulnerability." A reviewer from ''Music Week'' gave the song three out of five, viewing it as "a warm, mid-tempo, but somewhat unexceptional, R&B number. A fourth big UK hit beckons." Gerald Martinez from ''New Sunday Times'' described it as "bittersweet". ''People Magazine'' named it a "peppy" ballad, noting that "despite a tinge of melancholy in the group's harmonies, one can't help smiling." Bob Waliszewski of ''Plugged In'' said that on the song, "the singer longs to return to days before insensitivity and manipulation threatened to destroy the friendship."

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Quit Playing Games (with My Heart)" was filmed in Orlando, Florida on July 1, 1996. It was directed by Kai Sehr, and shows the group dancing and singing on a deserted basketball court at night. Halfway into the video, it begins to rain. Then, the boys' shirts are unbuttoned, showing their bare upper bodies as they continue to perform wet in the rain.

During the video shoot, Nick Carter lip-synced over Brian Littrell's vocals, as he didn't record his vocals until August that year. Initially, MTV was hesitant to air the video due to the boys taking their shirts off in the rain, but reluctantly embraced it after '' TRL'' viewership caught on with audiences. The music video premiered in October 1996 in Germany and in the week of June 15–22, 1997 in the U.S.

Legacy

Polish magazine ''Porcys'' ranked "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)" number 96 in their list of "100 Singles 1990-1999", naming it a "clever" ballad. In 2017, ''Billboard'' ranked it number six in their list of "The 100 Greatest Pop Songs of 1997", writing, "A relatively modest first hit for the group that would define pop music for the last couple years of the millennium — a shuffling mid-tempo ballad built around an acoustic guitar riff, some airy synths, and one of the sweetest-sounding choruses the pop world had heard in a long time." In 2020, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked the song number 26 in their list of the "75 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time".

Track listing

* America
CD1 (Old version)
# "Quit Playing Games (with My Heart)" (Video Version) – 3:52
# "Backstreet Boys Present... (Album Medley)" – 6:57
# "Lay Down Beside Me" – 5:30
# "Quit Playing Games (with My Heart)" (LP Version) – 3:49

CD2 (New version)
# "Quit Playing Games (with My Heart)" (LP Version)
# "Quit Playing Games (with My Heart)" (E-SMOOVE Vocal Mix)
# "Quit Playing Games (with My Heart)" (Jazzy Jim's Mixxshoww Slamma)
# "Quit Playing Games (with My Heart)" (Maurice Joshua Club Mix)

* Europe
CD1 (Classic version)
# "Quit Playing Games (with My Heart)" (Video Version) – 3:52
# "Nobody But You" (Long Version) – 6:07
# "Give Me Your Heart" – 5:06
# "Quit Playing Games (with My Heart)" (Acoustic Version) – 3:56

CD2 (Winter version)
# "Quit Playing Games (with My Heart)" (Video Version) – 3:56
# "Christmas Time" – 4:20
# "Lay Down Beside Me" – 5:32
# "Quit Playing Games (with My Heart)" (Acoustic Version) – 3:57

* UK
# "Quit Playing Games (with My Heart)" (Video Version) – 3:54
# "Nobody But You" (Long Version) – 6:08
# "Give Me Your Heart" – 5:08
# "Lay Down Beside Me" – 5:27

Cassette
# "Quit Playing Games (with My Heart)" (Video Version) – 3:52
# "Lay Down Beside Me" – 5:30

* Japan
# "Quit Playing Games (with My Heart)" (Video Version) – 3:52
# "Quit Playing Games (with My Heart)" (Acoustic Version) – 4:02
# "Anywhere for You" – 4:40
# "Don't Leave Me" – 4:18

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

Quit Playing Games (With My Heart) Song Chords

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1995 songs
1996 singles
1997 singles
1990s ballads
Backstreet Boys songs
European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles
Jive Records singles
Number-one singles in Austria
Number-one singles in the Czech Republic
Number-one singles in Germany
Number-one singles in Switzerland
Pop ballads
Song recordings produced by Max Martin
Songs written by Herbie Crichlow
Songs written by Max Martin
Torch songs