# DNA (Backstreet Boys album)

DNA is the ninth studio album by the Backstreet Boys. The album was first released in Japan on January 23, 2019, and everywhere else on January 25, 2019, through a collaboration with the group's own K-Bahn record label and RCA Records. The album features tracks written by Edei, Lauv, Andy Grammer, Stuart Crichton, Ryan Tedder and Shawn Mendes. This is the group's second album, after 2007's Unbreakable, without involvement from long-time producers and friends Max Martin and Kristian Lundin. It also serves as the follow-up to their eighth studio album, In a World Like This (2013). The singles preceded it "Don't Go Breaking My Heart", "Chances", "No Place", and is supported by the DNA World Tour, which is the band's most expansive in 18 years. The tour began on May 11, 2019, in Lisbon, Portugal, before visiting North America in July 2019. The album is their first and only on one of Sony Music's subsidiary companies after In a World Like This was released independently through BMG. It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, becoming the Backstreet Boys' third number-one album there and the first since Black & Blue in 2000.

## Background and promotion

A press release stated that the group "analyzed their DNA profiles to see what crucial element each member represents in the group's DNA." Kevin Richardson said of the album: "We were able to bring all of our influences and styles into one coherent piece of work. These songs are a great representation of who we are as individuals and who we are as a group. It's our DNA. We're really proud of that," yet any group members wrote no song on the album. DNA is also short for "Digital and Analog", which is how the boys started recording in the 1990s.
The group announced the album's name and its release date of November 9, 2018. The same day, they also released the single "Chances" and announced the DNA World Tour in support of the album, which began in May 2019.

## Critical reception

Professional ratings :
| Aggregate scores ||
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 67/100 |
| Review scores ||
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| Flood Magazine | 6/10 |
| The Guardian | |
| God Is in the TV | 2/10 |
| The Independent | |
| Rolling Stone | |
DNA mainly received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 67 based on four reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

## Commercial performance

DNA debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 234,000 album-equivalent units, of which 227,000 were pure album sales. It is the Backstreet Boys' third number-one album and first in 19 years, the last being Black & Blue (2000). It also makes this their eighth consecutive top-ten album following In a World Like This (2013) and set the group's record of generating number-one albums for three consecutive decades (1990-2010).
In Canada, the album debuted at number one with over 46,000 first-week sales. On January 3, 2020, the album was certified platinum with over 80,000 sales. This is also the 5th highest-selling album in Canada in 2019 in terms of physical copies.
In Japan, the album debuted at number one on the Billboard Japan Hot Albums chart selling 26,210 physical copies and 3,644 digital downloads.