Backstreet Boys Perform “I Want It That Way” with Classroom Instruments

The Backstreet Boys perform “I Want It That Way” with Jimmy Fallon and The Roots using classroom instruments. The familiar vocals remain at the center as a small-scale ensemble provides accompaniment. The recognizable melody acts as an anchor while the arrangement invites viewers to notice the instrumental choices around it.

The Tonight Show’s official upload identifies the participants and instruments. The June 2018 recording shows the song divided among percussion, simple melodic parts and group vocals.

Brian Littrell uses an apple shaker and woodblock; Nick Carter plays tambourine, Kevin Richardson a güiro, AJ McLean a maraca and Howie Dorough coconuts. The instruments become part of the presentation.

Fallon contributes bass drum, a Casio keyboard and an apple shaker. The Roots add xylophone, melodica, ukulele, kazoos, bongos and triangle to the arrangement.

The song stays recognizable because its melody and vocal lines remain clear. Changing the accompaniment shifts attention toward the smaller sounds surrounding the familiar tune. This makes the format more than a visual novelty, since the changed sound also brings the song’s structure into focus.

Watch the performance

The instruments make the scale of the performance look approachable, although the group still has to coordinate its parts. The simple visual setup supports a full ensemble arrangement.

Shakers and tambourines provide rhythmic movement without crowding the voices. Their brief, bright sounds give the accompaniment definition while leaving the melody easy to follow. Each part occupies a defined space, allowing the voices to remain prominent while the instruments provide rhythmic support.

Ukulele and melodica add another kind of color. Their timbres differ from a polished pop production, creating contrast around a song whose shape remains familiar.

Timing is part of the arrangement’s success. Players need to enter together, maintain the pulse and support the vocal phrases even within the lighthearted presentation. The group’s timing is therefore important even when the performance presents itself as informal and lighthearted.

Listeners who know the original can compare the song’s familiar structure with the changed instrumental setting. The differences become noticeable precisely because the melody remains recognizable.

All five Backstreet Boys are present, connecting the performance with the group’s own repertoire. They revisit the song within the show’s recurring classroom-instrument format. Their participation also makes the cover a reunion with their own recorded repertoire, heard in a different setting.

Fallon and The Roots provide the instrumental framework and playful setting. The band’s parts and the group’s vocals work together to define the performance.

The format makes some musical actions visible. Viewers can connect an instrument with the sound it produces and see how separate parts combine into an accompaniment. This visual connection can help listeners follow how the accompaniment is built from several small parts.

The idea is straightforward: familiar performers, a well-known song and an unexpected set of instruments. The arrangement keeps the visual concept connected to the music. The performance works because the arrangement remains understandable from beginning to end, even with its unusual instrumentation.

The instruments may look simple, but the musicians organize them around rhythm, melody and phrasing. The performance invites attention to both its presentation and its coordination. It provides a compact example of how melody and rhythm can be carried by instruments with very different sounds.

The Tonight Show video places the Backstreet Boys’ vocal identity in a smaller sonic frame. Fallon and The Roots help build an ensemble arrangement from classroom instruments.

More videos to explore

The group’s official “I Want It That Way” video offers the familiar pop production for a direct comparison with this arrangement.

Ed Sheeran joins Fallon and The Roots for a separate classroom-instrument performance of “Shape of You.”

Further reading: Tonight Show performance and source video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMFsCqrJqwI