In a 2018 interview with Billboard, band member Joey Fatone described the song as "edgy for pop" and was apprehensive about its reception with listeners.

[1] "I Want You Back" was released as a CD single in Germany on October 4, 1996,[2] and eventually in the United States on February 17, 1998.

[4] "I Want You Back" was sent out to American CHR stations on December 29, 1997, prior to the song's release as a CD single in the US.

[1] The band attempt to contact a girl through a computer, in order to bring her onto the ship, while they are dancing throughout the video.

[citation needed] The second video accompanied the British and US release of the song in 1998 and was directed by Jesse Vaughan and Douglas Biro in America.

[1] The video was partially shot in grayscale, and depicts NSYNC performing in a warehouse, playing pool, riding jet-skis, and driving around the neighborhood with a girl in a Cadillac.