Key Takeaways
- Filming Challenges: The Backstreet Boys faced a winter storm while shooting their T-Mobile Super Bowl commercial in New York City.
- Condensed Schedule: The original two-day shoot was shortened to one day due to weather conditions.
- Collaborative Effort: The band and production team worked closely together, creating a fun and creative environment.
- New Lyrics: The group recorded humorous new lyrics for their iconic song specifically for the commercial.
The Backstreet Boys bring a fun, reimagined version of “I Want It That Way” to T-Mobile’s 2026 Super Bowl commercial, which they filmed in New York City with a snowstorm looming.
“We were hit with the winter storm right at the exact same time we were supposed to start filming,” BSB’s Nick Carter revealed in an interview with Billboard’s Tetris Kelly, noting, “There was a lot of adjustments that were being made at the time because we were supposed to do a two-day shoot.”
That two-day schedule was condensed into one long day on set in the city at T-Mobile’s store in Times Square, where Carter says the temperature dropped to about six degrees, with snow imminent: “There’s a state of emergency basically in the city … The inside of the store was freezing. So every time that they opened the door it was like a wind tunnel, or like a refrigerator.”
As Carter shared, “It was a lot of fun, but it was also a lot of work — good work. Producers were incredible. Everybody had a lot of fun. Everybody was really creative.” He added that the group and the commercial’s production team bounced ideas off of each other, while bandmate Kevin Richardson chimed in, “It was a great collaboration.”
Billboard has a backstage look at the Backstreet Boys’ T-Mobile commercial shoot, premiering in the bloopers clip and the behind-the-scenes video below.
The commercial was created in partnership with Panay Films, with a 60-second spot scheduled to air during the second quarter of the game on Super Bowl Sunday (Feb. 8).
“This spot is about asking Americans to pause and think about what their wireless provider actually does for them,” said Lucy McLellan, chief brand and communications officer at T-Mobile, in a statement about the ad. “We believe people deserve more than just a connection — they deserve more benefits, more transparency and a better overall experience — and that’s what sets T-Mobile apart. Bringing the Backstreet Boys back was a fun way to put a fresh twist on an iconic song and bring that message to life on the biggest stage in the world. The takeaway is simple: it’s better over here.”
The in-store event had something like 50 extras present, the Backstreet Boys said: customers — and, clearly, BSB fans — at the T-Mobile store.
Druski and Pierson Fodé are also featured in the spot, which was directed by Steve Pink and produced by creative team Andrew Panay, Brian Klugman and Nate Tuck, with Kevin Anderson as editor.
Also among the talent was a young actor who was a pro through a commercial shoot that went late into the night due to the weather-adjusted timeline, AJ McLean recalled; her moment was opposite Machine Gun Kelly, who makes a comedic cameo at the end of the ad: “We knew that MGK had not started filming yet, and we had wrapped close to 2 a.m. and he hadn’t even started filming his bit yet,” McClean said. “So that means that little girl was probably there at, like, three in the morning … But everybody, from the extras to crew, they just kept the ball rolling.”
Ahead of getting on set, the Backstreet Boys put in time in the studio to record some new, funny lyrics to “I Want It That Way,” written specifically for the T-Mobile commercial.
“We recorded several different versions of the different takes and the lyrics,” Howie Dorough shared.
Watch T-Mobile’s Super Bowl commercial with the Backstreet Boys below, followed by Billboard‘s premiere of their bloopers and a behind-the-scenes video of the group’s on-set experience.
