Boy and a Man – Tugging at the Heartstrings (Review)

It took me longer than I would’ve liked to write about this.

I’d fully planned to do a post about the song and the video once the video came out.

Then I watched the music video.

I’ll be completely honest, the ending of it destroyed me. It’s the second time a music video has ever caused me to cry. The first being Nick’s “I Will Wait“. But let me start with the song, because I had to re-watch the video again for this post and once again, ended up crying at the end. So maybe by focusing on that first I can get through talking about the video, which is absolutely beautiful.

The song itself is a very soothing melody, a nice contrast from Night Visions. Also, this is full blown country. This isn’t just country pop, or anything where it’s simply influenced. No, I could easily see this on CMT or one of the many country stations on the radio. It’s also a lesson that with the right voice I can enjoy a genre that’s never appealed to me on its own. The song also lyrically lends itself to a beautiful love story which is only enhanced by the power voice that belongs to the one and only AJ McLean. The story of a man asking for a chance from the woman of his dreams, promising he’ll be everything she dreams of and more. It’s rather sweet.

Onto the video.

There’s absolutely an homage to the beginning of the Disney movie Up but not just any part. Nope, instead it’s to the moment that destroyed us all. The Boy and a Man music video is a story of two friends from childhood, growing up to be more and everything they can be. Two people who’ve done nothing but been there for each other, loved each other, and helped each other down life’s winding roads. It’s wonderful and the cameo AJ’s wife Rochelle makes during the wedding and the dance scene after is even sweeter. Not to mention I noticed the real photos of his family in the scene, showing Lyric and Ava.

It’s the ending that destroys me. As his wife lay in bed dying, an elderly AJ is at her beside. He’s there till the end and it shattered my heart. It’s real and it hits home for me. I saw my father who loved my mother with all his heart do the same, holding his hand, simply being there till the very end. Telling her that no matter what, he’d always love her and it’d be okay. (Note – I had to step away for a few minutes because typing this had me going again.) The love shown in that scene translated so well and reminds me of how good an actor AJ really can be because I felt every emotion. The end shot, of an elderly AJ in the very barn where he met the love of his life so many years before, looking lost and alone…it’s enough to make anyone feel the pain of a broken heart.

I don’t know if I can ever watch this video again because of how close it hit home.

But that’s a compliment to AJ. That’s a compliment to the director. When art, any form of art can really get to you like that and create a story in such little time? That says a lot about the performer and the storyteller. With Boy and a Man, with Chances, and with Night Visions, it really makes me want to put AJ in charge of every video Backstreet Boys ever do – solo or as a group. This music video is beautiful AJ.

Be Proud.

Because We Are.