10 Songs That Were Censored For Utterly Ridiculous Reasons

10. Backstreet Boys - "I Want It That Way"

Banned by the Chinese government in 2011, twelve years after its release for being "too vulgar," for a brief moment the Backstreet Boys regained a weird cultural relevance again. Suddenly, these aging boy band alum were too hot to handle. At least in China. The offending lyric, apparently chosen at random, is "You are my fire / My one desire," which is about as tawdry as a recycling bin. During this same time, China's Ministry of Culture went on a whitewashing spree, cleansing the airwaves of any song they deemed remotely obscene. So naturally they went after Lady Gaga and Katy Perry, banning a few songs each. That makes sense (at least in the context of what they were trying to do). But "I Want It That Way?" REALLY?