Show 'Em (What You're Made Of)

Album: In a World Like This (2013)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • AJ McLean and Kevin Richardson wrote this song with songwriters Mika Guillory and Morgan Taylor Reid. McLean told Rolling Stone that the Backstreet pair penned the song for their children: "Kevin was like, 'Why don't we write something that's about our kids or is a positive reinforcement-type song because there is so much negativity out there and bullying and all this crap that's been going on? The world needs positivity,'" he said. "Not only was it my daughter and his son, but it was all of our kids that were influenced and even other people's kids and just fathers, mothers, people that are the kind of people that encourage you to go out and to show 'em what you're made of, give it your all and the song turned out beyond what I ever expected it to be. It became this huge emotional record."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Divided Souls: Musical Alter Egos

Divided Souls: Musical Alter EgosSong Writing

Long before Eminem, Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj created alternate personas, David Bowie, Bono, Joni Mitchell and even Hank Williams took on characters.

La La Brooks of The Crystals

La La Brooks of The CrystalsSong Writing

The lead singer on "Da Doo Ron Ron" and "Then He Kissed Me," La La explains how and why Phil Spector replaced The Crystals with Darlene Love on "He's A Rebel."

Supertramp founder Roger Hodgson

Supertramp founder Roger HodgsonSongwriter Interviews

Roger tells the stories behind some of his biggest hits, including "Give a Little Bit," "Take the Long Way Home" and "The Logical Song."

Kim Thayil of Soundgarden

Kim Thayil of SoundgardenSongwriter Interviews

Their frontman (Chris Cornell) started out as their drummer, so Soundgarden takes a linear approach when it comes to songwriting. Kim explains how they do it.

Dino Cazares of Fear Factory

Dino Cazares of Fear FactorySongwriter Interviews

The guitarist/songwriter explains how he came up with his signature sound, and deconstructs some classic Fear Factory songs.

Chris Tomlin

Chris TomlinSongwriter Interviews

The king of Christian worship music explains talks about writing songs for troubled times.