nsync tour 1997

NSYNC in Concert

NSYNC in Concert (also known as the "Second II None Tour", "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now Tour", "Boys of Summer Tour" and "The Winter Shows") is NSYNC's second concert tour in support of their self-titled debut studio album.

The band primarily visited North America and the tour lasted for 18 months (from June 11, 1998 to January 1, 2000), playing over 200 concerts in over 100 cities.

In 1998, "NSYNC in Concert" was nominated for "Best New Artist Tour" by Pollstar Concert Industry Awards and also became one of the biggest tours in 1999, earning over $50 million.

• 1 Background
• 2.1 June to September 1998
• 2.2 November 1998 to February 1999
• 2.3 March to September 1999
• 2.4 November 1999 to January 2000
• 3 Opening Acts
• 4 Concert Dates
• 5.1 Box office score data
• 6 Broadcasts & Recordings
• 7 Critical Reception

Background [ ]

After completing a promotional tour for their debut album, NSYNC announced their first tour in North America. Previously, they toured Germany for their "For the Girl Tour" in 1997. The summer outing saw the band playing in nightclubs, state fairs and radio music festivals.

After the airing of their Disney Channel concert special, "NSYNC: Live in Concert", the band's popularity grew in the United States and additional dates were added to the tour.

Now known as the "Second II None Tour", NSYNC performed in theatres and auditoriums. Before the tour began in November 1998, the band become the opening act for Janet Jackson's The Velvet Rope Tour during concerts in October 1998.

During this time, the band was involved in a legal battle with their former manager Lou Pearlman and transitioning from RCA to Jive Records.

The leg ended in February 1999, after performing at a radio music festival in San Jose, California. Around this time, band member Lance Bass expressed the band would expand their upcoming tour to the United Kingdom; however, this did not come to fruition.

The next leg of the tour, known as "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now Tour" began in the spring of 1999. The band were now playing arenas in the United States and the tour was sponsored by Oxy Balance.

During an interview with the Hartford Courant, band member JC Chasez described the tour as: "The concerts, yeah, are loud and crazy, and people scream and everything like that but it's fun. It's all in good fun. The core of the show is the same, the same old singing and dancing, NSYNC style: a high-energy, very personal performance."

While performing a concert in New Haven, Connecticut, local radio station WKCI-FM declared March 13, 1999 as "NSYNC Day."

While touring in Florida, Lance Bass became sick and missed the concerts in Tampa and Sunrise. The tour was expanded once again to the summer and was called the "Boys of Summer Tour." The shows were sponsored by Clairol Herbal Essence.

For the August concert in Denver, NSYNC allowed students of Columbine High School to attend the concert for free. Towards the end of the leg, they were forced to cancel concerts due to schedule conflicts relating to their lawsuit. NSYNC made up the dates in their final tour expansion known as "The Winter Show."

During an AOL chat with fans, JC Chasez stated they were already preparing for their upcoming tour in 2000. He also expressed hoping to tour the United Kingdom, Continental Europe, Australia and Japan.

During this leg, the band performed their new singles, "Bye Bye Bye" and "Music of My Heart". The leg ended with a New Year's Eve concert in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Setlist [ ]

June to september 1998 [ ].

• "Dance Sequence" (contains elements of "The Imperial March" and "Finally")
• "Crazy for You"
• "I Just Wanna Be with You"
• "(God Must Have Spent) A Little More Time on You"
• "I Want You Back" / "ABC" / "The Love You Save"
• "Jive Talkin'" / "Too Much Heaven" / "How Deep Is Your Love" / "Stayin' Alive" / "You Should Be Dancing"
• "I Want You Back"
• "You Got It"
• "Here We Go"
• "Tearin' Up My Heart"

November 1998 to February 1999 [ ]

• "Together Again"
• "Video Sequence"
• "More Than a Feeling"
• "The Longest Time"
• "My Girl" / "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)" / "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)"
• "Thinking of You (I Drive Myself Crazy)"
• "Instrumental Sequence"
• "Forever Young"

March to September 1999 [ ]

• "Dance Sequence" (contains elements of "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See" and "They Don't Care About Us")
• "For the Girl Who Has Everything"
• "That Thing You Do"
• "Celebration"
• "Video Sequence" [You Drive Me Crazy Video]
• "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now"

November 1999 to January 2000 [ ]

• "Video Sequence" (contains elements of the "James Bond Theme" and the "Theme from Mission: Impossible")
• "U Drive Me Crazy"
• "Music of My Heart"
• "Untitled II" (instrumental interlude)
• "Bye Bye Bye"

Opening Acts [ ]

• N-Tyce (Leg 1, select dates)
• Britney Spears (Leg 2)
• Sweetbox (Leg 2, select dates)
• B*Witched (Leg 2 & 3, select dates)
• Divine (Leg 3, select dates)
• Tatyana Ali (Leg 3, select dates)
• Blaque (Leg 3 & 4, select dates)
• Jordan Knight (Leg 4)
• 3rd Storee (Leg 4, select dates)
• Billy Crawford (Leg 4, select dates)
• Raven-Symoné (Leg 4, select dates)
• Five (Leg 4, select dates)
• INOJ (Leg 4, select dates)
• Mandy Moore (Leg 4, select dates)
• Michael Africk (Leg 4, select dates)
• P.Y.T. (Leg 4, select dates)
• Trey D. (Leg 4, select dates)
• Shanice (Leg 4, select dates)
• Sugarhill Gang (Leg 4, select dates)
• Ron Irizarry (Leg 4 & 5, select dates)
• A–Teens (Leg 5, select dates)
• McMaster & James (Leg 5, select dates)
• Wild Orchid (Leg 5, select dates)
• Innosense (Hawaii; December 1999)

Concert Dates [ ]

Tour dates [ ].

• This concert was a part of " Wango Tango "
• This concert was a part of the "Burlington Steamboat Days"
• These concerts were a part of " Sweetstock "
• These concerts were a part of the " B96 SummerBash "
• This concert was a part of the "Waterfront Festival"
• This concert was a part of "FunFest"
• This concert was a part of the "Rock County 4-H Fair"
• This concert was a part of the "Santa Clara County Fair"
• This concert was a part of the " Clark County Fair "
• This concert was a part of the " Sioux Empire Fair "
• This concert was a part of the " Illinois State Fair "
• This concert was a part of " Kissfest "
• This concert was a part of the " Western Idaho Fair "
• This concert was a part of the " Kansas State Fair "
• This concert was a part of the "Kmart Convention"
• This concert was a part of the "Broward County Fair"
• This concert was a part of the "Jingle Ball"
• This concert was a part of the " Pro Bowl "
• This concert was a part of the " Skool Spirit Jam "
• This concert was a part of "Disney's Summer Jam"
• This concert was a part of the " KISS Concert "
• This concert was a part of "Teenapalooza"
• This concert was a part of the "Summer Music Mania"

Box office score data [ ]

Broadcasts & recordings [ ].

NSYNC's performance at Disney's "Summer Jam" was filmed on May 12, 1999 and aired on ABC in June. Their performances at "Summer Music Mania" and "Teenapolooza" were aired on UPN on August 31, 1999.

The July 2nd performance at the National Car Rental Center was filmed was for a PPV special entitled, "'NSYNC 'N Concert." The concert was presented by WAM! America's Kidz Network and was made available on September 11, 1999.

Critical Reception [ ]

Overall, "NSYNC in Concert" received positive elucidation from music critics and concertgoers. Gord Westmacott (London Free Press) writes the boy band threw their female fans into a frenzy, at the Centennial Hall in London, Ontario.

He continues: "All five returned to the stage for an a cappella medley of Bee Gees' songs, including 'Jive Talking' and 'How Deep Is Your Love', a move which seemed to win points with the parents and proved that yes, they really can sing. But it was the up-tempo material that drew the best response, as the members bounced around the stage in tightly choreographed dance routines, proving that they can dance too—or at least strut really well. And there was no question they knew exactly how to play the crowd, providing just enough pelvic thrusts amid the ernest and squeaky-clean production."

Kiernan Grant (Toronto Sun) enjoyed the performance at the Molson Amphitheatre. He says, "Imagine the fever pitch when their helmets were dropped to reveal heart-throbs JC, Justin, Joey, Chris, and Lance—NSYNC in the flesh. Of course, there was still a heavy layer of Gortex—gloves included—to come off as the track-suited NSYNC strutted about to tunes from their self-titled debut album. The group delighted their fans with their fluid and casual dance moves, hootin' and hollerin' and just-this-side-of-bad-boy posturing."

Mike Ross (Music Express) called the performance at Skyreach Centre a "fusion of a rock 'n roll concert and a visit to Disneyland. He explains, "The crowd was on its feet—screaming, screaming, all that screaming ... There was actually something to scream about. Say what you want about boy-groups with millions of dollars in production at their disposal. They may be pinnacle of pop fluff, but they're not putting on boring concerts."

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When Chris Kirkpatrick didn’t make the cut for the Backstreet Boys line-up, notorious music mogul Lou Pearlman had a stroke of genius and created his own unique boyband. Recruiting JC Chasez, Justin Timberlake, Lance Bass and Joey Fatone, N’Sync were born probably one of the biggest American boy bands of the late nineties. This bubblegum pop band were teenage heartthrobs and that didn’t go unnoticed by the hordes of swooning fans across the world.

Their self-titled album released in 1997 featuring the breakthrough single “Tearin’ Up My Heart” debuted at number two in the Billboard charts. Stylised as the all-American pop boyband was a no-brainer especially at a time when pop ruled the charts. The radio stations loved them, so did MTV and obviously so did their fans. Their second album “No Strings Attached” (2000) saw them really come into their own, stepping out and bringing a more upbeat album that sounded like N’Sync and not having to be compared to any other pop boy band. Selling almost 10 million copies of the album saw them clinch the title of best-selling album of the decade and also top-selling album of 2000. Delving into a dancier side of pop, the band released “Bye, Bye, Bye” which remained in the top 5 of Hot 100 Airplay charts for 5 weeks. The album also scored them their first number one in the singles chart with “It’s Gonna Be Me”. “Celebrity” (2001) their third album saw the band evolve even more as they became more involved in its creative process with Chasez and Timberlake writing and producing some tracks and also saw them collaborate with rapper Nelly on “Girlfriend”. What is a boyband without a good live show? As well as being super-talented, the N’Sync lads are natural born entertainers. They certainly don’t do things by halves, and their show are nothing short of spectacular. Playing arena tours all over the world is the perfect platform for the band to really put their heart and soul into each and every performance. It’s no surprise that they have thousands upon thousands of adoring fans turn up to their shows dressed in band merchandise and holding home-made signs expressing their love for the band. Everything in an N’Sync show is expertly executed, singing and choreographed dancing simultaneously is no easy feat but they make it look like a walk in the park. Props are a focal point of their live shows, whether it’s them entering the stage with “No Strings Attached” and literally having strings attached them as if they were being controlled by a marionette or even “It’s Gonna Be Me” and recreating the music video of them playing in a toy shop. Each song on the set list is another themed setting. Between quick wardrobe changes the crowd are still being entertained with comic relief footage being shown on the video screens or by having a band member entertaining the crowd like Timberlake beatboxing. The crowd are an integral part of any N’Sync show, showing the band an incredible amount of love whether it’s through dancing, singing, cheering or being moved to tears. What is certain is that N’Sync have a very passionate and loyal following.

As well as being a highly energised show, N’Sync sure know how to rein it in and slow it down with carefully selected ballads like “God Must Have Spent a Little More Time On You”, “Gone” and “That’s When I’ll Stop Loving You”. The moment when the band stop to sing “I Thought She Knew” acapella, is spine-chilling, a sentiment shared by those watching in awe. The 5 part harmonies are tight and as corny as it may sound, as perfectly in sync demonstrating what incredible vocalists they are not only individually but as a unit.

Having “Digital Get Down” and “Bye Bye Bye” for the encore is met with rapturous applause, as they close with pyro, smoke, confetti and flashing lights- the full works. You’re never short of entertainment at an N’Sync show, great fun, amazing harmonies, catchy pop tunes and a full production. What more could you want?

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N'sync captured my little heart at five years old and have held onto it ever since. I saw this heartthrob of a boy band when I was in first grade and it has stuck in my memory as one of the happiest days of my childhood. I spent weeks making the perfect poster to hold up at the concert, and begged my mom to buy me a t-shirt that had their faces on it.

The boy band's catchy pop lyrics and mesmerizing dance moves had me standing up and singing every single word to every single song. I think I even teared up when Justin sang one of the slower songs. I was so in love with him... (and I still am!)

If I could relive that night, I totally would! They definitely put on a great show and it was one I will never forget. It's a shame that they're no longer together and I'm forever hoping for a reunion concert!

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Still *NSYNC | An *NSYNC Fansite

A love letter to our favorite group

*NSYNC Timeline: The Early Years (1995-1997)

Early *NSYNC

Chris worked at Universal with Hollywood Hightones for three years (NPO)

Lance joined Nsync just before his senior year of high school (NY)

Joey and Chris meet while working at Universal Studios. Chris as a doo-wop singer and Joey as a werewolf in the Beetlejuice Graveyard Revue. Chris gets the idea to form an a cappella group. He calls Justin who he met at auditions, Justin calls JC who he knows can harmonize well, Chris and JC run into Joey at a club, whom they both know, and Justin calls his vocal coach in Memphis to find a good bass singer, and he recommends Lance. Thus, ‘N Sync is formed. They start putting together demos and practicing in an abandoned warehouse. They perform anywhere they can, including Joey’s old High School. The guys meet Lou Pearlman, they are signed to Transcon Records and he starts to promote ‘N Sync.

Justin on 8th grade basketball team, 1995 EE Jeter Elementary School, Millington, Tennessee (NY)

Justin – 8th grade spelling bee winner (NY)

Justin – 8th grade, voter “Mr. Jeter.” (NY)

January 28 – Joey’s 18th birthday

January 31 – Justin’s 14th birthday

May 04 – Lance’s 16th birthday

June – Joey graduates from high school, Dr. Phillips High School, Orlando, Florida

August 08 – JC’s 19th birthday

October 1995

17 – Chris’ 24th birthday

22 – Promotional/Demo performance recorded at Rock ‘N Roll Beach Club, Pleasure Island in Orlando

November 1995

In NY City, “together as a group for only four weeks” NOB

Warsaw, Poland; Switzerland NOB

Lynn Harless stopped traveling/touring w/Justin when he was sixteen. She spent the first year and a half traveling with the band (NOB)

Performance at Lance’s high school 95/96-ish?

28 – Joey’s 19th birthday

31 – Justin’s 15th birthday

26 – appear at Dr. Phillips High School Showcase

04 – Lance’s 17th birthday

08 – appear at Orlando Magic’s game?

04 – Sign first record deal. They are signed to RCA/BMG Germany and take off for a tour of Europe

08 – JC’s 20th birthday

08 – Do photoshoot with Fryderyk Gabowicz

10 – First performance in Germany at the Pop-Rockey-Summerparty in Munich. They perform 2 a cappella songs

14-16 – “I Want You Back” recorded at Cheiron Studio with Denniz Pop in Stockholm. Some of the video was filmed there as well?

28 – Bravo TV tapes and airs the first news story about Nsync

Articles on Nsync start appearing in German magazines

30 – First live radio interviews in Berlin

30 – Appearance on Swiss TV show Coom

31? – Lynn Harless and Diane Bass photographed backstage in Hanover, Germany

07 – I Want You Back released in Germany. The video goes into highest rotation on MTV and VIVA

12 – Performed at Pop Explosion concert, Dusseldorf’s Philipshale

15 – IWYB enters German charts

15 – Appearance on Swiss TV show Coom

17 – Chris’ 25th birthday celebrated with rest of group (NOB)

17 – Opening act for DJ Bobo in Cologne, Germany. Chris gets a birthday cake on stage

I Want You Back video, directed by Jeff Clark, released in Germany (that late?)

31 – Appearance on German TV show Sylvester Gala, doing IWYB

‘N Sync, the album is released in Europe, “I Want You Back” the first single released by ‘N Sync goes gold in about 3 months. They earned the title of the quickest rising single. Their sold out tours brought them to places such as: the United Kingdom, Mexico, South Africa, Asia, and of course Germany.

January-ish – Tearin’ Up My Heart video filmed in Florida, directed by Stefan Ruzowitsky, released Feb/Mar in Germany, summer ’97 in UK, May ’98 in North America

28 – Joey’s 20th birthday

31 – Justin’s 16th birthday

31 – Nsync did a chat on the BMG website

Appear on German TV show Tigerenten Club

02/03? – Appearance on Dutch(?) TV show TMF Toute Fabienne

03 – Appearance on European TV show Rabo Top 40 (interview at photoshoot)

06 – performance in Freiburg, Germany at the Stadthalle (Nsync ’97 tour)

06 – Appearance on German TV show Viva Wecker #1, interview in hotel room, on bed, go through bags

07 – Bravo Super Show

07 – performance in Mannheim, Germany at the Stadthalle (Nsync ’97 tour)

08 – Radio Regenbogen party in Karlsruhe, Germany

08 – performance in Karlsruhe, Germany at the Europahalle (Nsync ’97 tour)

09 – performance in Offenburg, Germany at the Ortenauhalle (Nsync ’97 tour)

10 – performance in Basel, Switzerland at the St. Jakobhalle (Nsync ’97 tour)

10 – Tearin’ Up My Heart single released in Germany

11 – Appearance on German TV show Viva Interactiv, promoting TUMH, filmed in Cologne, Germany

22 – Lance receives his high school diploma

22 – Perform on televised Echo Awards show (TUMH)

28? – Justin breaks his thumb

01 – performance in Trier, Germany at the Riverside (I Want You Back tour w/Toni Cottura and Funky Diamonds as opening acts)

02 – performance in Celle, Germany at the Stadthalle (I Want You Back tour w/Toni Cottura and Funky Diamonds as opening acts)

03 – Appearance on UK TV show Zell-o-Fun

03 – performance in Hamburg, Germany at the Grobe Freiheit (I Want You Back tour w/Toni Cottura and Funky Diamonds as opening acts)

05 – performance in Lichtenfels, Germany at the Stadthalle (I Want You Back tour w/Toni Cottura and Funky Diamonds as opening acts)

05 – Appearance on German TV show Viva Weker, sing Hard To Say I’m Sorry, and some discussion of Joey’s boxers(?)

07 – performance in Bonn, Germany at the Biskuithalle (I Want You Back tour w/Toni Cottura and Funky Diamonds as opening acts)

08 – Appearance on European TV show Zell-O-Fun (karaoke: Surfin’ USA)

08 – performance in Boblingen, Germany at the Kongresshalle (I Want You Back tour w/Toni Cottura and Funky Diamonds as opening acts)

09 – performance in Munchen, Germany at the Babylon (I Want You Back tour w/Toni Cottura and Funky Diamonds as opening acts)

13 – performance in Bautzen, Germany at the Kulturhaus (I Want You Back tour w/Toni Cottura and Funky Diamonds as opening acts)

14 – performance in Cottbus, Germany at the Stadthalle (I Want You Back tour w/Toni Cottura and Funky Diamonds as opening acts)

15 – performance in Wernesbrun, Germany at the Stadthalle (I Want You Back tour w/Toni Cottura and Funky Diamonds as opening acts)

16 – performance in Chemnitz, Germany at the Stadthalle (I Want You Back tour w/Toni Cottura and Funky Diamonds as opening acts)

19 – performance in Zurich, Switzerland at the Volkshaus (I Want You Back tour w/Toni Cottura and Funky Diamonds as opening acts)

20 – performance in Neu Isenburg, Germany at the Hugenottenhalle (I Want You Back tour w/Toni Cottura and Funky Diamonds as opening acts)

21 – Appearance on German TV show Viva (interview from Stadthalle)

21 – performance in Steinheim, Germany at the Stadthalle (I Want You Back tour w/Toni Cottura and Funky Diamonds as opening acts)

22 – Supposed to have a concert in Berlin, but that got moved to the next day as they were asked to be on the German TV show Wetten, dass… , where they performed TUMH

23? – performance in Berlin, Germany at the Arena (I Want You Back tour w/Toni Cottura and Funky Diamonds as opening acts)

23 – Appearance on Swiss TV show Coom

25 – Appearance on Swiss TV show Coom

28 – Appearance on Belgan TV show TMF Extra

28 – Appearance on Dutch TV show Telekids (TUMH and interview); going go-karting (in/near Amsterdam); performance at festival in Utrecht, Netherlands

30 – Appearance on Amsterdam TV; report at meet-and-greet, interview, concert footage; going to the movies in Amsterdam to see Space Jam

April-ish – Here We Go video filmed in Vienna, directed by Stefan Ruzowitsky, released in Europe May ’97

01 – Tearin’ Up My Heart Remix single released in Germany

05 – Children Need A Helping Hand video filmed in Germany

05 – Appearance on German TV show N3 Dance Palace (backstage interview, HWG, ITSK, TUMH, IWYB)

17 – Appearance on German TV show N3 Kinderratgeber (visiting fan with carnival)

18 – Appear on German TV show Ultra Pop

21 – Photographed at Marriott hotel, Zurich

Appear on German TV show Viva Interaktiv (interview, TUMH performance)

04 – Lance’s 18th birthday

05 – Here We Go single released in Germany

05 – Appearance on German TV show Viva Wecker #1, interview in sunroom

06-14 – All back in the States for a vacation?

16 – Appearance on German TV show RTL Explosiv

17 – Mainz, Germany open air concert

24 – Appearance on Spanish(?) TV show Bravo TV Stars

26 – *NSYNC self-titled album released in Germany

31 – German “Charity ’97’ concert appearance at the Oberhausen Arena. Backstreet Boys also perform. Children Need A Helping Hand performed

06 – Appearance on Dutch(?) TV show N3 Kinderatgever

08/09? – German TV appearance on Jeugdjournaal? (visiting a fan at home with carnival?)

26 – Nsync performs in Valencia, Spain at a disco called Woody. (They may or may not have stayed overnight at the Rey Don Jaime Hotel, and left early the next morning.

Chris get his braces (thanks MickeyM!)

Justin gets his tonsils out the end of July in Memphis, and Nsync do one or two shows without him(?)

02 – Appear at L’Equipe Anglaise, London private show

Together Again video shot in California, directed by DoRo, released Nov/Dec in Europe

06 – For The Girl Who Has Everything video filmed in Malibu, released in Europe Sept. ’97

08 – JC’s 21st birthday

16 – Appearance on German TV show Hitclip from Cologne (HWG, TUMH)

18 – For The Girl… single released in Germany

22 – Appearance on German TV show Viva Interaktiv (interview, FTG, Lion Sleeps)

24 – Vaduz/Lichenstein concert

06 – Pop Explosion concert in Germany, with Backstreet Boys, No Mercy, Bluemchen, Worlds Apart, Scooter, Gute Zeiten, Thy Boyz, Funky Diamonds, Mr. President, and Der Wolf at Berlin’s Deutschlandhalle

07 – Appearance on European TV show The Dome (HWG, FTG)

07 – Appearance on European TV show IFA Stars n’ Hits (Lion Sleeps)

10 – Nsync/Backstreet Boys charity basketball game

30 – performance in Munchen, Germany at the Babylon (For The Girl tour w/Charisma and Solid HarmoniE as opening acts)

home video ‘We Are Nsync’ released in Europe

Appear on German TV show Pur

01 – performance in Mannheim, Germany at the Rosengarten (For The Girl tour w/Charisma and Solid HarmoniE as opening acts)

02 – performance in Heilbronn, Germany at the Harmonie (For The Girl tour w/Charisma and Solid HarmoniE as opening acts)

04 – performance in Goppingen, Germany at the Hohenstaufenhalle (For The Girl tour w/Charisma and Solid HarmoniE as opening acts)

05 – performance in Wien, Germany at the Libro Music Hall (For The Girl tour w/Charisma and Solid HarmoniE as opening acts)

10 – performance in Cottbus, Germany at the Messehalle 2 (For The Girl tour w/Charisma and Solid HarmoniE as opening acts)

11 – performance in Fulda, Germany at the Richthalle (For The Girl tour w/Charisma and Solid HarmoniE as opening acts)

12 – performance in Berlin, Germany at the Arena (For The Girl tour w/Charisma and Solid HarmoniE as opening acts)

14 – performance in Stade, Germany at the Stadeum (For The Girl tour w/Charisma and Solid HarmoniE as opening acts)

15 – Appearance on European TV show Now TV (interview in a caravan)

15 – Appearance on European TV show Pepsi Pop 97 (IWYB, TUMH, FTG, interview)

16 – Appearance on German TV show Viva (in Bonn, live video for Lion Sleeps)

16 – performance in Bonn, Germany at the Biskuithalle (For The Girl tour w/Charisma and Solid HarmoniE as opening acts)

16 – Lion Sleeps Tonight video filmed at the Biskuithalle, Berlin, Germany; directed by Sven Offen and Tom Pahanka

17 – Chris’ 26th birthday

17 – performance in Halle, Germany at the Eissporthalle (For The Girl tour w/Charisma and Solid HarmoniE as opening acts)

18 – performance in Chemnitz, Germany at the Eissporthalle (For The Girl tour w/Charisma and Solid HarmoniE as opening acts)

19 – performance in Rostock, Germany at the Stadthalle (For The Girl tour w/Charisma and Solid HarmoniE as opening acts)

20 – performance in Magdeburg, Germany at the Bordelandhalle (For The Girl tour w/Charisma and Solid HarmoniE as opening acts)

22 – performance in Erfurt, Germany at the Thuringenhalle (For The Girl tour w/Charisma and Solid HarmoniE as opening acts)

23 – performance in Hannover, Germany at the Music Hall (For The Girl tour w/Charisma and Solid HarmoniE as opening acts)

24 – Appearance on German TV show Bravo TV (interview, Together Again)

24 – performance in Hamburg, Germany at the CCH Saal 3 (For The Girl tour w/Charisma and Solid HarmoniE as opening acts)

26 – performance in Herne, Germany at the Gusenberghalle (For The Girl tour w/Charisma and Solid HarmoniE as opening acts)

27 – German TV appearance on Brisant Bambi?

30 – IWYB to be released to radio stations in the US

08 – Together Again single released in Germany

11 – Nsync win BAMBI award

17 – Appearance on German TV show Viva Starfragen/Star Question ’97, answer questions in dressing room(?)

18 – performance in Bournemouth, UK at the International Centre (Smash Hits tour)

19 – performance in Cardiff, UK at the International Arena (Smash Hits tour)

20 – performance in Manchester, UK at the Nynex (Smash Hits tour)

21 – performance in Sheffield, UK at the Sheffield Arena (Smash Hits tour)

22 – performance in Newcastle, UK at the Newcastle Arena (Smash Hits tour)

23 – performance in Birmingham, UK at the NEC (Smash Hits tour)

I Want You Back (version 2) video filmed at Universal Studios, released Feb ’98 in North America

book in German released in Europe about Nsync, called Crazy For You

Attend Christmas parade in Jackson, Mississippi, all wearing silver puffy jackets

05 – performance in Orlando at House of Blues (North American promo tour)

07 – (Taped?) appearance on German TV show Hot-N-Holy Christmas

13 – Appearance on German TV show ZDF Kinder 97 (Sailing)

20 – Stacy Bass and Ford Lofton’s wedding

31 – Appearance on European TV show Sylvester Party (HWG, FTG, TUMH, countdown to 1998)

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• November 22, 1997 Setlist

*NSYNC Setlist at Newcastle Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne, England

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• Nov 22 1997 Smash Hits Tour 1997 This Setlist Newcastle upon Tyne, England Add time Add time
• Feb 06 1998 Bravo Super Show 1998 Dortmund, Germany Add time Add time
• Feb 07 1998 RSH-Gold 1998 Kiel, Germany Add time Add time

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*NSYNC Reflects on Making U.S. Debut & Competing With Backstreet Boys as Self-Titled Album Turns 20: ‘It Was Us Against the World’

In honor of the 20th anniversary of *NSYNC’s debut album, Fatone, Bass, Chasez and Kirkpatrick took Billboard back to the beginning. Sharing stories of working with chain-smoking Swedish producers…

By Taylor Weatherby

Taylor Weatherby

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By spring of 1998, pop had seen a long-overdue resurgence after a Nirvana-driven grunge era, thanks to the to the 1997 breakthrough of megapop groups Spice Girls, Hanson, and most importantly, the Backstreet Boys. With the stage set, another five-piece boy band named *NSYNC was ready to join the Top 40 scene stateside with their American self-titled debut.

See latest videos, charts and news

As with BSB, the *NSYNC guys — Justin Timberlake , JC Chasez , Joey Fatone, Chris Kirkpatrick and Lance Bass — had spent 1996 and 1997 in Europe, working with Swedish hitmaker Denniz PoP and a then still up-and-coming producer Max Martin in PoP’s Cheiron Studios. Before heading overseas, the guys (then 15 to 24 years old) had been working together since October of 1995, when Bass joined the other four after original bass singer Jason Galasso dropped out of the group.

“I liked them so much immediately, it just felt like fate that we’d all come together,” Bass tells Billboard . “But I never felt like – and I still don’t to this day — I was ready or prepared about what I was about to get into.”

Trending on Billboard

All five members of *nsync to reunite for hollywood walk of fame ceremony.

After releasing a European version of their debut LP in May of 1997 (released on Trans Continental, owned by the band’s co-manager Lou Pearlman), *NSYNC became superstars in the international market — yet, no one in their home country had a clue who they were. Upon gaining the attention of RCA A&R rep Vincent DeGiorgio, the guys were offered an American record deal with RCA in November 1997. Initially releasing their first single “I Want You Back” in January of 1998, *NSYNC switched out a few tracks for a U.S. edition of the album, and released *NSYNC in the U.S. on March 24, 1998.

A slow burn at first, the album debuted at No. 82 on the Billboard 200, and “I Want You Back” wasn’t seeing the reaction it received overseas. But that summer, the guys performed on a Disney Channel concert special, and suddenly the tides turned. *NSYNC mania ultimately ensued, with the album catapulting to No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and selling 10 million copies in the United States alone. The set’s success kickstarted a career for the quintet that led to two more No. 1 albums, countless classic hits, and coming April 30 of this year, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In honor of the 20th anniversary of *NSYNC’s debut album, Fatone, Bass, Chasez and Kirkpatrick took Billboard back to the beginning. Sharing stories of working with chain-smoking Swedish producers, recording demos in Shaquille O’Neal’s house, and agreeing to that fateful Disney Channel show, the guys detailed exactly how *NSYNC came together — and ultimately established them as one of the biggest boy bands of all time.

Here, in their own words, is the history of *NSYNC .

“Walking Into Shaquille O’Neal’s House Was a Real Moment”

JC CHASEZ: Back in the day, everyone imagined a grand, studio setup, but in today’s day and age, people are making records on tour buses and just about anywhere now. We did it for budgetary reasons.

JOEY FATONE: The very, very first time we recorded stuff, it was a demo — and we recorded at Shaquille O’Neal’s house, actually. He had a recording studio in Orlando. We did, I think, four songs.

CHASEZ: It was kind of our first break. This guy heard us sing the [National] anthem, asked us who we were. We said we were a new group, and we were looking to put our demo together, and he offered his studio to us. It was a very generous offer, and we took him up on it. [ Laughs ]. We used that demo to shop our deal.

LANCE BASS: As a kid from Mississippi who had never really left the state, and as a 15-year-old huge Orlando Magic fan, walking into Shaquille O’Neal’s house — with the doors being so huge and everything — it was a real moment for me.

CHRIS KIRKPATRICK: We didn’t get to meet him, but we saw he had that song with Fu Schnickens and all those [guys]. We saw the gold records, and we were just in awe.

CHASEZ: It wasn’t an oversized room or anything — but he built a full-blown recording studio in his guest house at his mansion in Orlando. It was exciting.

BASS: Up until this point, we hadn’t recorded in a major studio. We’d always record in closets, just little studios here and there. A lot of closets with mattresses on the wall – we’ve hit all of those. Real glamorous. A new band with no budget, that’s what you gotta do.

FATONE: We were literally recording “Sailing,” “Giddy Up,” a couple of songs in a closet.

CHASEZ: We worked with a producer named Veit Renn and he was working out of a house. He had, basically, his work room set up in what would be an office of a house. The office had a closet, so it was in a separate room, so you had soundproofing. He just took whatever was available, so he just stuck a bunch of mattresses against a wall, and that’s what we used — and it worked.

FATONE: I remember, I’m like, “hang on a second” and they’re like, “What?” and I’m like, “The mattress is falling.”

CHASEZ: Walking into Shaq’s place, I think the thing that felt good was, “OK, this is the first person that sees something. They see what we see. We feel like we have something, and now someone else recognizes it.” And that’s a good feeling.

*NSYNC's 10 Biggest Billboard Hits

“We Were Learning the Math of a Song”

FATONE: I think Johnny [Wright, the group’s manager] said, “Do you guys write?” and Justin and JC were like, “We write a little bit,” and I never really wrote that much. I do more videos and ideas, and concepts for show and stage and stuff. But I never really wrote cause back in the day if I did, it would be about dirty things. So, I tried to refrain from writing.

KIRKPATRICK: I used to play a lot of coffee shops and I did a lot of writing, more singer-songwriter stuff, [so] I’d written before. I know Lance wasn’t feeling very confident. Joey is always confident, so I don’t know why he said he wasn’t.

BASS: That was really hard on me, that first write [for “Giddy Up”], because I was trying to contribute, but I had no idea what I was doing. And I have to say, it was really overwhelming. Because I wasn’t used to sharing ideas, and then when people shut down your ideas, it’s hard not to get offended when you’re 16. You just feel like a horrible person, like you have no talent at all.

KIRKPATRICK: Me, JC, Justin and Joey would sit down at the dining room table, coming up with concepts and cool ideas. You know, “How about this line,” and working choruses.

CHASEZ: It felt pretty organic. I remember, one or two of the guys were sitting in the staircase or something while we were sitting around talking ideas. Overall, I don’t remember all the minutiae — I remember sitting there and coming up with it, and feeling good with it.

KIRKPATRICK: Now, writing a lot more as I do, it’s cool to remember back to how it was when we started out. We were learning our way of where a verse and pre-chorus and chorus and bridge go, and basically what the math of a song was.

BASS: It was really cool because all five of us were in that, and I just wish we had more time to do that again. We never really got in a room together, all five of us, to write another song – a couple of us would write together, but not all five. All the stuff that we were writing at that time probably wouldn’t have made the album anyway. [ Laughs .]

“We Were in a Basement With a Bunch of Vikings”

BASS: If you listen to our first German album, there’s a lot of songs on there that were not on the American version because we totally were like a techno band on some of those songs [ Laughs ]. When we got together in 1995, we were a vocal R&B group. We loved Boyz II Men. That was our style and we were recording songs in that style in Orlando before we even got a record deal.

And then all of the sudden, we get signed to Germany, and we have to start thinking about the European market –which, at that time, was a different sound than America had. Throughout a whole year, we were in and out of the studio, because we were with Trans Continental records for the first nine months, and then they sent us to Germany. Once we went to Germany, BMG starting picking songs and we started working with their producers. That’s when we knew we were building an album – that was July or August [1996], because I was about to go back to school. The next week after we got the call, we flew into Stockholm, and started recording with Denniz Pop and Max Martin.

CHASEZ: We’re in a foreign country, and there’s a bunch of people speaking a language that we don’t know what they’re talking about. So the first impression was a little out-of-body. You’re outside of yourself, and you’re looking at the whole scenario going, “Wow, this is nuts.” But, at the same time, it’s exciting, you know? It’s fun to be on an adventure, and that’s kinda what it felt like. It was an adventure.

BASS: That was when in Stockholm, Denniz Pop was huge with Robyn, and we loved that sound that Robyn had. That was the best marriage I think we’ve ever had. It was more pop than we were used to, but we got to use our R&B vocals with these pop tracks. It was the perfect combination.

This was the first time that we got to work with huge producers that had hits on the radio. And they made us feel so comfortable, and we just had so much fun.

CHASEZ: I felt like I was in a basement with a bunch of Vikings — they all have long, blond hair. These guys were singing back and forth to you, all these vocals, and they were all smokers. So you’re in a basement, full of smoke, with a bunch of Vikings that are speaking Swedish. And they were all obsessed with some kind of video game, so in between breaks, they would all be on a computer in a different room, cussing each other out in a different language. We’d be sitting in the kitchen, laughing, going, “These dudes are straight-up nuts.”

KIRKPATRICK: They smoked like chimneys. Not what you expected two huge producers of their caliber to look like. You could smell the cigarette breath. Like [JC] said, like Vikings. That’s the best way to describe them. Whenever they’d start talking to each other or get real excited about something, they’d switch to Swedish. We’d kind of joke around, and of course, our only comeback was to imitate the Swedish accent. That didn’t go over so good. They’d be like, [ in accent ] “That’s not what we sound like!”

CHASEZ: I was fascinated by how they were working over there. They were kinda recording in a way that we hadn’t done back stateside. They had this crank-it-out kind of mode where they would just do take after take after take. But they were doing it in a way that was more efficient. So it was neat for me to be a sponge more than anything in that situation.

BASS: The first album we had a lot of creative control on, because we had been recording for so long, and we had a lot to choose from, and we had a lot of input. The albums after that, we were so busy and it was so quick, and we had to get an album out within a certain amount of time — you didn’t have a lot of time to record a lot of songs, and really get the ones where you perfect everything. We didn’t even have time to write the songs.

CHASEZ: Any free time went into three things: sleep, to catch up with somebody back home, or find out what are we doing next. Our schedule was pretty busy, so there wasn’t a lot of wasted time. For a few years of our lives, literally every hour was accounted for, and I feel like that’s the necessary sacrifice you make. That’s the only way you’re going to make it in a business that everyone wants to be in.

BASS: I just remember always being so tired in the studio. You get really delirious, and you have a room full of teenagers being really delirious, I remember laughing like pretty much the whole time in the studio, because something was always happening. You put a microphone in front of goofballs like us, and then stupid things happen. Of course, Joey’s fartin’ all the time [ Laughs ]. It’s a funny atmosphere for sure, but I think it’s mainly because we were so delirious from always being tired.

We’d always get McDonalds [for meals]. That was our food of choice in any city we were in, because that was the only food that we recognized. We’ve been to every McDonald’s in Europe, I think.

“Everything Was for the Greater Good”

FATONE: It was interesting with the recording process, because sometimes the producers would be like, “All right, we’ll let everybody try it, and whoever [fares the best], we’ll use it.” That’s how it started. First, everybody sang leads. Then as it started to go on, more producers were like, “Oh I like JC’s voice better on this, Justin’s voice is gonna sound really good on this…”

BASS: There was no real discussion on who was going to sing on what, it was kind of just a known thing. The five of us, our voices [each serve a] purpose for this group, and it’s all about the five-part harmony.

That’s what I think is so unique about us – we weren’t just friends, we all played a part. They wanted me in the group because I’m a bass. Chris was in the group because he has the most alto soprano voice, and Joey was our harmonizer right there in the middle. And then JC and Justin were right in the middle too, so that’s where all the leads would take place. It just naturally falls in place.

KIRKPATRICK: JC and Justin had by far the best lead voices. It was a matter of which one of them was singing what part, and then, if there were a lot of harmonies, they’d throw me on. I had a really high falsetto, and a really, really high voice, so I could layer and do doubles and octaves, and do octaves of octaves. We almost countrified out some of the songs by putting so many harmonies on everything we did.

FATONE: We were in the studio and it was like, “Here’s the lyrics.” It was more or less interpreting it, and that was what was so great about JC and Justin — a lot of the time when you get into the studio and people record, you’re looking at the words the first time, and you really don’t get a good sense or vibe of it. I had a hard time, I was 17 years old. Which was amazing because Justin was 14, and to be able to have feelings behind words that he didn’t understand fully … [He was] able to just come across vocally with intent, tenacity and feeling

CHASEZ: Everything was for the greater good. At all times, everything was for the greater good, and that’s why we did it the way we did it. It was like, “OK. If you sound great on this, you should be on it.” That’s it.

I understand that young people can be competitive. I do understand that mentality, but we made the decision that we were going to be a band. So if it was anything, it was kind of like us against the world. We leaned on each other to overcome that part of it. We all wanted to win. It’s like, in order to win, we have to put our best foot forward. For me, it was just like, “Hey, man. What makes the tune great? Alright, let’s go there.”

FATONE: There was no animosity. There was no, “Oh my god, he’s singing more leads than I am.” Guess what? We all get the same fucking paycheck. It didn’t matter. And that’s the thing, we were young, so it wasn’t even the concept of the money. We loved [the music], and we still do.

After Joey Fatone Shuts Down Super Bowl Rumors, One Question Remains: Will *NSYNC Perform Together…

“We Kinda Have a Sound Now”

FATONE: I remember “Want You Back,” just being in the studio and recording, [thinking] “What the hell are we doing?” In the sense of like, “I like the song, the song’s really good, but do you think other people are gonna like it?” It’s like, edgy for pop in a sense, you know. [ Beatboxing ] Then it drives in and you’re like, “This is great!”

BASS: “I Want You Back,” I loved it, I just didn’t know – it was so new to us, that pop, pop sound – we were just getting used to it.

When we were recording [it], I was 17 at the time, I was like, “We’re in Europe, maybe I can get a beer!” I remember we went – it wasn’t all five of us, I don’t remember which member went with me, it may have been Joey – we went across the street to this little bar, and I wanted to see if I could order underage. I ordered a Guinness, and I’d never had a Guinness in my life, but I felt like, “I’m in Europe, and that’s what you’re supposed to order.” They gave it to me, and I remember I couldn’t even finish it because it was just so horrible. That was my first underage buying of liquor. So I was wasted as I recorded “I Want You Back.” [ Laughs.]

KIRKPATRICK: Justin and I had gotten really into rollerblading. I believe we brought our skates over with us, and Cheiron Studios in Sweden had these giant steps next to it. We spent the whole day jumping and riding down stairs and grinding on rails — and when you think about it, that’s probably the dumbest thing a record label could ever let their new artist do, is almost break their ankles and knees and everything while they’re recording their very first single.

BASS: I remember the first time we heard our song on the radio [in Europe]. Until you hear your song on the radio, it just doesn’t seem real. But then it finally felt like, “Oh my gosh, ‘I Want You Back’ is on the radio, there’s thousands of people listening to this right now.” We were geeking out. We were actually split up into two different cars, and the car in front of us was waving at us like, “Turn on the radio!” We were all just freaking out in two cars driving down some kind of German road.

FATONE: The first time I heard it on the radio [in America], which was XL 106.7 radio station in Orlando, Florida, that we heard it on the radio for the first time when we were recording. It was the “Survival of the Fittest” or whatever, and what they did was they put two new songs from new people, and people would vote for the one they liked. And all of the sudden it was like *NSYNC, *NSYNC, *NSYNC – we won every day or every week for a bunch of weeks.

CHASEZ: We did a really [cheap-looking] video for “I Want You Back.” We were wearing the craziest stuff and were just so excited to shoot a music video.

FATONE: The first

was shot on a green screen. We had no idea what the hell [we were doing]…we were just dancing. And they were like, “All right, you’re just gonna walk along this treadmill, just look like you’re walking.” Okay! And we were like, “Oh my god, this is awesome! the graphics look amazing.” And when you look at it now, it’s like, what a piece of crap. It’s so digital and, like, fake.

CHASEZ: We ended up reshooting it for America. We were like, “Oh, we just made a real music video — a video that doesn’t look like it cost $5.” That was one of the moments for me then where I was like, “I think we just made a real video.”

BASS: “Tearin’ Up My Heart” was always my favorite. The first time I heard that I was like, “Oh my gosh, I love this song. This is a hit.” And I knew that if it was allowed to be played on the radio, that people were going to love it.

CHASEZ: “I Want You Back” had given us great legs, right? When we got “[Tearin’ Up’] My Heart,” and we knew that we were going back to work with the people that had given us the best record that we had so far, we were like, “ All righ t.”

I was excited because it felt like, “This is ‘I Want You Back’ 2.0. It’s got a little bit more pace. I felt like it had a little bit more energy.” It was like, we kinda have a sound now.

BASS: I was happy to record “Tearin’ Up My Heart” because I was just glad we had something else to add to our arsenal. And I thought it was “I Want You Back” on crack. [ Laughs .]

CHASEZ: When we got that record and we had another song to get excited about, it also helped with the shows a lot because if you start the shows with one song, you can end it with the other. You can wake the audience up right away, and then you can close the show. Having two hit records is important.

FATONE: “Sailing” was [a cover of] Christopher Chross. We had a great time with that too, because I remember at the Blockbuster Awards, we did the song “Sailing” and he came out with us, which is cool. He wrote a letter and sent us each a guitar saying “Thanks for reviving my song again.”

CHASEZ: I still got mine. I still have my guitars from Alabama [too], because they covered “(God Must Have Spent) A Little More Time on You.”

BASS: You better believe [I still have] it. I have it in the corner of my living room. It even has the words to “Sailing” written on the inside of it. We got as much memorabilia as possible.

CHASEZ: We did one or two songs where we would actually put our name in the song, and looking back now, it’s like, “Wow, it’s kinda funny that you would actually say your own name in the song.” Like, “*NSYNC has got the flow” [in “Here We Go”] is, like, the most ridiculous thing, ever. And we had the dance moves to go with it. We kinda did a half-Humpty Dance into a flowy arm motion. It was ridiculous.

BASS: “Here We Go” is the bane of my existence. For some odd reason, it’s a lot of people’s favorite song, I’ve come to realize, because a lot of people always want to sing that song. And I’m like, “Oh, my gosh.” That song always haunts me — one, because it was just way too cheesy for my liking. And I don’t like songs that name-check you, and we checked all the names. And it’s the only song that’s in my head every time that I take off on an airplane. I fly a lot, so you can imagine, 20 years later, how much I really hate that song.

“It Feels Good to Be Home”

FATONE: We were in Europe for about two and a half years, perfecting and polishing our craft. So by the time we came over to the States, we were rolling.

KIRKPATRICK: For us, it was hit or miss. If we didn’t break the States, we weren’t gonna break. I was real nervous about how it was gonna be perceived by everybody. There was a lot of nerves, but a lot of relief that we got it finished. We’d do a show over in Europe in front of eight-to-ten million people that was the biggest show over there, then we’d come over here, and our parents would forget to pick us up from the airport.

CHASEZ: We basically became Platinum-selling artists all over the world, except for where we were born. [ Laughs .] It was more of a sense of relief. We wanted to come home, and it was like, “OK, we’re releasing this thing at home. It feels good to be home.”

BASS: I definitely had mixed feelings, because I was super excited to be able to come home and release our music that our friends and family can see. A lot of people back home didn’t really understand – and half of them didn’t even believe – what was happening over there. On the other hand, I was just so nervous, because you really only get one shot in this country. I was so scared that “Want You Back” would come out and it would completely flop, and that was going to be our last shot, we were going to spend the rest of our career internationally and that was it. So I was extremely nervous.

CHASEZ: There is that sense of, when you’re traveling everywhere and you become a citizen of the world, I guess, your family and your friends can take your word for it, but they can’t see it and they can’t experience it with you. They can’t feel it. At least from my perspective, we wanted the people that we cared about to see this. To say, “Hey, man, we’ve been working our tails off, and for good reason.”

BASS:  It was an overnight sensation over in Europe. We worked really hard to get there, but it happened so quickly. I knew it was going to be hard to get an American audience over a European audience, and we saw that in our shows. Some of the first shows we ever did in America were MTV Spring Breaks — we went to a lot of different spring breaks, and half the audiences were guys. So it wasn’t just the girls you had to win over, but the guys. It was definitely a different market and we didn’t really understand how America — if they were going to accept us at all.

CHASEZ: We have literally played in front of every kind of crowd you can imagine. From the early days in Europe, there’s a bunch of people going, “Who the heck are these American kids jumping around on our stage in space suits?” By the time we got back here, we had to start all over again.

That being said, we had years of experience under our belts, so we were confident in each other. For me, that was always what’s in the back of my mind, like, “You know what, this might not be their cup of tea, but they’re gonna walk away thinking, somehow, some way, ‘That might not be my thing, but I gotta respect it.’”

FATONE: It was cool just because of the fact that it was our first time coming out to the States, and hoping that people would like it, because obviously at that time pop music was coming back again. [Before that] it was grunge with Nirvana and everything else. But the minute that Hanson, Backstreet and Spice Girls came on over, that opened up the door for us to come over, finally. And we’re like, “Yay! We’re here!”

Ask Billboard: Justin Timberlake & *NSYNC's Career Album & Song Sales

“It Created a Friendly Competition”

BASS: That was a huge thing of discussion. When we were all over in Europe, we knew we wanted to try to be the first [boy] band out in America. ‘Cause I knew the first one was gonna get the market — there was no room for two groups like that. Lou [Pearlman] promised us, “Oh yeah, your song will be released before the Backstreet Boys,” and of course that was a lie. So I was very aware that the first group out in America was going to take the whole market.

CHASEZ: I wasn’t nervous about it. My perspective was, “All right, they got it first, but that doesn’t mean anything in the grand scheme of things, as long as you can back up what you do.” So our goal was, “You gotta be good.” We can’t control how people are gonna take it. All we can do is control how we give it. The doors are open — we just focus on making our shows good, making sure we sound good, and making sure the records were good.

FATONE: It created a friendly competition. There’s nothing wrong with friendly competition — even though we are, of course, better than any of those boy bands. Maybe not right now, a little rusty.

KIRKPATRICK: To us, there wasn’t a competition. We just thought we needed to be the best. To them, there was, because they came out and we came out, and they’re like, “Man, we have to be better than them!”

FATONE: Did anyone have any beef? AJ and Chris did, because they were dating the same girl, she broke up with one — I think AJ — and dated Chris. They didn’t like each other for a little while.

KIRKPATRICK: I wanted to punch A.J.’s lights out for a little while. I was dating a girl, I broke up with her and he started dating her. And I guess he was talking smack to her about me, so I confronted him on it and wanted to kick his ass. I don’t know how it got resolved — I saw him out one night and said I wanted to kill him, but I said “Let’s get a beer.”

I think boy band fights are in the same realm as hockey fights. You fight when you’re on TV, but then when you’re not, you get a beer together. Now we’re really good friends.

“That Really Catapulted Our Career”

FATONE: Backstreet did a lot of stuff before us, because they did come out before us. And they were getting a lot of heat, and a lot of excitement. But they were getting pulled from all these places that they couldn’t do everything, so that kind of let us open up some doors.

[There] was this Disney Channel concert series called In Concert. The Backstreet Boys were supposed to do it but they turned it down [because Brian Littrell needed heart surgery], so Johnny said, “Listen, this new band I got coming from overseas, I represent them as well, they’re probably going to be bigger, if not better, than Backstreet.” The minute [BSB] said “No,” we’re like “We’ll do it, why not!”

It was in front of the Mann Chinese Theater at MGM Studios, which is now Hollywood Studios in Orlando — and it was 800 frickin’ degrees outside.

BASS: We were in such a good mood because we had just experienced that craziness of living in Germany, and now we were just starting to hit America, and we got to go home for the first time in a long time to do this special. We spent a week there, and I think it took a couple of days to shoot it. But we got to really relax, and it felt like a vacation.

CHASEZ: The fact that we performed it on Disney property, in the same space where I’d been working for four years where I’d been doing the Mouse Club — I had driven there just about every day for four years. It was very comfortable for me.

BASS: You really got to know us in our element – each individual guy got to do what they like to do, and everyone got to know us. I loved that, because it was so authentic. Everything that you saw was just pure innocence — no one was jaded, that was just us. Those boys had no idea what they were about to get into. [ Laughs .]

KIRKPATRICK:  The way I looked at it was that Justin and JC were on the Mickey Mouse Club on the Disney Channel, and this was the next step for them, and it was neat. But I didn’t think it was going to be any more than tucked under the Disney special archives of “What are they doing [now]?”

BASS: I thought it was going to air one time and that was it. I felt, “Oh, we’ll be a big Disney a cappella group and get hired, and have a permanent gig at Disney World,” not knowing what was going to happen. It’s crazy to look back at that 16-year-old, and that was the biggest dream that he had for this group.

I didn’t know they were going to air it like three times a day for four months. Once it started airing, that’s when the tides started changing — one morning we woke up, and everyone knew our name.

FATONE: That really catapulted our career in the States itself. People were like, “Oh wow! ” and that was the trickle affect that started happening, which was crazy.

KIRKPATRICK: We were getting on a flight in New York, they called our group and everyone started walking on the plane. One of us heard some girl say, “Hey, those are the guys from the Disney special!” We all froze in the jetway and we were like, “She’s heard of us!” and came running back off the plane saying, “Hey, how’s it going! We’re N*SYNC!” It was one of those moments like when you hear yourself on the radio for the first time.

[After that] I remember Justin and I always looking at each other, [when we would] go to a different country, you write down your occupation, and we wrote down “musician.” We’re like, “Man, this is awesome!”

FATONE: We say it all the time, I even said it to Howie [Dorough, of BSB] – “Thank you for saying no.”

*NSYNC And Epic Rights Join Together For Merchandise Line to Celebrate Band's 20th Anniversary…

“It’s a Happy Memory”

BASS: It’s crazy to look back because, when we first started, I remember thinking, “Wow. I wonder what it’s gonna be like 20 years from now. What are we gonna look back on, and what are we gonna accomplish?” I always had dreams of where the group would be, but it’s surpassed any of my dreams.

Now, listening to the first album, it makes me so proud to hear that album because I hear the blood, sweat and tears behind it, the couple of years before making that album and the hardships that we had. It was a tough, tough time. It was a very happy time, which definitely masked a lot of the pain that we went through. It was just incredible. So, when I hear that album, I hear the blood, sweat and tears, and I’m just so proud of it.

CHASEZ: He’s hearing all the hard work, and I’m hearing all the things that need to be fixed! [ Laughs .] The recording practices were very different back then. There was no Auto-Tune, the machines were a lot looser. We were doing these things on time crunches. But it’s good memories, it’s a happy memory.

BASS: We pretty much talk daily, all five of us. We have a group text that we always do stupid things on. We’re getting our star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, so we’re all five gonna be together — we wanted to do it for our 20th anniversary. We’re gonna do the star ceremony, and then, of course, we’re gonna have to throw a party to celebrate.

KIRKPATRICK: We actually get together a lot more than people know. Birthdays, weddings, all that stuff. We’ve been together a bunch of times for different things. We just don’t publicize it like we do for this, because this is an award for the group that’s really cool. Those other four guys put in a ton of work, as much work as I put in for this. Now we’re going to be immortalized on a sidewalk, which is amazing.

BASS: With the star, we’ve all been working on an old flashback *NSYNC merch line together, and we’re gonna launch that the same time we get the star. It’s been really fun taking trips down memory lane and picking pictures, saying no to everything. [ Laughs .] There’s definitely been some funny moments.

KIRKPATRICK: I think of how much fun it was, how new everything was to us and how we had no expectations on how big we were gonna be or what we were gonna do. To be as blessed as we were and have everything happen the way it did, that was the kicking off moment, and that was the record that did it.

CHASEZ: We felt like it was us against the world, we took a shot, and we felt like it worked out for us. It certainly didn’t come easy, but, again, I think just by sheer will and determination, we were able to make it happen. It gave us the foundation to build something.

FATONE: There are certain songs on the album, of course, that resonate and will always be part of history, in a sense, but I guess also, just to be part of the pop culture. Songs like “I Want You Back,” “Tearing Up My Heart,” “Bye Bye Bye” — even though that’s not on the first album — those songs are iconic in the sense that they were the first ones that got us the platform to be where we were, and who we were. And who I am today.

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Joey Fatone Reveals Where *NSYNC Really Stands on a Reunion Tour

*nsync's joey fatone exclusively revealed to e news how likely he, justin timberlake, chris kirkpatrick, jc chasez and lance bass are to go on tour together again..

*NSYNC isn't saying bye, bye, bye to the possibility of a tour quite yet. 

But as Joey Fatone explained, getting his fellow alums Justin Timberlake , JC Chasez , Chris Kirkpatrick and Lance Bass back on the road together for the first time in 20 years is easier said than done. 

"The five of us need to get together to have that conversation to say yes or no," he told E! News' Francesca Amiker  in an exclusive interview. "What does it look like? If we're going to do a tour, are we going to do new music?" (For more with Joey, tune into E! News tonight, June 6, at 11 p.m.)

Joey also noted that it might be difficult as they all have separate careers, especially as he himself is set to tour with Backstreet Boys ' AJ McLean this summer for their Legendary Nights tour.

"We're on tour, Justin's still on tour," he explained. "Lance has been doing a podcast, JC's been writing, Chris has been doing a radio called Name Drop and also on tour as well. So, once we get that where our heads are in the same bucket."

But the 47-year-old admitted that *NSYNC's reunion would be different than their 2002 Celebrity Tour.

"It's weird because again, like back in the day when we were younger, nobody was married, nobody had kids, but as we got older, we're married, we have kids," Joey reflected. "It takes a different perspective. I think, for us, it's one of those things of going, 'OK, it would be great to tour because then it's going to honestly financially help my kids, let's be real.'"

"But the thing is, for me, do we want to do it?" he continued. "Everybody's older, everybody has different personalities now. How do we deal with that? I'm not saying that it's bad. It's just a matter of making it cohesive."

Joey's update comes over two months after *NSYNC reunited for their first onstage performance since the 2013 VMAs. Justin brought out his pals to perform during his March One Night Only show in Los Angeles, including their new single, "Paradise."

A song, Lance explained ahead of its release, dedicated to the love the band has received from fans over the years.

"This song is truly a love letter to all of our fans who have been our incredible support system," he wrote on Instagram Stories in September. "You guys have always thought that this would happen even when we didn't. I am truly grateful for every single one of you."

If you've been tearin' up your heart waiting for a reunion tour, keep yourself busy by reading some fun facts about the ‘90s heartthrobs.

1. After Chris Kirkpatrick , 23 at the time, was passed over for the  Backstreet Boys —the first instance of shady impresario Lou Pearlman  capturing boy band lightning in a bottle—he dusted himself off and told Pearlman he was still interested in being in a group.

Pearlman agreed to put up the money if Kirkpatrick would do the work of actually finding other talented guys to join him, and so the sifting through demos and watching countless hours of tapes began. They eventually happened upon  The All New- Mickey Mouse Club alum and aspiring singer  Justin Timberlake , 14, who recommended fellow former Mouseketeer JC Chasez , 19. ("JC was the cool older guy, and Justin wanted to be just like him," co-star Christina Aguilera remembered fondly to Rolling Stone .) 

They continued the search in Orlando, and Kirkpatrick thought of Joey Fatone , 18, who he knew from his days performing at Universal Studios—and who Chasez knew from his time living in Florida when he was working for Disney. But they still needed a deeper voice.

Timberlake's vocal coach advised them to check out this kid from Mississippi,  Lance Bass , who flew down to Florida on Oct. 1, 1995. Pearlman and Timberlake picked the appropriately named 16-year-old up at the airport in the former's black Rolls Royce.

Backstreet Boy Howie Dorough , who knew Kirkpatrick way back when, gave himself a little pat on the back later on for all this serendipity, telling Pop Crush  in 2015 that BSB asked Pearlman "to help [Chris] out in any way that he could and still fulfill his dream. He went back with Chris and formed a group and little by little that spun off to eventually be 'N Sync."

2. But wait, Lance wasn't the first fifth member of 'N Sync!

That role was originally played by Jason Galasso , who had known Fatone from choir in their high school days and was dabbling in the singing-group arts when he got a page (1990s, FTW) out of nowhere from his old acquaintance. Coincidentally, he also knew Chasez because, as Galasso explained on The Digital Get Down  podcast in 2019, he "used to kind of hang out with  The Mickey Mouse Club " stars like Chase Hampton and Keri Russell .

After they "locked in perfectly" on a rendition of Boyz II Men 's "End of the Road," that was it, he was in the as-yet unnamed group. "I remember I'm like, 'Dang, Justin's young!'" he recalled. "But then I heard him sing, I'm like 'Oh, it doesn't matter how old he is, he can sing his butt off."

At the same time, however, the bass singer was also in a three-man group called Unreal, "so I'm still trying to decide, you know, what I want to do, what direction I want to go in as far as which group I want to go with," Galasso, who's in the mortgage loan business these days, recalled. "Because I remember, the first time Lou Pearlman brought over some music, he was thinking about the type of music that we would be doing, and I come from an R&B, hip-hop background. That's my love, my heart, my soul."

So when Pearlman came over with "this European-style techno, I was just like, 'Hmm, okay.'" So, he went ahead and traveled with the other guys in Unreal to Atlanta to cut a demo, which he thought turned out great.

Meanwhile, 'N Sync was starting to fashion a look and they were talking about putting a showcase together for Disney's Pleasure Island. They even took a field trip to Shaquille O'Neal 's house to check out his home studio in Orlando, but they had not yet recorded any music. And, more consequentially for Galasso, they hadn't yet signed any contracts.

Pretty soon, both groups were trying to get him to sign. Galasso said he took the dueling contracts to a lawyer and, while the deal with the trio was pretty standard issue, Pearlman had himself written into the 'N Sync contract as a sixth member, and that contract was "thick as a phone book." He felt that the other members of 'N Sync were more gung-ho than he was about the deal—which was true, because they all proceeded to sign it, whether they truly understood what it entailed or not.

So Galasso ultimately went with the group that wasn't 'N Sync.

3. Aside from Timberlake's mom complimenting that they sounded so "in sync," the group's name—sometimes NSYNC, other times *NSYNC, but for our purposes, 'N Sync—incorporates the last letter of their first names: Justi n , Chri s , Joe y , Jaso n and J C .

Oh, wait...The guys asked Lance if he wouldn't mind tweaking his name a bit to make the whole 'N Sync thing still work. And so, Lanceton was born. "They did call me Lanceton for a good year, just basically as a joke," Bass told EW.com in 2015. "I think it was Justin who first was like, 'Okay, Lanceton.' Then it kinda faded out once we got a deal and then came out. It didn't stick very long. It was either Lanceton or Landon."

4. After a couple of years in which their biggest following was in Germany, ahead-of-their time fans of the  Max Martin -penned "I Want You Back" and "Tearing Up My Heart" ("In Europe, we were on the cover of every magazine," Bass recalled), 'N Sync finally got its big break in the U.S. when the Backstreet Boys turned down a "Disney Channel in Concert" gig.

Instead,  NSYNC   in Concert  came out in 1998 and—thank you, cable—Disney Channel aired it over and over again. "The Disney Channel concert really changed our career," Bass told  20/20 . "It was incredible, and that one gig right there, to me, is what made us in America." 

5. While they were all in Miami to play in their Challenge for the Children charity basketball game, the guys ordered room service to their hotel room not long before they were due at a press call. Fatone showed up at least 15 minutes late because, as it turned out, he had been waiting for a fresh burger—because the one on his plate had a bite taken out of it! But it wasn't delivered that way, Bass  recalled  on the  Inside of You With Michael Rosenbaum  podcast. Timberlake had totally taken a bite out of it to screw with his pal.

"It was so funny. I've never seen Joey get so upset about something like that," Bass said. He "was probably tired or something," but "we make fun of him all the time for that outburst. All the time."

6. Fatone may have blown up over a partially eaten burger, but Bass admitted he wasn't always the picture of patience. He told Rosenbaum that he sometimes lost his cool when Kirkpatrick would take his resident funnyman persona too far during interviews. "Chris, you know, he's very animated," Bass said, "and he's funny and he's always cracking a joke. But when someone is always cracking the joke in every single interview, and you do like 20 a day and there's five guys, your days get long and long and long."

"So, there have been many times I'm like, 'Shut up. Just answer the question so we can move on because we are so tired right now.' So, he would always make all our interviews at least double the time."

7. At one point they were too busy to even stop by a barbershop for haircuts (or bleach jobs), so, Bass said, "that's when I started just kind of getting this bleach and putting it in my hair and just putting my fingertips in it, and that's how the frosted tips were born."

Now you know.

8. In 2000, to celebrate the diamond-selling status of their 1997 debut  'N Sync , meaning 10 million copies sold, their manager  Johnny Wright  (who had previously been the road manager for  New Kids on the Block  along with his wife  Donna ) gifted the five with diamond-and-platinum pendants. "We are diamond," Timberlake announced, mostly facetiously,  according to  Rolling Stone . "Screw all of you. I'm done. Forget this boy-band thing."

9. The members of 'N Sync did get rich—but not right away, and not until they took matters into their own hands. As it turned out, Pearlman, who died in prison in 2016 while serving a 25-year sentence for money laundering and other crimes committed in the running of a Ponzi scheme, was seemingly screwing them  and  the Backstreet Boys (and  O-Town  for that matter) out of money.

Talking to ABC News'  20/20   in 2019, Bass recalled Pearlman flying the members of 'N Sync and their families to Los Angeles in 1998 for a promised check-presentation party. The amount: $10,000 apiece.

"I was in the biggest band in the world and selling millions of records…but I can't even afford my apartment in Orlando. I couldn't even get a car," said Bass, who tried to be polite but then ripped up his check when he got back to his hotel room. Added Kirkpatrick, "With all the success you would think that we were making hand-over-fist money and we were printing money and whatever, and it just wasn't the case."

After realizing their contracts, like the members of BSB, treated Pearlman as a sixth member, meaning he got one-sixth of the group's profits as well as management fees, 'N Sync jumped ship for Jive Records—and were promptly sued by TransContinental Records and RCA parent BMG Entertainment, which had distributed their first album. It was a $150 million lawsuit, but Pearlman's big goal was to prevent them from continuing to use the name 'N Sync. They countersued for $25 million and settled for an undisclosed amount in 1999—and, most importantly perhaps, they retained the right to press on with their name intact.

10.  No Strings Attached , their smash-hit sophomore album released in March 2000, was metaphorical AF.

" No Strings Attached  just became the theme," Kirkpatrick, who thought of the concept after "I've Got No Strings" from Disney's  Pinocchio  popped into his head, told  20/20 . "It became our battle cry of, 'We don't owe anybody anymore…we have no ties to anything but each other...and our fans."

Chasez, who won a talent show in the seventh grade singing  Richard Marx 's "Right Here Waiting" only to have Marx write and produce "I Promise You" for  No Strings , told  Rolling Stone , "This album is really in your face. Nothing is sang passively; everything is chopped and punched. You can definitely hear a  Michael Jackson  influence in the way the words chop off—that's the way Michael delivers a line."

Added Timberlake, "We're pissed off now—that's what it is. We're angry white boys who didn't get our props. No, I'm kidding—I'm kidding."

Moreover, they were musically homeless for most of the time they were making it, unhappy with TransContinental and not yet ensconced at Jive, whose artists included Timberlake's then-secret (albeit a poorly kept one) girlfriend  Britney Spears  and the Backstreet Boys.

No Strings Attached  sold 2.4 million copies in its first week out, including 1.1 million on day one.

11. A year later, Jackson was delivering  on stage with them— first at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards, appearing just as 'N Sync was winding down its performance of "Pop" and sending the crowd into a frenzy even though he didn't sing—and then for real all together days later on "Dancing Machine" at the  Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration . The two-day concert event held at Madison Square Garden aired on CBS that November.

In 2016, Bass  revealed on  The Meredith Vieira  Show  that Jackson didn't speak to him for a year after the MSG show because, when Jackson insisted that Bass and Fatone (who had a movie premiere to attend) stay until the end for a group rendition of "Heal the World," saying it was "for the children," Bass giggled, not realizing the King of Pop was perfectly serious.

12. Once they all had more money in the bank, naturally they started spending it. In March 2000, Timberlake bought a Mercedes jeep (his first big purchase) and a BMW M Roadster, and would add a Dodge Viper, an Audi TT, a Porsche 911 and a Cadillac Escalade to his collection by the following year. Fatone treated himself to a black Cadillac truck and homes and cars for his parents and siblings. Several of them purchased homes in Orlando, and Kirkpatrick bought a house for his mom, too. Bass got a house in Orlando, one in his home state of Mississippi, and one in the border area known as Floribama.

"There's a white grand piano, a white couch and a tapestry of knights on horses, and I have this beautiful acrylic statue of a nude man and woman that my friend got me," Timberlake described the decor in his Orlando bachelor pad to  Rolling Stone . "It's a beautiful piece: You shine a light on it and it shines right through. I've got a game room that we call the  Jimmy Buffett  room, because it's Orlando tropical, and I have a country kitchen to remind me of where I grew up. The bedroom is a whole safari motif, with a Japanese screen and a big sleigh bed."

The following year, Chasez revealed he'd become a red wine aficionado, and had sprung for a $2,500 book of Helmut Newton photographs.

13. In 2000, just before No Strings Attached came out, Kirkpatrick was dating the girlfriend he'd had for about a year before 'N Sync became a global phenomenon. They weren't meant to be, as he married Karly Skladany in 2013 after three years together, with all of his former bandmates in attendance. 

Timberlake was still playing coy about whether he and Spears were actually dating ("Britney's a good friend of mine"), informing  Rolling Stone , "If I do decide to have a personal relationship with someone, I think it's best to keep it that—personal."

Bass had previously dated  Boy Meets World Star Danielle Fishel , even accompanying her to her high school prom. He'd choose to wait until 2006 to publicly come out as gay, and he's now been married to Michael Turchin since 2014.

Fatone had been on and off with high school sweetheart Kelly Baldwin since 1993—but they were decidedly back on when they welcomed daughter Briahna in March of 2001. They got married in 2004 and had second daughter  Kloey Alexandra  in 2010, but as of 2019 they were divorcing and Fatone was dating Izabel Araujo .

Chasez, meanwhile, usually had girlfriends around (in 2001 he was dating Bobbie Thomas , who was  inspired to start her own blog when she saw how the media treated Spears), but he has kept an impressively tight lid on his private life.

14. By 2000, Bass had started Freelance Management, hoping to develop country artists. Timberlake launched his eponymous foundation to benefit music and arts education in public schools. Chasez was producing music for girl group Wild Orchid and Kirkpatrick had started his own fashion and music production company called Fuman Skeeto.

15. Legions of screaming tween fans aside, they weren't  trying  to be extra adorable to appeal to as many kids (and their moms) as possible.

"We don't try to make ourselves do cute, we just are who we are," Timberlake told  Rolling Stone  in 2000. "We're boys. We burp and fart, just like boys."

16. Kirkpatrick considered himself the stereotypical guy's guy among them, telling Rolling Stone in 2001, "I'm like a bunch of college guys got together and said, 'Let's make a dude, a crazy dude.' And they made me."

The writer described Bass as a "supernice, humble, patient guy who's so pretty he almost looks like a girl, and who never, ever stops smiling." Chasez was said to be the one whose offstage personality was furthest from his onstage persona, "the one most likely to meander right past you so silently you wouldn't even notice him."

Fatone was "a giant wild boy with a rambunctious electricity bubbling constantly beneath his skin, as if he's about to make a party break out anytime, anywhere." 

17. During rehearsal in New Orleans in 2001, a platform shot up too early and Fatone's lower leg was caught between it and the stage, somehow not breaking the bone but exposing a  lot  of the interior of his leg.

"There was a hole," Bass told  Rolling Stone . "You could see the bone, you could see everything. So we applied pressure on it, and the fat was coming out, and it was not good. He can take pain good, but he was in pain. Oh, he screamed. It looked like a bullet went through his leg."

Added Chasez, "He ended up going to the hospital and they cut a piece of his leg out and had to rinse the metal out because his leg was caught between two pieces of metal. I don't know how it didn't break. He's a tough kid."

A few weeks later, Fatone, who had been using a cane to get around, was back on stage dancing. "He's in pain," Chasez observed. "But Joey's got great showmanship. He knows how to cover his steps 'cause he's been onstage longer than any of us."

18. When you think about it, 'N Sync had a relatively tame run. They're first to admit they had their fun, but they were  not troublemakers, nor did trouble have a habit of "finding them." Bass liked a Jack and Coke, but would more likely volunteer to be the evening's designated driver.  "If some twelve-year-old sees on the news that I got arrested for cocaine, that affects a lot of people," he told Rolling Stone . "I remember when I was ten and I caught my sister drinking. It was so devastating to me." He added, "I can have water and feel like I'm getting drunk."

19. Fame hadn't come overnight, but once it did, it was a whole new world.

"You realize what hard work it is and that it's not glamorous," Bass told  Rolling Stone . "It's like going to Disney World, going into the tunnels and seeing Cinderella smoking a cigarette. The whole magic is gone."

Timberlake admitted, "It's been a little tough There's definitely been times when I was totally depressed. But, you know, my spirituality helped me through that. I just feel like there's two of me: the public-eye me and the guy-who-brushes-his-teeth-twice-a-day me. They're getting along all right now. Sometimes brush-his-teeth doesn't get enough attention, but it's worth it."

"You don't want to say or do too much," acknowledged Fatone. "You know, it's like breaking the fans' hearts if there's something out there that they don't know about and might get upset about."

20. In case anyone was under the impression that 'N Sync was composed of five disparate parts who just got lucky, they'd be wrong.

"We started out as best friends, and you know, I think it shows—it shows in everything we do," Kirkpatrick, sitting down on CNN's  Larry King Live   with the rest of the group, said in January 2001. "From when we're on stage, when we're clowning around, we do, like, so many shows that each show is so different because of the interaction amongst each other. And we'll goof around with each other."

In response to King's observation that a lot of band members don't really get along behind the scenes, Timberlake added, "Well, the chemistry we have is unreal. I can't tell you, you know even with this tour last summer, I could just look at Chris and it could say 10 things at the same time, and he would know exactly what I meant just by looking at him, because we've been together...Even before everything took off, we were together, some of us working 9:00 to 5:00. But every day, singing, and you know, trying to get our act together."

21. The channeled their misgivings about living life in a fish bowl to varying effect with their third album, 2001's  Celebrity .

By then, Timberlake was openly dating Spears ("When we get together, that's just my girl, and I love her, and that's it. I don't think about what everybody's thinkin' about. She makes me happy. She's like salvation," he  told  Rolling Stone ; Bass added, "They're so perfect for each other, it's scary") and the group was making a reported $2.5 million a night on their PopOdyssey stadium tour.

22. In 2000, Timberlake told  Rolling Stone , talking about the influx of boy bands onto the music scene, "I think the next couple of years will separate the boys from the men. What worries me is the oversaturation of the market."

Well, the other boy bands wouldn't have to worry about it for long.

23. 'N Sync went on so-called "temporary hiatus" in 2002 after wrapping up their Celebrity Tour, mainly so Timberlake could focus on his solo career, and that turned out to be it. Though no one came right out and said it and the group never officially announced that they were disbanding. One Direction fans know the concept well.

"After you do something for a certain amount of time, you get into a rhythm of it and then new things spark your curiosity; you need new brain food," Chasez, who had a solo hit that year with "Blowin' Me Up (With Her Love),"  reflected to Huffington Post in 2019. "At that time, we just felt like we had exhausted every kind of idea for what we were doing and we just felt like, 'OK, let's do something different.' So, that's what we did." 

As for Bass, he said, "me and the guys were never on bad terms at al...The thing I was most disappointed in was not just Justin leaving the band. It's that our whole team, our record label, our management, everything like that, they all knew. They all knew it was over for three years before they told me.

"So, for three years, I'm sitting there getting ready for a new album as everyone else knows we're moving on."

24. The guys from 'N Sync pretty much went their separate ways as they embarked on their solo aspirations and Timberlake became a superstar in their own right (though that's not why none of them went to JT's wedding in Italy when he married Jessica Biel in 2012), having released  Justified  in November 2002 and never  really  looking back.

So could their reunion performance at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards have  been  more hyped?!

It was short but sweet, and their moves were intact.

25. Reflecting on why he didn't come out while he was in 'N Sync, Bass said at the group's Hollywood Walk of Fame induction in 2018 that "at the time, I thought that I would never be able to tell anyone because not only was I terrified of the lasting rejection—I was certain that that would happen—but more than that I didn't want to jeopardize the careers of these guys up here, much less the hundreds of amazing people who worked tirelessly to bring 'N Sync to the world."

Bass continued, "I thought if I had come out, 'N Sync would be over. So I kept my secret. And our wildest dreams were coming true and we were so incredibly thankful—and I still am. But so many nights onstage, I'd see so many young, gay fans singing their hearts out and I wanted so badly to let you know, I was you. I just didn't have the strength then. But I do today and so let me say loud and proud to all my LGBT brothers and sisters, who embrace me and show me the way to be who I am, thank you so much."

We can only imagine he's gained plenty of new fans since going public with his true self. And if he lost any, those people never deserved him in the first place.

• Entertainment

*NSYNC Reunite For the First Time in 10 Years at the MTV VMAs

*NSYNC are in the building. For the first time in 10 years, all five members of the band — Justin Timberlake, Joey Fatone, Lance Bass, Chris Kirkpatrick, and JC Chasez — reunited at the MTV VMAs in Newark, NJ, on Sept. 12. Nearly 16 years since they officially disbanded in 2007, *NSYNC surprised fans by presenting the first award of the night: best pop, which was awarded to Taylor Swift for "Anti-Hero."

After being introduced by Nicki Minaj, the band walked out to the tune of "Bye Bye Bye." Fans greeted the pop superstars with an uproar of cheers and applause, which later increased when Swift took the stage to accept her award. "I'm not doing well pivoting from this to this," Swift said in her speech, referring to her win and the opportunity to meet the band.

As she accepted her award, Bass also stepped forward to gift Swift a set of friendship bracelets. "I had your dolls," she said. "Are you doing something? What's gonna happen now? They're gonna do something, and I need to know what it is." Swift added, "You guys are pop personified, so to receive this from your golden pop hands — it's too much. Thank you for the friendship bracelets."

Shortly before they stepped on stage, Timberlake shared a video of himself and his fellow *NSYNC members in the elevator gearing up for their presentation. "So five guys walk into an elevator . . . ," he captioned the Twitter video.

For those who have been following the beloved boy band since the late '90s and early 2000s, *NSYNC's reunion comes as a long-awaited surprise. Though it's been nearly two decades since their breakup, the fan base hasn't wavered, keeping up with each band member's solo projects musically and otherwise. Most notably, Timberlake has carved out a successful acting career for himself and raked in 10 Grammy Awards. Since their "Bye Bye Bye" days, the band members have also gotten married and started families.

From the release of their debut album, "'N Sync," in 1997 to "No Strings Attached" in 2000, *NSYNC have had an undeniable influence on pop culture and the modern zeitgeist. Ahead, we've provided a refresher on the boy band's history, rise to fame, and breakup and a few details on their rumored tour in 2024.

How Did *NYSNC Start?

*NSYNC were first founded in 1995 with the help of notorious fraudster and talent manager Lou Pearlman . The band's name was inspired by a comment Timberlake's mother made about how "in sync" all of the band members' voices were, per a 2001 interview on "Larry King Live." In December 1997, the group released their debut American single, "I Want You Back," which reached No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. *NSYNC continued to rise in popularity as they released singles like "Tearin' Up My Heart" and "Bye Bye Bye," as well as their first two studio albums, "N' Sync" and "Home For Christmas."

In 1999, *NSYNC entered a highly publicized legal battle with Pearlman, due to claims that the producer was dealing in illicit business practices, per USA Today . The band sued Pearlman for defrauding them of more than 50 percent of their earnings and threatened to leave his record company, Trans Continental. In response, Pearlman filed a $150 million suit to prevent the band from switching production companies and to stop them from performing under the name *NSYNC, per Rolling Stone . In December 1999, *NSYNC and Pearlman reached an undisclosed settlement out of court, allowing the band to continue releasing music under their new production company, Jive Records, according to MTV News .

Following the legal proceedings, *NSYNC released their third and fourth studio albums, "No Strings Attached" and "Celebrity," respectively.

Why Did *NYSNC Break Up?

In 2002, the band promoted their fourth studio album with the "Celebrity" Tour. After the tour, the group took a hiatus to allow the members to rest and to give Timberlake time to work on his first solo album. Though the hiatus was meant to be temporary, *NSYNC have not toured or recorded together since.

"It started as a fun snowball fight that was becoming an avalanche," Timberlake told The Hollywood Reporter of his decision to leave the band in 2017. "And, also, I was growing out of it. I felt like I cared more about the music than some of the other people in the group. And I felt like I had other music I wanted to make and that I needed to follow my heart."

Timberlake's fellow bandmates, however, were under the impression that the hiatus would be brief. It was only after the success of Timberlake's "Justified" album and subsequent tour that the other band members expressed their frustration over the lack of communication about the band's future.

"Me and the guys were never . . . on bad terms at all, it's just life goes on and you have more interests; you have to focus on your career and it's great," Bass said in a 2020 interview on "Inside of You With Michael Rosenbaum." "The thing I was most disappointed in was not just Justin leaving the band, it's that our whole team — our record label, our management, everything like that — they all knew. They all knew it was over for three years before they told me. And so for three years I'm sitting there getting ready for a new album as everyone else knows we're moving on." Bass went on to say that he turned down opportunities to act and expand his résumé under the impression that *NSYNC would be reuniting again soon.

In a 2019 interview on "The Jenny McCarthy Show," Fatone echoed Bass's sentiments. "I said, 'Listen, I'm all good with everybody doing their own sh*t," Fatone told McCarthy. "'I'm totally fine with it, just let us know next time.' Meaning: I could've done a lot more sh*t than sit around waiting for your dumb ass while you're going out on tour."

Following their unintentional breakup, the band made sporadic appearances together. Notable appearances include the 2003 Grammy Awards, where they performed a tribute medley to the Bee Gees; a one-off performance at the 2013 MTV VMAs; and a 2018 reunion to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2019, Fatone, Bass, Chasez, and Kirkpatrick also reunited to perform at Coachella with Ariana Grande.

What Are the Members of *NSYNC Doing Now?

*NSYNC last performed together at the 2013 MTV VMAs in celebration of Timberlake's Video Vanguard Award. Since the release of their last album, "Celebrity," in 2001, the band have also dropped three compilation albums; the most recent album, "The Essential *NSYNC," made its debut in 2014. Following their disbandment, the members have found success in multiple pursuits.

Timberlake, the most decorated of the group, has won 10 Grammy Awards since beginning his solo career. He has also won seven American Music Awards, nine Billboard Music Awards, and 11 MTV Video Music Awards. In addition to his musical successes, Timberlake, who is currently working on his sixth studio album, has made a name for himself in the acting world. Most notably, he's starred in films such as "The Social Network" (2010), "Bad Teacher" (2011), "Friends With Benefits" (2011), and "Reptile" (2023), Grant Singer's upcoming crime thriller . Timberlake and his wife, Jessica Biel, whom he married in 2012 , also share two sons, Silas and Phineas .

Meanwhile, Bass has carved out his own acting career with films like "Zoolander" (2001), "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" (2007), and "Tropic Thunder" (2008). He also had a six-month run in the Broadway musical "Hairspray" and finished third on "Dancing With the Stars" season seven in 2008. In 2006, the singer also came out as gay and later married his husband, actor Michael Turchin, in 2014. The couple welcomed twins Violet and Alexander via surrogate in 2021.

Fatone has also been busy appearing on Broadway in musicals like "Rent" and "Little Shop of Horrors" and in films including "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." In addition to his work on stage and screen, Fatone has taken on several hosting gigs for shows like "The Singing Bee" and "Celebrity Circus" and as an announcer for Steve Harvey on "Family Feud." Fatone also earned second place on season four of "Dancing With the Stars" in 2007, and he is father to daughters Briahna and Kloey, whom he shares with his ex-wife, Kelly Baldwin.

Since his *NSYNC days, Chasez has had a successful career as a producer and songwriter, writing songs for artists such as the Backstreet Boys. Chasez also judged seven seasons of MTV's "America's Best Dance Crew." Though he makes a point of keeping his personal life private, it seems the producer is in a relationship with Jennifer HuYoung.

Kirkpatrick has also been busy appearing on shows like the reality show "Mission Man Band" and the CMT reality show "Gone Country." Kirkpatrick and his longtime girlfriend, Karly Skladany, share one son named Nash.

Even with so much evidence pointing to a reunion, some fans still think the rumors are too good to be true. In a January 2021 interview with Radio Times , however, Timberlake said he would "never say never" to reuniting with his bandmates, leaving the door open for future collaborations.

Are *NSYNC Going on Tour?

Rumblings of a potential *NSYNC reunion tour have been circulating recently, prompting several fans to share their excitement on social media. "If NSYNC goes on a reunion tour, I will never shut up! NEVER!" one fan tweeted . Another fan on Twitter added, "So do we start making our Nsync friendship bracelets now or later?" The popularity of the band's 2000 hit "It's Gonna Be Me" and the subsequent memes have also inspired fans to manifest a May 2024 start date for the tour.

In August, posters featuring the band's logo began popping up in New York City to promote "Trolls Band Together," which is scheduled to make its debut on Nov. 17. A QR code on the posters linked to a website teasing what appears to be an upcoming *NSYNC song made specifically for the film. If the five trolls on the website are any indication, the song, titled "Take You to a Better Place," will mark the first time the entire band have recorded a song together since 2001.

Though these rumors remain unsubstantiated, the band's reunion at the MTV VMAs gives us hope that they have more exciting announcements up their sleeves.

• Award Season
• Entertainment News

‘NSync Should Tour Without Justin Timberlake

By Brittany Spanos

Brittany Spanos

The Backstreet Boys did it. One Direction did it. Fifth Harmony did it. Spice Girls have done it a couple times, and will do it again this year. Pop’s bestselling groups have toured — and even released music — without a key member. Judging by the response to ’N Sync’s surprise, Justin Timberlake -less reunion during Ariana Grande ’s Coachella set, maybe it’s time for one of the world’s most famous (and best) boy bands of all time to do the same.

A reunion for ’N Sync has been teased for nearly 15 years. The group officially went on hiatus in 2002 following the successful Celebrity . That same year, Timberlake released his solo debut Justified , one of the new millennium’s most influential LPs. It immediately set him on a path towards massive solo success that would eventually lead to a reign as pop’s prince. Two years later, ’N Sync officially called it quits during a band meeting — according to Lance Bass’ memoir Out of Sync , this came at Timberlake’s insistence. What followed were a few years of spare appearances and some solo acting and music projects from the group, none of which measured up to the standards of success set by both the band and Timberlake.

Nearly a decade after what seemed to be their final public appearance together, ’N Sync joined forces for a brief reunion at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, where Timberlake was the recipient of the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. In 2018, they made a another public appearance with the full, original line-up to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Unlike the expected narrative of long-disbanded groups, the quintet appears to have no ill will towards each other, and Timberlake even publicly congratulated his friends after their appearance as a quartet this past weekend.

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For the most part, ’N Sync’s public and, apparently, private discussions about a tour have been mostly apathetic, though with an occasional optimistic bent. “We’re not opposed to anything,” JC Chasez told Ryan Seacrest last year, noting that they were not, at the time, thinking beyond their Walk of Fame induction. “We are always going to be open to anything, to any idea, as long as it’s a good idea. For us it’s got to be the right thing for the right reasons.”

Joey Fatone shared a similar sentiment earlier this year during an interview with Good Day New York , noting that nothing was being discussed at the moment, but a tour without Timberlake had been a talking point. He didn’t shut down the possibility: “I would say ‘Never say never.’”

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Timberlake has remained famously mum about the end of the band as well as its future. He did, of course, set a precedent for how pop stars launched solo careers outside of their vocal groups by not only doing a full image revamp with Justified , but nearly erasing the memory of his boy band past entirely for the beginning of his solo career. Since the VMA reunion, his public stance has softened, sharing photos of non-event reunions with his old friends. He has also jumped fully back into his recording career after a period spent focusing on acting; his 2013 double-LP  The 20/20 Experience came seven years after the landmark FutureSex/LoveSounds , and earlier this month he finally wrapped his world tour in support of his 2018 release Man of the Woods.  Shying away from more stagetime with ‘N Sync seems to be a function of his own schedule more than anything else. According to a TMZ report , Timberlake only ditched out on Coachella because of how close it was to the end of his tour.

Given the clear demand for more from the group, the members shouldn’t have to wait until the timing works best for Timberlake. It’s a perfect moment for ’N Sync to get back together: not only does their Coachella appearance prove they can still dominate a stage with their vocal harmonies and memorable dance moves, but nostalgia for their era is running rampant. Songs like Charli XCX’s “ 1999 ” and Anne-Marie’s “ 2002 ” are prime examples of how much people are looking back to that golden era than ever before. Grande’s own sample of the group’s deep cut “ It Makes Me Ill ” on her hit “ Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored ” is further proof that the market is still working in ’N Sync’s favor. It would be a shame to pass up an opportunity like this one. 

For over a decade, the lack of Timberlake’s star power has been the looming question. Is it still ’N Sync without their biggest breakout solo singer? The answer now is a tentative yes; boy bands function on the sum of all its parts pulling their weight, and it appears that the remaining four are up to the challenge. ’N Sync was notable for how collectively talented they were as dancers and singers. Timberlake shared lead soloist duties with Chasez, a star of equal talent and charm to Timberlake (though without the career to match). JT had the support of being in a still-beloved former power couple in his corner, and his response to its end helped catapult his single “Cry Me a River” to hit-making diss track status. Now, maybe a Timberlake-less tour would help give moments like Chris Kirkpatrick’s turn as lead singer on “Thinking of You (I Drive Myself Crazy)” a chance to shine.

Of course, the boy band-turned-man band should be selective if a tour as a foursome is what they pursue. Like Spice Girls will do without Victoria Beckham this summer, the dates should be limited — especially if it doesn’t come in tandem with new music. They could easily acquire special guests galore: their pop peers like BSB and Christina Aguilera would be fun inclusions, but it’s the pairing with Grande that proves a more thrilling route would be filling the fifth spot with the younger generation of pop stars who grew up obsessed with the boy band.

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Even if they don’t set out on the road in the next couple years, ‘N Sync’s legacy is clearly being kept alive. The time for them to reunite could simply never recede; the Jonas Brothers, Backstreet Boys and New Kids on the Block are proof that it’s never too soon or too late to get the band back together for another go. The hurdle has long been proving that they’re worth their continued hype without their biggest breakout star, but stealing the show during pop’s current megastar headlining set at one of the year’s glossiest festivals should be all the proof they need.

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*NSYNC member, O-Town, BBMAK, Ryan Cabrera headlining Paramus show

Hey, Millennials, ready for an nostalgia-induced blast from the past?

If you were an avid fan of the boy bands of the '90s and early 2000s, with a Teen Beat magazine poster of *NSYNC on your bedroom wall while you sang lyrics off the booklet in your CD, then you are in for a real treat.

The Pop 2000 Tour, featuring some of the most popular and swoon-worthy bands to ever grace MTV's after-school show, Total Request Live, or TRL, is making a pit stop at Garden State Plaza on June 29. The Paramus mall is one of 30 cities the pop stars are appearing, so it's time to dig out those jelly sandals from the attic and slather on that body glitter.

Hosted by *NSYNC's Chris Kirkpatrick, the show features performances by Jeff Timmons of 98 Degrees, O-Town, BBMAK, LFO, Ryan Cabrera and DJ Skribble. The event will kick off at 1:30 p.m. where attendees can get airbrush tattoos or rhinestone gem art and capture memories in a 2000s-era photo station. There will also be spin-to-win prizes from Westfield Garden State Plaza shops and restaurants.

DJ Skribble, who has remixed and produced work with The Fugees, Britney Spears and Taio Cruz, will drop the beat starting at 2:30 p.m. before the show runs from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.

The event is free, but attendees are asked to RSVP online for the standing room only show. Boy band merchandise will be available after the show and there will be a chance to meet the singers for a photo opportunity.

For those seeking a little extra alone time with Brad Fischetti from LFO, there is a special VIP package offered at the Paramus location for his biggest fans, which includes a pre-show meal with, sadly, the last living member of the trio.

LFO is best known for "Summer Girls," which was a No. 1 hit in 1999, along with other popular tunes like "Girl on TV" and "Every Other Time." Band members Rich Cronin died in 2010 and Devin Lima died in 2018.

BBMAK, a British band formed in 1997, includes members Mark Barry, Christian Burns and Stephen McNally. The band climbed the charts in 2000 with their song "Back Here," which lingered on the Billboard Hot 100 for 31 weeks. The English trio split up in 2003, but reunited in 2018.

O-Town was a product of MTV's "Making the Band" in 1999 and was formed with members Ashley Parker Angel, Erik Michael Estrada, Trevor Penick, Jacob Underwood and Ikaika Kahoano, who was later replaced by Dan Miller. The group gained fame by opening for Britney Spears and had top hits including 2001's "All or Nothing," and "We Fit Together" and 2000's "Liquid Dreams." The group split in the early 2000s, but reunited, minus Angel, in 2013.

Ryan Cabrera, who once dated singer Ashlee Simpson and is now married to WWE professional wrestler Alexa Bliss, with whom he had a child in December, is best known for his hits “On the Way Down,” “True” and “Shine On.” Cabrera also appeared on “The Ashlee Simpson Show” and “The Hills,” both on MTV.

Grammy-nominated pop artist Jeff Timmons, the founding member of 98 Degrees, may be the only member to appear at the show, but fans be ready: The group, which includes Nick Lachey, Drew Lachey and Justin Jeffre, are dropping a new album in July .

Host Kirkpatrick is the founding member of *NSYNC, which is lauded as one of the best-selling boy bands of all time with over 70 million records sold. The band also includes members Justin Timberlake, Lance Bass, JC Chasez, and Joey Fatone. While the band went on hiatus for a while, never having officially announced a split, they appeared together at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards to present an award, and later released the song "Better Place" for the DreamWorks animated film "Trolls Band Together."

For more information about the event, visit the Pop 2000 Tour website .

Email:  [email protected] ; Twitter:  @LoriComstockNJH  or on  Facebook .

This article originally appeared on New Jersey Herald: *NSYNC member, O-Town, BBMAK, Ryan Cabrera headlining Paramus show