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NSYNC Information
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N Sync' (often stylised '*NSYNC') was a five-part pop music vocal group, sometimes referred to as a boy band, formed in Orlando, Florida, USA. The group members are Lance Bass, JC Chasez, Joey Fatone, Chris Kirkpatrick, and Justin Timberlake. The members form a five-part harmony, singing bass, tenor, contra-tenor, baritone, soprano, and alto, respectively.
History
The group first formed in 1995. Kirkpatrick attended Seneca Community College in Toronto and decided to form a vocal group. He saw an ad placed by Lou Pearlman and responded. He knew Fatone from Universal Studios, where the two both worked as performers. Kirkpatrick then hired Timberlake, who had been part of the Mickey Mouse Club on the Disney Channel, and Timberlake brought in his friend from the show, Chasez (who was also a friend of Fatone's, as the two attended Dr. Phillips High School together). The group lived in a house in Orlando and polished their moves with the funding of Pearlman, who hired Johnny Wright, the former manager of New Kids On The Block, who also manages the Backstreet Boys, to be the group's manager. Lance Bass, who coincidentally sings bass (though his name is pronounced like the fish), was not an original member. Jason Watkins left the group when he realized that *NSYNC was not right for him, and Timberlake's vocal coach recommended Bass, from Clinton, Mississippi, for membership.
The logic behind the name *NSYNC came from Timberlake's mother, Lynn Harless. It was created from the last letter of each member's name: Justi'n', Chri's', Joe'y', Jaso'n', and J'C'. After Lance joined, the group gave him the nickname "Lansten" so his name would fit in the *NSYNC acronym.
After being signed to BMG, the group found success in Europe, especially Germany, in the mid-'90s, and toured constantly there. Eventually, success followed in America, too, with the album "*NSYNC" and the single "I Want You Back" hitting the airwaves stateside in 1998, again followed by constant touring.
Shortly after their extraordinary American breakthrough, in 1999, *NSYNC fought a court battle against Pearlman's company, TransCon, citing illicit business practices on Pearlman's part. *NSYNC left Pearlman to be managed by Johnny Wright of Wright Entertainment Group. Their defining album, No Strings Attached, released shortly thereafter, proved that the group was back in business, selling more copies in its first week than any American release ever.
The group produces a blend of pop, dance, and R&B that they call "dirty pop". No Strings Attached was the first album to feature this type of music; they gave the style a name with their latest album Celebrity.
Their debut album, released by BMG, did well in Europe and the US as did the seasonal Home For Christmas. After the lawsuit, they broke their record contract and signed to Jive Records, home of rival boy band Backstreet Boys. No Strings Attached, released in March 2000, sold 2.4 million copies in its first week of release-the highest first week sales in music history (1.1 million of which was attributed to the first day of release).
Their fourth album, Celebrity comes in at number two, with 1.8 million records sold in its first week. Their albums have been boosted by a number of successful single releases, including "Tearin' Up My Heart" from *NSYNC, "Music Of My Heart" recorded with Gloria Estefan for the movie Music of the Heart, "Bye Bye Bye", "It's Gonna Be Me" and "This I Promise You" from No Strings Attached. Recent hits such as "Gone" and "Girlfriend" have expanded the group's influence and fan base into the hip-hop crowd as well.
The band has made guest appearances in the TV series The Simpsons, Clueless, Touched By An Angel, and Sabrina The Teenage Witch.
The group went on hiatus in 2002, as two of its members released solo albums -- Justin Timberlake released Justified on November 4, 2002 and JC Chasez released his solo album, Schizophrenic, on February 24, 2004. Both have follow-up albums in the works, with JC's due Fall 2005.
Chris closed his clothing business, FuManSkeeto, and has become involved with several indie/punk bands on a business level, including Hawaii-based National Product. He has also been recording as a solo artist as well as with his other band, Little Red Monsters. Lance became a certified Cosmonaut after months of training in Russia in 2002, but has yet to realize his goal of heading into outer space due to lack of funding. He has instead been focusing on his film production company, Bacon and Eggs, with several projects in the works including the upcoming Lovewrecked. Joey has been filling up his resume with acting gigs in the movies (My Big Fat Greek Wedding, The Cooler, Red Riding Hood, Homie Spumoni) and on Broadway (Rent, Little Shop Of Horrors).
Plans for the group to work on their fifth album are being discussed, however, details are uncertain. Rumors circulating that Justin Timberlake has quit the group have added to the uncertainty over the group's future (rumors which all group members vehemently deny). However, each year the group reunites for its celebrity basketball game, Challenge for the Children.
A greatest hits album was released on October 25 on Jive Records. The album debuted at #47 on the US charts without any promotion from the band. The album was featured on the NBC series ER on December 8, 2005.
Discography
Albums
* *NSYNC (1998, RCA/Sony-BMG) #2 US 10é— Platinum, #30 UK
* Home for Christmas (1998, RCA/Sony-BMG) #7 US 2é— Platinum
* The Winter Album (1998, Sony-BMG) (Not released in US)
* No Strings Attached (2000, Jive Records/Sony-BMG) '#1' (Debut) US (8 weeks) 11é— Platinum, #14 UK
* Celebrity (2001, Jive Records/Sony-BMG) '#1' (Debut) US (1 week) 5é— Platinum, #12 UK
* Greatest Hits'' (2005, Jive Records/Sony-BMG) (Released Oct. 25, 2005) #47 US
Singles
* 1998 "I Want You Back" #13 US, #5 UK
* 1998 "Tearin' Up My Heart" #59 US, #9 UK
* 1999 "God Must Have Spent a Little More Time on You" #8 US
* 1999 "I Drive Myself Crazy" #67 US
* 2000 "Music of My Heart" (with Gloria Estefan) #2 US, #34 UK GOLD
* 2000 "Bye Bye Bye" #3 US, #3 UK
* 2000 "It's Gonna Be Me" #1 US (2 weeks), #9 UK GOLD
* 2000 "This I Promise You" #5 US, #21 UK
* 2000 "I'll Never Stop" #13 UK (Not released in the US)
* 2001 "Pop" #19 US, #9 UK
* 2001 "Gone" #11 US, #24 UK
* 2002 "Girlfriend" (with Nelly) #5 US, #2 UK
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