NSYNC
NSYNC was an American vocal group and pop boy band formed by Chris Kirkpatrick in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich. The group consisted of Kirkpatrick, JC Chasez, Joey Fatone, Justin Timberlake, and Jason Galasso who later left and was replaced by Lance Bass. Their self-titled debut album was successfully released to European countries in 1997 and later entered the American market with the single "I Want You Back".
After heavily publicized legal battles with their former manager Lou Pearlman and former record label Bertelsmann Music Group, the group's third album, No Strings Attached, sold over one million copies in one day and 2.4 million copies in one week in the US, which was a record for over fifteen years. Celebrity debuted with 1.8 million copies in its first week in the US. Singles such as "Girlfriend", "Pop", "Bye Bye Bye", "Tearin' Up My Heart", and "It's Gonna Be Me" reached the top 10 in several international charts, with the last being a US Billboard Hot 100 number one.
The group went on an indefinite hiatus in 2002. Over the course of their hiatus, the five members reunited occasionally, including for a one-off performance at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, for an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2018, and to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2018. They reunited as a four piece without Timberlake to perform with Ariana Grande at Coachella in 2019. The group briefly reunited in 2023 to release the song "Better Place" for the DreamWorks animated film Trolls Band Together and performed at the premiere, and at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards. While working on "Better Place", NSYNC also recorded a track titled "Paradise" for Timberlake's sixth solo album, Everything I Thought It Was. In 2024, the group made a special one-off appearance at Timberlake's ONO concert in Los Angeles.
The band completed five nationwide concert tours and has sold over 70 million records, becoming one of the best-selling boy bands of all time. Rolling Stone recognized their instant success as one of the Top 25 Teen Idol Breakout Moments of all time. In addition to nine Grammy Award nominations, NSYNC performed at the Super Bowl and sang the national anthem at the Olympic Games and World Series. They have also sung or recorded with Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Michael and Janet Jackson, Britney Spears, Phil Collins, Celine Dion, Aerosmith, Nelly, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, Mary J. Blige, Alabama, and Gloria Estefan.
History
1995–1997: Formation and debut
In 1994, while working at Universal Studios and singing in The Hollywood Hi-Tones, Chris Kirkpatrick was introduced to Lou Pearlman, who had created the Backstreet Boys, through a mutual friend who had heard that Pearlman was interested in financing another vocal group. Originally, when the Backstreet Boys formed, Kirkpatrick had not known about their auditions, so he never got the chance to try out. When Pearlman met him and saw him perform in his doo-wop group, Lou took an interest in him, so they discussed the idea of Kirkpatrick forming a vocal group, which Pearlman promised to finance if Kirkpatrick could find other singers to join him. Kirkpatrick took the opportunity and spent over a year trying to find other people to join him, eventually finding Justin Timberlake through a talent agent and contacting him in regards to the group.After the end of The All New Mickey Mouse Club, JC Chasez attempted to pursue a solo music career in Los Angeles, but decided to return home to Maryland after he was left feeling cheated. On his drive back, he stopped at Timberlake's house in Memphis, Tennessee, where the two wrote demos together. Chasez and Timberlake eventually relocated to Nashville while continuously writing songs and demo tracks with Robin Wiley, a songwriter and vocal coach on The All New Mickey Mouse Club. After Timberlake received a phone call from Kirkpatrick, he decided to join the group, recommending Chasez in the process, who was back home in Maryland saving up to return to Nashville. The trio decided to venture in Orlando, Florida to search for a baritone, where they encountered Joey Fatone, who knew Kirkpatrick from their time working together at Universal Studios Florida and also knew Timberlake and Chasez from being in the same friend groups when they were on The All New Mickey Mouse Club. The group finally recruited Jason Galasso as their bass singer after several auditions. NSYNC created their name after Timberlake's mother commented on how "in sync" the group's singing voices were. The group's name is also a play on the last letter of each of the initial members' names: JustiN, ChriS, JoeY, JasoN, and JC.
After several weeks of rehearsals, the group set up a showcase and began planning to officially sign with Pearlman's Trans Continental Label. However, at the last minute, Galasso dropped out. He was not fond of the group's musical direction, claiming that being a teen idol was never a goal of his. Galasso became a mortgage broker in the Orlando area later in his life. In need of a bass, the group auditioned several people without success. Timberlake eventually called his vocal coach, who suggested a 16-year-old from Mississippi named Lance Bass. Bass flew to Orlando to audition and was immediately accepted into the group. He was nicknamed "Lansten" so they could keep the name 'NSYNC. From there, Pearlman set the five boys up in a house in Orlando, Florida, where they rehearsed constantly, learning dance routines and vocal parts, and worked on promotion for their first public performance at Pleasure Island on October 22, 1995. Pearlman hired Johnny Wright to manage the group, despite also managing the Backstreet Boys. NSYNC sent him a four-song demo-tape including "I'll Be Back for More" and "We Can Work It Out", which impressed him. The group performed for him and a group of BMG executives. Although the record company had some concerns with the band's name and Lance Bass's dancing abilities, they agreed to sign the group to BMG Ariola Munich with Wright as their manager.
After being signed to BMG Ariola Munich, the group was sent to Sweden to begin working on their self-titled debut album with the help of producers Denniz Pop, Max Martin and Andreas Carlsson. The album's official lead single, "I Want You Back", was released in Germany on October 7, 1996, and entered the top 10 in Germany on November 18, 1996. With a record deal finally secured, the boys began touring first in German-speaking countries and later in other European and Asian territories. Their first album NSYNC was initially released by BMG Ariola Munich on May 26, 1997, in Germany, and peaked at number 1 in the second week after its release. The group became an overnight success throughout much of Europe. The album also charted successfully in both Switzerland and Austria eventually selling 820,000 units in Germany, Switzerland and Austria, and Eastern Europe. The group released its second and third singles, "Tearin' Up My Heart" and "Here We Go", both of which managed to reach the top 10 in numerous countries in Europe. Next, they released two Germany-only singles, "For the Girl Who Has Everything" and "Together Again".
1998–1999: Breaking the American market and legal battle against Pearlman
NSYNC captured the attention of Vincent DeGiorgio, an A&R rep for RCA Records. After seeing the group perform in Budapest, he eventually signed them to RCA in 1998. The American label had the group record some new tracks to adjust their album for the US market. The group released its debut American single, "I Want You Back" on December 29, 1997. It reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. An album called 'N Sync followed on March 24, 1998. Album sales were sluggish, debuting at number 82 on the Billboard 200, but were helped when the Disney Channel aired a concert special on July 18, 1998. The concert was first offered to the Backstreet Boys, but they had to back out due to member Brian Littrell needing heart surgery, later doing their own special in 1999. Five weeks before the concert, the album sat at number 82 on the albums chart; three weeks after the concert, the album reached number nine. The group's profile continued to rise with the subsequent single release "Tearin' Up My Heart", which became a hit on pop radio and one of the "100 Greatest Songs of the 90s" according to VH1. Regular touring, including an opening spot on Janet Jackson's The Velvet Rope Tour, and television spots on shows like Sabrina the Teenage Witch also bolstered sales for the album, which was eventually certified diamond for shipments in excess of 10 million units.On November 10, 1998, the group released a holiday album, Home for Christmas. The album peaked at number 7 and sold 2 million copies. With this, NSYNC achieved the rare feat of having two albums in the Billboard Top 10 at the same time. A week later on November 16, 1998, NSYNC released The Winter Album in Germany. One of the songs on the album "U Drive Me Crazy" was a major hit in Spain peaking at number 4. The group scored its first top 10 on the Hot 100 with their third single, " A Little More Time on You", which peaked at number 8 in February 1999. Country group Alabama later re-recorded the song and released it as a single that featured vocals from NSYNC. The fourth and final single from the album, "I Drive Myself Crazy", was a modest chart hit, but a mainstay on Total Request Live. NSYNC also recorded their version of the song "Trashin' The Camp" with Phil Collins. The song appears on the soundtrack to the Disney movie Tarzan. They also did "Somewhere, Someday" which appears on the soundtrack to Pokémon: The First Movie. In September 1999, the group collaborated with Gloria Estefan on a song for the soundtrack for her movie Music of the Heart. The track "Music of My Heart" reached number 2 on the Hot 100 and served as a stopgap between album releases.
In 1999, NSYNC entered a publicized legal battle with Lou Pearlman, due to what the group believed were illicit business practices on his part. NSYNC sued Pearlman and his record company, Trans Continental, for defrauding the group of more than fifty percent of their earnings, rather than his promise of only receiving one-sixth of the profits, similar to his promise of one-sixth of the profits with the Backstreet Boys. The group threatened to leave and sign with Jive Records, which prompted Pearlman and RCA to countersue NSYNC for US$150 million. Trans Continental, along with RCA's parent BMG Entertainment, went to federal court and filed said $150 million suit in an effort to stop NSYNC's move to Jive, to prevent the band from performing or recording under the name NSYNC, and to force NSYNC to return masters recorded that year in preparation of their second album. The suit also claims Jive executives induced the group into breaking its Trans Continental contract. Pearlman's request for a preliminary injunction against the band was denied. In December 1999, NSYNC and Pearlman reached an undisclosed settlement out of court, freeing the group to release future albums on Jive Records.
Also in 1999, NSYNC starred in a short-form spoof video of the 1998 science fiction disaster film Armageddon for the 1999 MTV Movie & TV Awards; it was titled Armagedd'NSync. It featured an earthbound asterisk-shaped asteroid and featured Clint Howard, Lisa Kudrow, and all five members of NSYNC.