'N Sync

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*NSYNC
Background information
Origin	Orlando, Florida, United States
Genre(s)	Pop, dance, R&B, bubblegum pop, Eurodance, ballad
Years active	1995 - 2002
Label(s)	RCA, Jive, Kalbo
Website	Official site
Members
Lance Bass JC Chasez Joey Fatone Chris Kirkpatrick Justin Timberlake

'N Sync (often stylised *NSYNC) is a five-part American pop boy band, formed in Orlando, Florida. The group members are Lance Bass, JC Chasez, Joey Fatone, Chris Kirkpatrick, and Justin Timberlake. Timberlake and Chasez have also released solo albums.

Contents 1 History 2 Discography 3 See also 4 External links

[edit] History

The group was first formed in 1995. The band's name reportedly comes from a comment that Justin Timberlake's mother made after the boys first met and harmonized together; she was impressed by how "in sync" their voices were. The name is also commonly reported to have come from the last letter of each member's name: JustiN, ChriS, JoeY, LansteN (a nickname), and JC.

Their self-titled debut album did well in Europe and the U.S., as did the seasonal Home For Christmas, which was released on November 10, 1998. In 1999, after their American breakthrough, *NSYNC fought a court battle against former manager Lou Pearlman's management company, TransCon, citing illicit business practices on Pearlman's part. After the lawsuit, *NSYNC found a new manager, Johnny Wright of Wright Entertainment Group, broke their record contract, and signed to Jive Records, home of rival boy band Backstreet Boys (ironically, another Pearlman creation).

The highly anticipated No Strings Attached, released on March 21, 2000, sold 2.4 million copies in its first week of release—the highest first week album sales in music history (1.1 million of which was attributed to the first day of release).

Their fourth album, Celebrity, released on July 24, 2001 holds the record for the second-highest first week album sales at 1.8 million records. All four of the band's albums have been boosted by a number of successful single releases, including "I Want You Back" and "Tearin' Up My Heart" from *NSYNC; "Music of My Heart" recorded with Gloria Estefan for the movie Music of the Heart; and "Bye Bye Bye", "It's Gonna Be Me" and "This I Promise You" from No Strings Attached. More recent hits such as "Gone", "Pop" and "Girlfriend" from the album Celebrity have expanded the group's influence and fan base into the R&B community as well.

The band has made guest appearances in the television series The Simpsons (Episode #261 - "New Kids On The Blecch") which aired on February 25, 2001. Other appearances include Clueless, Touched by an Angel, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, and Robot Chicken.

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 Schizophrenic, on February 24, 2004. Justin released his sophomore album, FutureSex/LoveSounds on September 12, 2006. JC has a follow-up album in the works.

Kirkpatrick closed his clothing business, FuManSkeeto, and has become involved with several indie/punk rock 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, Nigels 11. He has also done voice work for the Nickelodeon show The Fairly Oddparents, as teen heart-throb Chip Skylark.

Bass became a certified astronaut 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. He also starred in his own movie, On the Line, with fellow bandmember Joey Fatone. Bass also recently announced that he is gay, after months of speculation on gossip columnist Perez Hilton's website. He recently ended his first publically homosexual relationship with Reichen Lehmkuhl, winner of the reality show, The Amazing Race.

Fatone has been filling up his resume with acting gigs in movies, with successful work in the family comedy My Big Fat Greek Wedding, The Cooler, an experimental musical version of Red Riding Hood, and Homie Spumoni. On Broadway, Joey was popular belting out his lines in Rent and Little Shop Of Horrors. In September 2004, Joey married his long-time girlfriend, Kelly Baldwin, at a chateau on Long Island. The couple have a daughter together.

Plans for the group to work on their fifth album have been discussed, but details remain uncertain. Rumors circulating that Timberlake has quit the group have added to the uncertainty over the group's future, though all group members vehemently deny these rumors. Also, 2006 was the first year in which the group did not reunite for its annual charity event, Challenge for the Children.

In 2006, Justin Timberlake was interviewed on MTV's "All Eyes On" series entitled "All Eyes On Justin Timberlake" and inadvertently admitted that he was responsible for *NSYNC's extended break. He also mentioned that even if the band were to re-unite now, he was unsure of what they would be able to do, as the music they were once famous for has since decreased in popularity.

Even though there are currently no plans set for a reunion in the near future, members of the group have continued to work together on occasion. On August 31, 2006, Justin Timberlake reunited with former bandmate JC Chasez on his SexyBack tour at the Roseland Ballroom. Chasez performed 'Until Yesterday', the new single off his upcoming album due out in early 2007.(see Love sexy ; A sexy single and Prince-influenced album send ex-'N Sync hottie Justin Timberlake back to No. 1. Star Tribune. Minneapolis, Minn.: Sep 17, 2006. pg. 6)Justin's new tour, the Futuresex/Lovesound Tour will kick off January 8, 2007 in San Diego, CA.

In addition to touring, Justin has been keeping busy with acting. He is in the upcoming movies Alpha Dog (2006), Southland Tales (2006), Black Snake Moan (2007), and Shrek the Third (2007).

According to Jive Records, *NSYNC has signed a contract guaranteeing a minimum of five albums. So far they have delivered only two ("No Strings Attached" and "Celebrity"), so this means there should be at least three more albums on the way, though there is no specific time limit on them. Lance Bass once stated that it may be a year from now, it may be five years from now, but the group will definitely do another album. "We will never be done," he claimed. (see 'N Sync fight the CD pirates, BBC News, Wednesday, 3 October, 2001, 14:38 GMT 15:38 UK ).

And even though an *NSYNC reunion may not be in the cards as of right now, the guys are still associating with one another as very good friends. Justin Timberlake once said, "Those guys are my friends, and we'll always be together."

In October 2006, it was announced that band member Chris Kirkpatrick would participate in the new VH1 reality TV series, Man Band.

[edit] Discography

Main article: 'N Sync discography

Albums

1. *NSYNC - March 24, 1998
2. Home For Christmas - November 10, 1998
3. The Winter Album - November 17, 1998 (released only in Europe; equivalent of "Home For Christmas" album released in US)
4. No Strings Attached - March 21, 2000
5. Celebrity - July 24, 2001

[edit] See also

• Best selling music artists
• Sony BMG Music Entertainment
• Jive Records

[edit] External links

• Official site
• JC's Official Site
• Justin's Official site