It’s tough to talk about *NSYNC without overusing the words “best ,” “biggest,” and “most ”.

They’re the world’s best-selling band

(their No Strings Attached album has racked up over

$300 million in sales). Their stage show is the

biggest in pop history (the current PopOdyssey tour

will entertain more than eight million fans, with the

production traveling between arenas in an 88-truck convoy). *NSYNC are, in short, the most successful entertainers of the new millennium.

But the staggerIng sCale of that suCCess soMetIMes oVershaDows thetalent,craftsmanship,andsheerhardworkthatgeneratedit. asthebandhashumorouslypointedoutintheirsongsandvideos, *nsynCisnopuppettroupe.thegrouppartedwayswiththeir originallabelandmanagementoutofadesiretocontroltheirown careers.thepresenceoffourstrongsongsbybandmemberjC Chasezon No Strings Attached provedtheboyscoulddomorethan singanddance.But Strings wasamerewarm-upfor Celebrity ,the quintet’sthirddisc.thegroupwroteandproducedmostofthe albumthemselvesbeforelaunchingthegargantuanPopodyssey venture. werecentlyspoketo *nsynC’sjCChasezandjustintimberlake, whosemusicalpartnershippredatesthegroup’s1994debut. thetwofirstworkedtogetheraschildrenontheDisneyChannel’s “theMickeyMouseClub.” THE REIGNING KINGS OF POP RUN THEIR OWN SHOW

20 yama ha all access summer 2k1 21 What are the biggest misconceptions You didn’t have to start writing your How many songs did you develop in about *NSYNC? own material. What prompted you to the studio before choosing the ones Justin: thatwedon’tdoanythingour - take the plunge? that appear on Celebrity ? selves.thatwe’renotinvolvedinour JC: we’veactuallybeendoingitsincethe JC :wedevelopedalmost30and careers.thatwedon’twriteourownmate - beginning.Itwasjustamatterofwaitinguntil picked13. rial,eventhoughwewroteallbuttwoor oursongsgotgoodenoughtoputonthe Justin: wehavemeetingswherewe threesongsonthenewalbum. records.wejustweren’tcomfortableinthat decidewhichsongssoundbest.Butthe JC: somepeoplethinkwelip-syncevery - skinyet.Butthemoreyoudoit,thebetter realsiftingprocesscomesattheendwhen thing.Butweneverlip-syncatallinthe yougetatit,andwefeltlikeourstuffwas wehavethefinala&rmeetingtodecide states,andweonlydoitsometimesontV goodenoughtoputontherecordthistime. what’sgoingonthealbum. ineuropebecausesomeoftheshowsare Justin: I’vebeenwritingforawhile,butnot JC: you’relookingforthatpieceofmagic, onlysetupforplaybacksingingthere. withthismuchquantityatonetime.Buton andnoteverysonghasmagic. we’realwaysperforminglive. thenewalbumIco-wrote“upagainstthe NSYNC are (l-r): How do you know when you have it? wall”and“Pop,”thefirstsingle.Idid L*ance Bass Do those misperceptions bother you— JC: there’snoonething.youjustknowa Joey Fatone “Celebrity,”“seerightthroughyou,” or just amuse you? goodsongwhenyouhearit.whenasong Chris Kirkpatrick “gone,”and“somethinglikeyou.” Justin: Personally,Icouldcareless. grabsyourattentionandmeanssomething Justin Timberlake JC Chasez JC: well,wedowanttoberespected.we You’ve made your songwriting debuts toyou,youfigure,ifithasthateffectonme, wanttobetreatedliketheartistswelook on some of the best-selling records of maybeitwillhaveitonotherpeopleaswell. upto.nottoday—thoseartistshave all time. Was it scary to unveil your - Inthefuture,ifotherpeopledeliversongs “WE JUST MAKE MUSIC WE LIKE AND HOPE OTHER PEOPLE WILL LIKE IT, TOO.” earnedthatrespectbydoingwhattheydo selves so publicly? thatarebetterthanwhatwe’vewritten,it foryearsandyears.andwe’renevergoing Justin: no.Idon’tlookatitthatway. willbeourchoicetorecordthem.Ifwelike togetrespectfromrockandrollguys It’sfun. whatwe’vewrittenbetter,we’llusethat.at becausewe’renotrockandroll.Butwe JC: Itdidn’tfeelrisky—itjustfeltnatural. theendoftheday,it’saboutgreatsongs. wanttoberespectedsomedayfordoinga Besides,wehadnoideatherecordswould whatwillreachpeople.whatwilltouch goodjobatwhatwedo. bethatsuccessful.wejustthoughtthe them.we’llalwayschoosethatoverbeing songsweregood,sowestuckthemonthe selfishaboutourownsongs. musicianswhoplayonourrecords. transitionsandcostumechanges,bringin thing,we’renotgoingtolistentoit,andif Some of your songs and videos make record.wehadnoideapeopleweregoing Justin: forthemostpart,weagreeabout Now you’re about to embark on one of thepropsandexplosions,andmakeevery - wewouldn’tlistentoit,whywouldanybody fun of the idea that NSYNC is a plas - * torespondthatway. whichsongstokeep. the biggest tours of all time. thinglineupwitheverythingelsesoitcre - else?sowejustmakemusicwelikeand tic band. JC: yeah,wetendtobeonthesamepage. JC: actually,it’sthebiggestproductionof atesapictureandtouchestheaudience. hopeotherpeoplewilllikeit,too.that’sall JC: Ifyoucan’tmakefunofyourself,who Who are your songwriting heroes? andifwe’renot,wealwayscometoa alltime.wehavesurpassedallprevious wecando,really. canyoumakefunof?someofthestuffwe Justin: steviewonder. Tell us about NSYNC’s relationship compromise,becauseweallrespecteach toursinsize.Ittakesawhiletoputsome - * Justin: themainthingisthatthesound doiscorny,andsomeofitiscool.anyone JC: Definitelysteviewonder.sting.seal. with Yamaha. otherasartists.andthosecompromises thinglikethattogether,especiallywhenall keepsevolvingintosomethingmorediffer - whocriticizesusformakingfunofour - u2.theywritethingsthatpeoplewantto JC: yamahahasbeentotallycoolwithus. almostalwaysworkoutforthebest. theideasareyoursandyouwanttosee entandoriginal. selves,well,they’remissingoutonthe hearoverandover.thekindofsongsyou everyonethereisrealsupportive,andthey themrealizedthewayyouoriginallydreamt senseofhumorinit. nevergettiredof.songsthattakeyou So there’s no boss in the studio? hookusupwheneverweneedgearon Do you ever pause to consider the fact themup. somewhere—thatinstantlyputyouina Justin: everybodyjustkindoftakesturns. tour.whenweneedasampler,theysend that you are providing many young What are some of the other ways Justin: attheendofthenostrings certainplaceandtime. JC: yeah.It’sreallyaboutwho’sinwhat one.Ifweneedan02rmixingconsoleto people with their first memorable you’ve taken control of your careers? attachedtour,westartedthinkingupcon - moodwhatday.wechangehatseveryday. dosomedemosormaybeashowsome - musical experience? JC: we’vegrabbedthereinsforeverything Do you write at an instrument? cepts.Ittookusliketwomonthstoputthis Ifsomeonefeelslikewearingtheleaderhat where,theysendit.thethinghastotal JC: yeah,that’sdefinitelyatrip.Ihopeit’sa atthispoint.eversincewesignedwiththe JC: everysongisdifferent.sometimesyou togetherafterwehadalltheideastogether thatday,theywearit. recall,soyousetit,andyoucanhaveall goodthing.I’mdefinitelyproudofevery - newlabel,jive,they’vebeentakingusseri - thinkofamelodyinyourheadandthen andhadthestagebuilt. Justin: Ifyouwrotethesong,thenyou yoursettingsrightbackupjustbypushing thingwe’vedone,andifwe’resomebody’s ouslyasartists.they’veputalotoftrustin bangitoutonaguitarorapiano. JC: It’salotofwork.see,thedifficultpart takethelead.likewhenwerecordedmy abutton,whichisnice.theyamahagearis firstalbumorfirstshow,Ihopetheygot us,andwehaven’tdisappointedthemso sometimesitstartsataninstrumentand aboutbeinginabandlikeoursisthatwe song“somethinglikeyou,”Iproduced.I usuallythebeststuffontheroad,because theirmoney’sworth.IknowifIcametoone far,sothey’rewillingtoletusrunwiththe movesonfromthere.Ithoughtof“space havetodotwiceasmuchworkasalotof actuallygottoproduceasteviewonder it’ssoreliable. ofourshows,I’dbeentertained.there’s ball.wewritethemusicvideotreatments. Cowboy”onanairplane,but“selfish”start - otherbands.arockbandhastogettheir harmonicapart.Iwassoimpressedwith somethingthereforeveryone,andthevisu - wepickthedirectorsandtellthemwhat edatthekeyboard.Itwasamatterofplay - musictogether,andthentheyprettymuch How do you strike a balance between howheplayed!eveneverythinghe alaspectisimportanttome.Ialways wewant.wechoosethechoreographers. ingandgettingavibe,strikingariffthatI justgooutandplayit.Butwehaveto attempting new things and giving your “messedup,”wekept—that’showgoodit lookeduptopeoplewhowereentertaining sowe’reatapointwherewecandefinite - wantedtokeepplayingoverandoveruntil rehearsethemusic,learnthechoreogra - audience what they want? was.I’mdefinitelylearningmoreeveryday thatway,likeMichaeljackson.Ihopepeo - lycallourselvesartists,becausefromhere itbecamesomething. phy,andputthetwotogether.thenwe JC: Inthebeginningatleast,wedoevery - abouthowtocommunicateavisiontothe plearegettingthesamefeelingfromus.I onout,everythingisgoingtobeourcall. havetoworkinthetheatrics,rehearsethe thingforourselves.Ifwedon’tlikesome - can’tputmyselfintheaudience’sshoes, 22 yama ha all access summer 2k1 23