N Sync

NSYNC (sometimes stylised as 'N Sync) was an American boy band formed in Orlando, Florida in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich, NSYNC consisted of JC Chasez, Justin Timberlake, Lance Bass, Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick and became the second highest selling boyband of all-time (behind the Backstreet Boys). After heavily publicized legal battles with their former manager Lou Pearlman and former record label Sony BMG, the group's second album No Strings Attached sold over one million copies in one day and 2.42 million copies in one week, giving it the highest first week album sales ever. In addition to a host of Grammy nominations, *NSYNC has performed at the Academy Awards, the World Series, the Super Bowl and the Olympics, and sang or recorded with the likes of Elton John, Mariah Carey, Aerosmith, Mary J Blige, Britney Spears, Nelly, Michael Jackson, The Jacksons, Stevie Wonder, Celine Dion, and Gloria Estefan.

While *NSYNC announced a "temporary hiatus" in spring 2002, the band has not recorded new material since. The group's official website shut down in summer of 2006, and in 2007, Lance Bass confirmed that the group has "definitely broken up." In March 2010, the group's website was relaunched to keep fans updated on the various members' projects.

After seeing him perform in a doo-wop group at Universal Studios, Lou Pearlman approached Chris Kirkpatrick about forming a pop group. Pearlman said that he would finance the group if Kirkpatrick would find other young male singers. This prompted Kirkpatrick to call Joey Fatone, a friend he had met while working at Universal Studios. Then, Fatone and Kirkpatrick approached Lou Pearlman for more suggestions. Pearlman looked through some tapes they had, and one of Justin Timberlake from the Mickey Mouse Club caught their eye. Timberlake soon joined the group and recommended his friend JC Chasez, who also was a cast member on the Mickey Mouse Club. Soon, they decided to even out their sound by finding a bass singer. Initially, their fifth member was to be Jason Galasso. 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. In need of a bass, the group auditioned several people without success. Timberlake soon 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.

The group got their name after Timberlake's mother commented on how "in sync" their voices were. The group's name was also a play on the last letter of each member's first names: JustiN, ChriS, JoeY, LansteN, and JC. The band later nicknamed Bass "Lansten" so as not to throw off the last-letter theme of their name. From there, Pearlman set the five boys up in a house in Orlando, where they rehearsed constantly, learning dance routines and vocal parts, and working on promotion for their first public performance at Pleasure Island on October 22, 1995. Pearlman hired Johnny Wright, manager of the Backstreet Boys, to manage the group. *NSYNC sent him a two-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 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 debut album with the help of producers such as 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 territories. Their self-titled debut album was initially released by BMG Ariola Munich on May 26, 1997, in Germany, and peaked at number one in the second week after its release,. The group soon became an overnight success throughout much of Europe. The album also charted successfully in both Switzerland and Austria eventually selling 820,000 units in GSA (Germany, Switzerland, Austria) region and Eastern Europe. The group released its second and the third singles, "Tearin' Up My Heart" and "Here We Go", both of which managed to reach the top-10 in numerous countries in Europe.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 U.S. market.

In April 2002, after the group's Celebrity tour, they went on a hiatus. They originally intended to resume recording in September of that year, but they decided to extend their hiatus because Timberlake wanted to focus on his solo career. The group still went to award shows and events together, and regrouped at the 2003 Grammy Awards to sing the Bee Gees Medley in tribute to the Bee Gees. It was the group's last televised performance. The last public performance for *NSYNC was at the group's 2004 Annual Challenge for the Children, where the members performed "The Star Spangled Banner". It was a fitting final performance considering "The Star Spangled Banner" was the first song the five of them ever sang together. In 2005, the members regrouped one last time for the last *NSYNC Challenge For The Children, but did not perform. In the fall of 2005, *NSYNC released a greatest hits album. It included one song, "I'll Never Stop", that had previously not been released in America. In January 2010, they released another album called "The Collection" that consisted of singles only released in the UK.

The group was featured on an episode of Seth Green's stop-motion sketch comedy show Robot Chicken in 2005, but only Lance Bass and Joey Fatone voiced their own characters in the episode. Justin Timberlake was voiced by Breckin Meyer.

Lance Bass told People magazine that "We're definitely itching to do some music," but the only thing that's really stopping a reunion is that "It's gonna be hard to get Justin to calm down and get off tour, he's a workaholic". But that statement has also been looked at with doubt because Timberlake has not released an album since 2006 and his last tour ended in 2007. Timberlake has since then turned his attention to film and has produced a successful acting career. Joey Fatone has been featured as a host for reality game show The Singing Bee that aired on NBC and is announcer on Family Feud with Steve Harvey. Lance Bass has done some producing jobs and small film cameos.

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