Funfare had a brief phone chat with Joey (as spokesman) last week while the N'SYNC was in United Kingdom for a promo tour. Here are excerpts:

Ricky Lo: How does your group feel about being compared to the Backstreet Boys? How are the two groups similar to each other?

Joey: (Laughs) They're five guys and we're five guys. That's the similarity! (Seriously now) That's true. We've been compared to the Backstreet Boys but at this point, I guess people can tell which music is N'SYNC and which music is Backstreet Boys. As far as performance is concerned, I should say that our shows are very high-energy-packed and very theatrical as well. How we dress is totally different from how they do."

RL: Are you N'SYNC guys friends of the Backstreet Boys?

Joey: "Oh, yeah. We've known them for quite sometime. We say 'Hi!' to each other. But because of our busy schedules, we don't get a chance to be the best of friends. (Sounding very humble) (I bet! - sorry) The Backstreet Boys are definitely bigger than our group but we're doing our best to give our fans the best music and the best performance we're capable of. The competition is non-existent, actually. It's only the press sometimes which makes it look bigger than it really is. Chris and Howie (a BSB member) know each other because they studied in the same school; they were members of the same choir."