They started the NSYNC Ultrasound by talking about comparisons with the Backstreet Boys (BSB), and how BSB was the first boyband to break through the music barriers and NSYNC was right behind. They’ve been in the right place at the right time and their meteoric rise is in some ways attributed to the success of BSB. Okay, I hope anyone reading this doesn’t think I’m a traitor for saying this, but I think some of NSYNC’s success was due to BSB. But I think the guys know this and they’re thankful to BSB for opening the doors to boyband pop, but at the same time I think they’ve done a lot for themselves to assure their long-lasting success. I just think BSB can be gracious and say “You’re welcome,” instead of whining like little babies about others “finding their own identity.” PLEASE! So they showed the clip from way back when, with Chris saying there are similarities between NSYNC and BSB but BSB is off being successful as BSB and NSYNC is off being successful as NSYNC. Nicely said Chris! Always the diplomat…hahaha!
They started with Chris and talked about his family life. He said that his family was so poor they saved up food stamps to be low class. I’m so glad that he has found the success he has, and his family can now live better lives. It must be extremely difficult being a single mother of 5. They then talked about Joey and how he was a handful growing up. I’m sure he was! LOL! Then they talked about JC who said he was basically a regular kid, played sports, dreamed of being an architect or engineer, until he won first place at a talent show off a dare and auditioned for the Mickey Mouse Club (MMC).
They had Justin’s mom talking about how Justin grew up in a tiny town in Memphis and grew up singing in the church. I totally believe Justin was blessed with a talent for music…he is amazing. They had the guy who auditioned Justin for MMC and he said that Justin was the best he’d ever auditioned, a triple threat (sing, dance and act).
They also had JC talking about Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, which I thought was cool. He was talking about the two of them during MMC and he said that Britney was an amazing performer and Christina had an amazing voice. He was like whenever they sang they were loud. He was like, “People sleep on Brit’s voice but don’t sleep on her voice because she is loud.” He also said that Christina went in their singing only Celine Dione, Aretha Franklin and Whitney Houston songs. I am curious to know what he really thinks about the two of them and the whole Brit vs. Christina thing. I know…I’m just a troublemaker.
They went into how the group was started and Chris said that he was introduced to Lou Pearlman by a friend and Lou was looking for a group of boys to sing, so Chris thought this was a chance of a lifetime and looked around calling people he knew looking for someone who could “wail” and the only name that came back to him was Justin’s so he called Justin and told him this guy wants to get a group together. Justin called JC and the three of them met Joey at a club. It’s so odd how somethings work out because Joey knew Chris from Universal and JC knew Joey since the first day JC came to Orlando but none of them knew they each knew each other. Talk about fate. They were still looking for a bass and Chris said when they signed the record deal it was actually the four of them. Justin was really cute telling the story about getting Lance. He said he called his old vocal coach and who said he had the perfect guy, he’s a true bass, he’s from Mississippi and his mom will never let him do it. Then they showed Lance’s mom talking about how they went to Orlando to check it out but thinking they weren’t really going to let him join the group, but when she first heard them sing together, that was it. It was real. I think that is so incredible.
They talked about NSYNC being a huge success in Europe before coming to the US and how they came up with the name NSYNC, you know, the stuff we all know about already. They talked about the Disney Special and how that show basically made them overnight successes. This is interesting because that is the show that made me a fan, but I saw it like, a year after it came out so I didn’t know that the Disney Special was such a big deal.
They talked about the chemistry of the group and if they get into fights. Justin said they bicker about stupid stuff like having stuff in someone else’s bunk or playing a game then going to the bathroom and coming back and someone else is playing the game. They even showed home videos of the guys in a not so nice mood, which I thought was really cool. They showed Justin telling Joey to get the camera out of his face and they showed Chris telling Joey to stop filming. Chris was like, “Seriously Joey, Don’t!” That was kinda cool seeing that.
They talked about their first big purchase, “Bling! Bling!” Lance said it was his 4-Runner, Chris said it was two turn tables and a microphone, Joey said it was his Acura, Justin said it was the Mercedes and he said he recently bought a Beamer and jewelry. JC said he treated himself to a vacation. He said he’s tight with his money. They had the guys describe each other. It’s pretty funny when they had to describe Joey because it was like they couldn’t find the words to describe him. I guess Joey is just indescribable! Hahaha!
They talked about girlfriends, which was pretty interesting. Chris didn’t admit that he had a girlfriend, but he said that they aren’t going to lie about it. He was pretty honest about what he said, which was nice to hear. He said that people have ideas about them being romantically available and they aren’t going to take that away from people. If they have girlfriends they will say they have girlfriends but they aren’t going to publicize it. JC was saying that it’s difficult because it starts out nice but then they get jealous of the fans and wants more attention than they have the time to give so it gets ugly. Lance was really sweet and mentioned his 9-month stint with Danielle Fishel and said it was impossible because they saw each other about twice a month. He said if he has a girlfriend, he wants to be there for her and be the best boyfriend he can be. Isn’t that the sweetest thing you’ve ever heard? Aww, Lance is such a sweetie!
They talked about the critics and I really like what Chris said about the whole Bubble Gum Factory issue. He said that people talk about this Bubble Gum Factory that groups like NSYNC have been through and he was like, I wish there was such a thing that they had gone through because nothing could have prepared them for what they’ve been through. I thought it was a gracious way of shoving the whole Bubble Gum Factory accusations in the faces of those critics.
They showed clips of the guys recording with Alabama and they talked about their collaboration with Gloria Estefan for “MOMH.” Lance was so sweet and said that Gloria could be the sixth member of NSYNC and that the collaboration with her is the highlight of their career. That was really sweet, and you can tell they totally get along with Gloria. Gloria seems really cool too, like a really cool Aunt you wanna hang out with or go shopping with or something.
They showed the MTV VMA performance and talked about their performance. I thought it was really different but I didn’t think it was as big a deal as Lance made it sound. I guess it must have been pretty big though for MTV to put it in the Ultrasound. It was also the day (9/9/99) that the guys decided to leave their record label and management company and move to Jive Records. So they talked about the lawsuit and of course Chris talked about it. Do you notice whenever they talk about the lawsuit it is usually Chris doing all the talking? Anyways, Chris said that it has been squashed and they are on a new record label, about to release a new CD so for them, they consider it a win. I agree, they’ve won and with the new album out, not only have they won, they’ve crushed all their competitors. NO MERCY!
Okay, this is my own opinion and again, I hope you don’t consider me a traitor. My mom asked me once if I thought NSYNC would have been as successful as they are if it wasn’t for TransContinental, a.k.a. Lou. I said I really didn’t know. I mean I know they are mega-talented, but in the entertainment industry, talent isn’t always enough. There are so many talented people out there who go undiscovered all the time. I think NSYNC realizes that because they say they attribute their success to good luck, timing and talent, which I think is extremely humble of them. So about Lou, it’s hard for me to say if NSYNC would have made it without his help, but even so I think the guys know that and they are grateful to Lou for taking a risk on them, but at the same time I think they must feel the same way I do, that Lou was there for them when they had nothing, but he’s just too goddamn greedy! I think if he wasn’t such a greedy control-freak, he probably would still have NSYNC on TransCon. I think the major loser in all this is RCA. I hope they get Lou good!
They talked about NSA. The guys described it like they’ve been describing it for the past two months. Edgier, more urban feel, etc, etc. My favorite segment of Ultrasound was when they were playing “It’s Gonna Be Me” while showing clips of the close ups from the photoshoot they did for the album. I love that part! Lastly they showed footage of the guys from NSYNC@mtv and they had last words of wisdom from each of the guys.
I’m really glad MTV decided to do an Ultrasound with NSYNC. Now I can only hope that VH-1 will get smart and do a Behind the Music with NSYNC.
