00:00 Think About That 03:09 That Time Of Year 06:45 She's The Max 10:02 My Biggest Mistake 13:51 I Swear 17:25 Real World 22:05 Pass Me By 26:48 What's Going On Here are some unreleased demos of the N Sync pop group composed by Alex Greggs. First ever listen! In 1998, pop music was poised to make one of its greatest comebacks in history. Following several years of brooding, self-absorbed radio fare, top 40 listeners were aching to see the sun and have a little fun with the car windows down. *NSYNC introduced itself to the U.S. with the anthemic, high-energy I Want You Back. In March, it lit the airwaves like fireworks, washing away FM’s dark veneer and offering a proper introduction to the consummate millennium-era hitmaking ensemble. Of course, at the time, no one knew that these five show biz kids were destined to break records left and right. Over the course of five years, *NSYNC—Justin Randall Timberlake (Justin), Joseph Anthony Fatone Jr. (Joey), Joshua Scott Chasez (JC), James Lance Bass (Lance) and Christopher Alan Kirkpatrick (Chris)—would sell nearly 30 million records in the U.S. and 42 million worldwide. The group charted with a dozen singles, conquering top 40, AC, dance, Latin, country and R&B;. Their gargantuan worldwide No Strings Attached and PopOdyssey stadium tours rewrote sales, artistic and technical standards for road shows (when tickets for the first 52 Strings dates went on sale, one million sold on day one, a record). Later, the stripped down Celebrity tour zeroed in on *NSYNC’s musical prowess. These guys even refined the definition of a boy band, working with "grown-up" acts like Gloria Estefan, Celine Dion, Phil Collins and Richard Marx. Their story began modestly enough in the mid-1990s. Timberlake and Chasez knew each other as Mouseketeer graduates of the Disney Channel's The Mickey Mouse Club. As the two were recording respective demos in Nashville in search of a recording contract, Timberlake received a call from Kirkpatrick, whom he'd met on the audition circuit around Orlando’s Disney and Universal Studios, suggesting that they put together an ensemble. The three then went on the prowl for a bass singer, meeting up in a club with Fatone, who Kirkpatrick and Chasez knew from making the rounds. His voice wasn't low enough to meet the role’s demands, but a kinship was established and he was in. Finally, a call to Timberlake's former vocal coach reeled in Bass. Once the quintet was set, *NSYNC was groomed on the BMG Ariola label in Germany, where uptempo pop music was more readily accepted. Within weeks, I Want You Back snatched three long-held records: it hit the singles charts faster than any other new act (after one week) and had the longest top 10 stay ever for a new group (eight weeks), while they became the fastest newcomer to hit the top 10 (in three weeks). The last such superlative artist was a guy named Michael Jackson, and he already had a legacy established with his brothers. With success secured across regions of Europe, the boys returned home with a track record and the album was released on BMG’s RCA label*NSYNC more or less started over, performing in clubs around Orlando and at Disney’s Pleasure Island. I Want You Back was an effortlessly executed hit in America, accompanied by a video showcasing savvy dance steps and shimmering smiles. It hit No. 13 on the singles chart, sold a million copies and remained active at radio for half a year. From there, as anybody’s grandmother knows, the singles hit with blow torch intensity, as the public gobbled up *NSYNC’s musical wares with unbridled gusto.

• published: 15 Jan 2015
• views: 26231