'N Sync's Future
Dismiss 'N Sync as just another boy band, and you're not seeing what's going on beyond their expensive hair cuts and matching outfits.
"Our objectives are to be ... a very universal group," says Chris Kirkpatrick. "It just so happens that our biggest fan base now is young girls."
But the five-man vocal group knows there are folks older than 13 who sing along to their songs while driving down Kingston Pike, and that fact alone will allow 'N Sync to extend their careers past 15 minutes of fame.
And this is how they are doing it:
OUT WITH THE OLD: They said "Bye, Bye, Bye" to their old business partner, Lou Pearlman (who can now be seen with O-Town in the ABC docu-soap "Making the Band"), so they could make their own decisions. Criticism that the 'N Sync fellows are mere marketing puppets, specifically just a group of guys who learned to sing and dance because of Pearlman's help, gets Kirkpatrick's ire.
Pearlman, who was billed as an "executive director" on their debut album, only provided 'N Sync with money during their early days, says Kirkpatrick.
"We were a group before (his) money, and we'll be a group after (his) money," Kirkpatrick says. "It's really sad that it went down like that. At first, he tried to make it like a family, like, 'I want to be close to you guys. I want you guys to be able to trust me.' But in this business, when it comes to money, you can't trust anybody because the people you start trusting (turn out to be) ... the ones actually taking all your money."
"That was really hard for us. That was a life lesson we learned really quick."
So what do they think of "Making the Band?"
Kirkpatrick makes a raspberry noise.
Timberlake puts his opinion about O-Town into words: "God bless them. I'm almost certain they don't have a clue what's going on really. So I kind of look back and think that's kind of what we were like. We didn't know what was going on ... and now we do."
NO STRINGS ATTACHED: 'N Sync is starting to produce and write some of their own tunes these days. As a result, their current opus, "No Strings Attached," has sold 9 million copies in the United States alone since its March release. The disc has spawned three hit singles (including the No. 1 tune "It's Gonna Be Me").
"I think every time we release a record or even a new single we are reaching a new audience," says Kirkpatrick. "We try to, anyway. If we don't reach a new audience every time we release a single, we aren't doing something right ...
"If we don't adapt, we won't survive. We enjoy new music. We don't enjoy doing the same thing everybody else is doing. We try to change our sound and our ideas to be innovative. ... We don't want them to say, 'Hey, that sounds like their last album. That's really good.'"
Casual listeners may only notice the difference between their debut single, "I Want You Back," and their current one, "This I Promise You," to be a matter of tempo.
What has really changed between their first and second albums is their approach to the music. In the hands of other producers, 'N Sync sang homogeneous pop, more in the vein of late-1980s Madonna than anything else. For "No Strings Attached," they incorporated hip-hop rhythms and a sleeker, urban groove.
"We're changing with the times," says Timberlake. "We're developing our sound."
ACTING THE PART: Acting will be part of 'N Sync's future. Bass and Fatone have movies in the works; Timberlake has already done a TV movie with Kathie Lee Gifford. All five guys are lending their voices to a guest spot on "The Simpsons" (airing in February).
A feature film starring 'N Sync has been mulled for more than a year now, and scripts are still in development. One possibility for the entire group is a big-screen remake of "Grease."
On the musical horizon, 'N Sync will start work on its next album in January (though Kirkpatrick and Timberlake say they haven't had much time to write songs for it so far).
The boys will also appear on the Jive Records Christmas compilation, coming out in the next few weeks. Their contribution is a ballad titled "You Don't Have To Be Alone," co-written by Chasez.
TEARING UP THEIR HEARTS: With success, though, comes criticism -- charges that the group is more a product of great marketing than musical talent, that they're today's headline waiting to be yesterday's news.
"Mad TV" skewered 'N Sync recently when actress Nicole Sullivan played both Britney Spears and Timberlake as goofy, empty-headed pop tarts.
Rapper Eminem has built his image on ridiculing boy bands, and 'N Sync in particular.
Eminem picking on them is "cool," Timberlake says.
"We are fans of his, and we think he's talented. I wouldn't call Eminem one of our critics, though. I think he's smart. He's good at marketing," Kirkpatrick says.
Kirkpatrick admits that criticism of the band hurts "sometimes," but doesn't elaborate on when or what hurts in particular.
However, Kirkpatrick and Timberlake both say they like MTV's "2gether" sitcom about the making of a boy band (Timberlake has been asked to do a cameo spot on the show).
"We make fun of ourselves," says Timberlake. "We pick on each other. If we see ourselves on television (as we are) flipping through the channels, we'll make fun of each other, make fun of ourselves.
"We're just five guys, having fun doing what we do."
