Moments ago, 'N Sync were behaving like the professionals they are. Justin Timberlake, Lance Bass, Chris Kirkpatrick, JC Chasez and Joey Fatone patiently posed for shot after shot on a Universal Studios soundstage in Orlando at what must be, like, their zillionth photo shoot since the band formed in 1995. But when someone discovers a bag of paddleballs--those plywood party favors with strings (and rubber balls) attached--watch out! The guys' concentration crumbles, and they're transformed into rowdy little kids. A crazed Kirkpatrick smacks Fatone's butt so hard with one of the paddles, it actually cracks in two. Then Kirpatrick starts whacking himself on the head like a masochistic karate master. "Do I have a red spot now?" he asks. Well, duh. Timberlake grabs this reporter's recorder and begins a play-by-play from the sidelines.
"Everyone is playing paddleball. JC is particularly good, Joey sucks and Lance is mediocre. I, on the other hand, am the most mature of the group, so I'm going to stand here and say everything I think about the guys on this recorder. Chris--short; Lance--idiot; Joey--big idiot; JC--really good at paddleball. Uh, gotta go! Joey is chasing me with the paddleball."
As you undoubtedly know, 'N Sync are the biggest
band in the universe. They sold a record-breaking 2.4 million copies of
their last CD, No Strings Attached, in one week, and are
currently on a massive stadium tour to promote their upcoming album, Celebrity,
due out June 26. So if our photographer has to wait a bit for Kirkpatrick's
forehead to return to a normal shade, he will. These guys are superstars.
Not that you'd know it hanging out with them. In
spite of their pop preeminence, 'N Sync are amazingly down-to-earth. They
show up for the shoot on time. (No stretch limos; Timberlake, 20, and Kirkpatrick,
29, arrive on flashy motorcycles.) At lunch, they eat burgers and sandwiches
from a food truck and are disarmingly warm to everyone around them--even
the reporter, whose job it is to dig into their private lives (more on
that later).
How is it there's no ego-tripping, spotlight-hogging,
creative conflicts or scuttlebutt about solo albums? "We're brothers,"
says Timberlake. "I wouldn't change the friendship I have with them for
anything in the world. We like to pick on one another, but it's all in
good fun. There's still a level of respect that we have for one another."
R-E-S-P-E-C-T, at least from outside sources, hasn't
come easily to the band. There are Web sites devoted to dissing them ('N
Sync 'N Sux, 'N Sync 'N Duces Vomiting, etc.), and the critics haven't
always been kind. Entertainment Weekly singled out their "hammy,
agonizingly contrived African-American vocal mannerisms" when reviewing
No
Strings Attached--only to later out them on the cover. Not that the
guys let naysayers bother them much. With a blockbuster sophomore studio
album, the fab five left Svengali Lou Pearlman (their former manager) behind
and gained creative control of their career. The struggle made them stronger:
Now even skeptics are coming around. Says levelheaded Bass, 22, "The people
who we really respect in the music business know what we can do. Listeners
consider us a real group. I don't think they use the term boy band
nearly as much as they used to."
Throughout their ups and downs, the guys have always
been willing to poke fun at themselves. Remember their skit at 7 Degrees
Celsius on Saturday Night Live? The new album's title track is in
keeping with that same self-deprecating spirit. On the twitchy "Celebrity,"
the guys ask whoever's listening, "Would you be so into me if I wasn't
a celebrity?"
"We're not complaining," says Timberlake of the
lyrics. "'Celebrity' is about the ironies of being a star." But despite
its lightheartedness, the song reveals the boys' vulnerability. "People
will sometimes do things--like not let us into a club--because we're 'N
Sync," says Kirkpatrick, "just so they can say they turned down 'N Sync.
It makes us feels [sic] like idiots, because all we want is to have a good
time."
More vexing are the rumors that come with star status.
Timberlake tends to catch the most flak--just cutting his curls made headlines!
And this past December, the sultry-voiced singer was slapped with a lawsuit
by the mother of a fan. JoAnne McGuire alleges that her 15-year-old daughter,
Danielle, suffered verbal and physical intimidation from Timberlake. He
allegedly berated her for shouting "I like JC better anyway--he's cuter,"
after Timberlake ignored a group of fans outside a St. Louis hotel.
Timberlake is under a gag order from his lawyers
but says, "I have nothing but love for the people who come out to see us."
Chasez, 24, is quick to defend his bandmate. "It's a shame, man, because
that girl is headtripping and the truth will come out. I feel bad because
the lawsuit had kind of given the fans a bad name, and our fans are great."
Another subject Timberlake would prefer to steer
clear of is his much speculated-about relationship with Britney Spears.
"What are you talking about?" he asks, feigning ignorance when first asked
about her. He then offers a diplomatic response: "If anyone is going to
understand my schedule and demands, it's Britney, because she's in the
same business," he says. "Going public with our relationship was a choice
that she had to make. Britney didn't want people to say, 'Oh, that's
Justin's girlfriend,' because she has her own thing." Chasez, who's also
in the room, starts jumping up and down behind Timberlake. It's not the
most subtle way of distracting a nosy journalist, but it's touching to
see him helping his buddy out of a tight spot.
The other 'N Syncers are more open about their romantic
status. For the record, Chasez and Fatone, 24, are both taken, while Bass
and Kirkpatrick are free agents. Bass, for one, is lucky if he has time
to brush his teeth, let alone take a girl out on the town. For the last
few months, the ambitious Mississippian has been juggling his hectic film
schedule (he'll make his big-screen debut this fall in the romantic comedy
On
the Line) with 'N Sync's promotional commitments. "It's hard to meet
people," he says. "I don't even know what a personal life is. My bus is
my home." Bass says he'd eventually like to date someone who isn't in the
business.
Kirkpatrick, meanwhile, prefers to remain on his
own these days. "I'm just not a relationship person," he says. Kirkpatrick
and Danielle Raabe, president of his burgeoning clothing company, FuMan
Skeeto, broke up in October but remain close. "Since we work together,
I have to find out who she's going out with now," he says. "It's really
hard, because I was in love with her. We were together for two years, and
I still love her. She's a great person."
And this will tear up your heart: Chasez has been
dating the same woman (he won't name her, in order to protect her privacy)
for more than a year and a half. "We met a bunch of times through friends
but never noticed each other," he says. "And then one day we were playing
cards and everybody was hanging out, and we clicked." He says his girlfriend,
who writes about women's issues for a living, isn't threatened by his sex-symbol
status. "I don't want around thinking that I'm sexy. I just do my day-to-day
stuff. I try to learn the next dance steps, to sing the best I can. She
sees that in me and respects me. You can't be sexy forever--unless you're
Sean Connery."
Which brings us to self-proclaimed fun-lover Fatone.
When asked about his love life, he proclaims, "I'm single and ready to
mingle, baby." (This elicits a big "Ewww! That's cheesy," from Chasez.)
But then Fatone backpedals a bit, saying, "I'm kind of dating somebody,
and I have been for a while." It's understandable that he's a little cagey.
Gossip columnists have erroneously linked him to several celebrities, including
WWF star Chyna and actress Minnie Driver (a New York tabloid recently reported
that the two were caught playing "tonsil hockey"). "My girlfriend knows
not to take the gossip seriously," he says. Hey, did he say girlfriend?
The dishing comes to an abrupt halt when the entire
band runs outside the soundstage. What's going on? Fire? Hurricane alert?
Obviously, we're curious and follow suit. "Uncle Justin is here! Uncle
Justin's here!" Timberlake yells. What? As it turns out, the guys are all
ogling a beautiful baby girl--and it's Fatone's! He and Kelly Baldwin reportedly
became the proud parents of Brianna in late April.
As thrilled as the guys are about being uncles,
what they really want to talk about is music. You'll have the new disc
any day now, so we'll skip the flowery adjectives. Let's just say if any
doubt remains as to whether these guys are the real deal, Celebrity
will erase it. The band wrote the bulk of the CD's songs (which they describe
as "dirty pop") themselves and coproduced the rest. The growth is undeniable--some
tracks are rough R&B, others are supersmooth ballads and the peppy
lead single "Pop" even finds the guys experimenting with the futuristic
electronic beats. Any way you cut it, 'N Sync have undergone a stunning
evolution. "I don't even think about what I've done," says Chasez, who
along with Timberlake shares the most songwriting credits. "I'm proud of
Justin--he's probably done the best stuff on the record." Spoken like a
true brother.
If you were married to...
No one in 'N Sync is hitched yet, so we can still
dream, can't we? Our take on what life would be like as Mrs. . . .
Justin Timberlake
Hope you can sleep with the light on. Like girlfriend Spears, Timberlake
is diving into the literary world. His first novel, Crossover Dribble,
comes out in September. So he may keep you up by writing into the wee hours.
Still, Timberlake isn't your typical bookworm--he's obsessed with his Honda
CBR600 motorcycle and has even gone skydiving. Pack a helmet and a sense
of adventure!
Chris Kirkpatrick
He digs spunky women, like Cheri Oteri, formerly of Saturday Night
Live. To make it to the altar with this guy, you'll need to tickle
his funny bone. He also likes artistic girls--when you're hanging out backstage
at 'N Sync's shows, pull out your sketchbook. Maybe you'll dream up cool
designs for his FuMan Skeeto clothing line.
Joey Fatone
It would take a high-energy spouse to keep up with this nightclub-loving
globe-trotter. Though he has serious acting ambitions (he's in On The
Line with Bass, and costars in the upcoming comedy My Big Fat Greek
Wedding), Fatone is hardly all work and no play. You might want to
set aside a room in your mansion for his Superman memorabilia collection.
Lance Bass
To be sure, you've bagged the nicest guy in the world. But will you
ever get to see him? Bass is a hard-core career man. When he's not with
the band, he's busy acting; looking for movie scripts to develop for his
production company, A Happy Place; and managing the careers of up-and-coming
artists like country crooner Meredith Edwards. You may want to consider
a business degree--together, the two of you can take over the world.
JC Chasez
He's a strict music man. If you can't find your hubby in the middle
of the night, he's probably in the home recording studio. Chasez had a
blast producing some tracks for girl group Wild Orchid, but he's really
more into songwriting. To be his muse, you'll need to be smart and secure.
And it wouldn't hurt if you were also a cook--Chasez, who loves grilled-cheese
sandwiches, is psyched that his current girlfriend's parents are gourmet
chefs!