The guys on Chris
Best quality
Justin: "He's all heart. He stands up for us all the time."
Joey: "Chris is sugar. He sweats sugar."
Most annoying trait
Lance: "He doesn't have an attention span at all."
JC: "He's too hyper."
Coolest thing he does
Joey: "If somebody ever says anything bad about us, he'll just go right
up and say, 'Hey, I heard this and this, what's the problem?'"
JC: "He'll confront anybody."
How he's most changed
Justin: "He hasn't changed that much."
Lance: "His hairstyle has changed."
JC: "When we first met him he was in a club every night. But this past year he has kind of chilled out."
The guys on JC
Best quality
Lance: "His dedication."
Joey: "Persistence."
Justin: "His Nike watch. Just kidding! His determination."
Most annoying trait
Joey: "He can't follow things. I'll be like, 'Look over there--beautiful
girl.' And he'll be like, 'What? Where?' he's awful."
Lance: "He just comes into things a little late."
Chris: "He broke my favorite lava lamp and got goop all over my floor."
Coolest thing he does
Justin: "Well, one time? At band camp?"
Chris: "When he comes out and parties with us--because he hardly ever does."
Lance: "Once, Leonardo DiCaprio said something about us to one of our mutual friends, and JC went up to him and said, 'So I heard you were talking smack about us?' and Leo was like, 'No, no!' He thought we were seriously mad. That was pretty funny,"
How he's most changed
Justin: "I knew JC from Mickey Mouse Club, and he's gotten more
reserved since then. He used to be loud and would party."
Joey: "He's opened up more. He used to never say anything, but now if there's something on his mind he'll say it."
The guys on Lance
Best quality
Chris: "Lance has a huge business mind. He's our sensible one."
Most annoying trait
JC: "He enjoys seeing people annoyed."
Joey: "Like, we're going up in an elevator and Lance gets out on a lower floor. When the elevator is about to close for me, he puts his hand in between the doors so that they can't close. So I press the button, and he puts his hand in again--ten times!"
Coolest thing he does
Justin: "He throws a good party, man."
Chris: "He took us all to his hometown and showed us Mississippi life at its finest."
How he's most changed
JC: "Lance has changed visually."
Joey: "Yeah, man, he had a bulb-head haircut when we first started!"
JC: "And he's learned a lot about music."
Chris: "When we first met him, Lance was confused. Now, he's managing other artists."
The guys on Justin
Best quality
Lance: "He's very creative."
Joey: "And he's goal-oriented."
Most annoying trait
Chris: "The way he talks to himself."
Lance: "He spaces out. He totally goes off somewhere else."
Coolest thing he does
JC: "He brought his mom in to help us when we were first starting out.
And he's always got something going on, like during a hurricane he had
a little hurricane party. He's always fun to hang around with and is down
for whatever."
Joey: "He's good about keeping secrets, especially about girls."
Chris: "Yeah, that's what Joey thinks--but actually, Justin's told me everything about him!"
How he's most changed
Lance: "He grew, like, two feet."
JC: "He's grown up right in front of us. The music that he would have written three years ago isnt' half as good lyrically as what he's coming up with now. He's got an adult state of mind now, whereas before it was all basketball and junk food."
Joey: "And now it's junk food and basketball! Priorities have changed!"
The guys on Joey
Best quality
Chris: "Joey brings charisma to the group."
Justin: "He makes everything fun."
Most annoying trait
Chris: "When he's trying to be funny and nobody's in the mood, he'll
start tapping you and force you to laugh."
Coolest thing he does
JC: "He'll pick up the tab, just to get me to go out. He's like, 'It's
on me, man! It's on me!'"
Justin: "Sometimes I get shy when I talk to a girl, and Joey will help me."
Chris: "Yeah, we should call him 'the buffer!'"
How he's most changed
JC: "He's even tackier."
Chris: "He's a fashion victim. When we first got together, he'd wear something just a little tacky. Now, it's full-blown Chewbacca."
Lance: "And he's become more stubborn about it. If we're like, 'Dude, don't wear that,' he's like, 'Nope! Wearing it!'"
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As the guys of 'N Sync arrive at YM's photo shoot, they all make beelines for the sports cars on the set. "Are these for us?" Lance asks, a little awed. Chris makes it clear that he's claimed the Lamborghini. "I got here first," he says. "Plus, I'm the oldest!"
Such good-natured sparring continues all afternoon. The group seems particularly pumped--and why not? Their latest album, No Strings Attached, has zoomed up the charts at full speed, clocking in record-breaking sales of more than a million copies in its first day alone. But they're not just psyched about their success. They're proud of the musical evolution their sophomore CD represents, which they believe establishes them as artists while also defining the true 'N Sync sound--one they've dubbed "dirty pop." "The beats and sounds are more urban and edgy," explains Justin. "More aggressive," adds Joey, who slaps out a quick beat on his knees to demonstrate.
It's at the shoot where the guys hear their finished album for the first time. The disc is handed over, without even any cover art, and popped into the CD player. For a moment they just listen, frowning in concentration to assess the songs. But soon it's back to playtime, and Chris resumes his high-volume tales of on-the-road adventures, much to the amusement of his bodyguards. "We're young, and we've got a lot of energy," says JC, who wanders off between shots to do some solo dancing. "I'll do ballads when I'm too tired to dance. Right now we've got the vibe!"
'N Sync has come quite a long way from the day, five years ago, when they banded together in Orlando, FL. Their self-titled debut album scored sales topping 10 million, and their concerts are guaranteed sellouts. Making all this success happen--recording, touring, coping with fame--has given them an intense bond. "We don't even feel like a group," Justin says. "We're family."
"We love each other," JC chimes in.
"But we don't love each other," jokes Justin.
"We just love each other," says Joey.
"There's a trust that just goes beyond," JC explains, bringing the conversation back to a serious level. "You don't have to worry about anything."
They're all grateful not to be going through this solo. "I wouldn't be able to deal," Chris says. "I need these guys around me." Lance agrees. "It's better to be in a group because so many people kiss your butt, you don't know what reality is. We depend on each other for support."
"With everything that has happened," says Justin, "we've become closer as friends and gotten smarter in the business."
Justin is referring to the lawsuit that 'N Sync filed last fall as they changed record labels. They didn't like their previous situation because, JC explains, "We were talked into believing that we were signing a standard contract, and there is no such thing. We weren't happy with ours."
They admit it was a mix of ignorance and hunger, common to emerging artists, that made them vulnerable. "A lot of people sign not-so-good deals when they first start because they just want to get their song on the radio or their video on MTV," notes Justin. "But it's standard to renegotiate at a certain point because of your success."
That's exactly what 'N Sync wanted to do as they watched their album rack up multiplatinum sales. "Once we saw what was going on," Chris says, "we all knew a decision had to be made. And it was completely unanimous."
It may have been unanimous, but that doesn't mean it was easy. "We hung it all on the line to do what we thought was right," JC says. "If we had stayed with the other company, we could have had another record out last year. But we held out, and that was a risk."
Last December, the guys had officially switched to Jive Records, home of the Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears. On No Strings Attached, the guys themselves were involved for the first time in writing and producing in a major way. "We're very appreciative of the creative freedom we're given," Justin says. "Jive lets us be 'N Sync. And that's why we feel so good about this record--it's us, not anyone's interpretation of us."
Their successful staredown with their first label won them respect. "I think we turned a lot of heads in the industry," Justin says. Notes Lance, "They thought the younger generation was just ignorant and stupid and had no voice. And now they know the power we have."
Such power--and its attendant success--has come at a price, though. "Our private lives just don't exist," Joey says. Adds Lance, "I've missed friends' weddings. And one of my best friends' mother died and I couldn't be at the funeral because we had to do Grammy stuff. I really wanted to be there, but professionally I just couldn't. So it's hard."
Nor does life on the road allow much opportunity for romance. "Most people can meet someone and settle down," says JC. "But we're in a different city every day, so home for us is, like, room 428."
Joey says it's rough even when he does get a chance to go home. "I see people I used to date and wish I could stay and hang out, but I gotta go."
So how can a girl get in sync with 'N Sync? "She can't have a life of her own because we're so busy," says JC. "She'd have to devote herself to us." Might not sound so bad to, oh, millions of girls across the country...until JC explain the catch-22: That kind of girl just wouldn't do it for him anyway.
"Some people want somebody to worship them. But I'm not interested if you're that interested in me," he says. "I need somebody who has her own ambitions, her own goals--that's attractive."
Justin seconds that. "You should know what you want, what you gotta do," he says. "I think people should take time to really figure out who they are before they try to get another life." Not that the guys aren't hoping for love. In fact, JC holds up his wrist to show off a blue-and-white beaded bracelet he made and says he's going to give it to the girl he falls in love with.
"If it's true love, it'll work," says Lance. "Yeah," says Justin. "If you know she's the one, you'll be able to work it out."
Since love might come with strings attached, right now the guys are focusing on this summer's tour, which kicked off last month. "We came up with everything ourselves--the stage design, what songs go where, how we're gonna do each song--and that's a lot of work," says Chris.
Their goals are just as ambitious: international success and even more musical respect. "If you pass the test on your second record, you're in there," JC says. "We want to prove to everybody that we're career artists now."
"I think our new album's three steps ahead of what we did before," Justin says, offering up the group's basic philosophy. "Overall, every time we put something out--a song, an album, a video--we want to take it to the next step."
Those next steps have them dancing into a schedule that's already packed through 2001. The guys all agree that if they had a week off, they'd head home to visit their families. JC spills his fantasy solo-time scenario: "I'd order a pizza and walk around in my underwear!".
Considering their total lack of chill time, would they ever want to say bye, bye, bye to their demanding careers? No way. "The minute we're not doing much, we'll know we made a wrong turn," says Joey.
For now, it's clear that 'N Sync is making all the right moves.