*NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears All On Board For A Platinum Christmas
(10.09) Source - Allstar: On Nov. 14, several of the world's biggest pop stars will relay their Christmas thoughts and feelings through A Platinum Christmas, a star-filled Christmas compilation orchestrated by Jive, RCA, and Arista Records.
The album will include new tracks by *NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, R. Kelly, Pink, and Kenny G, as well as previously released tracks by Santana, Toni Braxton, and Joe, among others.
*NSYNC's track, co-written by JC Chasez, is possibly called "You Don't Have To Be Alone," on which Justin Timberlake offered up the following terse opinion: "It's a ballad," he said during the *NSYNC teleconference on Monday. "It's pretty." As a disclaimer, Timberlake wasn't 100 percent sure that *NSYNC Christmas song was surfacing on this compilation.
Not much more is known at press time by way of additional song titles, etc., but the album is sure to be a must-buy on the Christmas lists of parents worldwide this Christmas. A Platinum Christmas will be released by Jive Records.
*NSYNC & Backstreet Boys Take Manhattan Today
(10.09) Source - Launch: Both *NSYNC and their Jive Records labelmates the Backstreet Boys are in New York City today (October 9) for press and promotional events. It should be noted that today is also the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur as well as Columbus Day, which means that millions of metropolitan-area teenage fans have the day off from school.
*NSYNC will perform "This I Promise You" and "It's Gonna Be Me" on ABC's Good Morning America this morning. Lance Bass, Joey Fatone, Chris Kirkpatrick, JC Chasez, and Justin Timberlake will follow the performance with a national telephone press conference with media outlets regarding the next leg of their No Strings Attached tour, which kicks off October 17 at the Charlotte Coliseum in North Carolina.
Meanwhile, the Backstreet Boys are in New York to promote their new album Black & Blue, which is due out November 21. The album contains 13 songs in all, but a limited supply of albums containing an extra bonus track will be provided to Wal-Mart stores nationwide. Kevin Richardson, Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, A.J. McLean, and Brian Littrell co-wrote almost half of the songs on the album. The Backstreet Boys also wrote two of the songs as a group.
Producers Rodney Jerkins, Kenneth Babyface Edmonds, songwriter Diane Warren, and Cheiron Studios regulars Max Martin and Rami also contributed to the album. The music video for the album's first single "Shape Of My Heart," directed by Matthew Rolston (Jewel, Matchbox Twenty), premieres today on MTV's Total Request Live.
The Backstreet Boys Black & Blue tour is scheduled to start January 23. This time out the group will perform on a conventional end concert stage rather than in the round, as they did on their Millennium tour. Tour rehearsals begin in December for an ambitious outing that is expected to include more than 100 dates before the end of 2001.
*NSYNC Talks Business During Press Conference
(10.09) Source - LiveDaily: After making playful jabs at his bandmates during a 45-minute teleconference with a handful of reporters on Monday, *NSYNC founding member Chris Kirkpatrick turned somber when he said that working with former manager Lou Pearlman was "a life lesson we learned quick."
"The only thing that kind of shreds us about it is when we hear things like, 'Yeah, he used to tell you guys how to sing.' He gave us money and that was it. We kind of did our own thing," said Kirkpatrick, who was joined on the call by bandmate Justin Timberlake.
"When he did control the money, he would say things. And we were like, 'This is our group. This is what we do. You're paying us to be *NSYNC. You're not paying us to be your people and your puppets. We are a group. We were a group before your money and we'll be a group after your money.'"
*NSYNC left RCA Records and Pearlman for Jive Records last year, prompting a $150 million lawsuit by Pearlman, his management team Trans Continental Media, Trans Continental Records and BMG Entertainment, which owns RCA. A judge in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida ruled in November against Pearlman and allowed the band to record for Jive. Shortly after the judge's ruling, the group reached a confidential out-of-court settlement with Pearlman and BMG.
"It's really sad that it went down like that," Kirkpatrick said. "Because at first he tried to make it like a family: 'I want to be close to you guys. I want you guys to be able to trust me.' But in a business when it comes to money, you can't trust anybody, because the people you start trusting, you never guess that they're the ones that are actually taking all your money. That was really hard for us."
These are happier times for *NSYNC, however. The group is about to embark on the second leg of its sold-out "No Strings Attached" tour, which begins on Oct. 17 in Charlotte, N.C., and ends Dec. 1 in San Diego.
"We're actually starting the tour on a holiday this year. Oct. 17 is Chris Kirkpatrick Day," Kirkpatrick said. "We're real excited about that. ...And you've only got eight shopping days or so left."
"Chris' birthday is Oct. 17." said Timberlake. "Please get him something. Because I'm not."
Besides stages, the group will be hitting TV screens as well. They have scheduled appearances on "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" on Nov. 7, "Live with Regis" on Nov. 10 and "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" on Nov. 29. Its concert video "Live from Madison Square Garden" hits stores on Oct. 24.
Timberlake explained that the second leg of the tour will be basically feature the same show as the first leg--with a few surprises. "This tour is so big, we want to give people the chance to see it in person again. That's why we put the extension on the tour. There's stuff that happens every show that's different. Who knows what we'll come up with? We might throw another song in or something. Who knows?"
When the tour wraps up in December, *NSYNC is going to take a break, during which the quintet will embark on "solo ventures," although not necessarily musical. "I think when we say 'solo ventures,' they're all different types of things, like business ventures, Timberlake said. "Joey's filming something right now--I'm sorry, I don't know what it's called."
Lance Bass is also getting involved in film, while Kirkpatrick will bring his Fu.ManSkeeto clothing line into Nordstrom stores the day after Thanksgiving. Timberlake said he wasn't sure what he was going to do. "I'll probably just be writing some music, and I don't know, maybe I'll get into some on-screen stuff. Who knows? I'm crazy like that. I'll switch it on you."
It won't be that long of a vacation, however. *NSYNC is planning to return to the studio in early 2001 to record the follow-up to its nine-times-platinum album "No Strings Attached."
"We haven't had a lot of time but we're doing a little bit of writing," Timberlake said. "...I think one of our main goals is that we all get at least 10 tracks submitted and just pick the best 12 or so from that big pile. We'll have the best pool of where the sound's going or where we feel the sound's going. Once we've all submitted our tracks, maybe everybody else will come in and help produce them up and get the whole *NSYNC sound on them."
Rabid fans who can't wait for the new album, however, will have "A Platinum Christmas," due out Nov. 14, which will feature holiday songs from a variety of acts including *NSYNC and Britney Spears. Timberlake admitted he didn't know too much about his band's contribution, however. "There's so many different [compilations]. The song is written by JC [Chasez of *NSYNC]. ...It's called 'You Don't Have to Be Alone.' It's cool. It's a ballad. It's pretty."
One thing that Timberlake and Kirkpatrick don't find so pretty, however, is "Making the Band," the ABC television series about the boy band O-Town. "What do we think about it? It's a piece of crap," Timberlake said. "It's scary to think that that O-Town show, that they're serious. I'm not dissing the boys on the show. God bless them. I'm almost positive that they don't have a clue what's going on, really. I kind of look back and see what we were like: We didn't know what was going on. I don't want to talk bad about anybody but I can't have faith in something that's done by a business partner that we've already had and who was not a very good business partner."
*NSYNC, Lil' Kim To Toast Mystikal At "Secret" Party
(10.09) Source - MTV: *NSYNC, Lil' Kim, and Joe are among the artists planning to "Shake Ya Ass" during a private party in New York City on Tuesday night to celebrate the chart-topping debut of Mystikal's "Let's Get Ready" album.
Jive Records, home to Mystikal, *NSYNC, and Joe, will be hosting the event, which will also tout the rapper's appearance on the cover of the November issue of "XXL" magazine, which is on stands now.
*NSYNC Talks Second Leg Of Tour, New Album, Lou Pearlman
(10.08) Source - Allstar: On the eve of the second leg of their sold-out No Strings Attached tour, the members of *NSYNC entertained select media during a yawn-filled, sarcastic teleconference on Monday.
Kicking off in Charlotte, N.C. on Oct. 17, No Strings Attached version 2.0 will feature a few changes from the tour's first go-round, but don't expect the world's hottest boy band to stray too far from the proven pop formula.
"We're going to do a great show again," said Justin Timberlake, who was the main yawning culprit. "A lot of people have seen some of the show but every show we do is different. We add little things here and there to change it up and make it an original show, so hopefully everyone will enjoy it."
*NSYNC cites Janet Jackson, for whom the boy band toured with early on in their career, as a major showmanship influence from both and entertainment and evolution perspective. "She is very good at entertaining," says Chris Kirkpatrick. "We learned a lot -- that if people want to hear just the music, they can buy the CD. But it's the whole live aspect of changing the songs every night or the whole theatrical performance that she puts on. She's definitely one of our mentors when it comes to touring and the stage show. Her show told a story, and that's what people like to see."
In addition to the upcoming tour, which continues through Dec. 1, *NSYNC have several new projects set to surface in the coming months. Besides a new home video, Live at Madison Square Garden, a new *NSYNC track, "You Don't Have To Be Alone," will surface on the upcoming compilation A Platinum Christmas. Additionally, Kirkpatrick launches his new clothes line, FuMan Skeeto, in Nordstrom's on Nov. 24.
On whether or not the members of the band would indulge Kirkpatrick's tastes in clothes by adorning the new line, the entrepreneur vowed to use inducement tactics. "I just threaten them," says Kirkpatrick. "There is a difference between pressuring and threatening. Pressuring is just me bugging them every day about it, threatening them is telling them if they don't do it, I'll beat them up."
As for the future, *NSYNC vows to take everything to the "next level" (or is it the next next level?) on the follow-up to the 9x platinum No Strings Attached, set to surface in 2001. "If we don't adapt, we won't survive," says Kirkpatrick. "We enjoy new music. We don't enjoy stagnant music or somebody doing the same thing that everybody else is doing so we try to change our sound and change our ideas to be innovative."
"We've been doing a little bit of writing," continues Timberlake. "Some of the tracks that I've heard and that I've done, it's taking the sound to the next level. It's going to be tough because one of our main goals is that we each get 10 tracks submitted and then just pick the best 12 or so from that big pile. We'll have the best pool of where we feel the sound is going."
Towards the end of the conference, things turned, as usual, to the band's former manager/babysitter Lou Pearlman, from whom the group fought in court to be freed last year. Asked to set the record straight as to what exactly Pearlman did for the group, Kirkpatrick reported the following:
"He did pay for a lot of the stuff, but it was an investment, like anything," he said. "We said all along, 'Hopefully you will get to make your money back on us.' But the only thing that shreds us about it is when we hear things like, 'Yeah, he used to tell you guys how to sing, he used to tell you guys...' He gave us money. That's it."
"That's funny, I ask myself that all the time," says Timberlake. "What did he do?"
"Now" Back To More Pop Compilations
(10.06) Source - Allstar: *NSYNC, Destiny's Child, Backstreet Boys, Everclear and 14 other hitmakers convene on "Now That's What I Call Music 5," the latest in a series of pop compilations. Due Nov. 14, the collection, a joint project of the Universal, EMI, Sony and Zomba labels, reflects current chart trends in singles by diverse acts, from teen-pleasers 98 Degrees and Britney Spears and rappers Sisqo and Mystikal to rising rock bands Nine Days and 3 Doors Down and stalwarts Bon Jovi and Janet Jackson. The Now series has sold 8 million copies in the USA and 70 million worldwide, spawning such clones as Columbia's Platinum Hits 2000 and Universal's Smash Hits. In July, Now 4 sold 320,000 copies its first week to enter the chart at No. 1, ending an eight-week reign at the top by Eminem. Among the tracks on Now 5: Kandi's "Don't Think I'm Not," Jessica Simpson's "I Think I'm in Love With You," Soul Decision's "Faded," BBMak's "Back Here" and Mandy Moore's "I Wanna Be With You."
*NSYNC aka "The Melons" Film New Video in San Franciso
(10.06) Source - Rolling Stone: No, that didn't just look like the members of *NSYNC outside of Sinbad's Pier II Restaurant near San Francisco's Embarcadero last Friday, that was Lance,Chris, Joey, JC and Justin lip-synching their new song, "This I Promise You," for their new Dave Meyers-directed video. Nevertheless, nosey dinners andpassers-bys were told that it was a rock band named the Melons. The boy band was in the Bay Area for two days to film the video, according to a spokesperson - the first day in a redwood grove, the second smack dab in the middle of a tourist trap, where not a single person recognized them. Maybe that's a bad thing.
*NSYNC Member Lance Bass Chats Backstage At 2000 CMAs
(10.05) Source - Launch: Look for *NSYNC to take a second foray into country music soon. According to Lance Bass, the group is considering turning "This I Promise You" into a country duet, much like they did with Alabama on "God Must Have Spent a Little More Time on You."
"Actually, we were just talking about that. We just released a ballad, 'This I Promise You,' to every market but country. I mean, we did Spanish, everything. I was talking to Clive Calder the other day, and I was like, 'Why don't we do a country version?' 'Cause it's such a country song. So we are going to get together with a well-known artist and probably collaborate this year."
Bass wouldn't reveal the identity of his collaborator, except one hint: "It'll be female."
*NSYNC To Collaborate With Top Female Country Star
(10.05) Source - Launch: *NSYNC is planning to unite the worlds of pop and country music once again, according to group member Lance Bass. The singer recently shared with Jive Records executive Clive Calder his idea of teaming up with a country artist.
"We just released a ballad, 'This I Promise You,' to every market except country," Bass says. "I mean, we did Spanish, everything. I was talking to Clive Calder the other day and I was like, 'Why don't we do a country version, 'cause it's such a country song,' so we are going to get together with a well-known artist and probably collaborate this year."
Lance added that the singer will be female. There is no word on when fans can expect to hear the musical collaboration on the radio. "This I Promise You" was written, arranged, and produced by Richard Marx, who also wrote the title track on Shedaisy's new Christmas album, Brand New Year.
*NSYNC's first country collaboration was with Alabama on "God Must Have Spent A Little More Time On You," which was a top five hit on the country charts in August 1999. *NSYNC is heading to New York City Monday (October 9) to perform "This I Promise You" and "It's Gonna Be Me" on ABC's Good Morning America.
*NSYNC Visit Bay Area
(10.04) Source - Rolling Stone Daily: *NSYNC went unrecognized by tourists when they filmed part of their new video, "This I Promise You," outside of Sinbad's Pier II Restaurant near San Francisco's Embarcadero last Friday.
ASCAP's Songwriter of the Year Award Presented to Diane Warren
(10.04) Source - MTV: Diane Warren received Songwriter of the Year at the 38th annual ASCAP Country Music Awards for "I Don't Want to Miss A Thing," and "I'll Still Love You More."
More than 1,000 music industry professionals from throughout the world joined country music's hottest stars at Nashville's Opryland Hotel for the event. Each year ASCAP honors its country music writers and publishers whose songs have been the most performed during the past year.
Warren has been the recipient of the ASCAP Songwriter of the Year award six times in recognition of her many contributions to music. Recent Warren hits include "Just to Hear You Say That You Loved Me," performed by Faith Hill & Tim McGraw, which garnered an ACM for Top Vocal Event of the Year, and the double platinum "How Do I Live" performed by LeAnn Rimes and Trisha Yearwood, who received the Grammy award for Best Female Country Performance for the song. In addition, "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" was a chart topper this year for country music star Mark Chestnutt, and earned two Grammy nominations when previously performed by rock legends Aerosmith in the motion picture "Armageddon."
In the past, Warren has collaborated with Gloria Estefan, Wynonna, *NSYNC, Toni Braxton, Brandy, Edwin McCain, Jeff Healy, Patti LaBelle, Cher, KISS and many others.
Jive Says Interested in Virgin
(10.04) Source - Yahoo Finance: Jive Records, home to Britney Spears, said on Wednesday it was interested in Virgin Records, reportedly being offered for sale by EMI Group Plc (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: EMI.L) in order to accommodate regulators who are scrutinising its merger with media giant Time Warner Inc.(NYSE:TWX - news) "We are watching developments with the European Commission insofar as it's review of the proposed Warner/EMI merger is concerned," Jive said in a statement. "If as a result of this Virgin Records or in fact any other assets of Warner/EMI are put up for sale, we would be interested in purchasing these, subject of course to our evaluation of their value to us," the company said. "We have worked closely with management of Virgin Records in many countries for the past four years and we are confident that the cultures of our two companies could be a perfect fit," it said, adding, that "financing these acquisitions, if they become a reality, would not be a problem for us." Jive has had a tremendous couple of years, largely due to its popular teen acts like Britney Spears and *NSYNC. Richard Branson, who originally founded Virgin Records, home to the Rolling Stones and the Spice Girls, has also said his Virgin Group airline and music retailing conglomerate might be interested in buying the label that he sold for $1 billion in 1992.