First *NSYNC Tour Dates
(02.08) Source - Rolling Stone: After wrapping up a fall tour back in December in San Diego, *NSYNC are at it again. The boys are plotting their spring/summer tour that will take them to arenas around the country. Five dates in the South and East Coast are already lined up, while the rest are expected soon. Meanwhile, the group will perform on the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards on February 21st. They are nominated for Record of the Year and Best Pop Performance By a Duo or Group With Vocal for "Bye Bye Bye," and Best Pop Vocal Album for No Strings Attached.
*NSYNC Plotting 45-Date North American Tour
(02.08) Source - Billboard: Chart-topping boy band *NSYNC will begin a 45-date North American stadium tour May 12 at ProPlayer Stadium in Miami, with the tour culminating Aug. 18 at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tenn. Although a full routing has yet to be announced, a handful of early shows are confirmed.
�����The Miami show and a May 15 date at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., will go on sale tomorrow. On-sale Saturday are a May 18 show at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla.; May 20 at Veterans Stadium in Jackson, Miss. (home town of *NSYNC's Lance Bass), and May 26 at Hershey Park Stadium in Hershey, Pa.
�����Support will vary throughout the tour, with BBmak and 3LW on board in the first few weeks. Tickets are priced at $65, $45, and $25, with golden circle tickets likely for major markets. Expect the production to be extravagant, with pyrotechnics as well as large video elements allowing the group to interact with the audience.
�����Last year, *NSYNC grossed nearly $60 million playing a mix of arenas and stadiums. This year's all-stadium tour is expected to gross about $100 million and will be produced by SFX. The group is touring in support of its latest Jive album "No Strings Attached," which set a new record for first-week U.S. sales when it moved 2.4 million units last March. The album is No. 32 on The Billboard 200 this week.
Weekend Ticketing: *NSYNC
(02.08) Source - LiveDaily: On previous tours, *NSYNC tended to put tickets for nearly all shows on sale simultaneously. However, for the group's spring-summer tour, ticket on-sales are expected to be rolled out a few markets at a time. Fans in five markets will have a shot at buying *NSYNC tickets this weekend.
�����Tickets to upcoming shows in Miami and Tampa go on sale on Friday (2/9) at 5 PM Eastern Time. Meanwhile, Saturday (2/10) ticket on-sales are planned in Jacksonville, Fla.; Jackson, Miss.; and Hershey, Pa.
*NSYNC Announces Preliminary Summer Concert Dates
(02.08) Source - Launch: *NSYNC has announced five dates for its upcoming summer tour, which is tentatively set to kick off on May 12 in Miami, Florida. Tickets for the five confirmed shows will go on sale tomorrow (February 10) through Ticketmaster. BBMak is confirmed to open the May 12 Miami concert and the May 15 Tampa concert, and the trio is also expected to be on board with *NSYNC for several more dates when the full itinerary is announced in the next few weeks.
�����*NSYNC's next performance will be at the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards. The group is currently nominated for record of the year and best pop performance by a duo or group with vocal for "Bye Bye Bye," and best pop vocal album for No Strings Attached. The 43rd Annual Grammy Awards will take place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles from 8-11 PM ET on February 21, and CBS will air the event live.
�����*NSYNC is in the process of recording a follow-up to its RIAA diamond-certified (10-million selling) album No Strings Attached. The new set is expected for a summer release.
*NSYNC Line Up Early Dates For 2001 Tour
(02.07) Source - MTV: Although *NSYNC are still working on their new album, they've gone ahead and announced five dates for an upcoming summer tour, tentatively set to begin on May 12 in Miami.
�����Tickets for the five shows, which include stops in Tampa, Florida; Jacksonville, Florida; Jackson, Mississippi; and Hershey, Pennsylvania, will go on sale Saturday via Ticketmaster.
�����BBMak have been tapped to open the Miami show as well as the May 15 concert in Tampa, and additional dates are expected to be added in between the five that have just been confirmed.
�����*NSYNC's label, Jive Records, is mapping out the rest of the itinerary � including a full roster of support acts � for the band's still-unnamed tour, which is expected to continue through August.
�����The group's next album, the follow-up to the 10-million selling No Strings Attached, is due in June.
�����The first five dates of *NSYNC's summer tour, according to Jive:
��������5/12 - Miami, FL @ Pro Player Stadium
��������5/15 - Tampa, FL @ Tropicana Field
��������5/18 - Jacksonville, FL @ Alltel Stadium
��������5/20 - Jackson, MS @ Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium
��������5/26 - Hershey, PA @ Hershey Park Stadium
*NSYNC To Kick Off Summer Tour May 12 In Miami
(02.07) Source - Allstar: *NSYNC is at it again. The boys have announced five dates from their upcoming summer tour, set to kick off in Miami on May 12.
�����More confirmed dates are expected shortly, but so far the group will definitely hit stadiums in Tampa, Fla. on May 15; Jacksonville, Fla. on May 18; Jackson, Miss. on May 20; and Hershey, Pa. on May 26 - all in support of an as-yet-untitled new album.
�����Tickets for all these dates go on sale this weekend through Ticketmaster. BBMak will open both the Miami and Tampa shows. The rest of the tour will tentatively continue through Aug. 18 in Memphis, Tenn.
�����Due in June on Jive Records, the follow-up to the record-breaking No Strings Attached is currently being recorded in studios in Orlando, Fla. and Los Angeles. No further information is available at press time.
�����Confirmed *NSYNC tour dates:
��������May 12, Miami, Pro Player Stadium
��������May 15, Tampa, Fla., Tropicana Field
��������May 18, Jacksonville, Fla., Alltel Stadium
��������May 20, Jackson, Miss., Mississippi Veteran's Memorial Stadium
��������May 26, Hershey, Pa., Hershey Park Stadium
�����Tentative dates (subject to change, and venues TBA):
��������June 3, East Rutherford, N.J.
��������June 6, Cincinnati, Ohio
��������June 10, Buffalo, N.Y.
��������June 12, Philadelphia
��������June 16, Chicago
��������June 19, Toronto, Ontario
��������June 22, Cleveland
��������June 24, Minneapolis
��������June 26, Green Bay/Madison, Wisc.
��������June 29, Pontiac, Mich.
��������July 2, St. Louis
��������July 4, Little Rock, Ark.
��������July 6, Houston
��������July 8, Dallas
��������July 10, Kansas City, Mo.
��������July 13, Denver
��������July 16, San Diego
��������July 18, Phoenix
��������July 2, Oakland, Calif.
��������July 24, Pasadena, Calif.
��������July 27, Las Vegas
��������July 31, Las Cruces, N.M.
��������Aug. 3, San Antonio, Texas
��������Aug. 5, New Orleans
��������Aug. 7, Birmingham, Ala.
��������Aug. 10, Louisville, Ky.
��������Aug. 13, Washington, D.C.
��������Aug. 16, Indianapolis
��������Aug. 18, Memphis, Tenn.
*NSYNC Hires Movie Director
(02.06) Source - AllPop: *NSYNC's Lance Bass and Joey Fatone have hired a director for their upcoming film. The two pop singers will co-star in "On The Line," which is being described as a romantic comedy. It will be directed by Eric Bross, zap2it.com reports.
�����Bross's previous Indie films include "Restaurant", which won the jury prize at the Atlantic City film festival; the star of that film, Adrien Brody, went on to win the Independent Spirit Award.
�����Lance's film production company was founded in 2000 and is called A Happy Place. "On The Line" is expected to begin filming in March.
�����In more *NSYNC movie news, Joey will star in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" as a man who falls in love with a Greek woman and struggles to fit in with her family.
Britney: Justin Doesn't Want Sex
(02.05) Source - TheRumour: Virginal pop princess Britney Spears fell in love with boyfriend Justin Timberlake - because he didn't want sex on the first date...
�����The Stronger hitmaker has revealed that many of her high school crushes ended in heartache because boys were only interested in one thing. The sexy singer says it made her more determined to find a man who would wait until they were married before taking her virginity. And she now believes *NSYNC star Justin is the one.
�����Britney, 19, says, "When I went to high school and had boyfriends who weren't even that serious they were the ones who ended up breaking my heart. "We'd have our first kiss and that would be great and then the next day and guy would totally ignore me.
�����"That's what's so refreshing about Justin. I'm in love and we're an item." And Britney says that, despite *NSYNC's millions of female fans, she trusts Justin to be faithful while touring with the American boy band. (Us cynical sorts are saying nothing!). She adds, "I'm not a jealous girlfriend at all. If he wants to be with somebody else then he will be. That's just the way it is."
The Key To Breaking Up *NSYNC?
(02.05) Source - Star: End Of The Line: Could this be it for Joey, JC, Justin, Lance, and Chris? Britney Spears is getting the blame for boy band being on the verge of breakup. BYE, BYE, BYE TO *NSYNC!
�����Parents of teenage girls better stock up on tissues because the tears are going to start falling like rain. The beloved boy band *NSYNC may soon be calling it quits, says sources. And STAR has learned exclusively that it's partly pop princess Britney Spears' fault!
�����Sources say Spears has influenced her boyfriend Justin Timberlake to leave the group for a solo career. "She's brainwashed him into thinking that he can be a superstar just like her," says in insider.
�����Britney's romance with Justin has also created hard feelings within the band. Says a pal, "They feel Justin's been getting a lot more of the spotlight than they have, especially because of his romance with Britney, and they don't like it one bit. It's created a lot of strain among them and in the last few months, the band has been ripped apart by jealousy and vicious fighting."
�����Justin, 20, denies that his galpal Britney, 19, has anything to do with his decision to branch out on his own. He claims he told manager Johnny Wright he needs time to work on an album with '80's singing heartthrob Richard Marx.
�����He's also got his eye on an acting career. Just last year, *NSYNC was involved in talks about doing a sequel to Grease, with Justin in the John Travolta role and Britney tackling Sandy, played by Olivia Newton-John in the 1978 movie. Last March, Justin appeared as a teen supermodel in the made-for-TV movie Model Behavior.
�����He's not the only *NSYNC-er who's ready to fly the coop, either. Joey's been in several movies and appeared on the cancelled series SeaQuest. Up next, he and Lance will play buddies in the romantic comedy "On The Line". Lance has some acting experience under his belt, with a guest spot on the WB series "7th Heaven", where he met his girlfriend, actress Beverly Mitchell, 20. He also has his own management company, which handles country stars like Meredith Edwards, he's started a film production company. JC has said he's "happiest in the studio," and is planning solo projects, which Chris has a sideline with a line clothing he created."
�����In 1997, when Justin; Joey Fatone, 24; Lance Bass, 21; Chris Kirkpatrick, 29; and JC Chasez, 24, started out in Orlando, Fla., they were five guys united by a dream. Their first album, *NSYNC, was a smash. And their second album, No Strings Attached, sold an astonishing 1 million copies in its' first day. But all that success has gone to their heads, say sources. They plan to say Bye Bye Bye to fans after their next album comes out this summer.
�����Tension ran high at the People's Choice Awards and, according to sources, the boys almost came to blows. "They probably would have if their bodyguards hadn't been around,"
said an insider. The rest of the band seemed to be mad at Justin and were picking on him."
�����Justin's not just in trouble with his bandmates. In December, schoolgirl Danielle McGuire, 15, threatened to bring a lawsuit against the hunk, claiming he intimidated her in a St. Louis hotel after he refused her an autograph.
�����"Everyone knows Justin has a temper, says the insider, "but he denies the event ever took place." And while manager Wright does his best to smooth things over, sources close to the band say it might be impossible to keep the group together until the new album debuts. "It's going to be a serious crime if they break up, but things don't look good for them staying together."
**Note from me: I have one word & one word only for this RUMOR: *sigh*. I would like to take a moment to say that the ONLY reason I posted this money-seeking tabloid article is not to spread this rumor, but to simply let you, the fans, know what is going on & what is being written about the guys. My belief is that this article is total BS & I don't believe it for a minute. Take, for example, the fact that they said Beverly Mitchell is Lance's girlfriend. Well, they have BOTH mentioned on numerous occasions that they are no more than friends & I, for one, believe them. I urge all fans to ignore this pathedic attempt for higher sales.**
BSB Members Talk *NSYNC...Again
(02.04) Source - Allstar: The following is a segment from an interview Backstreet Boys members Brian Littrell and Nick Carter had with MTV News' John Norris. Read the whole interview here.
�����Norris: The Grammys are coming up. Are you going to make it to the ceremony?
�����Littrell: It's the 21st of February, right? I think we've got a day open on our schedule. We have been preparing for that, and we would like to be there if at all possible.
�����Carter: It's tentative.
�����Norris: You're up for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, for "Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely." That's got to be nice, because it's a real personal song.
�����Littrell: It's awesome to be nominated for a Grammy.
�����Carter: Being nominated is like an award.
�����Norris: Not too surprisingly, you're up against a tune called "Bye Bye Bye."
�����Littrell: Wow, who does that?
�����Norris: Some guys from Orlando. On MTV last year, Kevin was asked, "What song would you like to never hear again?" And he said "Bye Bye Bye." [laughs]
�����Littrell: Kevin [Richardson] will never live that down.
�����Norris: Any thoughts on competing with that song?
�����Littrell: You're competing with everybody.
�����Carter: You're competing with the same producers. When they write for *NSYNC, their stuff is a little more dance-oriented. It's a little less vocally challenging, I guess you could say. It's just two different styles on the radio.
�����Littrell: Sometimes you hear a song you like on the radio and think, "If there wasn't an *NSYNC, we could have had that for our next album." Now there's all these different groups, and with success comes popularity. And then people are throwing themselves at you and trying to get a piece of everything. That happened to our producers.
�����Carter: It's a ruthless business, and people try to get what they need out of it. But I'm happy to just be able to sing and perform for our fans. We're blessed to be in this position. As long as we can keep doing that, we're cool.
New Albums On The Horizon For Spears, *NSYNC
(02.09) Source - Billboard: Pop superstar Britney Spears has arrived in Stockholm to begin recording her third Jive album with Max Martin's new production company Maratone, Billboard.com has learned. Calls to Jive seeking further details on the sessions went unreturned at press time. Martin produced Spears' most recent album "Oops!...I Did It Again," which is No. 37 on The Billboard 200 in its 38th week on the chart.
Sources also tell Billboard.com that fellow chart-toppers *NSYNC may have a new studio album on Jive ready as early as June. The boy band's most recent set, "No Strings Attached," set a new record for first-week U.S. sales when it moved 2.4 million units last March. As reported yesterday, the group's North American tour is set to kick off May 12 in Miami.
At the Billboard Music Awards last December, *NSYNC's Justin Timberlake told Billboard that the group was "ready to break out with some cool new ideas and concepts. This is the fun part. We're at the point where we feel like we can experiment a little. Obviously, we can't stray too far from our core sound. But we watch artists like Madonna and Janet Jackson remain familiar but fresh, and we're optimistic that we can pull it off."
*NSYNC: Close And Personal
(02.02) Source - AllPop: There's certainly truth in advertising when it comes to *NSYNC: Bigger Than Live. For example, when the uber boy band from Orlando, Fla., pulled into SkyDome last November, I didn't get to see any sweat stains, adjustment of clothing or abundant body hair.
�����The same cannot be said of *NSYNC's new large-screen concert film, which gets its world premiere today at the Ontario Place Cinesphere in all its digital sound glory.
�����If you truly desire to feel like you're actually on stage furiously performing alongside the famed Florida five - Justin Timberlake, Chris Kirkpatrick, Joey Fatone, Lance Bass and JC Chasez - then this is the movie for you. Otherwise, just drop your teenage daughter and her friends off at the Cinesphere's front entrance and come pick them up about an hour later.
�����Oh yeah, earplugs might also be advisable, judging from the 24,000 watts of digital sound that stayed with me long after the movie had ended. And that was without the screaming that will no doubt permeate the theatre, if the frenzied audiences at *NSYNC's live concerts are any indication.
�����Running about half the time of the group's No Strings Attached show - named after their mega selling album - the concert film plays like a greatest hits package of that equally successful tour. Filmed over the course of five U.S. shows - which explains why only in some scenes Timberlake has unflattering cornrow braids - there is only the slightest glimpse of *NSYNC's enormous stage being set up and the band members chilling out backstage playing pinball or pool.
�����Mostly, it's about the actual performance; in this case, eight songs aided by elaborate costume changes, fireworks, confetti, and plenty o' dance moves. Truthfully, up this close, *NSYNC come across as PG-rated Chippendale dancers with their clothes on. In other words, it's hard to take very seriously, although I will say that Timberlake and Chasez are the most naturally coordinated of the quintet.
�����Admission for *NSYNC: Bigger Than Live is $10 and the large screen production will be shown as a double feature with a bonus IMAX film, alternating between Adventures In Wild California and Super Speedway until Feb. 15. The *NSYNC film, however, is at the Cinesphere for an indefinite engagement. Call 416-314-9900 for showtimes.
*NSYNC's Bass, Fatone Get To Big Screen 'On The L'
(02.01) Source - MTV: With Jennifer Lopez atop both the music and movie charts, members of pop kingpins *NSYNC have a new challenge in their midst.
�����The first to accept will be Lance Bass and Joey Fatone, who have signed on to star in the romantic comedy "On the L," according to Reuters.
�����A spokesperson for the group said Bass will play the lead role, and Fatone has been offered a lead and a cameo but is still deciding which he will take. The script is still being developed, so character names have not been finalized.
�����"On the L" � about a couple who meet briefly on their city's train system and must then find a way to reunite � will be directed by Eric Bross, whose r�sum� includes the USA cable movie "The Chippendales Murder" and independent films "Restaurant" and "Ten Benny."
�����Bass has acted before, but on the small screen � he appeared in an episode of the WB's "7th Heaven" last year. His recently formed production company, A Happy Place, will produce the $10 million "On the L," which is based on the short film "On the Line."
�����Miramax Films will distribute the movie, which is slated to begin filming in March, Reuters reports. *NSYNC announced at the Cannes Film Festival last May they would play fictional characters in a music-driven film set to begin production in 2001, but their spokesperson said the band is still searching for the right project.
�����The group is scheduled to perform later this month at the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards, where its nominated for three awards, including Best Pop Vocal Album, for 2000's top-selling No Strings Attached.