*NSYNC Go "Pop"
(05.09) Source - Rolling Stone: New single hits radio May 15th!
�����While *NSYNC's third album, Celebrity, won't be released until July 24th (long after their tour is underway), fans can get a taste of the first single tomorrow. MTV will preview the song "Pop" during Total Request Live, five days before it hits airwaves officially, and on May 28th the network will premiere the video.
�����"Pop" was co-written and co-produced by Justin Timberlake and Wade Robson. JC Chasez also has songwriting and producing credits on several Celebrity tracks. And, true to its title, the album is loaded with big-name producers, from Rodney Jerkins (Michael Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, Backstreet Boys) to the Neptunes (Mystikal, No Doubt, Ol' Dirty Bastard). R&B crooner Brian McKnight makes a guest appearance on the record.
�����*NSYNC's summer tour kicks off on May 23rd in Jacksonville, Florida, and winds down August 24th in Jackson, Mississippi.
*NSYNC Push Back Tour, Album Release
(05.09) Source - MTV: *NSYNC hit their legion of fans with a double whammy Wednesday morning. Their record company, Jive, announced that not only has the group delayed the release of its new album, Celebrity, from June 26 to July 24, but the start of the boys' PopOdyssey tour has been pushed back again as well.
�����The band isn't quite done recording the album, a Jive spokesperson said. The album will display the group's writing and production skill on some of the tracks, and it'll also feature contributions from Rodney Jerkins, Brian McKnight, the Neptunes and Wade Robson.
�����This is the second time *NSYNC have had to postpone tour dates. Last month the quintet cited added production preparations as the reason why they changed PopOdyssey's opening night from May 12 at Miami's Pro Player Stadium to May 18 at Jacksonville's Alltel Stadium. The tour is still slated to kick off in the Jacksonville venue, this time on May 23.
�����*NSYNC plan to make the wait for their outings worth it, promising to give audiences a preview of some of Celebrity's songs. The album's first single, "Pop," will hit the airwaves soon, with a video to air on May 28.
�����*NSYNC's updated tour dates, according to Jive Records:
�����5/23 - Jacksonville, FL @ Alltel Stadium
�����5/26 - Hershey, PA @ Hersheypark Stadium
�����5/28 - Hershey, PA @ Hersheypark Stadium
�����5/31 - Foxboro, MA @ Foxboro Stadium
�����6/01 - Foxboro, MA @ Foxboro Stadium
�����6/03 - East Rutherford, NJ @ Giants Stadium
�����6/04 - East Rutherford, NJ @ Giants Stadium
�����6/05 - East Rutherford, NJ @ Giants Stadium
�����6/08 - Cincinnati, OH @ Cinergy Field
�����6/10 - Buffalo, NY @ Ralph Wilson Stadium
�����6/13 - Philadelphia, PA @ Veterans Stadium
�����6/16 - Chicago, IL @ Soldier Field
�����6/17 - Chicago, IL @ Soldier Field
�����6/19 - Toronto, ON @ Toronto Skydome
�����6/21 - Cleveland, OH @ Cleveland Browns Stadium
�����6/22 - Cleveland, OH @ Cleveland Browns Stadium
�����6/24 - Minneapolis, MN @ HHH Metrodome
�����6/26 - Milwaukee, WI @ Miller Park
�����6/29 - Detroit, MI @ Comerica Park
�����6/30 - Detroit, MI @ Comerica Park
�����7/02 - St. Louis, MO @ Trans World Dome
�����7/04 - Little Rock, AR @ War Memorial Stadium
�����7/06 - Houston, TX @ Reliant Astrodome
�����7/08 - Dallas, TX @ Texas Stadium
�����7/10 - Kansas City, MO @ Arrowhead Stadium
�����7/13 - Denver, CO @ Mile High Stadium
�����7/16 - San Diego, CA @ Qualcomm Stadium
�����7/18 - Phoenix, AZ @ Bank One Ballpark
�����7/21 - Oakland, CA @ Network Associates Coliseum
�����7/22 - Oakland, CA @ Network Associates Coliseum
�����7/24 - Pasadena, CA @ Rose Bowl
�����7/27 - Las Vegas, NV @ Sam Boyd Stadium
�����7/31 - Tampa, FL @ Raymond James Stadium
�����8/02 - Miami, FL @ Pro Player Stadium
�����8/05 - San Antonio, TX @ Alamodome
�����8/07 - Birmingham, AL @ Legion Field
�����8/09 - Louisville, KY @Cardinal Stadium
�����8/11 - Atlanta, GA @ Georgia Dome
�����8/13 - Washington, DC @ RFK Stadium
�����8/16 - Indianapolis, IN @ RCA Dome
�����8/18 - Pittsburgh, PA @ New Steeler Stadium
�����8/22 - New Orleans, LA @ Louisiana Superdome
�����8/24 - Jackson, MS @ Veterans Memorial Stadium
*NSYNC's 'Celebrity' & Tour Kickoff Pushed Back
(05.09) Source - Launch: *NSYNC has pushed back the release of its new album Celebrity from June 26 to July 24. Celebrity is the follow up to the quintet's diamond-certified Jive Records album No Strings Attached. In addition, *NSYNC's PopOdyssey tour, which was last set to start on May 18 at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, is pushed back to May 23 at the same venue.
�����Celebrity's first single "Pop" was co-written by Justin Timberlake and Wade Robson and co-produced by BT, Timberlake, and Robson. The music video for "Pop" will debut May 28 on MTV. Celebrity also contains tracks written and/or produced by JC Chasez, Max Martin, Rodney Jerkins, the Neptunes, and Brian McKnight. *NSYNC is scheduled to perform "Pop" on The Rosie O'Donnell Show (June 5), NBC's The Tonight Show With Jay Leno (July 23), and NBC's Today show (August 20).
*NSYNC Spirit
(05.08) Source - New Orleans Paper: Can you smell the teen spirit out there? The fluttering of pretty hearts at Mt. Carmel High? The busy grrrrl stirrings at Esplanade Mall?
�����Teenagers always know first, especially girls. And it's true what they're saying: *NSYNC is here. They're here for two weeks, walking in our streets, eating in our restaurants, BREATHING OUR AIR. For TWO WEEKS.
�����Oh. My. God.
�����The chart-busting boys in the band are roaming our streets on a long leash, hitting the clubs and hot spots, drinking in our early summer steam. Seems that the young princes of pin-up pop, the bubblegum balladeers, are about to embark on a huge summer tour and New Orleans is where they've chosen to rehearse for it.
�����More importantly (for purposes of the tour) New Orleans is where the enormous production crews are practicing setting up and taking down the three separate stage, sound and light systems that it takes to launch the band at each stop along the tour. (The concert set-up is so big and high-tech that they will need to start setting it up two cities down the road for the band to be able to play night after night.)
�����Most of this is going on inside the Superdome, but if you look down from the Pontchartrain Expressway, you can see the outdoor stadium stage right there in the parking lot. (The tour is playing both arena and stadium locales; look for them here at the Dome, most likely in late summer.)
�����Of course, all this is off the record. Anyone who actually knows anything isn't talking. No one's going to tell you what French Quarter hotel the heartthrobs are staying in. Or what Bourbon Street club they go to night after night. (All right, maybe I will, but later on.) No one, for that matter, will confirm that they're here at all.
�����You may ask: Why New Orleans?
�����Maybe a couple of reasons. Maybe it's so that Justin Timberlake can be near where his girlfriend Britney Spears calls home, though she's hardly ever here. But last time they were in town, they carried on at the Red Room like they were teenagers.
�����My God. Can you believe these people ARE teenagers? Is it just me who thinks it's weird that everyone pays so much attention to them? Or is it just me that pays so much attention to them?
�����I need a hobby.
�����Anyway, maybe they're in town because *NSYNC manager Johnny Wright - who also manages Spears and used to manage the Backstreet Boys - is engaged to our own Erika Schwarz, the Folsom beauty queen who went on to become 1996 Miss America runner-up and later became a famous handgun permit advocate because she got carjacked Uptown and wanted to carry her own pistola thereafter.
�����She recently left her job with a local law firm to join Wright's entertainment company as legal counsel. They're getting hitched in New York City later this month. (Schwarz is hosting a big party later this week to introduce her New Orleans friends to the band so everyone won't start swooning at the reception.)
�����Or maybe they're here because Club 735 on Bourbon Street is Lance Bass's favorite club in the world. Of course, that's off the record. But he digs the place. He chose it, of all places, to spend his 22nd birthday Friday night, in fact.
�����(Club 735 is a big hit with the *NSYNC demographic; the cast and crew from MTV's "Real World" both worked and played there all last spring. There's lots of private rooms to keep prying eyes - and cameras - at bay.)
�����Or maybe they just like it here. *NSYNC has played three successful concert dates here in the last three years and other major SFX Promotions touring acts - Spears, the BS Boys, etc. - have done equally well.
�����The Dome treats them right. The city fattens them up and makes them smile. The press - for the most part - leaves them alone. (!) And those girls at Esplanade Mall, well, they just keep buying whatever it is those boys are selling.
Misc. *NSYNC News
(05.07) Source - Various: Here's some minor news tidbits for those of you who don't know:
�����~PlanetHollywood.com is hosting a Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake look-alike contest. Entrants can submit photos to the Web site through June 15th.
�����~Destiny's Child, *NSYNC, 98 Degrees and Macy Gray will appear in print ads for the Candies Foundation, an organization that helps educate youths about teenage pregnancy.
�����~*NSYNC & MSN have teamed up for a promo through MSN's Messenger service where users can win one of 45 exclusive *NSYNC T-shirts & posters every weekday until June 29th & are also eligable for the grand prize of a trip for five to New Orleans to meet *NSYNC & see them live in concert! Visit MSN for more info.
�����~Vibe is giving props to *NSYNC with their 20 questions segment saying "After its smooth cover of 'That's the Way Love Goes' at Janet Jackson's mtvICON tribute, isn't *NSYNC definitely the coolest boy band now?"
�����~According to Jive Records, the latest release date for 'Celebrity' is July 24th.
�����~PlanetHollwood.com is running a new promotion where visitors can vote who looks the most like Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake and the winners will be flown to Orlando where they'll go on a dream date together. To vote or enter the contest, click here.
*NSYNC, Destiny's Child Step Out For Teen Pregnancy Awareness
(05.04) Source - MTV: Some of pop's biggest names have signed on to help raise awareness about teen pregnancy, one of the more serious issues facing their fans.
�����Destiny's Child, *NSYNC, 98� and Macy Gray are all set to perform in New York at the June 5 launch of the Candie's Foundation, which aims to lower the rate of pregnancy among U.S. teenagers by raising awareness about its consequences.
�����The Candie's Foundation hopes to bring in $500,000 for the benefit, which will take place at Manhattan's Roseland Ballroom. All of the artists scheduled to perform at the June 5 event have also signed on to do a set of teen pregnancy-focused public service ads, which will run in magazines such as Teen People, YM, Cosmogirl and Honey beginning in August.
�����"Despite recent declines, the United States still has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the industrialized world," Sarah Brown, of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, said in a statement announcing the event. "Four out of 10 girls get pregnant at least once by age 20."
�����Soon after the event, Destiny's Child will hop on the "TRL" tour bus for 42 concerts in July, August and September.
No 'Grease' For *NSYNC, Bass And Fatone Pursue Movies On Own
(05.02) Source - MTV: Sometimes even the world's biggest boy band can't get what it wants.
�����The members of *NSYNC traveled to the Cannes Film Festival last May to announce � with maximum fanfare � that they planned to film a movie together. In October, the group's Lance Bass revealed that the movie in question would "most likely" be "Grease 3."
�����And in fact, the group had been working on a potential "Grease" sequel with the California production company Total Film Group, according to sources close to the project. But *NSYNC's substantial clout has so far not been enough to obtain the rights to the "Grease" name and characters, the sources said, and the movie has been shelved. Total Film Group is working to come up with another potential project to present to the *NSYNCers, and continues to try to rescue "Grease."
�����But the time for a full-fledged *NSYNC movie, with all five members, may have passed, according to Lance Bass. Instead of a group movie, a la the Beatles' beloved "A Hard Day's Night" or the Spice Girls' ill-fated "Spice World," Bass and fellow group member Joey Fatone have chosen to make their movie debuts without the rest of *NSYNC. Bass will star and Fatone will appear in "On the Line" (originally called "On the L"), a romantic comedy due this September or October.
�����"I think if you had all five guys of *NSYNC, people really wouldn't take the movie seriously," Bass said recently from the film's set. "This way, there's a couple of us in it, and it's a real movie. It really stands up on its own."
�����The movie stars Bass as a fresh-from-college 20-something who works in an advertising agency. He meets the "woman of his dreams" on Chicago's "L" train, but she leaves without giving him her name and number. Bass' character spends the rest of the movie trying to track the woman down.
�����Bass and Fatone may contribute new music to the soundtrack, but no plans have been confirmed, according to a publicist for the movie, which is the first film project from Bass' A Happy Place Productions.
�����"This is definitely a huge risk for me," Bass said. "The thing is, my first job is music... If this doesn't work for me, it's not going to break me. Coming out [with] my first movie, [in] the lead role... it's very insane. But you know, people are going to look at this and [know that] I'm doing this for my fans. The fans are going to love it."
�����Fatone also filmed a supporting role last September in an upcoming independent movie, "The Bros.," playing the victim of a crime spree. The movie � which is expected to include cameos from rappers Ludacris and Vanilla Ice � is scheduled to be completed by summer. The filmmakers are searching for a distributor, according to writer/director Jonathan Figg.
�����"Joey was excellent. He was a real pro. It's a real coup for us [and] he was very excited about doing something a little grittier and edgier," Figg said from his Orlando, Florida, production office. "There's a possibility that Joey might contribute to the soundtrack either by doing a track himself or providing us with an artist he's bringing up."
�����The movie, which was called "The Brothers" until Sony Pictures put another movie by that title on their lineup, is a dark comedy about a pair of suburban kids who are obsessed with hip-hop.
�����Also last year, Fatone filmed a small role in another independent film, the comedy "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," which is slated for release sometime this year.
�����Despite unending rumors to the contrary, no other *NSYNC-related movie projects appear to be anywhere near hitting theaters.
Britney And Justin Are Still Virgins...Says Justin's Grandmother
(05.01) Source - Peoplenews: Britney Spears and her boyfriend Justin Timberlake are still virgins, according to Justin's grandmother. Both Britney and Justin have long insisted that they do not believe in sex before marriage and Britney, despite her increasingly raunchy image, is well on the way to becoming a poster-girl for celibate America. Nevertheless, Timberlake has always been significantly less forthcoming about his beliefs, possibly fearing that too overt a 'goody-goody' image could prove damaging to his career. His grandmother's comments are unlikely to alter these fears. "Justin has high morals and has not slept with anyone," insists Mrs Nomar, the grandmother in question. "When they are together they do what normal teenagers do," she says. "Ride bikes, watch videos and enjoy long walks." Mrs Nomar also announced that Justin believed moving into Britney's Los Angeles mansion would have been "a sin" and said that the couple have no immediate plans to marry because they are too busy.