Justin and his guys are coming 'home' to Germany with a new single, a great album and are cuter as ever before! HIT! met up with the five for an interview for you.
Justin and his guys are coming 'home' to Germany with a new single, a great album and are cuter as ever before! HIT! met up with the five for an interview for you.
In just a few minutes you will have your first show since 6 months here in Germany. What are you feeling right now?
But you can't exactly call it a vacation what you were doing in the USA...
What was the coolest thing that happened to you in that time?
Did you get a chance to actually chat with Janet?
When are you going to tour in Germany again?
And what are your plans after that?
Which fans are the best?
The video for 'U drive me crazy' was shot in LA, why there?
In the USA you will release a whole Christmas album, why not here as well?
You said that you have grown. In how far?
Have you changed personally?
Justin, your mom is now always on the road with Innosense. Is that bad for you? You had a real tight bond.
You've probably noticed that a lot of fans in Germany are angry at and especially jealous of you. What has happened with love in your lives?
Do you take some time of for vacations?
Justin: Imagine you're on a vacation and are finally coming home. You look around and notice that nothing has changed. And that's a wonderfull feeling. The fans made us feel really welcome again.
Joey (laughs) No, it was really hard work! In the beginning we just wanted to release one single and do some promotion-gigs in the States. But that changed into a whole tour and a whole album for the American market. In the meanwhile we have sold over 3 million copies, that means it is already 3 times platinum!
Lance: It was pretty neat when we performed for our friends in Orlando, but the coolest thing was opening for Janet Jackson. She is a goddess! We only had 35 minutes for our show but we used them all. Also the older fans in the audience really went crazy.
JC: Backstage she also gets protected by her bodyguards really well, but of course we have talked a bit with her. At the first show she actually sneaked in where the photographers were standing to watch us perform. I was really excited and almost forgot my lines when I saw her there.
Chris: Definitely in the spring! We don't have confirmed dates yet but we are planning them at the moment. The basic elements for the show are confirmed, we're bringing a lot of the elements of the US-shows but also new surprises! Our live-band hasn't really changed. We have a new guitar-player and a new keyboardist.
[Note from Linda, "I don't get it, this article was written in October 1998...they still had Dax back then! Anyone knows the deal 'bout this?]
Lance: Right before Christmas we're back in the States to promote our new Christmas album. In the beginning of the new year we're going to Japan. Our records sell like crazy there but we've never actually been there. We owe the Japanese a visit.
Justin: There is a big difference of where we are. In America the fans are more on the background. [Note: 'I didn't know how to exactly translate it, sorry] That probably is because they are older than anywhere else. Of course the best bond we have here in Germany. Here we got our first success and we felt great here. And - between us - the girls here are much prettier than in the States. A lot of fans here we know personally and we're always glad to be back and meet our old friends again. As a gift we have a new single 'U drive me crazy' and a new album. That's cool or what?
JC: Before that one we already shot two videos there. One was for our Christmas single and the other one was for our next release in the USA. The location was perfect because we could shoot a lot of parts outside. And we had to do a TV show in LA at the same time. Both of the other clips will only be showed in the US.
Joey: We wanted to show our fans in Germany some new songs and show them that we have grown musically. On our new album are of course Christmas covers but also 6 new songs that are ours.
Joey:Our songs are more influenced by R&B, they have become more soulful. As you can hear in 'U drive me crazy' it's still a lot of power and fun though! We're proud of the new songs and believe that we're on the right track with those.
Lance: Of course we have become older. We have been on the road, almost non-stop, for 2 years now. And now we know what kinda business we're in. These experiences have helped us grow. In the beginning of our career everything was really cool for us and everyday there would be a new thing. Back then we were really happy that many decisions were taken by others. Our managers Lou Pearlman and Johhny Wright gave us a lot of space for our own decisions, though. The teamwork with them is going perfect.
Justin: She's really enthusiastic about her new business and I'm real proud of her. Innosense is a really great group and they will definitely have more success soon. Mom is really into her business and maybe it is good for me too, cause now I'm growing a bit away from her.
Chris: Well, I love Lance, Justin, JC and Joey a lot more than I did 6 months ago! No seriously; we don't have time to think about having girlfriends. Later in our lives there is more time for that. A relationship has to be on a tight basis and we're not into one-night-stands. A thing like that is just unfair. Look at Joey, he had a crush on Lene from Aqua and what came out of that? A little scratch on his heart and nothing more...
Joey: I will have a week of relaxing with my family in Orlando, Lance will be with his family in Mississippi, JC is flying to Washington DC. Chris has a rather large family and will make a trip through Ohio, California and Pennsylvania and Justin is going to the mountains to ski.
Written Martin Klingseisen for HIT! magazine [�Germany Oct. 1998]
Typed by Linda for ++LinSync Productions++ [�2000]