It’s 1995 in Orlando, FL and a group of talented adolescents came together and formed a boy band, an entertainment collective common at the time riding the coat tails of already popular groups such as New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys (who were also collected by Lou Pearlman in Orlando). This new band would be called *NSYNC.

I recall early in high school hearing their early singles (likely on MTV via music video) called “Tearin Up My Heart” and “I Want You Back” leading me to quickly became a fan. I respected their singing and dancing talents. I was probably somewhere around 15 years old at that time.

Their self-titled debut album released in 1998. It included some original tracks as well as covers of some established classics. Their skilled vocals carried the album and proved it to be a very successful debut. Their success followed into their sophomore album No Strings Attached.

This second album is their most successful by the numbers. Released in 2000, it had multiple hugely successful singles:

  • Bye Bye Bye
  • It’s Gonna Be Me
  • This I Promise You

The prior two were very catchy, further serving to catapult the popularity of the troupe. The album also included the flawless acapella “I Thought She Knew” as closing track. I wanted to attend their live tour as they came to town but I had to work that night. I recall that coworkers and friends visited me prior to their attendance which I appreciated.

Cashing in on their now international popularity, the group quickly got to work towards releasing Celebrity only one year later. This album was released just prior to my attendance at university and due to this timing and circumstance, I hold special sentiment for it. I recall building a personal website during this summer of 2001 and literally reviewing every single track of this album. It did not prove as commercially successful as No Strings Attached, but it was a solid album. It was carried by successful singles:

  • Pop
  • Gone
  • Girlfriend

These are good songs and deserved of their success. Strangely enough, the final track “Do Your Thing” is probably my favorite as I specifically identified with it. As an aside, I distinctly recall the time period as the summer of 2001 as my jaw was wired shut after an altercation at a local teen club. Primarily it was this album, unrelated Incubus album Make Yourself , and underground hip-hop album Funcrusher Plus by Company Flow that carried me through that tough time. I also delved into electronic music which I had been previously unfamiliar with.

This was the end of *NSYNC‘s reign of success. Lead singer Justin Timberlake launched a successful solo career to continue for the last 20 years spanning 5 albums, but aside from that, there have only been occasional reunions for the group.