Unsynchronized - Season 1 Episode 6 - Turning the Page
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What do you do with a rumor that
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won't go away? In early 2001, whispers
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about Justin Timberlake's future kept
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circulating. They were unconfirmed, easy
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to dismiss. But as the year unfolded, his
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visibility kept rising, and by December,
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at least one person outside of *NSYNC
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knew something the public didn't. If you
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want the full picture. Join me for
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today's episode 'Turning the Page'.
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(Drum 'n Bass beatboxing noises)
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(Drum 'n Bass beatboxing noises)
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(Drum 'n Bass beatboxing noises) One band 5
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Voices, and today it's all
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about Justin Timberlake. The confident
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one, the teen heartthrob and
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the one whose year brought
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him increasingly into his own spotlight.
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This was the year when his visibility
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changed. Not overnight, but unmistakably
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and in ways the public could see. And
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looking back, you can see the earliest
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signs of a page being turned.
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I'm your host, Nicole Raposo, and you're
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listening to Unsynchronized, the deep
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dive podcast where we get into how *NSYNC
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got out of sync and eventually called it
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quits. Justin's 2001 wasn't defined by
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the most side projects or the busiest
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schedule. It was defined by how often he
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appeared in the spotlight, how the media
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framed him, and how the year positioned
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him in ways. Didn't always match what the
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group was saying out loud. For what it's
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worth, I can't think of a better way to
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wrap up the biographical episodes for
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this season. Let's get into it.
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January 2001 opened with *NSYNC
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everywhere at once, the People's Choice
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Awards on January 7th, the American Music
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Awards on the 8th: 2 back-to-back high
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visibility appearances that reinforce the
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idea that the group was still operating
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as a single, unified machine. The AMAs
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gave Justin one unmistakable moment of
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individual visibility, and that was due
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to the now iconic denim on denim outfits
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that he wore with his then girlfriend
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Britney Spears. When the group
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sat down with Larry King on the 9th, the
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picture was still one of a unified group.
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The interview was full of cross talk, the
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kind of overlapping chatter that happens
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when 5 people who know each other very
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well are all trying to answer the same
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questions at the same time. But within
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that noise, Justin's comments about the
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group's chemistry still stood out. He
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talked about how easily they communicate,
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how he could look at Chris and convey 10
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things at the same time, and how that
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connection came from years of working
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together before the fame hit. It was a
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moment where he actively reinforced the
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idea that *NSYNC wasn't just a business
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arrangement, it was a real friendship and
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a real bond. Larry pushed
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the question towards longevity, asking
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whether the group ever thought about what
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would happen if it all went away. Justin
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responded by contrasting *NSYNC with New
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Kids on the Block, saying that their
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situation was different because their
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audience was the same age as they are and
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that hopefully the fans will grow with
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them. He pointed to The Beatles, The
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Rolling Stones, and Aerosmith. There's
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examples of groups whose audiences stayed
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with them over time. Then Larry
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asks whether they ever see themselves not
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being together. There was more cross
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talk, more overlapping voices, but
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Justin's answer still cut through. Even
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if they weren't sitting there together,
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he said, he'd still be calling Chris to
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come over and write.
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Larry also asked about their dating
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lives, but the answer was different
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depending on who he was talking to. Lance
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joked that he dates everyone. Chris
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mentioned breaking up with an ex who he
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didn't name. Joey and Jessie both
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acknowledged that they were seeing
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somebody, but these were private citizens
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and they didn't offer many details.
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Justin. The only one in a public
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relationship, and because of that, his
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romance with Britney Spears became part
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of the broader narrative of the
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interview. That kind of thing wasn't
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unusual for the time. Their relationship
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was a big part of how the media framed
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him back then, but it does highlight how
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differently Justin's personal life was
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treated in comparison to the rest of the
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group. Within the next couple of
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weeks, his relationship with Brittany
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became a topic for discussion again, but
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this time the reasons were different. On
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the 18th, E! Online's Awful Truth Column
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claimed that *NSYNC's next album could be
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their last one...At least for a
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while. The piece cited an insider
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telling columnist Ted Casablanca that
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the members all wanted to do their own
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thing, but that Justin had the biggest
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itch to go solo. Casablanca
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even asked if the smell of separation had
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the scent of Eau de Britney, implying that
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she might be influencing him. The next
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day, the Chicago Sun Times followed with
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a piece suggesting that Justin wanted to
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go solo "as soon as contractually
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possible", again with Britney supposedly
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encouraging it. What stands out to me is
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that early in the year, there were two
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members of *NSYNC that were both dealing
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with the rumor mill churning around them.
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Joey's rumor, which I talked about in his
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episode, revolved around whether or not
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he was about to become a father. Justin's
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rumour revolved around whether he was
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about to give birth to something else
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entirely, which would be a solo career.
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On January 22nd, Justin logged in for an
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MSN live chat with some fans while the
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rest of the group rehearsed for the Super
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Bowl. There was no acknowledgment of the
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solo rumors here, but what he did say
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gave us a clear snapshot of where his
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head was creatively. When fans
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asked about the new album, he talked
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about aiming for a summer release and
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described their new material as "taking
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the dirty pop vibes to the next level". He
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said that the new album would be more
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eclectic and that the group was pushing
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themselves creatively. The chat also gave
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us a little glimpse into the kinds of
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outside projects that Justin was
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considering at the time. When asked about
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more acting, he said he had been reading
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scripts but wasn't looking to push the
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lead or take anything that would require
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long commitment. And almost in passing,
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he mentioned that he had just done a duet
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with Brian McKnight. In the moment, it was
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just a casual update, but it does help
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illustrate the range of side projects
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that he was already exploring while
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*NSYNC was still active. He ended the chat
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by listing the group's upcoming
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appearances, the Super Bowl, the Grammys
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and inducting Michael Jackson into the
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Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in June,
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saying that after that, they were going
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to "lay low". It
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was a moment when Justin sounded open,
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enthusiastic, and fully invested in the
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group's next chapter. But it hits a
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little differently when you remember that
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this chat took place just after four
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days, that the first round of solo rumors
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started hitting the press. And then on
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January 28th, *NSYNC performed with
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Aerosmith Mary J Blige Nelly, and Britney
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Spears during the Super Bowl 35 halftime
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show, kicking off another year of high
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visibility performances for the group.
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Finishing off the month, Justin
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celebrated his 20th birthday on the 31st.
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He entered his 20s with rumors of
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reinvention swirling around him, but
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nothing implying separation, at least not
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yet.
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February was a light month. On the 3rd, a
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small music blog called Freaky Trigger
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published a blurb about a rumor that they
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pulled from the National Enquirer
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claiming that Justin was working with
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Richard Marx on a solo album. This is
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not a mainstream outlet, and the tone was
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snarky, but it still shows that the idea
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of Justin going solo was continuing to
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circulate in the early part of the year.
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In the middle of the month, according to
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some fan made sources, the group filmed
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their tribute performance for the MTV
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Icon television special honoring Janet
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Jackson. Director Billy Rainey said that
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the song and the video shoot were
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completed in one day, a quick, tightly
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scheduled production squeezed into an
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already packed calendar.
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March was the month when the rumours
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around Justin kept expanding and the
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group scattered. Schedules became more
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visible in small ways. On the 7th, Liz
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Smith reported that Justin had visited
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Michael Jackson at Neverland Ranch,
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supposedly with Britney joining him. It
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was the first contemporary rumour linking
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Michael and Justin creatively. Whether
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the visit was personal or professional, the
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effect was still the same: Justin was now
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being discussed in proximity to one of
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the biggest pop musicians in the world.
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Two days later, Melinda Bell posted a
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journal entry on the official *NSYNC
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website. In the post, she mentioned that
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all 5 members were juggling side projects
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while trying to record the new album. The
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tone wasn't dramatic. It was simply a
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matter of fact acknowledgement that
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everybody's schedules were busy and not
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always aligned. When MTV taped the Janet
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Jackson Icon Special on March 10th, only
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Justin and Chris attended in person. It
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wasn't a solo appearance for Justin. He
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was still there as part of *NSYNC, but
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the way the segment was structured placed
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him in a more favorable position. Even if
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only for a brief amount of time, Chris
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played the straight man, offering a
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sincere, appreciative introduction to the
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tribute video. Justin followed with a
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lighter, more comedic tone, repeating how
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"fine" Janet Jackson was. His comments
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didn't add much substance, but they
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provided a moment of levity the segment
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was designed to deliver. It was
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a lighthearted setup for *NSYNC's video,
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but it also showed how even in a group
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context, the framing could still tilt
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towards Justin. By March 12, the idea of
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Justin working independently was
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circulating in fan spaces too, not just
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tabloids and gossip websites. A fan site
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on Angel Fire called One in a Million
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posted a rumor claiming that Justin had
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been working alone in a studio and
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that Britney had brainwashed him into
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going solo. There was no source for this
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rumor and no credibility, but it showed
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that the earliest rumours continued to
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persist. When the Icon special aired on
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March 13th, *NSYNC's tribute video was
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shown and Justin appeared in both the
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prerecorded performance and as one of the
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two members. Also attended the taping,
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All five members of *NSYNC attended
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Michael Jackson's induction into the Rock
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and Roll Hall of Fame on March 19th, not
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in June like what Justin said in his web
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chat. It was yet another high profile
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appearance for *NSYNC in early 2001, and
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00:10:02,930 --> 00:10:05,406
it was a moment of cohesion before the
268
00:10:05,406 --> 00:10:07,263
group splintered off again, going into
269
00:10:07,263 --> 00:10:08,502
different directions and different
270
00:10:08,532 --> 00:10:11,461
obligations. On March
271
00:10:11,461 --> 00:10:14,020
20th, MTV reported that *NSYNC was in
272
00:10:14,020 --> 00:10:16,259
the studio with the Neptunes that week
273
00:10:16,259 --> 00:10:19,138
and it was framed as a group session. But
274
00:10:19,138 --> 00:10:21,377
who was there wasn't specified in the
275
00:10:21,377 --> 00:10:23,615
article, so the public take away was
276
00:10:23,615 --> 00:10:26,174
simple. The group was working on the new
277
00:10:26,174 --> 00:10:28,413
album. It was reassuring news for wading
278
00:10:28,413 --> 00:10:31,292
fans, even if the reality of who was in
279
00:10:31,292 --> 00:10:33,945
the room on which days was more
280
00:10:33,945 --> 00:10:36,774
complicated. April
281
00:10:36,774 --> 00:10:38,768
was a month when Justin's individual
282
00:10:38,768 --> 00:10:40,097
visibility became unmistakable, not
283
00:10:40,097 --> 00:10:42,424
because he was separating from *NSYNC at
284
00:10:42,424 --> 00:10:44,750
that point, but because the industry and
285
00:10:44,750 --> 00:10:47,409
the media were beginning to treat him as
286
00:10:47,409 --> 00:10:49,735
someone with his own orbit. The Yamaha
287
00:10:49,735 --> 00:10:51,729
All Access magazine Summer 2001 issue
288
00:10:51,729 --> 00:10:54,055
teased an interview with *NSYNC on the
289
00:10:54,055 --> 00:10:56,382
cover, but the only members who were
290
00:10:56,452 --> 00:10:58,751
questioned were actually Justin and JC.
291
00:10:58,751 --> 00:11:00,667
They both answered questions about
292
00:11:00,667 --> 00:11:02,583
misconceptions about the group. They
293
00:11:02,583 --> 00:11:04,499
talked about being respected as
294
00:11:04,499 --> 00:11:07,182
musicians. And when asked about how the
295
00:11:07,182 --> 00:11:09,481
group had gotten into songwriting, the
296
00:11:09,481 --> 00:11:11,780
contrast between their answers was pretty
297
00:11:11,780 --> 00:11:14,080
striking. JC emphasized growth and craft,
298
00:11:14,080 --> 00:11:16,762
saying that they had been writing since
299
00:11:16,762 --> 00:11:19,449
the early days and that it took
300
00:11:19,449 --> 00:11:21,258
time, repetition, and confidence before
301
00:11:21,258 --> 00:11:23,790
they felt like their "stuff was good
302
00:11:23,790 --> 00:11:26,684
enough to put on the record this time."
303
00:11:26,684 --> 00:11:28,854
Justin's answer was very different. He
304
00:11:28,854 --> 00:11:31,025
focused on output and authorship, listing
305
00:11:31,025 --> 00:11:33,919
the songs that he had written for the
306
00:11:33,919 --> 00:11:36,451
upcoming album: 'Up against the Wall', 'Pop',
307
00:11:36,451 --> 00:11:38,622
'Celebrity', 'See Right Through You', 'Gone',
308
00:11:38,772 --> 00:11:41,591
and 'Something Like You'. It was one of
309
00:11:41,591 --> 00:11:43,353
the earliest moments where Justin
310
00:11:43,353 --> 00:11:45,468
publicly positioned himself as a primary
311
00:11:45,468 --> 00:11:47,582
songwriter, as a creative driver within
312
00:11:47,582 --> 00:11:50,402
*NSYNC, rather than part of a collective
313
00:11:50,402 --> 00:11:52,868
process. On April 10th, TV Guide reported
314
00:11:52,868 --> 00:11:55,335
that Justin had signed A 7-figure book
315
00:11:55,335 --> 00:11:57,450
deal with Ballantine Books for 'Crossover
316
00:11:57,450 --> 00:12:00,259
Dribble', a fictional basketball novel. It
317
00:12:00,259 --> 00:12:02,340
was the first major solo branded business
318
00:12:02,340 --> 00:12:04,124
venture of his career, something with
319
00:12:04,124 --> 00:12:06,502
only his name on it separate from *NSYNC.
320
00:12:08,012 --> 00:12:09,698
Entertainment Weekly talked about the
321
00:12:09,698 --> 00:12:12,059
deal too in mid-April, but with added
322
00:12:12,059 --> 00:12:14,420
details. The book centered on a high
323
00:12:14,420 --> 00:12:16,107
school basketball prodigy named Justin
324
00:12:16,107 --> 00:12:18,468
Wood River, modeled on a white Michael
325
00:12:18,468 --> 00:12:20,492
Jordan archetype. One editor who passed
326
00:12:20,492 --> 00:12:22,853
over the project noted that the people
327
00:12:22,853 --> 00:12:25,214
most likely to buy Justin Timberlake book
328
00:12:25,214 --> 00:12:27,575
were teenage girls, who were not the
329
00:12:27,575 --> 00:12:29,666
audience for sports novels, but the
330
00:12:29,666 --> 00:12:31,675
premise leaned towards a boy's sports
331
00:12:31,675 --> 00:12:34,019
thriller. The way they described it, it
332
00:12:34,019 --> 00:12:36,028
sounded like a mismatch between the
333
00:12:36,028 --> 00:12:38,037
intended market and Justin's actual fan
334
00:12:38,037 --> 00:12:41,028
base. Together, the TV Guide and
335
00:12:41,028 --> 00:12:43,027
Entertainment Weekly reports showed a big
336
00:12:43,027 --> 00:12:45,360
picture: Justin had signed a serious high
337
00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:47,359
dollar publishing deal and he was
338
00:12:47,359 --> 00:12:49,692
expected to deliver a manuscript by fall.
339
00:12:50,702 --> 00:12:53,063
What's also worth noting is that the
340
00:12:53,063 --> 00:12:55,423
media was framing his book deal in
341
00:12:55,423 --> 00:12:57,446
relation to Britney Spears's deal with
342
00:12:57,446 --> 00:12:59,133
Ballantine Books, which yet again,
343
00:12:59,133 --> 00:13:00,819
reinforced how tightly linked their
344
00:13:00,819 --> 00:13:02,842
public narratives were at the time.
345
00:13:03,732 --> 00:13:06,526
Also on April 10th, JC, Justin and Chris
346
00:13:06,526 --> 00:13:07,924
attended the Blockbuster Entertainment
347
00:13:07,924 --> 00:13:10,369
Awards. Lance and Joey were in Toronto
348
00:13:10,369 --> 00:13:13,163
filming 'On the Line'. For Justin, it was
349
00:13:13,163 --> 00:13:15,608
another visibility moment as one of three
350
00:13:15,608 --> 00:13:17,355
members representing *NSYNC publicly.
351
00:13:17,355 --> 00:13:20,149
The group did a brief humorous red carpet
352
00:13:20,149 --> 00:13:22,245
interview with Will Sasso and Alex
353
00:13:22,245 --> 00:13:23,642
Borstein from MadTV.
354
00:13:24,952 --> 00:13:27,599
It was quick and it was funny. Nothing
355
00:13:27,599 --> 00:13:29,584
major, just another instance of Justin
356
00:13:29,584 --> 00:13:31,569
being publicly visible that month. A
357
00:13:31,569 --> 00:13:34,215
couple of days later, on the 12th, MTV
358
00:13:34,215 --> 00:13:35,869
published an article previewing the
359
00:13:35,869 --> 00:13:37,854
upcoming tour and confirming that fans
360
00:13:37,854 --> 00:13:40,501
would hear new music on the road, while
361
00:13:40,501 --> 00:13:42,816
it's worth noting that Justin said he
362
00:13:42,816 --> 00:13:45,132
hoped everybody wasn't sick of *NSYNC
363
00:13:45,202 --> 00:13:47,321
by that point, the most significant part
364
00:13:47,321 --> 00:13:49,137
of the article was Justin's comments
365
00:13:49,137 --> 00:13:50,952
about Michael Jackson. For the first
366
00:13:50,952 --> 00:13:52,768
time, he publicly confirmed that multiple
367
00:13:52,768 --> 00:13:55,190
meetings had happened, and he did it with
368
00:13:55,190 --> 00:13:57,913
a mix of humor and uncertainty. "I had a
369
00:13:57,913 --> 00:14:00,032
couple of meetings with the man himself,
370
00:14:00,032 --> 00:14:01,848
and he's an extraordinary artist. He
371
00:14:01,848 --> 00:14:04,269
kicked me out of the meeting because I
372
00:14:04,269 --> 00:14:06,844
wouldn't stop asking for autographs... So I
373
00:14:06,844 --> 00:14:09,505
don't know how far it's going to go." The
374
00:14:09,505 --> 00:14:11,574
article didn't frame the meeting as a
375
00:14:11,574 --> 00:14:13,644
solo collaboration, but MTV made it clear
376
00:14:13,644 --> 00:14:15,418
that Justin had been in conversations
377
00:14:15,418 --> 00:14:18,079
that no one else in the group had been
378
00:14:18,079 --> 00:14:20,445
part of. On April 25th, all five members
379
00:14:20,445 --> 00:14:22,219
of *NSYNC appeared together via satellite
380
00:14:22,219 --> 00:14:24,288
for a special episode of Total Request
381
00:14:24,288 --> 00:14:27,156
Live called TRL At Your House. The
382
00:14:27,156 --> 00:14:29,701
episode was light and fan-driven, just
383
00:14:29,701 --> 00:14:32,246
like any typical TRL episode, but things
384
00:14:32,246 --> 00:14:35,154
shifted a little bit when a girl in
385
00:14:35,154 --> 00:14:37,699
the audience asked Justin directly if he
386
00:14:37,699 --> 00:14:40,608
was planning a solo project. He denied it
387
00:14:40,608 --> 00:14:43,517
immediately. "No, no, I'm not working on a
388
00:14:43,517 --> 00:14:46,062
solo album. They're all looking at me
389
00:14:46,062 --> 00:14:49,024
like what? No. What? No, that's not true.
390
00:14:49,024 --> 00:14:51,449
We've been in the studio working on
391
00:14:51,449 --> 00:14:53,873
Celebrity, the new record, so that's all
392
00:14:53,873 --> 00:14:56,573
I've been doing." What
393
00:14:56,573 --> 00:14:59,024
stands out isn't the denial itself, but
394
00:14:59,024 --> 00:15:01,475
the moment around it. Justin joked that
395
00:15:01,475 --> 00:15:04,276
the rest of the group was looking at
396
00:15:04,276 --> 00:15:06,377
him in disbelief, but their real
397
00:15:06,377 --> 00:15:08,479
reactions were pretty mild. Chris looked
398
00:15:08,479 --> 00:15:11,280
bored. JC looked at Justin while he spoke
399
00:15:11,280 --> 00:15:14,081
and then turned back to the camera when
400
00:15:14,081 --> 00:15:16,982
he was done. Joey barely reacted. Plants
401
00:15:16,982 --> 00:15:19,079
only reacted a little. The strongest
402
00:15:19,079 --> 00:15:21,525
reaction in the room came from Justin
403
00:15:21,525 --> 00:15:24,320
himself. So far, this is the only thing
404
00:15:24,320 --> 00:15:26,766
I found where Justin responded to the
405
00:15:26,766 --> 00:15:28,863
solo rumors directly and publicly in
406
00:15:28,863 --> 00:15:31,852
2001. May was the month when
407
00:15:31,852 --> 00:15:33,771
the Celebrity album finally began taking
408
00:15:33,771 --> 00:15:36,329
shape in a concrete way, and when the
409
00:15:36,329 --> 00:15:38,248
public narrative around Justin and the
410
00:15:38,248 --> 00:15:39,848
group became more complicated. The
411
00:15:39,848 --> 00:15:41,767
recording schedule was uneven, the tour
412
00:15:41,767 --> 00:15:44,006
was delayed, and the solo rumors were
413
00:15:44,006 --> 00:15:45,605
still circulating loudly enough for
414
00:15:45,605 --> 00:15:47,524
someone to address them again. According
415
00:15:47,524 --> 00:15:49,443
to the sequencing later described in
416
00:15:49,443 --> 00:15:51,874
Rolling Stone. *NSYNC spent early to
417
00:15:51,874 --> 00:15:53,831
mid-May recording with The Neptunes. On
418
00:15:53,831 --> 00:15:55,789
the particular day the article captured,
419
00:15:55,789 --> 00:15:58,399
Justin and Chris were in the studio with
420
00:15:58,399 --> 00:16:00,683
Pharrell first, while Joey and JC were
421
00:16:00,683 --> 00:16:02,966
reportedly scheduled to come in later to
422
00:16:02,966 --> 00:16:04,924
record their parts. This doesn't seem
423
00:16:04,924 --> 00:16:07,208
unusual for the group. It's not unheard
424
00:16:07,208 --> 00:16:09,491
of to record and staggered sessions, but
425
00:16:09,491 --> 00:16:11,893
I think that it also. Reflected the
426
00:16:11,893 --> 00:16:13,993
fragmented way that the Celebrity album
427
00:16:13,993 --> 00:16:16,443
was being pieced together, even if that
428
00:16:16,443 --> 00:16:19,280
framing wasn't intentional. On
429
00:16:19,280 --> 00:16:21,708
May 9th, MTV reported that the Pop
430
00:16:21,708 --> 00:16:24,484
Odyssey tour had been pushed back to the
431
00:16:24,484 --> 00:16:26,912
23rd, citing the addition of new staging
432
00:16:26,912 --> 00:16:28,994
elements. The article also noted that
433
00:16:28,994 --> 00:16:31,076
*NSYNC "wasn't quite done" recording the
434
00:16:31,076 --> 00:16:33,158
album, though there wasn't a specific
435
00:16:33,158 --> 00:16:35,239
explanation offered as to why Celebrity
436
00:16:35,239 --> 00:16:38,015
was being delayed. So, in a nutshell: the
437
00:16:38,015 --> 00:16:40,467
show was getting bigger and the album
438
00:16:40,467 --> 00:16:42,530
wasn't finished yet. May 13th was the
439
00:16:42,530 --> 00:16:44,593
date the group started filming the music
440
00:16:44,593 --> 00:16:46,656
video for 'Pop', which was later confirmed
441
00:16:46,656 --> 00:16:48,424
by MTV's Making the Video special.
442
00:16:48,424 --> 00:16:50,192
Justin's standout moment was the opening
443
00:16:50,192 --> 00:16:52,255
sequence for the music video, where he
444
00:16:52,255 --> 00:16:54,907
played a TV pitchman trying to sell the
445
00:16:54,907 --> 00:16:56,970
viewer on the fictional Pop product. It
446
00:16:56,970 --> 00:16:59,328
was the first major visual piece of the
447
00:16:59,328 --> 00:17:01,326
celebrity era and Justin was positioned
448
00:17:01,326 --> 00:17:03,939
front and center. A few days later, on
449
00:17:03,939 --> 00:17:05,899
the 17th, Melinda Bell addressed solo
450
00:17:05,899 --> 00:17:08,186
rumors once again, this time in response
451
00:17:08,186 --> 00:17:10,799
to a web chat question. But even in
452
00:17:10,799 --> 00:17:13,086
offering a blanket denial, I think the
453
00:17:13,086 --> 00:17:15,699
first few months of 2001 showed that the
454
00:17:15,699 --> 00:17:17,333
speculation about solo rumors had
455
00:17:17,333 --> 00:17:19,293
followed Justin the most persistently.
456
00:17:19,933 --> 00:17:22,061
The fact that the question kept
457
00:17:22,061 --> 00:17:24,188
resurfacing and kept needing to be
458
00:17:24,188 --> 00:17:26,316
answered showed how deeply the narrative
459
00:17:26,316 --> 00:17:29,153
had taken hold by that point. On May
460
00:17:29,153 --> 00:17:30,927
18th, Entertainment Weekly published a
461
00:17:30,927 --> 00:17:33,409
group interview that was part of its
462
00:17:33,409 --> 00:17:35,537
special summer music content. I can't
463
00:17:35,537 --> 00:17:38,020
believe I forgot to clarify this in
464
00:17:38,020 --> 00:17:40,303
Lance's episode, but that interview that
465
00:17:40,303 --> 00:17:43,183
I traced to late April but couldn't find
466
00:17:43,183 --> 00:17:45,703
a publication date for? I finally found
467
00:17:45,703 --> 00:17:48,223
it. That interview is what was published
468
00:17:48,223 --> 00:17:50,383
by Entertainment Weekly on the 18th.
469
00:17:51,283 --> 00:17:54,057
Anyway, this piece landed at a pivotal
470
00:17:54,057 --> 00:17:56,435
moment in the Celebrity timeline because
471
00:17:56,435 --> 00:17:59,210
it captured how the members were publicly
472
00:17:59,210 --> 00:18:01,588
describing their roles while the album
473
00:18:01,588 --> 00:18:03,966
was still being assembled. In this
474
00:18:03,966 --> 00:18:06,740
interview, Justin emerged as kind of a
475
00:18:06,740 --> 00:18:09,118
spokesperson of sorts. He fielded the
476
00:18:09,118 --> 00:18:11,100
questions about sales pressure. He
477
00:18:11,100 --> 00:18:13,606
positioned himself. As the one who could
478
00:18:13,606 --> 00:18:15,239
articulate the group's creative stance,
479
00:18:15,239 --> 00:18:17,524
he also emphasized songwriting as a form
480
00:18:17,524 --> 00:18:19,810
of validation. And he also drew some
481
00:18:19,810 --> 00:18:21,443
clear boundaries around privacy, showing
482
00:18:21,443 --> 00:18:24,056
a growing awareness of how much of his
483
00:18:24,056 --> 00:18:26,342
personal life was being consumed by the
484
00:18:26,342 --> 00:18:28,628
public. It wasn't a solo interview, but
485
00:18:28,628 --> 00:18:30,914
it was a moment when Justin's leadership
486
00:18:30,914 --> 00:18:32,873
in shaping *NSYNC's public identity
487
00:18:33,013 --> 00:18:34,003
became prominent.
488
00:18:35,963 --> 00:18:37,843
The Pop Odyssey Tour officially launched
489
00:18:37,843 --> 00:18:40,662
on May 23rd. It had been the group's most
490
00:18:40,662 --> 00:18:43,168
ambitious tour to date, and in marked the
491
00:18:43,168 --> 00:18:45,048
beginning of the Celebrity era in
492
00:18:45,048 --> 00:18:47,241
earnest. The tour launched with only one
493
00:18:47,241 --> 00:18:49,747
single out, which was 'Pop', and its video
494
00:18:49,747 --> 00:18:51,627
didn't even premiere until nearly one
495
00:18:51,627 --> 00:18:54,133
week after the tour it kicked off. The
496
00:18:54,133 --> 00:18:56,013
next single wouldn't arrive until August
497
00:18:56,103 --> 00:18:58,663
near the end of the tour, which just
498
00:18:58,663 --> 00:19:00,263
underscored how backwards this rollout
499
00:19:00,264 --> 00:19:03,033
really was. June
500
00:19:03,033 --> 00:19:05,615
was one of the most uniformly group
501
00:19:05,615 --> 00:19:08,198
focused stretches of 2001. With the Pop
502
00:19:08,198 --> 00:19:10,780
Odyssey tour running at full speed, the
503
00:19:10,780 --> 00:19:13,362
schedule left no room for solo press,
504
00:19:13,362 --> 00:19:15,207
side projects, or much individual
505
00:19:15,207 --> 00:19:16,683
visibility. Pop Odyssey dominated
506
00:19:16,683 --> 00:19:18,527
everything. Every city, every appearance,
507
00:19:18,527 --> 00:19:21,110
and every moment of public visibility was
508
00:19:21,110 --> 00:19:23,821
directly tied to the tour. After months
509
00:19:23,821 --> 00:19:25,763
of uneven press cycles and recurring
510
00:19:25,763 --> 00:19:27,705
questions about the group's future, June
511
00:19:27,705 --> 00:19:29,647
offered something unusual: a stretch of
512
00:19:29,647 --> 00:19:31,589
time where Justin's presence was entirely
513
00:19:31,589 --> 00:19:34,178
and unmistakably tied to *NSYNC as a
514
00:19:34,178 --> 00:19:36,767
unit. It was the clearest contrast yet to
515
00:19:36,767 --> 00:19:38,709
the narrative that had been building
516
00:19:38,709 --> 00:19:40,975
around him all spring. My research didn't
517
00:19:40,975 --> 00:19:43,240
show any solo activities or solo leaning
518
00:19:43,240 --> 00:19:45,695
events. Justin in June. Like the rest of
519
00:19:45,695 --> 00:19:48,028
the group, he was focused on the Pop
520
00:19:48,028 --> 00:19:50,069
Odyssey tour, but that wasn't the only
521
00:19:50,069 --> 00:19:52,402
thing they had going on that month. They
522
00:19:52,402 --> 00:19:54,152
also made some appearances, like when
523
00:19:54,152 --> 00:19:56,484
*NSYNC showed up on BET's 106 & Park.
524
00:19:56,484 --> 00:19:59,109
It was one of the few times *NSYNC
525
00:19:59,109 --> 00:20:01,733
appeared on BET at all, and even here,
526
00:20:01,733 --> 00:20:03,774
the focus mostly remained on the entire group.
527
00:20:04,614 --> 00:20:06,863
The show was upbeat, quick, and firmly
528
00:20:06,863 --> 00:20:08,790
rooted in the Pop Odyssey rollout,
529
00:20:08,790 --> 00:20:10,396
nothing about it pointing towards
530
00:20:10,396 --> 00:20:12,002
individual narratives or solo future
531
00:20:12,002 --> 00:20:14,571
plans. So June reads as a moment of
532
00:20:14,571 --> 00:20:16,498
stillness in an otherwise turbulent year.
533
00:20:16,498 --> 00:20:19,389
It was a little stretch of time where the
534
00:20:19,389 --> 00:20:21,637
group moved as one, and the schedule
535
00:20:21,637 --> 00:20:23,564
allowed little room for outside projects.
536
00:20:24,104 --> 00:20:25,695
Justin's visibility aligned completely
537
00:20:25,695 --> 00:20:27,684
with *NSYNC in this month.
538
00:20:30,164 --> 00:20:32,855
July was the month when the media
539
00:20:32,855 --> 00:20:35,161
narrative around *NSYNC and especially
540
00:20:35,161 --> 00:20:37,083
Justin crystallized. Two major print
541
00:20:37,083 --> 00:20:39,389
features, a billboard profile, a Canadian
542
00:20:39,389 --> 00:20:41,696
magazine interview and the release of
543
00:20:41,696 --> 00:20:44,386
Celebrity all landed within weeks of each
544
00:20:44,386 --> 00:20:47,077
other. The result was a public reframing
545
00:20:47,077 --> 00:20:49,375
of the group's identity and their
546
00:20:49,375 --> 00:20:51,268
musical ambitions, and also Justin's role
547
00:20:51,268 --> 00:20:53,476
within the creative hierarchy. By the end
548
00:20:53,476 --> 00:20:56,000
of the month, the story the press was
549
00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:58,524
telling about *NSYNC was no longer about
550
00:20:58,524 --> 00:21:01,048
5 members, it was centered mainly on one.
551
00:21:01,048 --> 00:21:03,256
The August 2001 issue of Vibe magazine
552
00:21:03,256 --> 00:21:05,780
hit news stands in July, and it became
553
00:21:05,780 --> 00:21:07,673
one of the most consequential media
554
00:21:07,673 --> 00:21:10,436
moments of the celebrity. Not because
555
00:21:10,436 --> 00:21:12,648
of what it revealed about the group's
556
00:21:12,648 --> 00:21:14,859
musical direction, but because of how it
557
00:21:14,859 --> 00:21:17,070
framed *NSYNC within a racialized pop
558
00:21:17,070 --> 00:21:18,966
and R&B landscape. Writer Mimi Valdes
559
00:21:18,966 --> 00:21:20,861
approached the profile as a gatekeeper,
560
00:21:20,861 --> 00:21:22,756
positioning the group as outsiders being
561
00:21:22,756 --> 00:21:24,336
granted acceptance within R&B spaces,
562
00:21:24,336 --> 00:21:26,231
while also giving readers permission to
563
00:21:26,231 --> 00:21:28,759
admit that *NSYNC was a group of talented
564
00:21:28,759 --> 00:21:31,662
white boys. Within that framing,
565
00:21:31,662 --> 00:21:34,402
Justin emerged as the member who was most
566
00:21:34,402 --> 00:21:36,115
aligned with R&B credibility, describing
567
00:21:36,115 --> 00:21:38,855
himself as "...a corn fed white boy from
568
00:21:38,855 --> 00:21:41,252
the hills of Tennessee who grew up
569
00:21:41,252 --> 00:21:43,307
listening to Marvin Gaye, Al Green,
570
00:21:43,307 --> 00:21:45,362
Stevie Wonder, and The Temptations." But
571
00:21:45,362 --> 00:21:47,760
the most revealing comment came when he
572
00:21:47,760 --> 00:21:49,472
addressed the racialized constraints of
573
00:21:49,472 --> 00:21:52,056
the music industry. For context, in the
574
00:21:52,056 --> 00:21:53,980
article, Valdes claimed that the group
575
00:21:53,980 --> 00:21:56,545
said that being black could have made it
576
00:21:56,545 --> 00:21:59,430
easier for them to get signed in the 90s,
577
00:21:59,430 --> 00:22:01,354
but that their success likely wouldn't
578
00:22:01,354 --> 00:22:03,599
have been as big afterwards. Valdes also
579
00:22:03,599 --> 00:22:06,164
claimed *NSYNC sound always had a sweet
580
00:22:06,164 --> 00:22:08,729
pop edge that many R&B groups were not
581
00:22:08,729 --> 00:22:10,653
willing or allowed to embrace. To
582
00:22:10,653 --> 00:22:12,554
accentuate that point, she used this
583
00:22:12,554 --> 00:22:14,844
quote from Justin: "If we were an African
584
00:22:14,844 --> 00:22:16,849
American group, they wouldn't let us do
585
00:22:16,849 --> 00:22:18,853
the music that we're doing. A record
586
00:22:18,853 --> 00:22:20,858
label would have said 'No, That doesn't
587
00:22:20,858 --> 00:22:23,148
work for what y'all look like.' It's truly
588
00:22:23,148 --> 00:22:25,725
sad because at the end of the day, it's
589
00:22:25,725 --> 00:22:28,016
all music." At the time, the comment that
590
00:22:28,016 --> 00:22:30,020
drew the most public criticism was JC's
591
00:22:30,020 --> 00:22:32,025
Ghetto Pass comment, and in his episode
592
00:22:32,095 --> 00:22:34,630
we already talked about why people didn't
593
00:22:34,630 --> 00:22:37,165
like that. But in hindsight, I think
594
00:22:37,165 --> 00:22:38,975
Justin's quote is more structurally
595
00:22:38,975 --> 00:22:41,510
harmful because it feeds into the myth
596
00:22:41,510 --> 00:22:43,683
that black artists are restricted from
597
00:22:43,683 --> 00:22:45,856
making melodic, pop-leaning R&B. It
598
00:22:45,856 --> 00:22:48,391
doesn't make sense for someone who leans
599
00:22:48,391 --> 00:22:51,288
on R&B to claim that black artists who
600
00:22:51,288 --> 00:22:53,840
also lean on R&B would be restricted
601
00:22:53,840 --> 00:22:55,933
from making the music that they're
602
00:22:55,933 --> 00:22:57,676
already making, especially when this
603
00:22:57,676 --> 00:22:59,769
person cites Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder,
604
00:22:59,769 --> 00:23:02,210
and the Temptations as musicians he grew
605
00:23:02,210 --> 00:23:04,652
up on. These men were foundational in
606
00:23:04,652 --> 00:23:06,396
creating R&B that was considered
607
00:23:06,396 --> 00:23:08,488
"crossover music" that could appeal to
608
00:23:08,488 --> 00:23:10,581
mainstream white audiences and make lots
609
00:23:10,581 --> 00:23:13,289
of money for executives, i.e., the same
610
00:23:13,289 --> 00:23:15,792
people Justin says would have discouraged
611
00:23:15,792 --> 00:23:18,711
them. Because Mimi Valdes had already set
612
00:23:18,711 --> 00:23:21,631
up a false binary, with one side
613
00:23:21,631 --> 00:23:24,550
being *NSYNC allowed to make melodic
614
00:23:24,550 --> 00:23:27,470
and pop-oriented music, and the other
615
00:23:27,470 --> 00:23:29,972
side being black R&B artists who
616
00:23:29,972 --> 00:23:32,475
supposedly weren't allowed to do that,
617
00:23:32,995 --> 00:23:35,131
the article created the perfect runway
618
00:23:35,131 --> 00:23:37,267
for Justin's statement to land without
619
00:23:37,267 --> 00:23:39,402
being challenged. Mimi didn't put the
620
00:23:39,402 --> 00:23:42,250
words in his mouth, but her framing made
621
00:23:42,250 --> 00:23:44,742
the logic seem plausible, even when it
622
00:23:44,742 --> 00:23:46,878
collapses under the weight of musical
623
00:23:46,878 --> 00:23:49,369
history and common sense. The backlash at
624
00:23:49,369 --> 00:23:51,861
the time focused almost entirely on JC,
625
00:23:51,861 --> 00:23:54,593
and I think it's probably because it was
626
00:23:54,593 --> 00:23:57,068
the more obvious misstep, so it was easier
627
00:23:57,068 --> 00:23:58,615
for people to latch onto.
628
00:24:00,045 --> 00:24:02,254
Justin's comment was arguably more
629
00:24:02,254 --> 00:24:04,905
damaging, but it went largely unexamined.
630
00:24:06,475 --> 00:24:09,341
And in the broader arc of his 2001
631
00:24:09,341 --> 00:24:11,849
to 2002 trajectory, this moment to an
632
00:24:11,849 --> 00:24:13,999
extent foreshadows what would come next,
633
00:24:13,999 --> 00:24:16,507
including a Chad Hugo anecdote from 2002
634
00:24:16,507 --> 00:24:19,015
where Justin again framed himself as a
635
00:24:19,015 --> 00:24:21,523
white artist doing black music, but this
636
00:24:21,523 --> 00:24:24,031
time as a marketing advantage. We'll get
637
00:24:24,031 --> 00:24:26,897
into that when the time comes in Season
638
00:24:26,897 --> 00:24:29,703
2. For right now, the
639
00:24:29,703 --> 00:24:32,080
Vibe article wasn't just a snapshot of
640
00:24:32,080 --> 00:24:34,796
the group in July. It was a moment
641
00:24:34,796 --> 00:24:36,494
when the racialized assumptions shaping
642
00:24:36,494 --> 00:24:38,870
the celebrity era were laid bare, and
643
00:24:38,870 --> 00:24:40,907
where the editorial framing allowed those
644
00:24:40,907 --> 00:24:42,605
assumptions to stand unchallenged. Then
645
00:24:42,605 --> 00:24:44,981
there was the Rolling Stone cover story,
646
00:24:44,981 --> 00:24:47,358
which was a group profile, but its
647
00:24:47,358 --> 00:24:49,056
internal structure made the hierarchy
648
00:24:49,056 --> 00:24:52,036
unmistakable. Chris was the underdog
649
00:24:52,036 --> 00:24:54,733
in the Comic Relief. Joey was flirty
650
00:24:54,733 --> 00:24:57,430
and friendly. Lance was mostly quiet and
651
00:24:57,430 --> 00:25:00,127
business minded. JC was shy, serious, and
652
00:25:00,127 --> 00:25:02,824
almost a little too refined. Justin was
653
00:25:02,824 --> 00:25:05,521
the only member presented as a fully
654
00:25:05,521 --> 00:25:07,062
dimensional person, someone with
655
00:25:07,062 --> 00:25:08,604
spirituality, ambition, musical lineage,
656
00:25:08,604 --> 00:25:11,276
and a strong sense of artistic identity.
657
00:25:11,276 --> 00:25:13,018
The article even framed Justin and
658
00:25:13,018 --> 00:25:14,761
Brittany as having sold 70 million
659
00:25:14,761 --> 00:25:16,504
records, a phrase that quietly erased
660
00:25:16,504 --> 00:25:18,537
most of *NSYNC and positioned Justin as
661
00:25:18,537 --> 00:25:19,989
an individual commercial force months
662
00:25:19,989 --> 00:25:22,022
before he had released anything on his
663
00:25:22,022 --> 00:25:24,636
own. I think that was one of the clearest
664
00:25:24,636 --> 00:25:26,669
signs that the piece wasn't really meant
665
00:25:26,669 --> 00:25:29,573
to be about the group as a whole. It was
666
00:25:29,573 --> 00:25:32,136
meant to be about Justin. Writer Torres
667
00:25:32,136 --> 00:25:33,961
framing of Justin was explicitly
668
00:25:33,961 --> 00:25:36,152
racialized and it was positioned as
669
00:25:36,152 --> 00:25:38,342
something positive and the article His
670
00:25:38,342 --> 00:25:40,168
proximity to authentic Blackness was
671
00:25:40,168 --> 00:25:42,723
mediated by things like being embraced by
672
00:25:42,723 --> 00:25:44,914
the group's Black bodyguards, some of
673
00:25:44,914 --> 00:25:46,739
whom nicknamed him Youngblood. Things
674
00:25:46,739 --> 00:25:48,930
like watching the original Kings of
675
00:25:48,930 --> 00:25:51,485
Comedy or wearing a Jimi Hendrix T-shirt.
676
00:25:52,065 --> 00:25:54,773
And of course, the list of
677
00:25:54,773 --> 00:25:57,481
musicians that he cited as influences
678
00:25:57,481 --> 00:26:00,189
on his own musicality. The article
679
00:26:00,189 --> 00:26:02,897
gave Justin interiority by discussing his
680
00:26:02,897 --> 00:26:04,702
thoughts on meditation, spirituality,
681
00:26:04,702 --> 00:26:06,959
transcendence, all things and all
682
00:26:06,959 --> 00:26:09,666
attention that no other member in
683
00:26:09,666 --> 00:26:12,374
the group received. The article also
684
00:26:12,374 --> 00:26:14,422
connected him directly to Michael
685
00:26:14,422 --> 00:26:16,329
Jackson through producer BT's comparison
686
00:26:16,329 --> 00:26:18,619
of Justin's vocal tone and rhythmic
687
00:26:18,619 --> 00:26:21,289
instincts to the King of Pop. But
688
00:26:21,289 --> 00:26:23,960
I think the most important line in
689
00:26:23,960 --> 00:26:26,249
the entire article, though, was Pharrell
690
00:26:26,249 --> 00:26:27,776
Williams's comment about Justin's
691
00:26:27,776 --> 00:26:29,302
musicality and his soulfulness.
692
00:26:29,302 --> 00:26:31,591
Specifically, Pharrell said "when it's time
693
00:26:31,591 --> 00:26:34,317
for his solo, shit, he might just
694
00:26:34,317 --> 00:26:37,120
do it." The operative word was when, not
695
00:26:37,120 --> 00:26:39,572
if. Pharrell spoke like someone who had
696
00:26:39,572 --> 00:26:41,674
already worked with Justin privately and
697
00:26:41,674 --> 00:26:43,776
already heard him outside the group
698
00:26:43,776 --> 00:26:46,228
context. This comment doesn't come off so
699
00:26:46,228 --> 00:26:49,031
much as a guess or prediction as it
700
00:26:49,031 --> 00:26:51,133
does an acknowledgement. On July 7th,
701
00:26:51,133 --> 00:26:52,884
Billboard published a feature that
702
00:26:52,884 --> 00:26:55,170
reinforced the same hierarchy. Justin's
703
00:26:55,170 --> 00:26:57,353
quote anchored the piece and he
704
00:26:57,353 --> 00:26:58,809
articulated instincts artistic mission
705
00:26:58,809 --> 00:27:00,992
for their upcoming release. He talked
706
00:27:00,992 --> 00:27:03,176
about being tired of critics connection
707
00:27:03,176 --> 00:27:04,996
with the audience, fusing different
708
00:27:04,996 --> 00:27:07,543
musical genres and the needs to re
709
00:27:07,543 --> 00:27:09,727
educate listeners about what pop music
710
00:27:09,727 --> 00:27:12,274
really is. This article didn't just quote
711
00:27:12,274 --> 00:27:14,822
Justin, it relied on him as a
712
00:27:14,822 --> 00:27:17,159
significant part of its substance. In
713
00:27:17,159 --> 00:27:19,063
mid-July, McLean's published an interview
714
00:27:19,063 --> 00:27:21,728
that made the group's public roles even
715
00:27:21,728 --> 00:27:24,394
clearer. Only Lance, Joey and Justin were
716
00:27:24,394 --> 00:27:26,297
asked about outside projects, Chris
717
00:27:26,297 --> 00:27:28,201
received no questions about Fu
718
00:27:28,201 --> 00:27:30,485
Man Skeeto, despite the line being in
719
00:27:30,485 --> 00:27:33,151
major department stores, and JC was asked
720
00:27:33,151 --> 00:27:35,435
nothing about his contributions to the
721
00:27:35,435 --> 00:27:37,711
new album even though he had
722
00:27:37,711 --> 00:27:39,172
contributed several songs. Justin,
723
00:27:39,172 --> 00:27:41,362
meanwhile, was pretty much positioned as
724
00:27:41,362 --> 00:27:43,918
the creative center in this piece. He
725
00:27:43,918 --> 00:27:46,108
discussed writing the song 'Pop', defended
726
00:27:46,108 --> 00:27:47,934
the group's musicianship, and casually
727
00:27:47,934 --> 00:27:50,124
mentioned writing a fiction book, the
728
00:27:50,124 --> 00:27:52,680
detail that reinforced his image as the
729
00:27:52,680 --> 00:27:54,506
member with an expansive creative
730
00:27:54,506 --> 00:27:56,761
identity by the time. Celebrity was
731
00:27:56,761 --> 00:27:59,230
released on July 24th. The media had
732
00:27:59,230 --> 00:28:01,698
already set the stage. The album landed
733
00:28:01,698 --> 00:28:04,519
like the climax of the entire first half
734
00:28:04,519 --> 00:28:06,635
of 2001. Justin had 7 songwriting
735
00:28:06,635 --> 00:28:08,751
credits, more than half the album,
736
00:28:08,751 --> 00:28:10,514
marking his largest creative contribution
737
00:28:10,514 --> 00:28:13,335
to date. Most of those songs were co-
738
00:28:13,335 --> 00:28:15,451
written with Wade Robson, a collaboration
739
00:28:15,451 --> 00:28:17,623
that signaled. Since desire to experiment
740
00:28:17,623 --> 00:28:19,344
outside of the group's traditional
741
00:28:19,344 --> 00:28:21,065
creative structure. The album sound
742
00:28:21,065 --> 00:28:23,475
leaned into some of the R&B influences
743
00:28:23,475 --> 00:28:26,229
that Justin had been naming all year, but
744
00:28:26,229 --> 00:28:28,639
it also included some newer sounds like
745
00:28:28,639 --> 00:28:31,048
dubstep and UK garage. Songs like 'Gone',
746
00:28:31,048 --> 00:28:33,458
'Girlfriend', 'See Right Through You', and
747
00:28:33,458 --> 00:28:35,523
'Up Against the Wall' made Justin's
748
00:28:35,523 --> 00:28:37,557
artistic identity audible. And because
749
00:28:37,557 --> 00:28:39,922
the press had already framed him as the
750
00:28:39,922 --> 00:28:41,695
creative center, the release of the
751
00:28:41,695 --> 00:28:43,173
group's third album increased the
752
00:28:43,173 --> 00:28:44,947
spotlight that was already shining on
753
00:28:44,947 --> 00:28:47,016
Justin. The album sold nearly 1.9 million
754
00:28:47,016 --> 00:28:49,381
copies in its first week, which was a
755
00:28:49,381 --> 00:28:51,154
huge number, though some media critics
756
00:28:51,154 --> 00:28:53,223
framed it as a disappointment because it
757
00:28:53,223 --> 00:28:54,997
didn't break *NSYNC's previous record.
758
00:28:54,997 --> 00:28:57,066
This was a narrative that Justin had
759
00:28:57,136 --> 00:28:58,911
predicted previously in the Entertainment
760
00:28:58,911 --> 00:29:00,686
Weekly interview published in May.
761
00:29:03,106 --> 00:29:05,850
August is a month when the media's focus
762
00:29:05,850 --> 00:29:08,250
on Justin increases even more. The Arena
763
00:29:08,250 --> 00:29:10,651
Homme Plus interview and photoshoot were
764
00:29:10,651 --> 00:29:13,051
some of the earliest pieces of press
765
00:29:13,051 --> 00:29:15,109
where Justin was positioned as a
766
00:29:15,109 --> 00:29:17,166
standalone cultural figure. A solo TV
767
00:29:17,166 --> 00:29:19,567
appearance and the filming of the group's
768
00:29:19,567 --> 00:29:21,624
next music video reinforced that same
769
00:29:21,624 --> 00:29:23,709
positioning. There was some group unity
770
00:29:23,709 --> 00:29:26,280
during the month. But by the end of
771
00:29:26,280 --> 00:29:28,530
August, the idea of Justin as an
772
00:29:28,530 --> 00:29:29,815
individual artist wasn't really
773
00:29:29,815 --> 00:29:31,743
speculative so much as it was
774
00:29:31,743 --> 00:29:32,386
increasingly visible.
775
00:29:34,686 --> 00:29:37,413
The Arena Homme Plus feature is one of
776
00:29:37,413 --> 00:29:39,458
the most important artifacts of Justin's
777
00:29:39,458 --> 00:29:41,844
2001 media presence. It wasn't just an
778
00:29:41,844 --> 00:29:44,230
interview about music, it was a fashion
779
00:29:44,230 --> 00:29:45,935
editorial. And that distinction matters.
780
00:29:45,935 --> 00:29:48,321
Fashion profiles don't have to treat the
781
00:29:48,321 --> 00:29:51,048
subject as part of a group, even if
782
00:29:51,048 --> 00:29:53,775
they are one. The subject gets treated as
783
00:29:53,775 --> 00:29:56,582
a persona. A brand and an isolated
784
00:29:56,582 --> 00:29:58,796
figure. And that's exactly what happened
785
00:29:58,796 --> 00:30:01,010
here. The styling, the tone, the
786
00:30:01,010 --> 00:30:02,856
photography, and the editorial framing
787
00:30:02,856 --> 00:30:05,808
all positioned Justin as an adult and as
788
00:30:05,808 --> 00:30:08,023
someone with a trajectory beyond the
789
00:30:08,023 --> 00:30:10,606
group he was still publicly committed to.
790
00:30:11,596 --> 00:30:14,226
Before the interview even begins, Arena
791
00:30:14,226 --> 00:30:16,856
Homme Plus sets Justin up in
792
00:30:16,856 --> 00:30:19,486
a way that feels unusually dense.
793
00:30:20,706 --> 00:30:22,991
Almost like the writer was trying to weave
794
00:30:22,991 --> 00:30:24,704
together a few different narratives all
795
00:30:24,704 --> 00:30:27,502
at the same time. The introduction
796
00:30:27,502 --> 00:30:30,041
to the piece started with *NSYNC's sales
797
00:30:30,041 --> 00:30:32,580
figures, but only as a springboard to
798
00:30:32,580 --> 00:30:34,756
basically elevate Justin above the group.
799
00:30:34,756 --> 00:30:36,932
The writer asked what distinguished
800
00:30:36,932 --> 00:30:39,834
*NSYNC from other boy bands at the time,
801
00:30:39,834 --> 00:30:42,010
but then immediately answered his own
802
00:30:42,010 --> 00:30:44,549
question by singling out Justin as the
803
00:30:44,549 --> 00:30:47,088
"not-so-secret weapon", the one reshaping
804
00:30:47,088 --> 00:30:49,848
the group sound. The one who
805
00:30:49,848 --> 00:30:52,492
was working with the Neptunes, the one
806
00:30:52,492 --> 00:30:54,759
making the group's music "dirtier and
807
00:30:54,759 --> 00:30:56,648
grittier." *NSYNC is present, but
808
00:30:56,648 --> 00:30:59,292
peripherally and only as the context for
809
00:30:59,292 --> 00:31:01,937
explaining why Justin is the one who
810
00:31:01,937 --> 00:31:04,203
stands out. The introduction to the
811
00:31:04,203 --> 00:31:06,092
article also included some racialized
812
00:31:06,092 --> 00:31:08,737
framing that was pretty hard to miss.
813
00:31:09,377 --> 00:31:11,670
The writer compared Justin to Elvis,
814
00:31:11,670 --> 00:31:14,347
explicitly calling him "a white kid with
815
00:31:14,347 --> 00:31:16,640
great pipes and an equally strong
816
00:31:16,640 --> 00:31:18,552
instinct for making black music
817
00:31:18,552 --> 00:31:21,228
accessible to the masses." It's a familiar
818
00:31:21,228 --> 00:31:23,140
cultural script, the white performer
819
00:31:23,140 --> 00:31:25,434
positioned as a bridge between black
820
00:31:25,434 --> 00:31:27,345
musical forms and mainstream audiences.
821
00:31:27,345 --> 00:31:30,162
But it doesn't stop there. The
822
00:31:30,162 --> 00:31:32,057
writer also invoked Michael Jackson only
823
00:31:32,057 --> 00:31:34,267
to suggest that the Celebrity album is
824
00:31:34,267 --> 00:31:36,161
something that Jackson "should have made
825
00:31:36,161 --> 00:31:38,687
by now." It was a way of positioning
826
00:31:38,687 --> 00:31:41,213
Justin as an artist that was now carrying
827
00:31:41,213 --> 00:31:43,108
a specific artistic lineage forward, and
828
00:31:43,108 --> 00:31:45,634
these comparisons did a lot of work in
829
00:31:45,634 --> 00:31:47,844
shaping how the reader was supposed to
830
00:31:47,844 --> 00:31:49,107
understand Justin's musical identity.
831
00:31:49,947 --> 00:31:52,010
From there, the introduction to the
832
00:31:52,010 --> 00:31:54,418
article shifts again, but this time into
833
00:31:54,418 --> 00:31:56,826
a bunch of biographical details that seem
834
00:31:56,826 --> 00:31:58,546
almost stitched together. They mentioned
835
00:31:58,546 --> 00:32:00,610
Star Search, they mentioned the Mickey
836
00:32:00,610 --> 00:32:03,017
Mouse Club, they mentioned his first kiss
837
00:32:03,017 --> 00:32:05,769
with Britney, and then there was a long
838
00:32:05,769 --> 00:32:07,833
anecdote from a former middle school
839
00:32:07,833 --> 00:32:09,897
teacher who was working with *NSYNC's.
840
00:32:09,977 --> 00:32:12,781
Management. At the time, she described
841
00:32:12,781 --> 00:32:15,119
Justin as gifted, shy, competitive,
842
00:32:15,119 --> 00:32:17,923
homecoming king. Basically a list of
843
00:32:17,923 --> 00:32:20,728
descriptions and accolades that read less
844
00:32:20,728 --> 00:32:23,533
like a portrait of an artist
845
00:32:23,533 --> 00:32:26,337
and more like a resume or
846
00:32:26,337 --> 00:32:29,142
a CV. None of these details
847
00:32:29,142 --> 00:32:31,682
are wrong. Necessarily, but the way
848
00:32:31,682 --> 00:32:33,577
they're assembled gives the introduction
849
00:32:33,577 --> 00:32:35,850
a slightly disjointed quality. It seems
850
00:32:35,850 --> 00:32:38,502
like the goal was to mention these
851
00:32:38,502 --> 00:32:41,154
things simply to make Justin sound as
852
00:32:41,154 --> 00:32:43,806
appealing as possible, and to make him
853
00:32:43,806 --> 00:32:46,079
sound highly exceptional on an individual
854
00:32:46,079 --> 00:32:48,731
level. So looking at all of the
855
00:32:48,731 --> 00:32:50,782
different pieces of the introduction
856
00:32:50,782 --> 00:32:53,512
together, it's not just setting the
857
00:32:53,512 --> 00:32:55,787
stage for some interview. The
858
00:32:55,787 --> 00:32:58,062
comparisons, the anecdotes, the musical
859
00:32:58,062 --> 00:33:00,792
positioning, all of these things are
860
00:33:00,792 --> 00:33:03,522
working together to present Justin as
861
00:33:03,522 --> 00:33:06,252
someone who is distinct from *NSYNC,
862
00:33:06,252 --> 00:33:08,982
someone with a different trajectory, and
863
00:33:08,982 --> 00:33:11,152
someone who's already being understood
864
00:33:11,152 --> 00:33:13,866
as more than just 1/5 of a
865
00:33:13,866 --> 00:33:16,580
popular boy band. So before Justin even
866
00:33:16,580 --> 00:33:19,294
speaks, the article had already begun to
867
00:33:19,294 --> 00:33:21,620
separate him from the collective identity
868
00:33:21,620 --> 00:33:24,334
that had defined his career up to
869
00:33:24,334 --> 00:33:27,048
that point. Returning to the "making Black
870
00:33:27,048 --> 00:33:29,762
music accessible" comment for a moment, it
871
00:33:29,762 --> 00:33:32,687
wasn't just part of the article set
872
00:33:32,687 --> 00:33:35,599
up. The interview itself picked up that
873
00:33:35,599 --> 00:33:37,679
same thread almost immediately. When
874
00:33:37,679 --> 00:33:40,175
Justin mentioned that *NSYNC's videos
875
00:33:40,175 --> 00:33:43,087
were in rotation on BET. The
876
00:33:43,087 --> 00:33:45,167
interviewer extrapolated that into the
877
00:33:45,167 --> 00:33:47,663
broader claim that *NSYNC was "appealing
878
00:33:47,663 --> 00:33:50,159
to African American audiences more and
879
00:33:50,159 --> 00:33:53,036
more these days." Justin didn't
880
00:33:53,036 --> 00:33:55,973
push back against the comment, he just
881
00:33:55,973 --> 00:33:58,911
responded by saying that the group was
882
00:33:58,911 --> 00:34:01,009
"bridging cultural gaps." This matters
883
00:34:01,009 --> 00:34:03,526
because it shows that the racialized
884
00:34:03,526 --> 00:34:06,463
narrative that we saw in Vibe magazine
885
00:34:06,463 --> 00:34:09,400
and also in Rolling Stone with Toure's
886
00:34:09,400 --> 00:34:12,338
write up was really more of a
887
00:34:12,338 --> 00:34:15,116
pattern, not an isolated thing. And
888
00:34:15,116 --> 00:34:17,862
this narrative, around *NSYNC and
889
00:34:17,862 --> 00:34:20,609
around Justin specifically, was part of
890
00:34:20,609 --> 00:34:23,355
a broader push in 2001 that
891
00:34:23,355 --> 00:34:26,102
positioned him as a white artist
892
00:34:26,102 --> 00:34:28,848
with proximity to Black music, Black
893
00:34:28,848 --> 00:34:31,137
audiences and Black cultural legitimacy.
894
00:34:32,247 --> 00:34:34,813
Another thing worth noting about the
895
00:34:34,813 --> 00:34:37,806
interview is that the shift from band
896
00:34:37,806 --> 00:34:40,372
member to singular figure was very
897
00:34:40,372 --> 00:34:42,937
subtle, but it was still present.
898
00:34:44,177 --> 00:34:46,429
When the interviewer asked whether Justin
899
00:34:46,429 --> 00:34:48,681
was worried about having a distinctive
900
00:34:48,681 --> 00:34:51,308
public image outside of the group, Justin
901
00:34:51,308 --> 00:34:53,935
gave an answer that I think is
902
00:34:53,935 --> 00:34:56,562
very revealing about how he was publicly
903
00:34:56,562 --> 00:34:58,063
managing the tension between
904
00:34:58,063 --> 00:34:59,939
individuality and group loyalty. The
905
00:34:59,939 --> 00:35:02,191
question was, "are you worried about
906
00:35:02,191 --> 00:35:04,473
having a distinctive public image outside
907
00:35:04,473 --> 00:35:06,822
of *NSYNC?" Justin replied, "I don't think
908
00:35:06,822 --> 00:35:09,506
any of us look at it that way.
909
00:35:09,506 --> 00:35:12,190
We don't even think of ourselves as
910
00:35:12,190 --> 00:35:14,874
*NSYNC. I think of each of them as
911
00:35:14,874 --> 00:35:16,887
being their own person. So establishing
912
00:35:16,887 --> 00:35:19,236
myself as an individual is not a
913
00:35:19,236 --> 00:35:20,913
priority. It's just something everyone's
914
00:35:20,913 --> 00:35:23,262
going to do because everyone is an
915
00:35:23,262 --> 00:35:25,927
individual. But all five of us
916
00:35:25,927 --> 00:35:28,631
are friends, and that makes a big damn
917
00:35:28,631 --> 00:35:30,321
difference. There have been record
918
00:35:30,321 --> 00:35:32,349
companies that have put groups together
919
00:35:32,349 --> 00:35:34,715
and they don't work out, but we
920
00:35:34,715 --> 00:35:36,743
practically live together. If you're not
921
00:35:36,743 --> 00:35:39,109
friends, it's going to show. We've had
922
00:35:39,109 --> 00:35:41,137
problems, but there's never been a
923
00:35:41,137 --> 00:35:43,504
problem. We couldn't work out because we
924
00:35:43,504 --> 00:35:45,968
have that friendship. Even if we stopped
925
00:35:45,968 --> 00:35:47,648
selling records tomorrow, we'd still be
926
00:35:47,648 --> 00:35:50,521
friends." On the surface, Justin's
927
00:35:50,521 --> 00:35:52,671
answer sounds like a general statement
928
00:35:52,671 --> 00:35:54,821
about individuality. But in the context
929
00:35:54,821 --> 00:35:57,688
of 2001, which was a year filled with
930
00:35:57,688 --> 00:36:00,197
rumors about the group "doing their own
931
00:36:00,197 --> 00:36:02,705
thing," and with people saying that Justin
932
00:36:02,705 --> 00:36:05,572
in particular had "the biggest itch to go
933
00:36:05,572 --> 00:36:08,439
solo", I think his response lands a little
934
00:36:08,439 --> 00:36:10,889
differently. It reads less like a
935
00:36:10,889 --> 00:36:13,046
philosophical musing and more like a soft
936
00:36:13,046 --> 00:36:15,203
acknowledgment of a shift that may have
937
00:36:15,203 --> 00:36:17,931
already been underway. He frames
938
00:36:17,931 --> 00:36:19,615
individuation as something that's natural
939
00:36:19,615 --> 00:36:21,973
and inevitable, not a choice. And in
940
00:36:21,973 --> 00:36:24,667
doing so, whether it was planned or not,
941
00:36:24,667 --> 00:36:27,361
he ended up echoing some of the very
942
00:36:27,361 --> 00:36:29,382
same language that had been circulating
943
00:36:29,382 --> 00:36:32,076
in the press since January. That theme of
944
00:36:32,076 --> 00:36:34,097
separating the public image from the
945
00:36:34,097 --> 00:36:36,454
private reality came up again a few
946
00:36:36,454 --> 00:36:38,747
questions later. When Justin was asked
947
00:36:38,747 --> 00:36:41,404
how he views the last few years of
948
00:36:41,404 --> 00:36:43,065
*NSYNC's career, his answer was
949
00:36:43,065 --> 00:36:45,059
surprisingly blunt. He called it Chaos
950
00:36:45,059 --> 00:36:47,052
and then explained that the title
951
00:36:47,052 --> 00:36:49,710
Celebrity was meant to be a contrast of
952
00:36:49,710 --> 00:36:51,703
the glitzy exterior with the more
953
00:36:51,703 --> 00:36:54,029
grounded reality of who they were behind
954
00:36:54,029 --> 00:36:56,354
the scenes. And to illustrate his point,
955
00:36:56,354 --> 00:36:58,348
he talked about the album packaging:
956
00:36:58,548 --> 00:37:00,508
Glossy on the outside, documentary-style
957
00:37:00,508 --> 00:37:03,122
photos on the inside as a metaphor for
958
00:37:03,122 --> 00:37:05,082
that disconnect. Then he ended his
959
00:37:05,082 --> 00:37:07,369
comment with a line that echoed the
960
00:37:07,369 --> 00:37:09,330
individuation that he had already been
961
00:37:09,330 --> 00:37:11,943
hinting at. If we weren't *NSYNC, we'd
962
00:37:11,943 --> 00:37:14,557
still be who we are. It's another moment
963
00:37:14,557 --> 00:37:16,517
where he suddenly separates the member's
964
00:37:16,517 --> 00:37:18,151
identities from the group's identity,
965
00:37:18,151 --> 00:37:20,461
reinforcing the idea that *NSYNC was
966
00:37:20,461 --> 00:37:22,327
something they did, not something they
967
00:37:22,327 --> 00:37:25,022
were. The interview
968
00:37:25,022 --> 00:37:26,958
also reinforced Justin's growing creative
969
00:37:26,958 --> 00:37:28,893
authority within *NSYNC. When discussing
970
00:37:28,893 --> 00:37:31,603
the new album, he compared the group's
971
00:37:31,603 --> 00:37:34,313
artistic evolution to The Beatles and The
972
00:37:34,313 --> 00:37:37,023
Rolling Stones, not to other boy bands.
973
00:37:37,023 --> 00:37:39,345
He called Celebrity their "puberty record"
974
00:37:39,345 --> 00:37:41,668
and a "growth record", something that
975
00:37:41,668 --> 00:37:43,604
signaled artistic maturity rather than
976
00:37:43,604 --> 00:37:46,409
commercial repetition. But yet,
977
00:37:46,409 --> 00:37:49,134
there was a bit of contradiction in the
978
00:37:49,134 --> 00:37:51,517
way Justin talked about creativity in the
979
00:37:51,517 --> 00:37:54,476
interview. Early in the piece
980
00:37:54,476 --> 00:37:57,151
when asked what makes him different from
981
00:37:57,151 --> 00:37:59,825
the other four members in terms of
982
00:37:59,825 --> 00:38:02,118
creativity, he gave a very group
983
00:38:02,118 --> 00:38:04,410
friendly, PR-friendly answer. *NSYNC's
984
00:38:04,410 --> 00:38:06,703
creative process was unconscious, it was
985
00:38:06,703 --> 00:38:08,995
collective, it was democratic and that
986
00:38:08,995 --> 00:38:11,670
everybody had ideas and they all feed
987
00:38:11,670 --> 00:38:14,644
off of each other. But
988
00:38:14,644 --> 00:38:16,719
later, when he was asked about
989
00:38:16,719 --> 00:38:18,794
songwriting, he described a more insular
990
00:38:18,794 --> 00:38:20,869
process, one that was centered almost
991
00:38:20,869 --> 00:38:22,944
entirely around his partnership with Wade
992
00:38:22,944 --> 00:38:25,711
Robson, the man he described as "the other
993
00:38:25,711 --> 00:38:28,478
half of him as far as creativity goes".
994
00:38:29,548 --> 00:38:32,230
It was subtle, but it was also
995
00:38:32,230 --> 00:38:34,528
revealing. It showed 2 narratives that
996
00:38:34,528 --> 00:38:37,210
Justin was balancing in 2001. The public
997
00:38:37,210 --> 00:38:39,891
obligation to present *NSYNC as a
998
00:38:39,891 --> 00:38:42,190
unified creative unit, and the private
999
00:38:42,190 --> 00:38:44,105
reality of an emerging individual
1000
00:38:44,105 --> 00:38:46,404
artistic identity built around a single
1001
00:38:46,404 --> 00:38:48,702
collaborator. The last thing I think
1002
00:38:48,702 --> 00:38:50,765
worth highlighting in this interview is
1003
00:38:50,765 --> 00:38:52,605
Justin's response to a question about
1004
00:38:52,605 --> 00:38:55,365
self-trust. He explained his
1005
00:38:55,365 --> 00:38:57,399
belief that people should act first
1006
00:38:57,399 --> 00:38:59,433
rather than think first because thinking
1007
00:38:59,433 --> 00:39:01,468
invites insecurity. He described words as
1008
00:39:01,468 --> 00:39:04,180
something he was starting to see as "the
1009
00:39:04,180 --> 00:39:06,214
most useless form of communication" and
1010
00:39:06,214 --> 00:39:08,926
said that he trusted himself most of all
1011
00:39:08,926 --> 00:39:11,638
when he was acting on instinct instead of
1012
00:39:11,638 --> 00:39:13,333
deliberation. He also believed that
1013
00:39:13,333 --> 00:39:15,028
people in the entertainment business
1014
00:39:15,118 --> 00:39:17,984
were "full of BS" and they "talked a lot
1015
00:39:17,984 --> 00:39:20,850
of crap", but that the great ones are the
1016
00:39:20,850 --> 00:39:23,715
ones who walked the walk at the time. It
1017
00:39:23,715 --> 00:39:25,944
just reads like some philosophy from I
1018
00:39:25,944 --> 00:39:28,492
guess your average 20 year old guy, but
1019
00:39:28,492 --> 00:39:31,039
in the context of what would happen with
1020
00:39:31,039 --> 00:39:33,586
Unsync over the next year and really over
1021
00:39:33,586 --> 00:39:36,313
the next couple of years. It becomes
1022
00:39:36,313 --> 00:39:38,188
a key to understanding his approach.
1023
00:39:39,068 --> 00:39:41,900
Justin was describing a world view where
1024
00:39:41,900 --> 00:39:43,922
action mattered more than discussion,
1025
00:39:43,922 --> 00:39:45,945
where instincts mattered more than
1026
00:39:45,945 --> 00:39:47,563
communication, and where transitions
1027
00:39:47,563 --> 00:39:49,586
happened through doing rather than
1028
00:39:49,586 --> 00:39:52,417
talking. It's not hard to see how
1029
00:39:52,417 --> 00:39:55,249
that kind of mindset would contribute to
1030
00:39:55,249 --> 00:39:58,080
the group's confusion in 2002, when it
1031
00:39:58,080 --> 00:40:00,696
seems decisions were made privately and
1032
00:40:00,696 --> 00:40:03,450
explained, if at all, only after
1033
00:40:03,450 --> 00:40:06,175
the fact. Five
1034
00:40:06,175 --> 00:40:08,603
days later, Justin appears on the prime
1035
00:40:08,603 --> 00:40:11,030
time premiere of The Wayne Brady Show.
1036
00:40:11,030 --> 00:40:13,804
This wasn't a group booking, it was only
1037
00:40:13,804 --> 00:40:16,232
for Justin. Wayne Brady told TV Guide
1038
00:40:16,232 --> 00:40:18,313
that he invited Justin personally and
1039
00:40:18,313 --> 00:40:20,740
that he said yes immediately. During the
1040
00:40:20,740 --> 00:40:22,821
premiere. Justin, Wayne Brady, and Brian
1041
00:40:22,821 --> 00:40:24,901
McKnight improvised a love song together.
1042
00:40:24,901 --> 00:40:27,443
And in that moment Justin wasn't just
1043
00:40:27,443 --> 00:40:29,973
some teen idol being humored, he was
1044
00:40:29,973 --> 00:40:32,502
being treated as a peer to two
1045
00:40:32,502 --> 00:40:34,309
established adult performers. But before
1046
00:40:34,309 --> 00:40:36,478
the broadcast came this revelation: Brady
1047
00:40:36,478 --> 00:40:39,008
told TV Guide that he, Justin, Brian
1048
00:40:39,008 --> 00:40:41,537
McKnight and some members of the group
1049
00:40:41,537 --> 00:40:44,429
All for One were already working on songs
1050
00:40:44,429 --> 00:40:46,959
together with the hopes of releasing an
1051
00:40:47,029 --> 00:40:49,376
album the following year. The TV Guide
1052
00:40:49,376 --> 00:40:52,059
article asked if this was the segue to
1053
00:40:52,059 --> 00:40:54,071
an eventual Justin solo project. Wayne
1054
00:40:54,071 --> 00:40:56,083
wouldn't answer the question, but he
1055
00:40:56,083 --> 00:40:58,430
entered the article with the line that's
1056
00:40:58,430 --> 00:41:00,107
most relevant to Unsynchronized: "That's
1057
00:41:00,107 --> 00:41:02,789
the guy to be on the lookout for
1058
00:41:02,789 --> 00:41:05,137
after the *NSYNC thing is finished." What
1059
00:41:05,137 --> 00:41:07,149
really stands out about this comment
1060
00:41:07,219 --> 00:41:09,565
is how it entered the public record.
1061
00:41:09,565 --> 00:41:11,576
Because Wayne wasn't part of *NSYNC's
1062
00:41:11,576 --> 00:41:13,922
team, his statement reads like a neutral
1063
00:41:13,922 --> 00:41:16,268
party making an observation. But I think
1064
00:41:16,268 --> 00:41:18,950
the effect might be the same as something
1065
00:41:18,950 --> 00:41:20,961
that media strategists call a trial
1066
00:41:20,961 --> 00:41:23,307
balloon, which is when a public comment
1067
00:41:23,307 --> 00:41:25,653
is floated by somebody outside of the
1068
00:41:25,653 --> 00:41:28,550
core group just to test how people react
1069
00:41:28,550 --> 00:41:31,235
to it. I think the timing is
1070
00:41:31,235 --> 00:41:33,921
also worth commenting on when it comes
1071
00:41:33,921 --> 00:41:36,607
to this. That TV Guide article was
1072
00:41:36,607 --> 00:41:39,292
published at 1:00 PM Pacific Time on
1073
00:41:39,292 --> 00:41:41,978
August 8th, so just hours before the
1074
00:41:41,978 --> 00:41:44,280
prime time premiere of Wayne's variety
1075
00:41:44,280 --> 00:41:46,966
show. That timing matters. It means that
1076
00:41:46,966 --> 00:41:49,651
the quote wasn't just a reaction to
1077
00:41:49,651 --> 00:41:51,647
Justin's performance, because they hadn't
1078
00:41:51,647 --> 00:41:54,629
improvised the song yet. This was part of
1079
00:41:54,629 --> 00:41:57,612
the pre-air publicity and part of the
1080
00:41:57,612 --> 00:42:00,221
official framing of that episode of his
1081
00:42:00,221 --> 00:42:02,831
show. Also Celebrity had only been out
1082
00:42:02,831 --> 00:42:05,813
for about two weeks and the group was
1083
00:42:05,813 --> 00:42:08,049
still promoting the album. So hearing
1084
00:42:08,049 --> 00:42:10,286
some one, especially somebody outside of
1085
00:42:10,286 --> 00:42:12,496
*NSYNC's, orbit say that Justin was "the
1086
00:42:12,496 --> 00:42:14,853
one to watch after the *NSYNC thing is
1087
00:42:14,853 --> 00:42:17,209
finished" makes it sound like the end of
1088
00:42:17,209 --> 00:42:18,976
the group was already a foregone
1089
00:42:18,976 --> 00:42:20,743
conclusion, or at least something that
1090
00:42:20,743 --> 00:42:22,805
was known to outsiders before the group
1091
00:42:22,805 --> 00:42:25,541
had any idea. I'm not telling
1092
00:42:25,541 --> 00:42:28,108
you what to believe, I'm just asking you
1093
00:42:28,108 --> 00:42:30,032
to think about whether Wayne's comment
1094
00:42:30,032 --> 00:42:32,278
sounds like just an opinion or something
1095
00:42:32,278 --> 00:42:34,524
closer to a trial balloon. On August
1096
00:42:34,524 --> 00:42:36,448
15th, Publishers Weekly posted a Fall
1097
00:42:36,448 --> 00:42:38,373
2001 hard cover preview that included
1098
00:42:38,373 --> 00:42:40,939
Justin's novel as one of the books to
1099
00:42:40,939 --> 00:42:43,827
look out for. By this point, the book had
1100
00:42:43,827 --> 00:42:46,669
a new title: "Inside Drive: a Novel
1101
00:42:46,669 --> 00:42:49,626
of Basketball, Life and Love". The listing
1102
00:42:49,626 --> 00:42:52,162
included in November release date, a
1103
00:42:52,162 --> 00:42:54,697
$16.95 hard cover price, an advertising
1104
00:42:54,697 --> 00:42:57,654
budget, and even mentioned a six city
1105
00:42:57,654 --> 00:43:00,189
author tour. The catalog copy describes
1106
00:43:00,189 --> 00:43:03,147
the book as a story about "championship
1107
00:43:03,147 --> 00:43:05,666
basketball, movie stars and issues of
1108
00:43:05,666 --> 00:43:08,201
race and love", a far more ambitious plot
1109
00:43:08,201 --> 00:43:10,420
than the original sports novel Pitch. On
1110
00:43:10,420 --> 00:43:12,321
August 20th, *NSYNC performed on this
1111
00:43:12,321 --> 00:43:14,857
day's show as part of the Summer Concert
1112
00:43:14,857 --> 00:43:17,075
series. It was a full group appearance
1113
00:43:17,075 --> 00:43:19,611
and one of the last major non tour
1114
00:43:19,611 --> 00:43:21,829
performances of the year. Then later in
1115
00:43:21,829 --> 00:43:24,365
August, towards the end of the month, the
1116
00:43:24,365 --> 00:43:26,664
group filmed the music video for "Gone".
1117
00:43:26,664 --> 00:43:28,884
Although it was an *NSYNC branded
1118
00:43:28,884 --> 00:43:31,104
release, the video and the song centered
1119
00:43:31,104 --> 00:43:33,324
on Justin almost exclusively. This is
1120
00:43:33,324 --> 00:43:35,545
something that all five members of *NSYNC
1121
00:43:35,545 --> 00:43:37,448
participated in, but it wasn't pivotal
1122
00:43:37,448 --> 00:43:40,303
for most of the group the way that it
1123
00:43:40,303 --> 00:43:42,523
was for Justin, since he was positioned
1124
00:43:42,523 --> 00:43:45,060
as the emotional center of the song and
1125
00:43:45,060 --> 00:43:46,329
the music video's narrative.
1126
00:43:48,289 --> 00:43:51,234
And toward the very end of the month, on
1127
00:43:51,234 --> 00:43:53,198
the 28th, Brian McKnight released his
1128
00:43:53,198 --> 00:43:55,161
album Superhero, which included 'My Kind
1129
00:43:55,161 --> 00:43:57,452
of Girl', the duet he recorded with
1130
00:43:57,452 --> 00:44:00,384
Justin. It wasn't a major promotional
1131
00:44:00,384 --> 00:44:02,839
moment for Justin and the way that 'Gone'
1132
00:44:02,839 --> 00:44:05,601
was, but it was still part of the late
1133
00:44:05,601 --> 00:44:07,442
summer pattern where Justin's voice and
1134
00:44:07,442 --> 00:44:09,283
presence were showing up in places
1135
00:44:09,283 --> 00:44:11,124
outside of the group's core activities.
1136
00:44:11,124 --> 00:44:13,886
And even when the focus was on the Pop
1137
00:44:13,886 --> 00:44:15,421
Odyssey tour, these small external
1138
00:44:15,421 --> 00:44:16,648
appearances kept reinforcing Justin's
1139
00:44:16,648 --> 00:44:18,182
individual visibility heading into the
1140
00:44:18,182 --> 00:44:21,007
fall.
1141
00:44:21,007 --> 00:44:23,583
September 2001 was a month defined by
1142
00:44:23,583 --> 00:44:25,791
interruption. The Pop Odyssey tour ended,
1143
00:44:25,791 --> 00:44:27,999
the group appeared at several high
1144
00:44:27,999 --> 00:44:30,207
profile events, and then the entire
1145
00:44:30,207 --> 00:44:32,415
entertainment industry came to a sudden
1146
00:44:32,415 --> 00:44:35,359
stop. In the midst of that pause, 'Gone',
1147
00:44:35,359 --> 00:44:37,567
a song already centered around Justin,
1148
00:44:37,567 --> 00:44:39,775
became the group's next released music
1149
00:44:39,775 --> 00:44:41,949
video. The Contrast between the national
1150
00:44:41,949 --> 00:44:43,616
stillness and Justin's growing artistic
1151
00:44:43,616 --> 00:44:45,616
visibility became one of the defining
1152
00:44:45,616 --> 00:44:47,949
tensions of the month. On September 1st,
1153
00:44:47,949 --> 00:44:50,616
the Pop Odyssey Tour came to an end.
1154
00:44:50,616 --> 00:44:52,616
After dominating *NSYNC's schedule for
1155
00:44:52,616 --> 00:44:54,949
months, its conclusion marked one of the
1156
00:44:54,949 --> 00:44:57,616
first major pauses in the group's year, a
1157
00:44:57,616 --> 00:44:59,949
little moment to breathe before a packed
1158
00:44:59,949 --> 00:45:01,976
week of appearances. And unknowingly,
1159
00:45:01,976 --> 00:45:03,869
before the world changes.
1160
00:45:04,879 --> 00:45:06,987
On September 6th, the group performed at
1161
00:45:06,987 --> 00:45:09,697
the MTV Video Music Awards. It was one of
1162
00:45:09,697 --> 00:45:11,504
their last major award show appearances
1163
00:45:11,504 --> 00:45:14,213
as a unit and the night became a late
1164
00:45:14,213 --> 00:45:16,321
summer high point for them. They walked
1165
00:45:16,321 --> 00:45:18,730
away with four Moon Men, gave a high
1166
00:45:18,730 --> 00:45:20,536
energy performance and left crowds with
1167
00:45:20,536 --> 00:45:22,644
the overall feeling that *NSYNC was
1168
00:45:22,644 --> 00:45:25,220
still operating at peak visibility. Soon
1169
00:45:25,220 --> 00:45:27,467
after the group participated in the All-
1170
00:45:27,467 --> 00:45:29,392
Star celebrity charity recording of the
1171
00:45:29,392 --> 00:45:31,639
song 'What's Going On'. They joined dozens
1172
00:45:31,639 --> 00:45:33,885
of other artists in a project that
1173
00:45:33,885 --> 00:45:35,490
spanned multiple sessions before and
1174
00:45:35,490 --> 00:45:37,416
after the September 11th attacks. Justin
1175
00:45:37,416 --> 00:45:39,983
appeared as part of the larger group, and
1176
00:45:39,983 --> 00:45:42,229
the recording becomes one of the last
1177
00:45:42,229 --> 00:45:43,513
collaborative industry events before
1178
00:45:43,513 --> 00:45:45,439
everything shut down. Around the same
1179
00:45:45,439 --> 00:45:47,736
time, *NSYNC also participated in Michael
1180
00:45:47,736 --> 00:45:49,593
Jackson's 30th anniversary celebration at
1181
00:45:49,593 --> 00:45:51,820
Madison Square Garden. The concerts were
1182
00:45:51,820 --> 00:45:54,048
filmed on September 7th and September
1183
00:45:54,048 --> 00:45:55,905
10th, and they became historically
1184
00:45:55,905 --> 00:45:58,132
significant because they happened just a
1185
00:45:58,132 --> 00:46:00,732
few days before the attacks. Justin was
1186
00:46:00,732 --> 00:46:02,959
part of the group performance alongside
1187
00:46:02,959 --> 00:46:05,558
the Jacksons, but no standout moments for
1188
00:46:05,558 --> 00:46:08,283
him. And then September
1189
00:46:08,283 --> 00:46:10,205
11th happens and the entertainment
1190
00:46:10,205 --> 00:46:12,896
industry comes to a halt. *NSYNC's
1191
00:46:12,896 --> 00:46:15,203
schedule slows down dramatically and the
1192
00:46:15,203 --> 00:46:17,894
group enters a period of near total
1193
00:46:17,894 --> 00:46:20,200
public quiet. Even Justin's Arena Homme
1194
00:46:20,200 --> 00:46:22,891
Plus cover, which as I mentioned was
1195
00:46:22,891 --> 00:46:25,582
photographed in early August, and had been
1196
00:46:25,582 --> 00:46:27,531
reportedly scheduled for release around
1197
00:46:27,531 --> 00:46:30,265
this time became caught up in the moment.
1198
00:46:30,265 --> 00:46:32,316
The original magazine issue featured a
1199
00:46:32,316 --> 00:46:34,366
graphic stylized cover image of Justin
1200
00:46:34,366 --> 00:46:37,100
with a bloody mouth. It was pulled in
1201
00:46:37,100 --> 00:46:39,492
the aftermath of the attacks, and a
1202
00:46:39,492 --> 00:46:41,884
revised version with the new cover was
1203
00:46:41,884 --> 00:46:44,276
later released. The 17th gave us the
1204
00:46:44,276 --> 00:46:46,326
release of *NSYNC's Hotline Fantasy Phone
1205
00:46:46,326 --> 00:46:48,603
CD-ROM game, a fun promotional product that
1206
00:46:48,603 --> 00:46:51,059
kept the group faintly visible during a
1207
00:46:51,059 --> 00:46:53,165
time when most of entertainment had
1208
00:46:53,165 --> 00:46:55,971
stopped. It was one of the only *NSYNC
1209
00:46:55,971 --> 00:46:58,077
related releases to emerge during this
1210
00:46:58,077 --> 00:47:00,182
national pause. But arguably the month's
1211
00:47:00,182 --> 00:47:02,287
most important moment arrived towards the
1212
00:47:02,287 --> 00:47:04,743
end. On September 26th, the music video
1213
00:47:04,743 --> 00:47:07,550
for Gone premiered on TRL. In a month
1214
00:47:07,620 --> 00:47:09,974
by stillness, 'Gone' became the group's
1215
00:47:09,974 --> 00:47:12,328
quiet re-entry point into the public
1216
00:47:12,328 --> 00:47:14,345
sphere, while also being the clearest
1217
00:47:14,345 --> 00:47:16,363
sign of Justin's artistic centrality. The
1218
00:47:16,363 --> 00:47:18,044
song was structured almost entirely
1219
00:47:18,044 --> 00:47:20,062
around his vocals, and the video
1220
00:47:20,062 --> 00:47:22,416
reinforced him as the emotional center of
1221
00:47:22,416 --> 00:47:24,434
the narrative. It becomes the first
1222
00:47:24,434 --> 00:47:26,115
*NSYNC single where Justin is
1223
00:47:26,115 --> 00:47:28,985
effectively the lead artist. In
1224
00:47:28,985 --> 00:47:31,403
the context of the national pause, gone
1225
00:47:31,403 --> 00:47:34,384
landed with even more weight. It's
1226
00:47:34,384 --> 00:47:36,451
a song that's subdued and introspective,
1227
00:47:36,451 --> 00:47:39,207
a stark contrast to the spectacle of the
1228
00:47:39,207 --> 00:47:41,619
Pop Odyssey tour and the high energy
1229
00:47:41,619 --> 00:47:43,341
performances of the summer. September
1230
00:47:43,341 --> 00:47:45,752
became the hinge between 2 worlds, the
1231
00:47:45,752 --> 00:47:48,508
end of the Pop Odyssey era and the
1232
00:47:48,508 --> 00:47:50,920
beginning of a quieter, more just and
1233
00:47:50,920 --> 00:47:53,331
forward phase. The country was still. The
1234
00:47:53,331 --> 00:47:54,962
entertainment industry was still. But
1235
00:47:54,962 --> 00:47:57,116
Justin's visibility, even within the
1236
00:47:57,116 --> 00:47:59,270
group, was continuing to sharpen.
1237
00:48:01,520 --> 00:48:04,104
October is the month when the divergence
1238
00:48:04,104 --> 00:48:07,058
among the members of *NSYNC becomes a bit
1239
00:48:07,058 --> 00:48:09,273
more visible. The group appears together
1240
00:48:09,273 --> 00:48:11,857
at major events, but the media cycle
1241
00:48:11,857 --> 00:48:14,072
increasingly centers on Justin as an
1242
00:48:14,072 --> 00:48:15,918
individual, and this happens through
1243
00:48:15,918 --> 00:48:18,133
talks of cancellations, rumors and also
1244
00:48:18,133 --> 00:48:20,957
solo framed editorial coverage. Even
1245
00:48:20,957 --> 00:48:23,661
some of the setbacks are Justin specific,
1246
00:48:23,661 --> 00:48:26,365
which is a shift in itself. On
1247
00:48:26,365 --> 00:48:28,297
October 15th, the first confirmed
1248
00:48:28,297 --> 00:48:31,002
commercial release of the 'Gone' CD single
1249
00:48:31,002 --> 00:48:33,320
appears in Australia. The track listing
1250
00:48:33,320 --> 00:48:36,024
included the radio edit of 'Gone', the
1251
00:48:36,024 --> 00:48:38,728
radio edit in Spanish for the song,
1252
00:48:38,728 --> 00:48:41,416
the album version, and the bonus track
1253
00:48:41,416 --> 00:48:44,161
"I'll Be Good For You", which is actually
1254
00:48:44,161 --> 00:48:46,219
a previously unreleased song from No
1255
00:48:46,219 --> 00:48:48,277
Strings Attached. This was the earliest
1256
00:48:48,277 --> 00:48:50,336
verifiable standalone release of 'Gone' I
1257
00:48:50,336 --> 00:48:53,080
could find as a CD single, and it
1258
00:48:53,080 --> 00:48:55,825
seems like it marked the beginning of the
1259
00:48:55,825 --> 00:48:57,883
songs international rollout as its own
1260
00:48:57,883 --> 00:48:59,941
product. This reinforced what the video
1261
00:48:59,941 --> 00:49:02,673
and the US radio push had already made
1262
00:49:02,673 --> 00:49:04,945
clear, which was that Justin was the
1263
00:49:04,945 --> 00:49:07,542
visual and vocal center of the track. On
1264
00:49:07,542 --> 00:49:10,139
the 21st, *NSYNC performed at the Post-
1265
00:49:10,139 --> 00:49:12,086
9/11 United We Stand charity concert
1266
00:49:12,086 --> 00:49:14,359
organized by Michael Jackson. A few days
1267
00:49:14,359 --> 00:49:16,306
later, Japan received its own commercial
1268
00:49:16,306 --> 00:49:18,903
maxi single for the song 'Gone', but this
1269
00:49:18,903 --> 00:49:20,526
single had a slightly different
1270
00:49:20,526 --> 00:49:22,355
configuration: Radio edit, the album
1271
00:49:22,355 --> 00:49:24,944
version, the bonus track 'I'll Be Good For
1272
00:49:24,944 --> 00:49:27,533
You', and then the database remix of the
1273
00:49:27,533 --> 00:49:30,465
single 'Pop'. The Japanese release confirms
1274
00:49:30,465 --> 00:49:32,045
that 'Gone' was being marketed
1275
00:49:32,045 --> 00:49:33,625
internationally as a standalone product,
1276
00:49:33,625 --> 00:49:35,521
not simply part of Celebrity. The
1277
00:49:35,521 --> 00:49:38,050
inclusion of 'I'll Be Good For You', the
1278
00:49:38,050 --> 00:49:40,578
only Justin co-written song on No
1279
00:49:40,578 --> 00:49:42,158
Strings Attached, further reinforced the
1280
00:49:42,158 --> 00:49:44,370
Justin forward framing of the single.
1281
00:49:45,200 --> 00:49:47,597
By late October, 'Gone' was no longer just
1282
00:49:47,597 --> 00:49:50,294
the song on the album, because it was a
1283
00:49:50,294 --> 00:49:52,391
global single, itt was a global Justin
1284
00:49:52,391 --> 00:49:55,056
moment. Late October also
1285
00:49:55,056 --> 00:49:57,206
brought the announcement of the European
1286
00:49:57,206 --> 00:49:59,357
commercial release of the 'Gone' single.
1287
00:49:59,357 --> 00:50:01,149
Documentation for European singles in
1288
00:50:01,149 --> 00:50:03,658
2001 is pretty inconsistent, but based on
1289
00:50:03,658 --> 00:50:06,525
what I could find, it seems like the
1290
00:50:06,525 --> 00:50:08,676
announcement that came through on October
1291
00:50:08,676 --> 00:50:11,543
28th was for the single that would be
1292
00:50:11,543 --> 00:50:13,694
released in the Benelux region on
1293
00:50:13,694 --> 00:50:16,459
November 5th. I found a fan circulated
1294
00:50:16,459 --> 00:50:18,990
CD Now listing that cited November 6th.
1295
00:50:18,990 --> 00:50:21,160
Given the typical variance in retailer
1296
00:50:21,160 --> 00:50:23,691
dates, I think it's pretty reasonable to
1297
00:50:23,691 --> 00:50:25,861
conclude that the single's rollout was
1298
00:50:25,861 --> 00:50:28,393
planned for the first week of November,
1299
00:50:28,393 --> 00:50:31,286
whether that ended up being the 5th or
1300
00:50:31,286 --> 00:50:33,817
the 6th. Either way, timing matters. 'Gone'
1301
00:50:33,817 --> 00:50:35,740
was already functioning as a Justin-
1302
00:50:35,740 --> 00:50:37,556
forward track and the international
1303
00:50:37,556 --> 00:50:39,372
single released reinforced that framing.
1304
00:50:39,372 --> 00:50:41,552
Also in late October, multiple outlets
1305
00:50:41,552 --> 00:50:43,731
reported on the cancellation of Justin's
1306
00:50:43,731 --> 00:50:45,910
deal with Ballantine Books. The Orlando
1307
00:50:45,910 --> 00:50:47,726
Sentinel reported that the publisher
1308
00:50:47,726 --> 00:50:50,269
wanted Justin to do a multi-city
1309
00:50:50,269 --> 00:50:52,448
promotional tour, but he couldn't commit
1310
00:50:52,448 --> 00:50:54,991
to it. Billboard reported the same thing,
1311
00:50:55,211 --> 00:50:57,071
with a Los Angeles-based publicist saying
1312
00:50:57,071 --> 00:50:59,729
that "he had too much going on to give it
1313
00:50:59,729 --> 00:51:02,122
the kind of time he wanted to", that he
1314
00:51:02,122 --> 00:51:03,982
hadn't finished the book, and that he
1315
00:51:03,982 --> 00:51:05,577
wouldn't be seeking a new publisher.
1316
00:51:05,577 --> 00:51:07,704
Given how packed the year had been for
1317
00:51:07,704 --> 00:51:09,830
him in terms of the Celebrity album and
1318
00:51:09,830 --> 00:51:11,691
the Pop Odyssey tour, I think anyone
1319
00:51:11,691 --> 00:51:13,818
would understand how he was too busy to
1320
00:51:13,818 --> 00:51:16,795
work on the manuscript. So what stands
1321
00:51:16,795 --> 00:51:19,741
out the most to me is that Justin
1322
00:51:19,741 --> 00:51:22,319
had a publicist in Los Angeles, and
1323
00:51:22,319 --> 00:51:24,528
that's where Billboard got their comments
1324
00:51:24,528 --> 00:51:26,737
from. I found that noteworthy considering
1325
00:51:26,737 --> 00:51:28,947
how many times comments from spokespeople
1326
00:51:28,947 --> 00:51:31,524
for members of the group came through
1327
00:51:31,524 --> 00:51:34,102
Jives publicity, and I think this detail
1328
00:51:34,102 --> 00:51:35,943
might suggest that his individual
1329
00:51:35,943 --> 00:51:37,750
projects were already being managed
1330
00:51:37,750 --> 00:51:40,112
separately from those of the group. On
1331
00:51:40,112 --> 00:51:41,461
October 30th Entertainment Weekly
1332
00:51:41,461 --> 00:51:43,822
reported about the failed book deal also,
1333
00:51:43,822 --> 00:51:45,846
but they included a little something
1334
00:51:45,846 --> 00:51:48,208
about a rumor that had been circulating
1335
00:51:48,208 --> 00:51:50,906
around Justin for a while: the rumor was
1336
00:51:50,906 --> 00:51:53,605
that he would be appearing on the sitcom
1337
00:51:53,605 --> 00:51:54,954
Friends playing a stylist.
1338
00:51:54,954 --> 00:51:57,046
Representatives for both Justin and for
1339
00:51:57,046 --> 00:51:59,728
the show denied it. Even though the rumor
1340
00:51:59,728 --> 00:52:01,740
was false, the existence still mattered
1341
00:52:01,740 --> 00:52:03,416
because the rumors still positioned
1342
00:52:03,416 --> 00:52:06,098
Justin as a solo media figure, and it
1343
00:52:06,098 --> 00:52:08,110
was something that still softly launched
1344
00:52:08,110 --> 00:52:10,792
the idea of him as a standalone celebrity
1345
00:52:10,792 --> 00:52:13,138
with crossover appeal. This is the kind
1346
00:52:13,138 --> 00:52:14,815
of rumor that follows individual
1347
00:52:14,815 --> 00:52:17,158
entertainers, not boy band members. Also
1348
00:52:17,158 --> 00:52:19,866
in October, Justin appeared solo on the
1349
00:52:19,866 --> 00:52:21,800
cover of Cosmopolitan's November 2001
1350
00:52:21,800 --> 00:52:24,508
issue. This was a major editorial moment
1351
00:52:24,508 --> 00:52:26,442
because Cosmopolitan is a woman's
1352
00:52:26,442 --> 00:52:28,763
lifestyle magazine, not a teen magazine
1353
00:52:28,763 --> 00:52:31,471
or a music magazine. Even though the
1354
00:52:31,471 --> 00:52:33,793
article was lighthearted, the framing was
1355
00:52:33,793 --> 00:52:35,727
adult and individual. Justin was
1356
00:52:35,727 --> 00:52:38,528
positioned as a young man, not just
1357
00:52:38,528 --> 00:52:41,155
as a boy band member. Actually, the group
1358
00:52:41,155 --> 00:52:43,454
was only mentioned in passing. The focus
1359
00:52:43,454 --> 00:52:45,424
of the article was Justin's personality
1360
00:52:45,424 --> 00:52:47,394
and his relationship with Britney Spears,
1361
00:52:47,394 --> 00:52:50,021
and even though it was a stark contrast
1362
00:52:50,021 --> 00:52:52,320
with the Arena Homme Plus editorial, it
1363
00:52:52,320 --> 00:52:54,947
still gave the same vibe. There were two
1364
00:52:54,947 --> 00:52:57,246
different audiences, but it was the same
1365
00:52:57,246 --> 00:52:59,013
push towards individualization. One last
1366
00:52:59,013 --> 00:53:01,400
thing for October. I'm still trying to
1367
00:53:01,400 --> 00:53:04,128
nail down the exact date on this, but
1368
00:53:04,128 --> 00:53:06,174
according to some fan created sources,
1369
00:53:06,174 --> 00:53:08,902
Justin called in to be BET 106 &
1370
00:53:08,902 --> 00:53:11,289
Park to promote the song 'Gone'. The
1371
00:53:11,289 --> 00:53:13,676
segment ended up revealing more than he
1372
00:53:13,676 --> 00:53:15,722
probably intended and also probably more
1373
00:53:15,722 --> 00:53:18,109
than the hosts intended too. The song's
1374
00:53:18,109 --> 00:53:20,172
origin story was a throwaway anecdote
1375
00:53:20,172 --> 00:53:22,694
about a girlfriend taking a long time at
1376
00:53:22,694 --> 00:53:24,585
the beauty shop. He casually admitted
1377
00:53:24,585 --> 00:53:26,792
that he didn't originally write the song
1378
00:53:26,792 --> 00:53:29,629
"for us", meaning for *NSYNC. And it seems
1379
00:53:29,629 --> 00:53:32,466
like the VJ's made it a point to talk
1380
00:53:32,466 --> 00:53:34,988
about how the song was, in their words,
1381
00:53:34,988 --> 00:53:36,879
"breaking into the urban market". That
1382
00:53:36,879 --> 00:53:39,401
sounded to me like a label talking point
1383
00:53:39,841 --> 00:53:42,535
that may or may not have matched the
1384
00:53:42,535 --> 00:53:44,555
actual radio reality, but very much
1385
00:53:44,555 --> 00:53:46,575
reflected a certain push towards framing
1386
00:53:46,575 --> 00:53:48,931
Justin and his song in a particular
1387
00:53:48,931 --> 00:53:50,951
light. Throughout the call, Justin talks
1388
00:53:50,951 --> 00:53:53,645
around the group rather than about it. He
1389
00:53:53,645 --> 00:53:55,665
centered himself in the videos emotional
1390
00:53:55,665 --> 00:53:57,685
narrative. He avoids using the group's
1391
00:53:57,685 --> 00:54:00,041
name except when required to to introduce
1392
00:54:00,041 --> 00:54:02,859
the video clip. I think this
1393
00:54:02,859 --> 00:54:05,258
interview may have functioned as an early
1394
00:54:05,258 --> 00:54:06,972
snapshot of Justin's emerging solo
1395
00:54:06,972 --> 00:54:09,028
identity, even during the Celebrity era,
1396
00:54:09,028 --> 00:54:11,427
and even though the group was still
1397
00:54:11,427 --> 00:54:13,484
publicly active. Overall, October was a
1398
00:54:13,484 --> 00:54:16,225
month when the split starts to become a
1399
00:54:16,225 --> 00:54:18,624
little visible. *NSYNC is still present,
1400
00:54:18,624 --> 00:54:20,681
and they still perform together and
1401
00:54:20,681 --> 00:54:23,341
appear together at times. But
1402
00:54:23,341 --> 00:54:26,278
the media cycle isn't centered on
1403
00:54:26,278 --> 00:54:28,795
*NSYNC as a unit anymore. Through
1404
00:54:28,795 --> 00:54:30,473
international single releases, charity
1405
00:54:30,473 --> 00:54:32,571
concerts, cancelled solo projects, denied
1406
00:54:32,571 --> 00:54:34,668
rumors and adult-oriented editorial
1407
00:54:34,668 --> 00:54:36,766
coverage, the narrative starts shifting
1408
00:54:36,766 --> 00:54:38,863
more towards Justin. His individual
1409
00:54:38,863 --> 00:54:40,541
visibility becomes the story.
1410
00:54:42,451 --> 00:54:44,087
November was another relatively quiet
1411
00:54:44,087 --> 00:54:46,378
month for Justin in terms of solo
1412
00:54:46,378 --> 00:54:48,668
activity, but it still had several public
1413
00:54:48,668 --> 00:54:50,631
moments that contributed to his growing
1414
00:54:50,631 --> 00:54:52,594
visibility separate from *NSYNC. And early
1415
00:54:52,594 --> 00:54:55,212
in the month, there was also a private
1416
00:54:55,212 --> 00:54:57,502
moment, or maybe an almost-moment that
1417
00:54:57,502 --> 00:54:59,465
would become more important after the
1418
00:54:59,465 --> 00:55:01,428
group separated and the following year,
1419
00:55:01,428 --> 00:55:03,826
Justin appeared on the cover of YM
1420
00:55:03,826 --> 00:55:05,650
Magazine's December issue, which was
1421
00:55:05,650 --> 00:55:07,474
released in November. The interview
1422
00:55:07,474 --> 00:55:09,662
itself was lighthearted and typical teen
1423
00:55:09,662 --> 00:55:11,850
magazine content, but the framing was
1424
00:55:11,850 --> 00:55:14,039
unmistakably solo. Justin was alone on
1425
00:55:14,039 --> 00:55:16,592
the cover, Justin alone was in the
1426
00:55:16,592 --> 00:55:18,780
future, and Justin alone was answering
1427
00:55:18,780 --> 00:55:20,969
questions about his life, his interests,
1428
00:55:20,969 --> 00:55:23,522
and his personality. Even if the tone
1429
00:55:23,602 --> 00:55:25,352
wasn't serious the exposure still
1430
00:55:25,352 --> 00:55:27,452
mattered. In his interview with the
1431
00:55:27,452 --> 00:55:28,852
Director Brazil Podcast, choreographer
1432
00:55:28,852 --> 00:55:31,302
Marty Kudelka described a failed meet up
1433
00:55:31,302 --> 00:55:33,752
with Justin that was supposed to happen
1434
00:55:33,752 --> 00:55:36,202
in Toronto after one of Britney Spears's
1435
00:55:36,202 --> 00:55:38,302
tour dates. Multiple sources state that
1436
00:55:38,302 --> 00:55:41,102
the Dream Within a Dream tour included a
1437
00:55:41,102 --> 00:55:43,552
concert at the Air Canada Centre on
1438
00:55:43,552 --> 00:55:46,070
November 5th, 2001, so that places the
1439
00:55:46,070 --> 00:55:47,239
missed connection in early November.
1440
00:55:47,239 --> 00:55:48,700
According to Marty, he'd received
1441
00:55:48,700 --> 00:55:50,452
multiple calls from Dave, the group's
1442
00:55:50,452 --> 00:55:52,205
tour manager, saying that Justin wanted
1443
00:55:52,205 --> 00:55:54,835
to meet with him. Marty thought it was a
1444
00:55:54,835 --> 00:55:57,464
joke until a friend of his told him that
1445
00:55:57,464 --> 00:55:59,801
it wasn't. He did end up speaking with
1446
00:55:59,801 --> 00:56:02,138
Dave, and he was told that Justin wanted
1447
00:56:02,138 --> 00:56:04,475
to meet with him. As I mentioned, the
1448
00:56:04,475 --> 00:56:06,724
meeting didn't happen. But the message
1449
00:56:06,724 --> 00:56:09,132
was relayed to Marty that it was fine
1450
00:56:09,132 --> 00:56:11,238
because they wanted to hire him anyway.
1451
00:56:11,238 --> 00:56:13,344
It's not clear from his interview who
1452
00:56:13,344 --> 00:56:15,450
they were, or why the meeting was
1453
00:56:15,450 --> 00:56:17,255
arranged through the group's tour manager
1454
00:56:17,255 --> 00:56:19,362
rather than through the group itself. But
1455
00:56:19,362 --> 00:56:21,468
the attempt marks the moment that Marty
1456
00:56:21,468 --> 00:56:23,273
first entered Justin's orbit, and that's
1457
00:56:23,273 --> 00:56:25,379
a detail that becomes more relevant in
1458
00:56:25,379 --> 00:56:28,156
the following year. In November *NSYNC
1459
00:56:28,156 --> 00:56:30,112
had a handful of public appearances.
1460
00:56:31,142 --> 00:56:33,632
On the 11th, they performed at the
1461
00:56:33,632 --> 00:56:35,767
Veteran's Day concert on Miami's South
1462
00:56:35,767 --> 00:56:38,613
Beach. Then on the 20th they returned to
1463
00:56:38,613 --> 00:56:41,103
MTV's Total Request Live, their first in
1464
00:56:41,103 --> 00:56:43,594
person appearance on TRL in months. The
1465
00:56:43,594 --> 00:56:45,372
following day, November 21st, they
1466
00:56:45,372 --> 00:56:48,219
appeared on BET's 106 & Park for a
1467
00:56:48,219 --> 00:56:50,709
second time. These were group events, but
1468
00:56:50,709 --> 00:56:53,160
they kept just invisible. In the broader
1469
00:56:53,160 --> 00:56:55,395
pop culture landscape during a month when
1470
00:56:55,395 --> 00:56:56,673
he wasn't promoting anything
1471
00:56:56,673 --> 00:56:59,557
individually. Also on November 21st,
1472
00:56:59,557 --> 00:57:01,999
MTV News reported that Justin had been
1473
00:57:01,999 --> 00:57:04,789
cast as young Elton John in the music
1474
00:57:04,789 --> 00:57:07,579
video for 'This Train Don't Stop There Any
1475
00:57:07,579 --> 00:57:10,021
More'. The video was filmed the previous
1476
00:57:10,021 --> 00:57:12,463
weekend in Los Angeles by director David
1477
00:57:12,463 --> 00:57:14,555
LaChapelle. Actor Paul Rubens appeared
1478
00:57:14,555 --> 00:57:16,997
in the video as Elton's manager and
1479
00:57:16,997 --> 00:57:18,770
according to a LaChapelle spokesperson,
1480
00:57:18,770 --> 00:57:21,238
Justin was the first choice for this role
1481
00:57:21,238 --> 00:57:23,089
and accepted immediately. It wasn't a
1482
00:57:23,089 --> 00:57:25,248
full acting role, but it was acting
1483
00:57:25,248 --> 00:57:27,407
adjacent. It was a moment of heightened
1484
00:57:27,407 --> 00:57:29,257
solo visibility for Justin towards the
1485
00:57:29,257 --> 00:57:32,033
end of the year, and it placed him in
1486
00:57:32,033 --> 00:57:33,884
a narrative context outside of *NSYNC,
1487
00:57:33,884 --> 00:57:35,735
positioning him as somebody who could
1488
00:57:35,735 --> 00:57:38,202
carry a character on his own on screen.
1489
00:57:40,272 --> 00:57:42,700
In December 2001 was the month when
1490
00:57:42,700 --> 00:57:44,781
public and private narratives started to
1491
00:57:44,781 --> 00:57:47,209
diverge even more. On the surface
1492
00:57:47,209 --> 00:57:49,637
*NSYNC still appeared to be a functioning
1493
00:57:49,637 --> 00:57:51,718
unified group, but behind the scenes,
1494
00:57:51,718 --> 00:57:53,799
communication inside the group seemed to
1495
00:57:53,799 --> 00:57:55,880
be getting inconsistent and the way
1496
00:57:55,880 --> 00:57:57,961
information was being shared, or not
1497
00:57:57,961 --> 00:58:00,042
shared, became one of the clearest
1498
00:58:00,112 --> 00:58:02,752
indicators of what was coming. On the 4th,
1499
00:58:02,752 --> 00:58:05,062
*NSYNC performed 'Gone' at the Billboard
1500
00:58:05,062 --> 00:58:07,372
Music Awards and joined the All-Stars
1501
00:58:07,372 --> 00:58:09,682
Collective for a live version of the
1502
00:58:09,682 --> 00:58:11,992
charity single 'What's Going On'. The group
1503
00:58:11,992 --> 00:58:13,972
won four awards that night, reaffirming
1504
00:58:13,972 --> 00:58:16,612
their position as one of pop music's most
1505
00:58:16,612 --> 00:58:18,262
successful acts, though it wasn't
1506
00:58:18,262 --> 00:58:20,242
reported until early 2002 singer Angie
1507
00:58:20,242 --> 00:58:22,599
Stone recalled Justin telling her how much
1508
00:58:22,599 --> 00:58:25,534
he loved her work, saying "Your CD's in my
1509
00:58:25,534 --> 00:58:28,469
car right now. You have to work on my
1510
00:58:28,469 --> 00:58:30,426
solo project." This is something that
1511
00:58:30,426 --> 00:58:32,709
happened around the time of the Billboard
1512
00:58:32,709 --> 00:58:34,992
Music Awards according to Angie, and it
1513
00:58:34,992 --> 00:58:36,949
became one of the earliest documented
1514
00:58:36,949 --> 00:58:38,906
private moves towards a solo identity.
1515
00:58:38,906 --> 00:58:40,862
That same week, Rolling Stone released
1516
00:58:40,932 --> 00:58:43,873
its December 6th People of the Year
1517
00:58:43,873 --> 00:58:46,447
issue. *NSYNC received the title, but
1518
00:58:46,447 --> 00:58:48,653
only Justin was interviewed for the
1519
00:58:48,653 --> 00:58:50,859
feature. Functionally, it operated as a
1520
00:58:50,859 --> 00:58:53,064
solo profile presented as group group
1521
00:58:53,064 --> 00:58:54,535
coverage, reinforcing the individual
1522
00:58:54,535 --> 00:58:56,741
visibility that had been following and
1523
00:58:56,741 --> 00:58:58,947
increasing throughout the course of the
1524
00:58:58,947 --> 00:59:01,152
year earlier in 2001. Rolling Stone.
1525
00:59:01,252 --> 00:59:03,720
Already framed him as the only fully
1526
00:59:03,720 --> 00:59:05,835
dimensional member of *NSYNC, so this
1527
00:59:05,835 --> 00:59:07,950
continuation in December was not really
1528
00:59:07,950 --> 00:59:10,818
surprising. The 7th, a
1529
00:59:10,818 --> 00:59:12,789
press release announced that Justin was
1530
00:59:12,789 --> 00:59:15,089
signed on to a wireless fan club
1531
00:59:15,089 --> 00:59:16,403
subscription service through Jaycor
1532
00:59:16,403 --> 00:59:18,046
Entertainment. Press releases grouped him
1533
00:59:18,046 --> 00:59:20,345
with Britney Spears and Jay-Z as examples
1534
00:59:20,345 --> 00:59:22,645
of the caliber of celebrities that fans
1535
00:59:22,645 --> 00:59:24,945
could expect to get automated calls and
1536
00:59:24,945 --> 00:59:26,916
other exclusive goodies from if they
1537
00:59:26,916 --> 00:59:29,544
joined the program. This was just an only
1538
00:59:29,544 --> 00:59:32,442
branding. And it showed that he was being
1539
00:59:32,442 --> 00:59:34,127
treated as a standalone commercial
1540
00:59:34,127 --> 00:59:36,486
entity. Then on December 8th, *NSYNC
1541
00:59:36,486 --> 00:59:38,508
held the Challenge for the Children
1542
00:59:38,508 --> 00:59:40,867
holiday event at Point Orlando. It was
1543
00:59:40,867 --> 00:59:42,889
one of their final group charity
1544
00:59:42,889 --> 00:59:45,248
appearances for the year. On the 19th,
1545
00:59:45,248 --> 00:59:47,270
MTV aired the group's Secret Santa
1546
00:59:47,270 --> 00:59:48,955
holiday special. This public appearance
1547
00:59:48,955 --> 00:59:51,285
had a private counterpart. After filming,
1548
00:59:51,285 --> 00:59:53,359
Lance Bass later recalled relaxing in a
1549
00:59:53,359 --> 00:59:55,433
hotel room with Joey Fatone when Justin
1550
00:59:55,433 --> 00:59:58,100
came in and told them he wanted the group
1551
00:59:58,100 --> 01:00:00,470
to take a six month break the following
1552
01:00:00,470 --> 01:00:03,137
year. When the idea of a solo album came
1553
01:00:03,137 --> 01:00:04,618
up, Lance doesn't remember feeling
1554
01:00:04,618 --> 01:00:06,396
alarmed or threatened. In his opinion,
1555
01:00:06,396 --> 01:00:08,470
the group had taken breaks before and
1556
01:00:08,470 --> 01:00:10,544
survived, so he wasn't opposed to Justin
1557
01:00:10,544 --> 01:00:12,864
doing a solo. Problem because he thought
1558
01:00:12,864 --> 01:00:14,553
that individual projects would ultimately
1559
01:00:14,553 --> 01:00:16,581
strengthen *NSYNC. Lance is the only
1560
01:00:16,581 --> 01:00:18,946
member of the group who has ever
1561
01:00:18,946 --> 01:00:20,973
described how he remembered the December
1562
01:00:20,973 --> 01:00:22,662
conversation unfolding. Justin has never
1563
01:00:22,662 --> 01:00:24,689
confirmed or contradicted his version of
1564
01:00:24,689 --> 01:00:27,392
events, and none of the other members of
1565
01:00:27,392 --> 01:00:29,419
*NSYNC have ever offered their own
1566
01:00:29,419 --> 01:00:32,383
versions of events. So based
1567
01:00:32,383 --> 01:00:35,079
on the way Lance described it, the
1568
01:00:35,079 --> 01:00:37,391
conversation didn't happen as a group
1569
01:00:37,391 --> 01:00:39,702
discussion, it happened in pieces. And
1570
01:00:39,702 --> 01:00:41,628
this fragmented structure is important
1571
01:00:41,628 --> 01:00:43,939
because *NSYNC wasn't an after school
1572
01:00:43,939 --> 01:00:46,635
hobby or some kind of casual creative
1573
01:00:46,635 --> 01:00:48,561
project. They were an internationally
1574
01:00:48,561 --> 01:00:50,487
successful group generating millions of
1575
01:00:50,487 --> 01:00:53,341
dollars in revenue. In any organization
1576
01:00:53,341 --> 01:00:55,798
that operates at that scale, major
1577
01:00:55,798 --> 01:00:57,846
developments, especially ones that could
1578
01:00:57,846 --> 01:00:59,893
affect the business's future, are
1579
01:00:59,893 --> 01:01:01,941
generally expected to be communicated
1580
01:01:01,941 --> 01:01:04,807
openly and with all of the important
1581
01:01:04,807 --> 01:01:06,854
stakeholders receiving the information at
1582
01:01:06,854 --> 01:01:09,755
the same time. That doesn't
1583
01:01:09,755 --> 01:01:12,003
seem to have happened here. Instead, some
1584
01:01:12,003 --> 01:01:13,608
members received the news privately
1585
01:01:13,608 --> 01:01:15,534
without knowing whether the others had
1586
01:01:15,534 --> 01:01:18,103
heard the same thing or how they had
1587
01:01:18,103 --> 01:01:19,708
responded. Information delivered this way
1588
01:01:19,708 --> 01:01:21,956
prevented the group from forming a shared
1589
01:01:21,956 --> 01:01:23,882
understanding of what was being proposed,
1590
01:01:23,882 --> 01:01:25,809
and also from responding collectively to
1591
01:01:25,809 --> 01:01:28,378
a decision that would affect all of them.
1592
01:01:28,378 --> 01:01:30,431
The timing of this conversation. Matters
1593
01:01:30,431 --> 01:01:32,701
too. If Angie's recollection of their
1594
01:01:32,701 --> 01:01:34,593
conversation around the Billboard Music
1595
01:01:34,593 --> 01:01:36,862
Awards is correct, then that means
1596
01:01:36,862 --> 01:01:39,132
Justin's conversation with Lance and Joey
1597
01:01:39,132 --> 01:01:41,780
seems to have taken place roughly 2
1598
01:01:41,780 --> 01:01:44,428
weeks after Justin told her that he
1599
01:01:44,428 --> 01:01:47,077
wanted her on his solo album. The
1600
01:01:47,077 --> 01:01:49,346
2 events aren't directly connected, but
1601
01:01:49,346 --> 01:01:51,538
the sequencing. Showed that it's possible
1602
01:01:51,538 --> 01:01:53,805
that Justin had spoken about a solo
1603
01:01:53,805 --> 01:01:56,072
project with someone outside of the group
1604
01:01:56,072 --> 01:01:58,339
before he ever raised the question with
1605
01:01:58,339 --> 01:02:00,605
the other members of *NSYNC. In Lance's
1606
01:02:00,605 --> 01:02:02,548
memoir, the language that he remembers
1607
01:02:02,548 --> 01:02:05,463
Justin using in the hotel room was a lot
1608
01:02:05,463 --> 01:02:08,053
of hedging the idea that he might fool
1609
01:02:08,053 --> 01:02:10,320
around with a solo album, saying that
1610
01:02:10,320 --> 01:02:13,218
Jive wanted him to try it. And that
1611
01:02:13,218 --> 01:02:15,918
he didn't know if it would be finished
1612
01:02:15,918 --> 01:02:18,618
or if it would ever be released. This
1613
01:02:18,618 --> 01:02:20,981
indirectness is a big contrast to how
1614
01:02:20,981 --> 01:02:23,343
directly he seems to have spoken with
1615
01:02:23,343 --> 01:02:25,368
Angie Stone during the same. The
1616
01:02:25,368 --> 01:02:27,393
difference in tone doesn't prove anything
1617
01:02:27,393 --> 01:02:29,756
by itself, but it does highlight the
1618
01:02:29,756 --> 01:02:31,781
uneven way that information can be
1619
01:02:31,781 --> 01:02:33,806
communicated inside and outside of a
1620
01:02:33,806 --> 01:02:36,541
group. But even with
1621
01:02:36,541 --> 01:02:38,170
those conversations in the background,
1622
01:02:38,170 --> 01:02:40,452
there was still an overall unified push
1623
01:02:40,452 --> 01:02:43,385
for *NSYNC coming up to the end of
1624
01:02:43,385 --> 01:02:45,666
the year. By late December, MTV began
1625
01:02:45,666 --> 01:02:47,947
airing early previews of the music video
1626
01:02:47,947 --> 01:02:50,229
Girlfriend, and that was the last single
1627
01:02:50,229 --> 01:02:52,510
of the celebrity era. The public timeline
1628
01:02:52,510 --> 01:02:54,791
for the group continued forward, but the
1629
01:02:54,791 --> 01:02:56,923
internal timeline. Is already starting to
1630
01:02:56,923 --> 01:02:59,038
shift. The group entered the year
1631
01:02:59,038 --> 01:03:01,153
promoting a new single, even as
1632
01:03:01,153 --> 01:03:03,268
discussions that would define 2002 were
1633
01:03:03,268 --> 01:03:05,995
already underway. Justin
1634
01:03:05,995 --> 01:03:07,955
Timberlake's 2001 was defined by
1635
01:03:07,955 --> 01:03:09,522
increasing visibility and creative
1636
01:03:09,522 --> 01:03:12,265
centrality within *NSYNC. He started the
1637
01:03:12,265 --> 01:03:14,617
year focused on the group's recording
1638
01:03:14,617 --> 01:03:16,576
schedule and early promotional work,
1639
01:03:16,576 --> 01:03:18,927
appearing regularly in pressed tied to
1640
01:03:18,927 --> 01:03:21,279
the upcoming Pop Odyssey tour. Throughout
1641
01:03:21,279 --> 01:03:24,022
the spring and summer, Justin remained at
1642
01:03:24,022 --> 01:03:25,981
the forefront of the group's
1643
01:03:25,981 --> 01:03:27,500
performances. And media presence,
1644
01:03:27,500 --> 01:03:29,228
appearing in multiple interviews and
1645
01:03:29,228 --> 01:03:31,301
features that highlighted his role within
1646
01:03:31,301 --> 01:03:34,066
the group. By the fall, the release of
1647
01:03:34,066 --> 01:03:36,485
Galen placed him even more prominently in
1648
01:03:36,485 --> 01:03:38,558
the group's musical output, with the
1649
01:03:38,558 --> 01:03:39,941
songs, arrangement and promotion
1650
01:03:39,941 --> 01:03:42,014
centering his voice and his performance.
1651
01:03:42,014 --> 01:03:44,779
He continued to appear in both group and
1652
01:03:44,779 --> 01:03:47,198
solo press throughout the end of the
1653
01:03:47,198 --> 01:03:49,544
year. Including award shows, televised
1654
01:03:49,544 --> 01:03:51,820
performances and year end features,
1655
01:03:51,820 --> 01:03:54,552
December closed with the Billboard Music
1656
01:03:54,552 --> 01:03:57,283
Awards, a holiday special and a
1657
01:03:57,283 --> 01:03:59,559
group conversation that proceeded
1658
01:03:59,559 --> 01:04:02,291
*NSYNC's extended break in 2002. Overall,
1659
01:04:02,291 --> 01:04:05,022
just since 2001, ARC was marked
1660
01:04:05,022 --> 01:04:07,298
by consistent public visibility, a
1661
01:04:07,298 --> 01:04:09,147
growing. Creative presence within the
1662
01:04:09,147 --> 01:04:10,802
group's work and the yearlong
1663
01:04:10,802 --> 01:04:13,119
acceleration of his role as *NSYNC's
1664
01:04:13,119 --> 01:04:14,774
primary vocal and promotional focus.
1665
01:04:17,524 --> 01:04:20,297
So what can be said about Justin's
1666
01:04:20,297 --> 01:04:23,269
2001?Well, I think there are 4
1667
01:04:23,269 --> 01:04:25,690
takeaways. I think the first take away is
1668
01:04:25,690 --> 01:04:27,506
that Justin had fewer external projects
1669
01:04:27,506 --> 01:04:29,927
than most of the group, but his creative
1670
01:04:29,927 --> 01:04:31,440
visibility inside *NSYNC remained the
1671
01:04:31,440 --> 01:04:34,163
highest. I won't get into all of the Ins
1672
01:04:34,163 --> 01:04:36,584
and outs of the other side projects that
1673
01:04:36,584 --> 01:04:39,308
most of the rest of the group was doing
1674
01:04:39,308 --> 01:04:42,143
over the course of the year. I get
1675
01:04:42,143 --> 01:04:44,698
into those things in each of their
1676
01:04:44,698 --> 01:04:46,887
biographical episodes. But even as the
1677
01:04:46,887 --> 01:04:48,712
other members pursued acting, production,
1678
01:04:48,712 --> 01:04:50,901
business ventures, or even some writing
1679
01:04:50,901 --> 01:04:53,091
and producing for other groups, Justin
1680
01:04:53,091 --> 01:04:55,645
continued to be the vocal and narrative
1681
01:04:55,645 --> 01:04:57,835
center of *NSYNC's work. This was
1682
01:04:57,835 --> 01:05:00,024
something that was largely cemented by
1683
01:05:00,024 --> 01:05:02,948
the songs that he Co wrote. The celebrity
1684
01:05:02,948 --> 01:05:04,942
album, particularly the songs that ended
1685
01:05:04,942 --> 01:05:06,604
up being chosen as singles.
1686
01:05:07,994 --> 01:05:10,533
The second take away is that Justin's
1687
01:05:10,533 --> 01:05:11,984
individual visibility expanded throughout
1688
01:05:11,984 --> 01:05:14,887
2001 in ways that were distinct from the
1689
01:05:14,887 --> 01:05:17,789
rest of the group. All five members of
1690
01:05:17,789 --> 01:05:19,966
*NSYNC had side projects at different
1691
01:05:19,966 --> 01:05:22,868
points in the year, but most of those
1692
01:05:22,868 --> 01:05:25,770
still tied them back to the group even
1693
01:05:25,770 --> 01:05:28,310
when they or their projects were the
1694
01:05:28,310 --> 01:05:31,268
focus of different media pieces. Over the
1695
01:05:31,268 --> 01:05:33,909
course of the year, Justin started to
1696
01:05:33,909 --> 01:05:35,795
have solo magazine covers, solo
1697
01:05:35,795 --> 01:05:37,304
interviews, and solo branding
1698
01:05:37,304 --> 01:05:38,812
opportunities that increasingly framed
1699
01:05:38,812 --> 01:05:41,453
him as a standalone figure, despite the
1700
01:05:41,453 --> 01:05:44,093
fact that his biggest project of the
1701
01:05:44,093 --> 01:05:46,357
year was technically *NSYNC's celebrity
1702
01:05:46,357 --> 01:05:49,214
album. The
1703
01:05:49,214 --> 01:05:52,019
third take away is that Gone marked
1704
01:05:52,019 --> 01:05:54,823
a structurally just and forward moment in
1705
01:05:54,823 --> 01:05:57,627
the group's catalog and created a new
1706
01:05:57,627 --> 01:06:00,431
level of exposure for him. The songs
1707
01:06:00,431 --> 01:06:02,434
arrangement, the performances and the
1708
01:06:02,434 --> 01:06:04,838
promotional framing centered Justin in a
1709
01:06:04,838 --> 01:06:07,642
way that had differed from any of
1710
01:06:07,642 --> 01:06:10,109
the group's earlier. Singles When Gone
1711
01:06:10,109 --> 01:06:12,150
was released internationally, the CD
1712
01:06:12,150 --> 01:06:14,599
single came out in multiple versions.
1713
01:06:14,599 --> 01:06:17,048
Most international CD singles for Gone
1714
01:06:17,048 --> 01:06:19,497
included at least one additional track
1715
01:06:19,497 --> 01:06:22,355
that Justin Co wrote. Whether that was
1716
01:06:22,355 --> 01:06:25,212
another remix of Gone or a remix
1717
01:06:25,212 --> 01:06:28,069
of Pop, or even that bonus track,
1718
01:06:28,069 --> 01:06:30,972
I'll be good. For You, which as
1719
01:06:30,972 --> 01:06:33,370
I mentioned was a previously unreleased
1720
01:06:33,370 --> 01:06:36,168
song from No Strings Attached. There was
1721
01:06:36,168 --> 01:06:38,965
1 documented European variant of the Gone
1722
01:06:38,965 --> 01:06:41,763
single that included The Game Is Over
1723
01:06:41,763 --> 01:06:44,560
as the bonus track, but the overall
1724
01:06:44,560 --> 01:06:47,357
pattern still holds. Justin was the only
1725
01:06:47,357 --> 01:06:48,956
member who consistently received
1726
01:06:48,956 --> 01:06:51,500
publishing income from that single. And
1727
01:06:51,500 --> 01:06:53,454
that gave him a unique commercial
1728
01:06:53,454 --> 01:06:55,734
advantage with that single that none of
1729
01:06:55,734 --> 01:06:58,666
the rest of the *NSYNC had at that time.
1730
01:06:58,666 --> 01:07:00,946
As an additional note, Justin later said
1731
01:07:00,946 --> 01:07:03,552
that Gone was the first time he had
1732
01:07:03,552 --> 01:07:05,181
seriously considered going solo, claiming
1733
01:07:05,181 --> 01:07:07,787
that he originally wrote the song as a
1734
01:07:07,787 --> 01:07:09,741
duet for himself and Michael Jackson.
1735
01:07:09,741 --> 01:07:12,671
When I say later. I mean, over a
1736
01:07:12,671 --> 01:07:15,664
decade later. He did not share this story
1737
01:07:15,664 --> 01:07:17,534
publicly until after Michael Jackson's
1738
01:07:17,534 --> 01:07:20,528
death, and no one else confirmed it or
1739
01:07:20,528 --> 01:07:22,772
contradicted it because it couldn't be
1740
01:07:22,772 --> 01:07:24,643
independently verified. It didn't clarify
1741
01:07:24,643 --> 01:07:27,636
what he was thinking at the time in
1742
01:07:27,636 --> 01:07:30,629
2001, but it does show how he later
1743
01:07:30,629 --> 01:07:32,874
reframed the significance of that song.
1744
01:07:33,394 --> 01:07:36,012
The last take away from this episode is
1745
01:07:36,012 --> 01:07:38,629
that Justin was the only member for whom
1746
01:07:38,629 --> 01:07:40,592
external collaborators hinted at a solo
1747
01:07:40,592 --> 01:07:43,210
future. And in one case it wasn't just
1748
01:07:43,210 --> 01:07:45,827
hinting, it seems that there was a direct
1749
01:07:45,827 --> 01:07:48,714
discussion. Most
1750
01:07:48,714 --> 01:07:51,416
of the group had worked with
1751
01:07:51,416 --> 01:07:53,217
actors, writers, producers, business
1752
01:07:53,217 --> 01:07:55,468
partners, songwriters, basically a wide
1753
01:07:55,468 --> 01:07:58,169
variety of creatives outside of
1754
01:07:58,169 --> 01:08:00,870
*NSYNC throughout the course of 2001.
1755
01:08:00,870 --> 01:08:03,572
But based on my research, none
1756
01:08:03,572 --> 01:08:05,823
of those collaborators made comments
1757
01:08:05,823 --> 01:08:08,524
suggesting that they were poised for
1758
01:08:08,524 --> 01:08:11,115
solo. Careers in contrast to that, you
1759
01:08:11,115 --> 01:08:12,832
have Pharrell Williams telling Rolling
1760
01:08:12,832 --> 01:08:15,236
Stone that Justin would show how soulful
1761
01:08:15,236 --> 01:08:17,984
he was when it was time for him
1762
01:08:17,984 --> 01:08:20,732
to do his solo. You also had Wayne
1763
01:08:20,732 --> 01:08:23,479
Brady endorsing him to TV Guide as the
1764
01:08:23,479 --> 01:08:26,227
one to watch when this *NSYNC thing
1765
01:08:26,227 --> 01:08:28,974
is over. And then in December you have.
1766
01:08:29,064 --> 01:08:31,445
Angie Stone, who later recalled that
1767
01:08:31,445 --> 01:08:33,429
Justin approached her directly about
1768
01:08:33,429 --> 01:08:36,207
being on his solo project. Like I
1769
01:08:36,207 --> 01:08:38,191
said, her interview wasn't published
1770
01:08:38,191 --> 01:08:40,571
until January, but the conversation she
1771
01:08:40,571 --> 01:08:42,952
described likely took place during the
1772
01:08:42,952 --> 01:08:45,730
2001 calendar year, which would mean that
1773
01:08:45,730 --> 01:08:48,110
Justin was soliciting features roughly 2
1774
01:08:48,110 --> 01:08:50,094
weeks before the private conversation.
1775
01:08:50,164 --> 01:08:52,455
Lance remembered in his memoir The
1776
01:08:52,455 --> 01:08:54,363
Conversation when Justin proposed an
1777
01:08:54,363 --> 01:08:56,272
extended break and announced his
1778
01:08:56,272 --> 01:08:58,944
intention to make a solo album. No
1779
01:08:58,944 --> 01:09:00,852
comparable comments or conversations seem
1780
01:09:00,852 --> 01:09:03,524
to exist for the other four members
1781
01:09:03,524 --> 01:09:06,196
of *NSYNC. So that's where we're going
1782
01:09:06,196 --> 01:09:08,868
to leave Justin Timberlake for 2001. The
1783
01:09:08,868 --> 01:09:11,568
next episode is our. Final episode of
1784
01:09:11,568 --> 01:09:14,510
this season, and it's a look at a
1785
01:09:14,510 --> 01:09:16,349
retrospective article from ATT Canada
1786
01:09:16,349 --> 01:09:18,556
that offers one possible explanation for
1787
01:09:18,556 --> 01:09:21,130
what may have sparked *NSYNC's breakup.
1788
01:09:21,130 --> 01:09:23,705
We'll compare that narrative to what 2001
1789
01:09:23,705 --> 01:09:26,279
has actually shown us. Until next time,
1790
01:09:26,279 --> 01:09:28,853
this has been Nicole Raposo. Thanks for
1791
01:09:28,853 --> 01:09:31,745
joining me and remember. You can't spell
1792
01:09:31,745 --> 01:09:32,885
'unsynchronized' without 'nsync'.
1793
01:09:34,535 --> 01:09:37,476
(Drum 'n Bass beatboxing noises)
1794
01:09:37,476 --> 01:09:40,417
(Drum 'n Bass beatboxing noises)
1795
01:09:40,417 --> 01:09:43,358
(Drum 'n Bass beatboxing noises)
1796
01:09:43,358 --> 01:09:46,299
(Drum 'n Bass beatboxing noises)
1797
01:09:46,299 --> 01:09:47,035
(Drum 'n Bass beatboxing noises)