N Sync, Las Vegas Sun, April 16, 1999

‘N Synchronized Lisa Ferguson Friday, April 16, 1999 | 9:54 a.m. Do you really want to know what it's like to be one of the biggest pop stars on the planet? Are you sure you want to hear about how screaming teenage girls tear the clothes off his back? Do you honestly care which toppings he likes on his pizza? Whether he prefers boxers or briefs? Which one is his favorite Spice Girl? We thought not. So, when the Sun chatted recently with Chris Kirkpatrick, the braided-haired founder of the teen-scream pop band du jour, 'N Sync, we decided to go a slightly different -- and, we think, more interesting -- route with our line of questioning. But first, a bit of background on the all-boy group, which performs Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden, a stop on its massive, sold-out "Ain't No Stopping Us Now" stadium tour, which began in March and doesn't wrap up until September. The name: 'N Sync is an acronym for (now, follow closely here) the last letter of the first names of the bandmates: JustiN Timberlake, 17; ChriS Kirkpatrick, 27; JoeY Fatone, 22; LansteN (the nickname of Lance) Bass, 18; and JC (real name Joshua Chasez), 23. The quintet, based in Orlando, Fla., took shape in the mid-'90s. It's composed of a couple of former "Mickey Mouse Club" show members (Timberlake and Chasez), who met Kirkpatrick while he was singing at one of the area's non-Disney theme parks, Universal Studios. "I used to sing with a '50s doo-wop group called the Hollywood High Tones," Kirkpatrick, a Pennsylvania native, is quoted as saying in the recently published unauthorized biography "'N Sync," by Anna Louise Golden (St. Martin's Press, $4.99). The quartet, he recalls, sang a capella outside a restaurant there. Eventually, connections were made with New York-born Fatone, who also worked at Universal Studios, on the park's studio back lot tour, and Mississippi-bred Bass, who was recommended to the group by Timberlake's vocal coach. Thus, teen heartthrobs -- pretty faces, squeaky clean images, coordinating outfits, hip-hop dance moves and all -- were born. Almost. After signing with a German record label, the boys spent two years touring Europe (where another Orlando-based teeny-bopper group, the Backstreet Boys, had previously hit it big), Mexico, South Africa and Asia. The tunes "Tearin' Up My Heart" and "I Want You Back" quickly became hits. Those songs also won over American audiences when the group made its debut stateside last year with its self-titled disc. It was followed by the band's holiday offering, "Home for Christmas," which sold in excess of seven million copies. More recent chart-toppers include the songs "(God Must Have Spent) a Little More Time on You" and "I Drive Myself Crazy," the video for which is currently in rotation on MTV. A third album is due out this fall. 'N Sync, which last performed in Las Vegas in January, spent time on the road last fall with songstress Janet Jackson before embarking on its current tour. As the group's popularity has grown, so have rumors (likely fueled by its teenage fans): Is there a rivalry between 'N Sync and the Backstreet Boys? Which one of the guys is ga-ga over current teen pop queen Britney Spears? But we didn't want to waste the precious 10 minutes we were allotted on the phone with Kirkpatrick (the proclaimed funnyman of the quintet) pressing him for such asinine information. (Besides, we figured, he's probably sick of answering those kinds of questions, anyway.) Luckily, Kirkpatrick -- who, according to the Golden biography, earned an Associate of Arts degree at Valencia College in Dayton, Pa., and later abandoned his studies at Rollins College in Florida -- was up for some fun: Question: What was the most pointless course you took in college? Answer: Oh, I took a stagecraft class on how to build a stage. Q: Why was that so lame? A: It told me how to build, like, the (stage's) trim ... and I really wasn't interested in it. I was just trying to get into the music and theater business any way I could. Q: Not a handyman, huh? A: Nope. Q: What grade did you get? A: I think I got an A. I got really good grades in college. Q: Where do you think ('80s teen band) New Kids on the Block went wrong? A: Changing their name to NKOTB and making an album called "Dirty Dog," because it just wasn't them. Even when I see them today, they just don't look like dirty dogs to me. (Former New Kids frontman Jordan Knight tours with 'NSync this summer.) Q: Who would win in a rumble, 'N Sync or The Backstreet Boys? A: Ummmm, I don't know. I mean, it's one of those things where I don't think we'd waste out time fightin' 'em, because we've really got other things to worry about. Q: Well, you could do the "West Side Story" thing. You guys are all dancers, right? A: Right. Q: Of all the matching outfits you wear, which one is your favorite? A: Of our matching outfits? The zoot suits because they were really sharp-looking. We had black and red ones. Justin and I wore red and the other three wore black. They looked really tight. Q: Does it ever creep you out that you face is hanging (on posters) in the bedrooms of countless preteen girls? A: Oh, yeah. I was thinking about that the other day. "I wonder how many (pictures) of my nappy head (are) all over?" I'm obviously the best one (of the group members) to ask that to because I'm not in this to be a teen star. I don't look like a teen star. I don't understand why I'd be on people's walls. To think about it just freaks me out. Q: If you were the president of NATO, what would you be doing about the Kosovo crisis? A: You know, that's a really good question because if we (the United States) keep bombing all these places and getting all these other countries ticked off at us, it's gonna create some kind of major war and they're all gonna get together (and retaliate). But as for that, I mean they (Kosovo) have treated their people pretty badly and I think they need to get their act together. But that's why I'm not the president of NATO, 'cause I'm so indecisive. I'd be like, "Look ... OK, wait ... No ... OK, never mind." Q: Have you given any thought as to what you're going to say in your Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame induction acceptance speech many years from now? A: Uh, "I can't believe we're here." Q: You're a big football fan. Who would you like to see in the Super Bowl next season? A: Who'd I like to see every season, the (Pittsburgh) Steelers. Q: Where are you going to be spending New Year's Eve? A: We will be doing, in the course of a week, I think five shows in Hawaii. Q: Where do you want to go from here? Obviously you're looking past the 15 minutes of fame. A: I know we'll still be hopefully writing and arranging (music). You know, maybe it will be for the next big group, or maybe it will be something completely different, you know. But we enjoy music, we enjoy writing, we enjoy performing. Q: Did you understand the Hanson phenomenon? A: They're actually really talented kids. It's amazing they got built up as big as they did and then just nothing happened (with their career). But they really were talented and they're actually really nice guys. Q: What was it like opening for Janet Jackson? A: Ohhhh! Q: What lesson did you learn from her, someone who has been in the business her entire life? A: The lesson we learned from her was peek your head out of your dressing room door as much as you can 'cause you will get a glimpse of her. Q: Was that the object of the game on that tour? A: We were just Janet-watching the whole time. "I saw her! I saw her! She said 'Hi' to me today. She shook my hand and gave me a kiss." "Oh, yeah? Cool."