Here`s a test. Recite these names to your average teenage female; Joey Fatone, Justin Timberlake, J.C. Chasez, Chris Kirkpatrick and Lansten Bass. Wait for the reaction. It`ll either be a blood curdling yell or a rapid approximation of a dead faint.
Ha! It`s not too bad being a member of the latest boy band N`Sync. You have teenage girls swooning over you, make millions, look good, wear designer clothes, dance well, drive around in funky little cars for your videos, croon with divas like Gloria Estefan and Celine Dion. Pretty good going for a young quintet of wannabe music stars.
Life hasn`t always been this hunky dory, though. After their debut album, N`Sync was at loggerheads with their recording company over issues of royalty and creative control. The songs from this album were recorded during this tumultuous period. In fact, none of the members was even sure these songs would see the light of day. Luckily it has, and we can all be grateful for a more mature, sophomoric effort.
`No Strings Attached` makes a conscious attempt to move away from the cookie-cutter boy band formula. Of course, there`s the mandatory peppy number ( `Bye, Bye, Bye`), the dance party number (`Space Cowboy` and `No Strings Attached`), the ballad with the syrupy `I -loved- you- and- lost -you` lyrics (`That`s When I`ll Stop Loving You` and `This I Promise You`). But, it`s a fairly good stuff.
Rating: A far more mature, sophomoric effort. One still has to admit though, that as far as boy bands go, `Backstreet Boys` rule.
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