womanfish - just for you

[anitram]

Finally the critics are picking up on the NSync tour being bombastic and too big. I knew you'd be happy to see that:

'N Sync's 15 minutes of fame is about to 'Pop'

STRINGS ATTACHED: The boy band's Rose Bowl spectacle marks the point of no return.

By Mark Wyckoff, Staff writer

PASADENA -- Were the "Behind the Music" cameras rolling Tuesday night at the Rose Bowl? Let's hope so, because they would have captured a seminal moment in 'N Sync history: the beginning of the end.
Whether it's the end of the band itself, or simply the end of a remarkably successful chapter in the group's history, remains to be seen. But there's no question about this: The bloated, multimedia spectacle of the boy band's new "Pop Odyssey" tour, and its equally garish soundtrack, the just-released "Celebrity" album, mark the point of no return.

If the guys -- Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, Chris Kirkpatrick, Lance Bass and Joey Fatone -- don't implode from the sheer pressure they're under to tour and record, they're very soon going to be forced to step back from the madness, reevaluate their music and image, and scale it all back to a level that will connect themselves once again to the audience on a human level.

Yes, the 50,000 screaming fans in the Rose Bowl were knocked out by the show. Some even started to cry when their parents made them leave early, before the group closed the show with its biggest hit, "Bye Bye Bye." But lost amid the screams, the towering steel stage and the piercing laser lights were the band members themselves.

They were so busy dancing, so busy trying to make costume changes, that they had little opportunity to show any real personality or charisma. Sure they looked cute, but so does a two-dimensional Tiger Beat pinup. And the Tiger Beat pinup, history tells us, does not have a long shelf life.

Nor do they call their own shots. Despite the band's declaration last year that they had "No Strings Attached," this new tour still finds them playing the role of puppets. What else could explain the embarrassing array of stunts band members are forced to perform during the "Pop Odyssey" evening?

Over the course of 90 minutes, they bounced on huge rubber balls, sang to a stuffed dog, Velcroed themselves to a wall and humped silly-looking mechanical bulls. It was like a warped musical Romper Room. What credibility-craving pop star would do any of that on his (or her) own?

Rarely did the music matter. But when it did, it came as a refreshing change of pace. The group's new single, "Pop," blasted out of the speakers with considerable force, and the well-known hook of "Bye Bye Bye" proved hard to resist.

The band came across most heartfelt when it was singing such ballads as "God Must Have Spent a Little More Time on You" and the new "Gone." Still, even on the slow songs, the group's over-processed vocals quickly started to wear thin.

Even more irritating was the group's callous insistence that fans not take handmade banners and posters into the venue, ostensibly for the "safety and enjoyment of 'N Sync and all their fans and friends." Instead, fans had to dump their creations into cardboard trash bins.

Although bright yellow signs pasted on the bins promised that "all gifts, banners and signs" would be "brought to the 'N Sync dressing room prior to the show," many of the bins were still overflowing with fans' handiwork after the concert ended.

That 'N Sync has already survived so long in the fickle teen marketplace is a remarkable achievement. But how they handle the fall that will inevitably follow "Pop Odyssey" will be the true test of their staying power.

Stay tuned.

-- Mark Wyckoff's e-mail address is mwyckoff@insidevc.com.

 

[Cathy]

Over the course of 90 minutes, they bounced on huge rubber balls, sang to a stuffed dog, Velcroed themselves to a wall and humped silly-looking mechanical bulls. It was like a warped musical Romper Room. What credibility-craving pop star would do any of that on his (or her) own?

Exactly. That is absolutely incredible and I can't wait to see their explanation for all this in a Behind the Music special 10 years from now. How mortifying for them but they're the money-hungry morons that are doing it to themselves.

Even more irritating was the group's callous insistence that fans not take handmade banners and posters into the venue, ostensibly for the "safety and enjoyment of 'N Sync and all their fans and friends." Instead, fans had to dump their creations into cardboard trash bins.Although bright yellow signs pasted on the bins promised that "all gifts, banners and signs" would be "brought to the 'N Sync dressing room prior to the show," many of the bins were still overflowing with fans' handiwork after the concert ended.

What jerks!!! I can't imagine how they're gonna keep their little girl fans that worked so hard on making those posters if they pull stunts like that.

That 'N Sync has already survived so long in the fickle teen marketplace is a remarkable achievement. But how they handle the fall that will inevitably follow "Pop Odyssey" will be the true test of their staying power.Stay tuned.

yes, it will be quite interesting to see how they hold up after this tour. Nice article.



[This message has been edited by Cathy (edited 08-15-2001).]

 

[womanfish]

thanks anitram!

while one scathing review might not bring it all crumbling down, it is a start. People are actually taking a critical look at this bullshit.

'Nsync has now sold 2.6 million copies in 3 weeks. I am expecting about a 35% decrease this coming week which means sales of around 150,000 copies. They will need to sell an average of 50,000 a week for the next 30 weeks (7 and a half months) for them to actually sell the amount of albums that have been shipped to the stores. My guess is they won't make it.

 

[anitram]

It's a start.

It's all tumbling down for them. Sit back, grab some popcorn and watch.

 

[u2popmofo]

I agree, even people I know who used to be fans of this basic N'synch type pop genera that I know seem to be sick of it too.

This reminds me, I sat there and listened to a girl I know talk about how she went to a Mandy Moore concert and got to meet her etc. I almost threw up at her horrible taste in music. The only redeeming thing about hearing her talk about it was the fact that she sounded like a complete idiot. Even the other people who were with us that like that kind of music were just like, ok, wow you met Mandy Moore, great..... No one could have cared less.

 

[Innocent Eyes]

Do you mean to tell me that they have a song called Gone and they are so ripping off U2 with that Pop crap? The U2 song Gone is the best off of Pop. If I see Justin Timberlake with a shaved head and yellow shades ala Bono again, I am gonna scream!!!!!!