So as you all know, I have been on Tiktok for a year. People slightly older than me always ask me why I like Tiktok and they always seem perplexed when I say that I use it to learn about the world around me. I have had to explain that there is a lot of information at my finger tips. Many of the reviews I have put up in the past have come from books that were recommended from Booktok. Many of the diverse books I got from Booktok.
Being in a new city can be overwhelming for some people. What is fun… is that Tiktok has many recommendations for what to do or what is happening in the city near you. So I use Tiktok a lot to help navigate the world around me. I can see when the football and hockey season is supposed to start and when I should be ready to by tickets. Other times, you hear the rumors about things you need in life. One such rumor that was initially fueled by Lance B.
So there started being a push to bring boy bands back together. It got me to thinking when my love of NSYNC started. So come… take a leap back in the past with me. (Cue the harp music.) I was 12 at the time and my days usually consisted of heading to school and coming home. There was playing outside and watching tv. My mother heavily regulated what I watched and what I listened to was normally what my parents played around the house. However, that would soon change… much to my father’s chagrin. Oh well.
I remember sitting and watching the Disney afternoon block… (Ducktales, Darkwing Duck, Talespin… etc.) I want to meet the genius that decided to do the marketing this way… because the older I get I realize that this is genius. But in between shows, instead of running commercials, they would play the US version of the I Want You Back video….
The kicker is there was no information about the group, an album… In my mind at the time, this was just a music video that played and I would go back to my shows. I was intrigued but there was nothing to go on… There was no google. (That would be another 3-4 years… and even longer before everyone had a home computer on the internet…. and longer before I could get on without adult supervision.) So eventually I had gotten to the point where I wanted to see the video again and see if anyone I knew could tell me who these guys are.
But lucky for me… I did not have to wait that long. Disney had a marketing plan… because shortly after I started seeing the commercials for the Disney Channel concert. For the longest time though… I thought this was a group that Disney put together. Boy was I wrong. Looking at this now… I remember exactly where I was when I saw this for the first time. It is so weird to me now that this was so long ago. It was like another lifetime ago. Good times.
So needless to say…. I knew what I was doing that saturday. I remember my mom coming in the living room as I was hoping around and asking me what I had changed the channel to… But I told her it was on the Disney channel and she did not argue. From that moment on… my style and personality was set. You could not tell me anything. I knew that I was going to marry the boy with the platinum blonde hair and the one hoop earring… and I wanted to know where I could get those camoflage overalls that Chris is wearing. I am older now and I learned that the original plan was for the Backstreet Boys to do that concert… but they bowed out at the lsat moment… and their manager Johnny Wright said… I have another group that can do it. Things always happen for a reason… But I often wonder now… if and when NSYNC would have gotten on the map.
It was a good time to be in school… because there was a war.. You had to be on the right side… There was a whole us vs them vibe. From that point on NSYNC was everywhere… Magazines, Shows, everywhere. I lived during the TRL era. I raced home to watch them and their videos perform. I spent many a month recycling posters because new one kept coming out with in Tiger Beat, J14, Bop and Teen Beat. I never missed an interview or performance.
So given all the hype around the first album… which I had to wait until much later to buy. I remember saving the $2 I got for school lunch to buy the No Strings Attached album. SN: My mother was no happy that I was not eating lunch and instead spend that money on what she would say is frivolous. That 2nd album… I wore out. I was super annoyed that we did not have money for me to go to a concert. I was not at all surprised that it broke records. They sold 2.41 million copies their first week with 1.1 million being sold on the first day out which was more than double the sales of any album in music history. (The prior record holders were the Backstreet Boys at 1.13 million.) This was a record that was maintained for 15 years until Adele’s “25” album dethroned them in 2015. On some level, I would say that had a lot to do with TRL and the fact that we had say in what we wanted to see. SN: Chris K said in an interview that they invited Carson D to their Star ceremony because he was such a large part of their career. I can see it. I will never forget them on 106th and Park either. What a time to be alive.
My parents weren’t the type to pay for HBO so there was no way I going to be able to see the concert live in Madison Square Garden. I managed to have a friend tape it so I could see it. There were no streaming services…. My dad was not fond of the fact that I was wearing out his VCR for this tape over and over. I had the steps down and no one could tell me nothing. I couldn’t wait to see how they would perform some of my favorite songs. And they did not disappoint. I still know everything about concert. I often watch it because it makes me feel like a kid again. Good times. SN: My dad was not pleased to see that for my birthday… I got the concert on DVD. I watched it the other night for a shot of nostalgia… And good to know that it still works. Watching now… It was a packed 90 minute show (and special for the people at home.) There was a lot of dancing and singing. People got their money’s worth.
I was heartbroken when the 3rd album came out and then that was really it. I think their sound had evolved but it also seemed that at the time they were interested in doing other things. But that album was great. Still to this day, I listen to many of those tracks still. I knew this one had an effect because most of the guys I went to high school with knew a lot of the tracks on this album. (Maybe they were looking to win girlfriends but I contend that they secretly loved it.) I knew we were at the end when both “Gone” and “Girlfriend” came out. Especially the remix to “Girlfriend with Nelly.” Their PopOdyssey tour was also a fun one to watch. There is nothing in my mind that will dethrone the No Strings attached tour but this one was pretty great as well.
So enough about my obsessive childhood. I was like 18 before I realized that I am probably not going to marry any of them because they do not know me and we would probably never be in the same place anyway. I have to tell people there is a lot of knowledge on Tiktok. Rumors persist and there are real detectives out there. To those people, I I salute them. I think my favorite thing has become meeting people how remember the same things as me… new people that I can share my love of all things NSYNC with. I think over the years I have beaten my family over the head with it for years. Lance is the trolliest of trolls in the best way. His Tiktoks are too much fun. And never confirms or denies anything…. It is chaos at its finest. I do have questions about how he ranked some of their singles…. but it is a fun time. (Only fun if you forget how much time has passed since I was 12.)
I knew that Justin was the voicing a character in the trolls movies. I follow all the guys on Instagram and he made several posts boasting the movies. My niece loves them and I have seen bits and pieces of the movie and I can’t help but laugh. The movies were pretty funny. But I didn’t think much about it. My brother told me he was great in the Hulu special with Jessica Biel in Candy. (That story is crazy, saw it on a 20/20… and I was blown away.) Most people forget that he didn’t run to acting… It was always something he dabbled in. So it makes sense. (I keep having to tell people that acting is something JT has always done. Nothing new here.)
What I wasn’t prepared for…. was the basis for the new trolls movie… I had seen many people on the socials talking about a possibly reunion tour or residency in the future and I had no idea what sparked it. An offhand comment from AJ or Lance didn’t seem like enough to do that but what did I know. (My generation has a thirst for nostalgia because the real world sucks now.) I found that JC was coming out in public and doing public things… (That awful meow mix commercial featuring a cat boyband for one.) Then Justin posted videos of him and the guys in the studio. And people have been going wild ever since. Turns out that the new Trolls movie is apparently about Branch (Justin’s character) reuniting with guys from a band he used to be in back in the day. There is a new song and people clamoring all over to hear about a reunion tour. This would be a great way to capitalize on us millennials actually having money and wanting to relive that young life we used to have. I see that the manager for the group and the planners are getting back together. There is a theory that they will be doing the Super Bowl which I find to be a fun idea… But I am hoping that we get a tour or a residency because I was the only one in school that has never been to a NSYNC concert. I would love another opportunity to see the guys live. I have seen Justin in concert with Jay-Z and it was definitely one of the best concerts I have been to and I would love to be able to share it with my sister.
I also enjoy seeing the guys together. They really are friends and enjoy each other. One creator on Tiktok talked about it in her video saying they are all happy and healthy, still being praised for their work, and many people are not which I would have to say is true. They are making jokes and hanging out… I need this to happen. Preferably while I still have money. I think they still have the moves… And I can’t wait to see it. Boybands are timeless and I am loving that more guys are talking about how much they have loved NSYNC. The proposed idea that NSYNC and BSB going on tour together almost broke the internet. Them not doing it would be crazy. Chris did an interview where he stated he was talking to JC and wondering if people still loved them… (Do they watch the social media that they joined?) People response at the VMA’s is indicative. We need this…. WE NEED THIS. There is a rumor that there will be Superbowl performance….while that is cool and a way to test the waters it is not where most of the fans lie…. We really want a tour. I want to satisfy 12 year old me and make a sign and all that.
SN: I have always loved the guys… and I have followed JT through his career. But what I have noticed is a dramatic switch from women from loving JT to claiming they have always loved JC. Weird. I am not here to defend the actions of JT but the idea that he is only on Tiktok to improve his image is odd… since all of the boy band guys are on it. Why would he be any different? It is cool that Nick Carter is on it but when JT does it he has an angle? It is also weird listening to people liken him being successful to him being with Britney Spears. (When people say things like this, I often wonder how old people are who say these things. Because they clearly aren’t old enough to remember and are just spouting foolishness.) He already had a career. They were all on the Mickey Mouse club and then he joined NSYNC at 14. (There are people that didn’t know how young Justin was… but they are the ones that have the most to say. They almost make it seem like he wrote the script to the trolls movie so he could capitalize on improving his image…. (Insert Eyeroll…)
It is also strange to listen to people complain about him writing a song about a relationship he was in. He is allowed to talk about his experiences whether people like them or not. Interestingly enough… all kinds of things have come out about Britney’s family and her marriage… None of those things are Justin’s fault. Even if you want it to be. The thing that I find most odd is that writing songs about break ups has always been the Pop/R&B thing and suddenly it is bad if he does it. It is what has made Taylor Swift so popular… but he is not allowed to do it. Weird. I just read the reviews on the book that he put out in 2019… many people were mad that he didn’t say anything about Britney decades after breaking up with her or Cameron Diaz for that matter. But the thing is if he had… you guys would have complained about him trying to capitalize on it like you all always do… but you are also mad that he didn’t say anything. Pick a damn side. Oddly enough, when asked what new song Britney liked at the time… Britney said Suit and Tie. The other thing I have had to comment on when using tiktoks… is the song What Goes Around Comes Around…. which is not about Britney but everyone attributes that to her even though he has said on several occasions that it is not. Maybe it is because I am a creative… I live with a creative… the number of times I have written about a universal experience and people have attributed it to the wrong thing is wild to me. It would blow my mind right now to write something and then someone how doesn’t know me say that it has to do with a guy I was crushing on in high school some 20 years ago. It is even worse when people tell you what the thing you created is about… He has more years in the game dealing with it than me but it is irritating af. (My mother and I have been told that we got different things in our stories from places we’ve never even hear of. Crazy. And honestly… annoying.)
Which brings me to my last point, with all this hatred directed at JT everyone wants to act like they have always love JC… and that may or may not be true but it really just seems like backhanded comments directed at JC. “He should have been the lead singer of NSYNC…” Newsflash.. He was. “He was a bitter singer than Justin….” Even Justin admits that so what is your point? He is the one that called JC about joining the group because Justin has always looked up to JC and has respected his talent. If someone only brought up their love for me as a slight to someone else… It would ring not genuine and I would feel some type of way about it. I often ask people who suddenly claimed to have “always loved JC.” How many of them bought his album when it came out? I am sure you all know the answer. (We all saw his debut video on TRL…. you knew his album was coming out soon… but you didn’t get it. Why?) My favorite is listening to people make up things about Justin for the purposes of hating him and then when they are corrected about it they get more annoyed. (“JT is the reason that their hasn’t been a reunion tour.” Except JC was the holdout… most people have known that for years… Except apparently those who have “always loved him.”)
The other thing that threw me off was the made up beef people projected on the interaction between JT and Meg thee Stallion. More making up shit because people don’t like him… And it really seems like you are not liking him because you all sided with the media as kids… and feel some type of way about how the media treated women now that you are older. I get it but we were all children…. (and so were they.) But the complete 360 to direct hate at another person and pretend to have always loved someone else is crazy to me. Are their things that he has done that aren’t great… Yes, but does that mean everything he does should be subject to ridicule? Not really…. and still being annoyed about things from 20 plus years ago is weird. Especially since he was so young. We have all done stupid stuff as a young person but give me a break. I want a reunion…. I want all 5 guys to be there… If you don’t let those of us that want that to buy tickets first.
Viva la Reunion…. Let us know as quickly as possible. We need to take time off. Let us get this Reunion started. The guys are looking happy and healthy and loving each others company. We need to get a move on what we are wearing to said concerts… are we bringing back the 90’s? I need to figure out where to buy butterfly clips. Until next time peeps.
JDenise's Thoughts & Rants 
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