12/31/00-Looks like *NSYNC's desire to hook up with Timbaland to help produce their next album as we reported in October may be in jeopardy, as Entertainment Weekly quotes him as saying, "I'm turning people away. I can't be giving out my sound to everybody anymore. I got to look out for me."
12/31/00-The New York Post is reporting that because of relentless MTV promo's, Lance Bass' party at Roseland tonight is likely to be the most packed in town.
12/31/00-Perhaps Entertainment Weekly thinks *NSYNC is the latest fad when they put the band's lip balm at #10 on this week's Hot Sheet saying, "If you pull off the label it says 'The Phantom Menace.'"
12/31/00-Steve Watson, senior buyer for LA Sunset Boulevard Virgin Megastore tells Entertainment Weekly that the Beatles 1 is "blowing away" the latest Backstreet and *NSYNC discs in sales.
12/30/00-'NSync Album A Lock As Biggest-Selling Record Of 2000. Heading into the final week of 2000, 'NSync's No Strings Attached is a lock as the best-selling album of the year, according to SoundScan sales figures compiled through December 24.
No Strings Attached, released in March, has sold 2 million more copies than the next closest album, virtually assuring it the #1 spot on SoundScan's forthcoming year-end list, which won't be finalized until next week's sales figures (which run through December 31) are tallied and released.
A look at SoundScan's audited year-to-date sales figures for albums, singles and videos shows who's sitting pretty and who's left to jockey for position. Here's how the numbers are shaping up:
Despite lingering concerns about career longevity for boy bands, Orlando, Florida's 'NSync undoubtedly ruled Y2K. Their No Strings Attached is poised to be the top-selling record of the year, with more than 9.83 million copies sold to date.
Along the way, the album set a new first-week sales record by moving more than 2.4 million copies during its initial week in stores — smashing the previous mark of 1.13 million set by rivals the Backstreet Boys with their Millennium in 1999. Millennium was also the best-selling LP of 1999, with more than 9.44 million sold.
Eminem, the rapper many critics and the media love to hate, and teen singer Britney Spears will vie for the #2 album of 2000. Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP has sold 7.82 million copies to date and is currently edging out Spears' Oops! ... I Did It Again, which is at 7.78 million, although Spears outsold Eminem by more than 258,000 copies last week and will likely overtake the rapper in the home stretch.
The top music video sellers of 2000 will closely mirror the top albums roster. 'NSync's "Live at Madison Square Garden" is currently at #1 (207,000 copies sold), followed by Spears' 1999 video, "Time Out With Britney," which has registered just more than 168,000 in sales.
12/30/00-Shedaisy Denies Rumors Of Duet With 'N Sync. Since 'N Sync member Lance Bass announced that the group was planning a duet with a female country act, Nashville has been buzzing with speculation of pairings with Jo Dee Messina, Faith Hill, or Shania Twain. None have admitted to participating in the project. LAUNCH spoke with Shedaisy's Kristyn, Kassidy, and Kelsi Osborn, who also deny their involvement in the project. "We really officially have not talked to them about doing any kind of duet," said Kelsi. "I mean, it would be interesting. I think the reason is we have a connection to Richard Marx, and we work with him a lot and they work with him," added Kristyn. "He produced their newest record, so I think more than anything, he was trying to make the love match, but no, we're doing what we got going on as is. We don't know of anything yet," agreed Kassidy. "We haven't heard anything, and we've heard the rumors. I think next time we see 'em we'll ask 'em." Concluded Kristyn, "I think they're just trying to start a cat fight between all the women they're spreading the rumors around about." There's no denying Shedaisy will perform on the American Music Awards January 8 on ABC at 8 p.m. ET. The trio's current single, "Lucky 4 You (Tonight I'm Just Me)," is climbing the country charts.
12/30/00-Win A Trip to See *NSYNC At the Superbowl. Cineville and BigBang have teamed up to send two very lucky people to the Super Bowl. Even if you're not a football fan, you need to sign up because Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, and Bon Jovi will be performing! You could win two tickets to Super Bowl XXXV, plus one night's accommodations, and passes to a VIP party! Enter to win @ CineBowl SuperSweeps!
12/30/00-USA Today's Ken Barnes rated *NSYNC's Bye Bye Bye as the #7 Song of 2000, saying "Follow-up It's Gonna Be Me may have had more enduring melodic charm, but it would be inconceivable to triple-Bye-pass the attitude-laden kiss-off smash that set up the biggest first-week album sales in history. Sneer at your peril at this jewel of Swedish production craftsmanship."
12/30/00-*NSYNC was talked about on TRL Friday. They will be on the cover of Teen People separately from Britney Spears.
12/30/00-E! Online reports more details of the Danielle McGuire drama as her lawyer, John Wallach says "We tried to resolve this quietly, but 'N Sync's lawyer told me they weren't interested." A jury will determine damages in the suit if and when it goes to court.
12/30/00-What Were The Biggest Stories Of 2000? While many expected everything to go sh--house the moment the clock struck midnight as we rang in 2000, the year that was managed to spread out its madness fairly evenly over its 365 days. Instead of a violent burst of mayhem to open the year, 2000 offered a moldering deep blue flame of drama, conflict and misplaced aggression that burned for 52 weeks. Amid the madness, some floundered, some thrived, and some fought valiantly to stay afloat.
Sean "Puffy" Combs and Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose each tried to duck unwanted media scrutiny, while the Backstreet Boys tried to deflect mounting media pressure and a perceived battle with 'NSYNC for boy-band supremacy. Others like Destiny's Child and 'NSYNC managed to use turmoil to their advantage, while Eminem made it a way of life. Here's a look back at the top stories of each month of 2000 and how they stacked up, according to your votes.
27% of total votes -- WILD CARD: 'NSYNC Shatters Sales Record. There was a time when selling one million copies of an album in one week was considered nearly impossible. In March, 'NSYNC managed to move more that 2.4 million copies of its No Strings Attached in one week to knock the music industry on its ear. Those sales shattered the previous one-week record of 1.13 million (held by the Backstreet Boys) and placed the group atop the pop heap.
12/30/00-TV Guide Announces Nominees For Awards Show. With the awards shows season approaching, TV Guide is getting ready for its third annual "TV Guide Awards" with nine new categories and 240 first-round nominees this year. The show will take place at the Shrine Expo Center in Los Angeles on Feb. 24 and will air on March 7, 2001 on FOX. The winners will be determined via ballots published in the January 6 and January 13 issues of TV Guide and made available online at www.tvguide.com and through AOL. 'N Sync has been nominated, not once, but twice in the "Music Special of the Year" category, along with the following:
Music Special of the Year Nominees:
Christina Aguilera - My Reflection
An All-Star Tribute to Joni Mitchell
Marc Anthony: The Concert from MSG
Britney in Hawaii
Dixie Chicks: On the Fly
Gloria Estefan, Caribbean Soul: The Atlantis Concert
Faith!
Elton John - Greatest Hits Live
*NSYNC Live from Madison Square Garden
*NSYNC *Ntimate Holiday Special
A Supernatural Evening with Santana
VH1 Divas 2000: A Tribute to Diana Ross
For the complete list of nominees in all categories, just click on over to zap2it.com. Further details on the show and whether 'N Sync will be in attendance will be posted as soon as they are announced.
12/29/00-Conan O'Brien joked about the fan suing Justin Timberlake saying she's suing for verbal abuse after she had to listen to him sing two consecutive solos in concert.
12/29/00-*NSYNC To Be BIGGER in 2001. On the Montel show he had this VERY reliable pyschic on named Sylvia Brown. Montel asked her what about *NSync in 2001, and she said that she see's them going way over the top in 2001 and will be even bigger than they are now! So it looks like the BSB won't be having there wish coming true so soon after all! We sure won't be saying Bye Bye Bye to this "Boy Band!"
12/29/00-Lance Calls in TRL. On Thursday's TRL there was a surpise and Lance called in! He just was talking to Carson about his Christmas and how he is having a huge New Year's Eve Party. There are still some tickets left, so if you are lucky you might be able to go and see Lance!
12/29/00-Justin Delivers Romance. This is From the new People Magazine with Madonna’s Wedding on the Cover. Fast Takes: Britney Spear's romance with 'NSync's Justin Timberlake is in full bloom. To celebrate her 19th birthday in early December, Timberlake had 26 dozen roses adorn a $2,400-a-night hotel suite at the La Quinta Resort & Club near Palm Springs, with petals from another 10 dozen roses scattered around the room.
12/29/00-Dick Clark to ring in new year three times. For couch potatoes who prefer to stay at home on New Year's Eve, here are some of the highlights on the tube: On ABC, Dick Clark is acting like this is the real millennium or something, with not one, but three, specials. His ''Rockin' New Year's Eve,'' 9 p.m. Sunday, features clips from the best concerts of 2000 and - what you didn't ask for - clips from the 29-year history of the show. It's kind of sad that Dick Clark has turned into the Guy Lombardo for this generation, but he will do it again hosting his traditional Times Square countdown show at 11:35 p.m. Musical guests include Cincinnati's 98 Degrees. (Yes, they have been featured on practically every holiday special this year.) Clark does a completely new live show starting at 1:30 a.m. aimed for West Coast viewers. Clark not only refuses to age, but has apparently found some magic elixir that lets him work 24 hours a day. (Clark's ''American Music Awards'' airs just a week later). MTV will have its star vee jays, Carson Daly and Rachel Leigh Cook, on Times Square with performances from 'N Sync and Marilyn Manson. Since almost nothing on MTV is ever broadcast live, one wonders how the network will manage to package the ball drop.
12/29/00-*NSYNC Are "Best in 2000. 'N Sync's album, in People Magazine's Best of 2000 issue, was in the best category along with Britney Spears. However, in the worst category were fellow pop sensations 98º and Jessica Simpson. Also, on E! News Daily the other night, they did a special on music of 2000 and showed a clip of 'N Sync. Basically, it was just Justin hugging Chris saying "I love this man....I love this man," and Chris saying "Get him off me." Then, Justin sat back down and said something to the extent of "I don't LOVE him!" And...I'm not sure if you had this too.
12/29/00-Is Joey turning on Justin and his girlfriend. On E! before the Billboard awards, they were showing Kathie Griffin rehearsing with 'N Sync and Joey was wearing a "Spear Britney" shirt.
12/29/00-From the Heart. Backstreet Boys’ A.J. McLean and ‘N Sync’s Joey Fatone are putting aside any professional rivalry today to join other music and sports superstars at downtown Orlando’s Tabu nightclub to help a young pop singer’s father in his battle against cancer. Brad Fischetti of LFO, Erik Estrada of O-Town, former Orlando Magic player Gerald Wilkins, former World Series champion pitcher Frank Viola and eight-time PGA Tour winner Scott Hoch will also be on hand for the fund-raiser for Juan Corominas, father of 3rd Faze’s Minia Corominas. 3rd Faze will join Jaze, Precious, Natural, D Black, TJ and other performers onstage from 4 to 8 p.m. today. Signed items from the celebrities will be sold at Tabu today, and other items will be auctioned online at eBay next week. A minimum $5 donation is required for admission. For more information, call 407-648-8363.
12/29/00-*NSYNC Voted #3 Lamest BoyBand Video on MuchMusic. On MuchMusic they were playing the cheesiest videos of the year, and some of the cheesiest whinners and virgins. (Britney was in that category.) It's hosted by Ed the sock and was hilarious. Anyways, N sync got #3 cheesiest boyband for the video "This I promise you" where Ed who hates all pop music practically commented on "Justin's lame attempt for a gotee" "Jc's pajama pants" "Chris and Joey and their bubbles" it was pretty funny for N Sync trashing. Oh and if you wanna know.. BSB were voted #1 for Shape Of My Heart... you should of heard what Ed had to say about them.
12/25/00-There is a portion of O-Town's TeenMag.com chat where they mention *NSYNC, and here it is:
Interviewer: Does it bother you guys to be compared to other boy bands like Nsync?
Bryan: It's funny cause that's always one of the 1st questions we get asked but it's something that once people get to know us and listen to our music it becomes pretty obvious that we're nothing like other boy bands!
Interviewer: who's been your favorite celebrity that you've met so far?
Ikaika: Mine would have to be Keanu Reeves... he's actually my cousin -- somehow - but neither he nor I knew our lineage... but it's not our Hawaiian lineage it's our Scottish line...
Matt: uh...mine would have to be Justin Timberlake.
Mike: I've met so many and have liked them all but Love Hewitt would have to be my pick.
Bryan: Last person I met was Eve and she was cool and Hot!
12/24/00-*NSYNC finished as the #5 most popular search on Lycos.com for the year, with the #1 position going to Britney Spears.
12/22/00-*NSYNC Bigger Than Live IMAX Movie Coming Spring 2001: Even if fans have seen the tour live... there's NOTHING like the IMAX concert film *NSYNC Bigger Than Live. The band is bigger, louder and closer than the fans would ever dream possible. Concert ticket=buyers have lined up for the opportunity to watch their favorite stars: Justin, J.C., Lance. Chris. and Joey, dancing, singing and interacting with each other. Now they'll have the best seats to an amazing, up-close event, which no single seat at any one concert could possibly offer... including exclusive interviews and backstage portraits.
12/22/00-*NSYNC Appear on Maury this morning. They had this special on giving kids stuff who needed it most. They had this little cute boy who's only 4 years old and has been on the show before because he has a aging disorder. His Mom came on the show and said "His new favorite thing in the world is *Nsync who he calls the "Bye Bye Boys." So.. Maury (The host of the show) got Devon (the little boy) a Ekids gift card worth $500 and a radio station gave him 2 tickets to a *NSync concert. That wasn't it though, he got V.I.P passes and met *NSync who was SO sweet to him. They treated him like a brother. It was only about 3 mins.
12/22/00-*NSYNC gains 30% in album sales! The Beatles' "1" collection (Capitol) is proving to be the holiday gift of choice for U.S. music lovers. The album, which packages the Fab Four's 27 chart-toppers together for the first time, sold more than 823,000 copies this week, according to SoundScan, easily holding on to No. 1 on The Billboard 200 for a second week in a row. "1" has now sold more than 3.35 million copies in just five weeks of release. The new Billboard 200 chart will be released Thursday. The Backstreet Boys' "Black & Blue" (Jive) held at No. 2 with more than 566,000 copies sold in a week where every top-10 entry posted sales increases over the previous frame. With 264,000 units sold, Shaggy's "Hotshot" (MCA) more than doubled its totals from last week, and jumped 11-7. Britney Spears' "Oops! ... I Did It Again" (Jive), Limp Bizkit's "Chocolate Starfish And The Hot Dog Flavored Water" (Flip/Interscope), and 'N Sync's "No Strings Attached" (Jive) all enjoyed gains of more than 30%! over last week's totals. Rapper Xzibit's "Restless" (Loud) was the week's top debut, clocking in at No. 14 with nearly 205,000 units sold. Tool's "Salival" (Zoo), a box set combining the hard rock band's music videos and a CD collection of rarities, landed at No. 38.
12/22/00-Justin Was Mentioned on All My Children. All My Children on ABC Leo and Bianca were talking about interviews and Leo said, "Who would you rather be stranded on a desert island with...Kevin Richards or Justin Timberlake.
12/21/00-Holiday drumroll, please. The top 10 holiday songs, as chosen by 54,000 America Online members: USA from Today:
10 - Merry Christmas Darling by The Carpenters
9 - Breath of Heaven by Amy Grant
8 - Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth by David Bowie and Bing Crosby
7 - Happy Christmas (War Is Over) by John Lennon
6 - Blue Christmas by Elvis Presley
5 - The Christmas Song by Nat King Cole
4 - All I Want for Christmas by Mariah Carey
3 - The Hanukkah Song by Adam Sandler
2 - O Holy Night by 'N Sync
1 - White Christmas by Bing Crosby
12/21/00*NSYNC - Best Dancers of the 90s? On VH1.com they had a online poll on the top 5 dancers of the 90s. Number 5 was Paula Abdul, number 4 was *N SYNC, I forgot who number 3 was, number 2 was Madonna and number one was, of course, the King of Pop Michael Jackson.
12/21/00-Britney and the boys party on a roll. What did superstar trendsetters Britney Spears and 'N Sync wear at their company Christmas party this year? Rented roller skates.
Their Orlando-based manager, Johnny Wright, got his start in the music business as a roller rink DJ, so what better place to celebrate Wright Entertainment Group's Y2K success on Monday than a Kissimmee skating center?
"Joey [Fatone] was the first to get there and the last to leave," said Yvonne Simmons, marketing director of Skate Reflections. "He was still in the parking lot talking with friends when we closed up at a quarter till 1. Johnny was out there [on the rink] boogieing all over the place. He was excellent."
Spears arrived holding hands with her honey, Justin Timberlake, who turned out to be nearly as hot on wheels as Wright.
No, they didn't play "The Chicken Dance." The 250 guests skated amid the rink's Christmas d{eacute}cor to current pop tunes, but -- by their special request -- none of their own. Lance Bass didn't bring a date, nor did Fatone, because his girlfriend was home sick. The two spent a lot of time cutting up with basketball's Dennis Scott and friends in other Wright acts, such as Blaque, Triple Image, Body 13, PYT and Out of Blue.
JC Chasez came later, dressed in a metallic baby blue warm-up suit, with his girlfriend. But Chris Kirkpatrick was reportedly out of town.
12/21/00-'N Sync, Britney Rule 2000 Sales. Skeptics be damned — if year-end sales figures are any indication, teen-pop showed no signs of relinquishing its vigorous grip on the charts in 2000. At the cash registers, the year's biggest stars were the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, and, leading the pack, 'N Sync.
According to the Recording Industry Association of America, the folks who dole out the gold, platinum, and diamond records that hang on the stars' walls, 'N Sync's No Strings Attached was the best-selling title released in 2000. The disc racked up sales of more than 10 million copies, making it 'N Sync's second diamond-certified (signifying shipments of 10 million units) album in a row.
Nipping at the quintet's heels was Britney Spears, who was certified for 8 million copies of her sophomore release, Oops … I Did It Again. Meanwhile, her debut set, … Baby One More Time continued to enjoy brisk numbers, drumming up another 3 million in 2000. That disc is currently certified platinum 13 times over.
12/18/00-FIGHT CLUB: *NSYNC vs. R.E.M. The veteran rockers apparently clashed with the young boy band at a recent party at Miami's Crobar. According to a spy, R.E.M.'s bassist Mike Mills confronted 'N Sync's Chris Kirkpatrick, asking him, "Hey, man, why don't you write your own songs?" Kirkpatrick was quick to make fun of the rocker's longevity, quipping, "Why don't you go do the Running Man?", referring to the passe dance style. "It was a very cordial conversation," insists R.E.M.'s rep, denying that Mills questioned 'N Sync's creativity.
12/18/00-*NSYNC was named the #5 Entertainer of the Year by Entertainment Weekly, with top honors going to Russell Crowe. Tom Calderone of MTV said of the band, "People are quick to dismiss them as a pop act, but this is a 360-degree band-it's the TV performances, the concerts, the touring. They have a self deprecating style. They don't take themselves that seriously, and that's why fans gravitate to them."
12/16/00-Boy Band heartthrob J.C. Chasez made a stop at the University of Rochester Medical Center while he was in New York. The singer made a quick visit to the center's gift shop, bought flowers, and proceeded to visit an unknown patient. Chasez made no comment as to the reason for the hour-long visit, but insiders say he appeared to be upset when he exited the center. In the news they said he went to see someone in the cancer ward, and he was there for a really long time.
12/16/00-*NSYNC Mentioned On CourtTV. This afternoon on Pros and Cons on Court TV they showed a clip of Nsync and talked about the lawsuit that was filed against them by Sid & Marty Krofft Pictures for copyright infringement. There wasn't any new info- just the stuff that's already been posted, but just thought I'd share it. Also- On the Disney Channel the results of a poll were posted on TV for: Which boy band would most likely win a basketball game? 99% voted for Nsync, 1% for BSB,0% for 98 Degrees and No Authority.
12/16/00-"On The 12th Day of Christmas..." There is a super cute take on "The 12 Days of Christmas" song that everybody loves. Disney re-did it with things out of some of the movies that they play frequently and they countdown from 12, 11, 10 (you get the idea) and instead of a partridge in a pear tree they say "...and the cutest member of NSync!" They show a picture of Justin from Model Behavior and he's making this really cute smile and they have lights around him and everything.
12/15/00-Justin Appears At Jingle Ball 2000. Last night Justin Timberlake made a special, unannounced visit in New York's Z100s Jingle ball 2000. He was there to be with his girlfriend, Britney Spears, who was a special guest MC for the event. Justin came out onstage to say hello to everyone, and let us know that *Nsync is starting to work on their third album. After the show, Justin and Britney went Christmas shopping at FAO shwartz in the city. The store was closed down, so they had it all to themselves, while they shopped.
12/15/00-*NSYNC Named #5 Entertainers of The Year. 'N SYNC is #5 in entertainment weekly's Entertainers of the Year.
12/15/00-Lance To Throw New Years Party in NYC. According to nsync.com Lance is throwing a 2001 Millennium Jam party. It says: Lance Bass and Eytan Sugarman, in association with A Happy Place Productions, present the REAL Millennium New Year's Eve Jam 2001, live from the Roseland Ballroom in New York City. Performers include Nelly, Ludacris, Kelly Price with Darius Green, Black Rob, The Sugar Hill Gang and Special Guest DJ Angie Martinez with Coco Chanel and DJ Jazzy Joyce. Special guests include Derek Jeter, Justin Timberlake, Joey Fatone, Britney Spears and many, many more. More details coming soon!
12/15/00-Watch Exclusive Footage on nsync.com. I thought that you might be interested in knowing that on the *Nsync official website [nsync.com] they have several new movies that you may not be aware of. There's a movie of them rehearsing for their awesome performance at the award show last week so check it out. It's a awesome tape to watch because they had just wrapped up their tour a couple of days before then they had to go and learn a whole new routine for the awards. They do it all for us! That's love!Also they have two movies from their trip to Japan which was their first time over there. I would check all of these out. These boys work hard!
12/15/00-Chris & Justin At the Sports Illustrated Awards. More than 100 of the world's top athletes were on hand to celebrate Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year - Tiger Woods - Dec. 12th, 2000 at New York's Beacon Theatre. CBS Sports Jim Nantz (The NFL Today) hosted the awards which honored this years recipient, a lifetime achievement winner, and several additional notable sports achievers from the year 2000 as selected by Sports Illustrated editors. Among the sports personalities that attended were Tiger Woods, Venus and Serena Williams, John Wooden, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Derek Jeter, Don Shula, Sugar Ray Leonard, former heavyweight champion Joe Frazier and more than 30 U.S. gold medalists from the Sydney Games including U.S. Olympic team sprinters Michael Johnson and Maurice Greene -- and many former "Sportsman of the Year" recipients. Celebrity presenters included Ruben Blades, Bill Cosby, Omar Epps, Dustin Hoffman, Heidi Klum, Daniela Pestova, Molly Sims, Gary Sinise, Vince Vaughn, Justin Timberlake and Chris Kirkpatrick from *NSYNC. Grammy Award-winning Latin singing sensation Marc Anthony performed. Don't miss the Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year Awards @ 10pm on CBS. On E! they were interviewing people and they interviewed Justin and Chris and Chris said something like "We turn into little girls and we're like 'Oh my God, there's..."
12/15/00-Rising album sales are in sync with teen pop. Impervious to Napster, critics and exploding entertainment options, music muscled its way to bigger sales in 2000, thanks in large part to youth's voracious appetite for teen pop. As of Sunday, combined sales for the 200 best-selling albums this year totaled 240.5 million copies, up 6.5% from the 225.9 million sold in the same period in 1999, according to SoundScan. Overall sales -- encompassing all albums regardless of format, chart placement or genre -- hit 687.7 million copies this year, a 4.2% jump from the 660.1 million tallied by Dec. 12, 1999. The $14.5 billion industry anticipates a 5% growth spurt this year. ''That's a healthy number, based on the fact we've had unabated growth for five or six years,'' says Mike Shalett, chief of SoundScan, which has tabulated sales for nearly 10 years. The figure might have climbed higher with more fourth-quarter superstars. ''We didn't see the powerful lineup you normally expect,'' he says. ''There was no huge soundtrack this year, but we did find out that compilations can debut at No. 1. There were a lot of big debuts and a few surprises, like the (Beatles 1) album. Teen pop had a tremendous year, and we continue to see hip-hop records come out of nowhere.'' The top-selling disc of 2000 is 'N Sync's No Strings Attached with 9.2 million copies. Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP is second with 7.6 million, and Britney Spears' Oops! . . . I Did It Again is third with 7.1 million. The leader a year ago was the Backstreet Boys' Millennium with 8.2 million. Also snugly in the 2000 top 10 are Santana's Supernatural (5.7 million copies year to date), Creed's Human Clay (5.4 million), Nelly's Country Grammar (4.4 million), Dr. Dre: 2001 (3.9 million), Destiny's Child's The Writing's on the Wall (3.5 million), and Sisqo's Unleash the Dragon and Christina Aguilera's self-titled album (3.4 million each). In SoundScan breakdowns (which lack a pop category), R&B has proved the meatiest genre, selling 178.4 million units, compared with 157.1 million last year. Alternative is next with 116.4 million, up 6%. Rap, third with 96.3 million, has enjoyed the greatest increase: 21%. Latin, gospel and new age made gains, while jazz, ''hard music,'' classical, country and soundtracks fell. The Internet remains a minor force in sales (about 3%) and poses little threat to conventional stores. Free downloads via Napster and other sites seem to have damaged only stores near colleges with high-speed computers. ''Growth this year has been at the mass merchants, particularly Wal-Mart, while record chains are relatively flat,'' Shalett says. Will sales escalate in 2001? ''I'm bullish on music. We have a lot of ammunition to bring to the marketplace.''
12/14/00-THE 2000 BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS: LIVE ON THE RED CARPET. AmuZnet had the incredible opportunity to stake claim on the red carpet at the 2000 Billboard Music Awards. Starting Friday, December 8th you will be able to watch the video interviews and backstage outtakes at the Pre-Bash and the Awards! Come to amuZnet to watch exclusive live video interviews from the awards that you won't find anywhere else with artists such as Vertical Horizon, *NSYNC, 3 Doors Down, BBMak, Jessica Simpson, Matchbox 20, Sisqo, Faith Hill, Creed, Lil' Bow Wow and much more!
12/14/00-*NSYNC's "It's Gonna Be Me" is featured on MUCHdance 2001 - a dance compilation that MuchMusic Canada releases every year.
12/13/00-Worldpop reports *NSYNC is making great strides towards their new album and have already composed over 12 songs.
12/13/00-This is their worst-case scenario: "And the Grammy for album of the year goes to ... Eminem for The Marshall Mathers LP!"
And their worst nightmare: His acceptance speech.
"What the (bleep) is this thing anyway? At least you (bleepity-bleeps) didn't (bleepin') give it to those (bleep-bloppa bleepers) in 'N Sync. That (blap) is so (blop).
"I don't really have anyone to thank, 'cause all you (blups) wouldn't know good (bleepin') music from a (blug) in my (blat). (Blang) my (blingbling)."
What to do? How about not worry? The safe choice will win. Safe choices always win.
Firebrands like Eminem won't win major awards just as shallow sensations like 'N Sync won't. The scars from years of showering trophies on mediocrities like Christopher Cross and Toto still haven't healed. (Right?) Grammy fears she'll have egg on her face down the road. (Right?!?)
The logical contenders? Eminem (representing the rap camp), Sting's Brand New Day (adult pop), 'N Sync's No Strings Attached (kid pop), Faith Hill's Breathe (country) and either Toni Braxton's The Heat or D'Angelo's Voodoo (R&B).
12/12/00-Making The Tour: Video Overview. Making Of the Tour originally aired on MTV as a half-hour special and offers a behind-the scenes look at the preparations needed for such an extravagant tour. *NSYNC’s second Jive DVD, Making Of The Tour, is over one hour long and contains footage not featured in the original MTV special. Fans will get a sneak peek into the touring process with footage from rehearsals and band meetings discussing lights, wardrobe, staging, sets and other important aspects of this hugely successful show. As an added bonus, Making Of The Tour will contain video clips for the smash hit singles “Bye Bye Bye,” “It’s Gonna Be Me’ and “ This I Promise You.” Pick up a copy either on VHS or DVD...
12/11/00-9.04 million copies of NSA sold to date.
Overall unit volume for the year stands at 664 million, compared to 634 million for 1999, a 4.7 percent increase. Ten weeks in, this year's fourth-quarter sales come to 154.3 million compared to 148 million at this point last year, a 4.2 percent gain. Here are each label group's top three sellers, year-to-date:
BMG: *NSYNC, No Strings Attached (Jive), 9.04 million.
Britney Spears, Oops... (Jive), 6.90 million. Santana, Supernatural (Arista), 5.71 million.
12/11/00-No word yet on when the next album will be released, but fans can expect one more single from No Strings Attached and, of course, a video. While the single has not been chosen, it will most likely be out in January. Also reaching airwaves in 2001 is Justin Timberlake's contribution to Brian McKnight's as-yet-untitled album, expected to be released in the spring.
12/11/00-*NSYNC's "Live from Madison Square Garden" home video and DVD will be released on Wednesday, December 13th in Asia. *NSYNC's *Ntimate Holiday special which originally aired on FOX in North America on November 30th, will air on Thursday, December 14th at 8pm in Singapore on Starworld.
12/10/00-In a CDNow article, amongst Christina Aguilera's favorite artists for 2000, at #8 is *NSYNC. Her top pick was Mariah Carey.
12/10/00-*NSYNC Wins 4 At Online Teen Awards. Over 110,000 voters participated in the online awards this year. *NSync was nominated for 4 awards and won them all! These included Best Teen Cover, Best Untrue Gossip(for the rumor about Justin and Britney being together), Coolest MTV Video, and Favorite Boyband. Here's a link to the anouncement of the winners: http://www.teenmag.com/star_stuff/teenscene/award_1.html
12/10/00-*NSYNC Hold Spot for #1 Top Chat. In the January 2001 edition of Yahoo Internet Life Magazine Nsync won and award in their Top of the Net 2000. The March 23 Yahoo chat with Joey and Chris was rated as one of the Top Chats of the year!
12/10/00-But Wait, Isn't Joey Italian? As mentioned on the Nsync Ntimate Christmas special, Joey's movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding is currently in post production and will be released in 2001. No exact date has been set yet. The film was directed by Joel Zwick on a budget of $11 million and is being produced by Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson. It is said to be a greek version of Meet the Parents.
12/10/00-IMAX Film Possibly to Debut New Years. Maybe this isn't news but I've just hadn't heard about it. The Orange County Register in California is advertising an Imax movie called "N Sync Bigger Than Live." It will premiere at midnight on New Year's Eve at the Irvine Spectrum Edwards Theater. This is unconfirmed.
12/10/00-*NSYNC writing for new album. *NSYNC will start work on their fourth album in January. The band say they want to do more songwriting and producing this time around. But they'll still team up with their 'No Strings Attached' collaborators, She'kspere and Richard Marx - who wrote 'It Makes Me Ill', and 'This I Promise You'. The as-yet-untitled LP will feature guest artists, including Stevie Wonder." Sources close to *NSYNC say that they've already written over a dozen songs potentially to be used on their 3rd release.
12/9/00-MTV talked to Justin Timberlake Tuesday about what the band plans on doing in the coming months, which Justin replied, "We're going to spend January and February in [the studio] and see what we can come up with." Justin also talked about working with Brian McKnight on their duet My Kinda Girl, "Exactly how you see him on TV -- that's exactly how he is for real. He wants to give to everybody. He's not one of these guys who's so successful that he knows everything. He still wants to learn; he still wants to absorb everything. I think he's going to be around for a very, very long time."
12/8/00-The New York Post reports Pink's effort to say hi to Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears backstage at the Billboard Awards while neglecting to say hi to host Kathy Griffin prompted her to say, "Oh, don't say hi then, b*tch." Pink fired back "You may have thought you were funny in front of all those people, but if you have something to say to me, say it to my face!"
12/7/00-The Lugz boots that Justin Timberlake auctioned off on Planet Hollywood to benefit charity raised $2200.
12/7/00-Shaun Robinson of Access Hollywood asked Chris and JC to kiss and make up after their staged fight on the Billboard Music Awards, and their response "Oh, now, you're taking the comedy a bit too far. We are friendly, but not that friendly. He ain't pretty."
12/7/00-Puffy,’NSync and Creed Latest AMA Presenters. Sean “Puffy” Combs, ’NSync and Creed will be among the presenters at the 28th annual American Music Awards. The show, which is set to air Jan. 8 on ABC, will also see BBMak, Brooks &Dunn, Kenny Chesney, Dream, Ja Rule, Donnell Jones, Lil’ Bow Wow, Brian McKnight, Mandy Moore, Mystikal, O-Town, Outkast, Sisqo, Snoop Dogg, Carl Thomas, and 98 Degrees handing out trophies, along with actors Lara Flynn Boyle (“The Practice”) and Melissa Joan Hart (“Sabrina, The Teenage Witch”). Britney Spears will host the show, which will feature performances by Ricky Martin, Toni Braxton, Jennifer Lopez, Martina McBride, and SheDaisy. More performers and presenters are expected to be announced later.
12/7/00-Are *NSYNC's AOL Artists of 2000? AOL is having an "Artist of 2000" contest. I'm not sure when it ends, but right now, nsync is behind Creed by 6 percent!!
12/7/00-Beatles to beat *NSync. *NSync look likely to lose their world record to the Beatles. Despite splitting up 30 years ago, the Fab Four’s greatest hits compilation, '1', is set to become the fastest selling album ever. Early indications suggest it sold 3.6 million copies in a week, compared to 2.4 million for *N Sync's 'No Strings Attached'.
12/7/00-Timberlake recently joined Brian McKnight for a duet on "My Kinda Girl," a track on the R&B crooner's next album, due in the spring. "He's easy," McKnight told reporters at Tuesday's awards show. "Exactly how you see him on TV — that's exactly how he is for real. He wants to give to everybody. He's not one of these guys who's so successful that he knows everything. He still wants to learn; he still wants to absorb everything. I think he's going to be around for a very, very long time." The as-yet-untitled LP will be McKnight's first to feature guest artists; Stevie Wonder also makes an appearance.
12/7/00-NSYNC To Hit Studio In January. 'NSYNC will head into a Florida studio in January to begin experimenting with new music for their fourth album, the group said Tuesday. "We're going to spend January and February in there and see what we can come up with," member Justin Timberlake said on the red carpet at the Billboard Music Awards. 'NSync plan to work primarily in their Florida homeland but may move out of state as the project progresses, Joey Fatone said. Though the members of 'NSYNC vow to do more songwriting and producing this time around, they said they hope to team up again with No Strings Attached collaborators She'kspere and Richard Marx. She'kspere produced "It Makes Me Ill," while Marx wrote and produced "This I Promise You," which recently peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. "Just being in the studio with Richard Marx was such a cool feeling, 'cause he's someone I listened to when I was younger and looked up to," Fatone said. Timberlake said the group isn't sure whether it'll release a fourth single from March's No Strings Attached, which is certified 10 times platinum.
12/6/00-While many sites yesterday were reporting Christina Aguilera's special beat the ratings of both *NSYNC and Britney Spears last week, they fail to mention Christina's show was on a larger network and was the beneficiary of starting before ABC ratings powerhouse, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.
12/6/00-USA Today's Jeannie Williams reports Lance Bass had the opportunity to meet as he put it, "My idol!" Micheal Jackson at Denise Rich's Angel Ball last week.
12/6/00-The Backstreet Boys overtook *NSYNC on the Lycos 50 for the first time in months, prompting them to comment, "Two weeks after releasing Black and Blue, the Backstreet Boys go ahead of boy band rivals 'N Sync for the first time since February 8. The Backstreet Boys got a bump in searches from fans looking for tickets for their recently announced world tour. Still, it shows 'N Sync's popularity that they are still neck-and-neck with the Backstreet Boys even though their album is eight months old."
12/5/00-'N Sync Speaks Out About Single-Week Sales-Record Hype. As the second leg of 'N Sync's No Strings Attached tour came to a close over the weekend at the Sports Arena in San Diego, California, the group took time out to speak exclusively to LAUNCH about retaining the record for selling the most albums in a single week. A whopping 2.4 million copies of the group's album No Strings Attached flew off store shelves in its debut week in March. The quintet learned that record was still intact after their Jive Records labelmates, the Backstreet Boys, sold 1.59 million copies of their new album Black & Blue in its first week, which is an astonishing number in its own right.
'N Sync's Chris Kirkpatrick told LAUNCH via cell phone from the group's tour bus that 'N Sync always considered its 2.4 million sales mark to be more of a fan accomplishment than a group accomplishment. "To us as a group, it was never a big deal," he said. "You know, I think everybody else--other groups and media people--made more of it. They wanted to see some hype and [the Backstreet Boys] wanted to get some hype around their record, so they made a lot of comments in the press and things like that. But to us it was like we never took the record as our own. We said we made the record and our fans broke the record."
The 29-year-old Kirkpatrick, the eldest member of 'N Sync, maintains a healthy attitude about all the media hype surrounding his group's reigning sales record. "You know, we never really want to lay claim to any of that anyways, so if somebody else comes along and breaks the record, then it's their fans that went out and bought the album and broke the record. Of course, that group holds on to saying that it was their record," he added, "but at the same time, to us, our fans have really made us who we are, and that's why the least we can do is give them this record."
Kirkpatrick also told LAUNCH that 'N Sync might not be able to top its own 2.4 million sales record with its next studio release. "It's a really, really high number, and you don't realize how high the number is until all of the hype builds up and somebody else comes out and tries to break it and they can't do it," he said. "You know, I don't think we'll be able to break it again, but to have it for a little while is great--to give it to the fans and let them enjoy it and say, 'Well, I'm the one that went out and bought a record. You know 2.4 [million] of us hold this record--we all did something this week.' And that's the most amazing thing to us."
12/5/00-In addition to performing the opening number, 'N Sync will co-host the 2000 Billboard Music Awards with comedian Kathy Griffin Tuesday night (December 5). The annual awards show is scheduled to air live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas starting at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.
12/3/00-Special Times At Final San Diego Concert. For IDMC, they were wearing ponchos and sombreros! Joey played the drums during Justin's beat boxing. For TIPY, they sang part of it in spanish! But the big news is that Brit was there! For Just Got Paid, she was one of the bouncers and Justin was freaking with her! But she was wearing a wig and glasses but you could see it was her! JC's girlfriend Bobbee was also a bouncer. Apparantly, it was Britney's b-day, so before TIPY, Justin brought her out and they were holding hands! Everybody sang "HAppy B-day" to her! Then, Justin said,"Happy B-Day, sweetie" and they gave each other a little kiss! There were many boos, but mostly cheers. Chris pretended to flirt with her, and Justin got mad. Chris was making remarks about how great she looked and was jokingly hitting on her, and justin said "chris, dont make me have to whop your butt!!! She hugged all of them and Joey snapped her in the butt with a towel. Chris kept saying "Britney looks good tonight" and "I like that outfit" and Justin was like "watch it or I'll come over there and bust your butt!" After the show people were saying that they love *nsync but they didnt pay that much money to see Brit and Justin kiss!!! They came to see them shake their booties!!
12/3/00-People's Choice Awards - The nominations are out! *NSYNC has been nominated for 'Favorite Musical Group or Band,' in the 2001 award show. The airdate is set for January 7. Check local listings for times.
12/3/00-2000 Billboard Awards - *NSYNC walked away with 4 statues from this year's Billboard Awards. The guys won 'Album of the Year' for No Strings Attached;
'Album of the Year, Duo / Group' for No Strings Attached; 'Top 40 Artist of the Year'; and the 'Special Billboard Award' for biggest one week sales ever of an album for No Strings Attached (2.4 million units)!!
12/3/00-Justin will be in January 2001 Marie Claire.
12/3/00-Jo Dee Messina is commenting to Launch.com about rumors she may collaborate with *NSYNC for a song on their next album, saying "There have been rumors around town about ['N Sync] doing a duet or involving a country artist in one of their songs, but as far as I can honestly tell you, I haven't heard anything about it being me yet. If they did choose me, I think it would be cool. I mean, Alabama did it, and it was a great song,"
12/3/00-Heavy.com's Behind the Music That Sucks features an animated look at *NSYNC in the future, and is hilarious.
12/3/00-*NSYNC's new album is expected to be released in April or May. The single from that album is expected in March.
12/2/00-*N Sync fighting against AIDS. On E! they were showing a news report about MTV's new strand of commercials that promoted condoms and the prevention of AIDS. They were mentioning some stars that were helping out with the promotion and *N Sync was one of them. They showed a small clip of their commercial and Lance was talking about "protecting yourself and the ones you care about." I didn't catch when the commercials were going to air but I think they will start airing in January.
12/2/00-N'Sync; Spencer Gifts Unveils Exciting and Exclusive Gift Items for Holiday 2000. Spencer Gifts, Inc., the headquarters for entertainment, collectible, fad-based and unique merchandise, today announced the availability of exclusive and exciting gift items for the 2000 Holiday season.
For teenyboppers, shoppers can consider the following:
'NSync Holiday Bear ($24.99) - This teddy, topped with a Santa hat, comes clutching the latest copy of the 'NSync holiday CD.
'NSync Inflatable Chair ($29.99) - Makes any teenager's bedroom hip.
12/2/00-'N SYNC, Michael Jackson appear at Angel Ball. President Bill Clinton, Senator-elect Hillary Clinton, Michael Jackson, members of 'N Sync, Marc Anthony and actor Gabriel Byrne were among the slew of luminaries gathered Thursday at the New York Marriott Marquis for the Angel Ball, a benefit held to raise money for cancer research. . Though Jackson's visit to the photo room was nixed by the screaming and flashing of cameras, other celebrities such as Lance Bass from 'N Sync, Joan Collins, Jane Seymour and Sex in the City's Kim Cattrall were unaffected by the press frenzy and posed without incident.
12/2/00-No Wins for *NSYNC At My VH1 Awards. Spears, who was accompanied by 'N Sync's Justin Timberlake, were both in the audience. Also there was Chris Kirkpatrick and Joey Fatone.
12/2/00-'NSync Up For People's Choice Awards. Britney Spears, Garth Brooks, and 'NSync are among the musical acts nominated for the 27th annual People's Choice Awards, which were announced late Thursday (Nov. 30). While film and television dominate the 18 categories, there are three music awards -- Favorite Male Musical Performer, Favorite Female Musical Performer, and Favorite Musical Group or Band. The awards, which are voted on by a nationwide poll conducted by the Gallup Organization, will be hosted by Kevin James of the CBS comedy series The King of Queens, and are slated to air on that network on Jan. 7, 2001.
Favorite Musical Group or Band
Alabama
Dixie Chicks
'NSync
12/1/00-'NSync Sued By Sid & Marty Krofft Over Puppets. Sid & Marty Krofft Pictures, the creators of such '60s/'70s cult classic children's shows as H.R. Pufnstuf, Land of the Lost, and The Bugaloos, is suing 'NSync for copyright infringement or, as the suit states, in the alternative, breach of implied-in-fact contract for images on the pop group's No Strings Attached tour merchandise.
The suit, filed Tuesday (Nov. 28) in U.S. District Court, Central District of California, Western Division, also names 'NSync's management company Wright Entertainment, manager Johnny Wright, tour merchandising leaders Winterland Concessions and its Winterland Productions, and merchandise consultant Rick Barlowe as defendants.
Krofft was hired to create the 25-foot puppets of each member of 'NSync for use in the group's memorable performance of "Bye Bye Bye" during the American Music Awards in January 2000. Krofft claims that they did not give permission for photographs of these puppets to be used elsewhere by the band, such as on the group's souvenir tour program for the No Strings Attached tour and other puppet merchandise sold at shows.
The suit states, "Beginning in the spring of 2000, defendants (without Kroffts' knowledge and consent) created, or authorized the creation of, derivative works based on the copyrighted Krofft Puppets owned by Krofft... Only the copyright holder, Krofft, has the right to create a derivative work based on the copyrighted Krofft Puppets. The 'NSync souvenir program is an unauthorized derivative work based on the Krofft Puppets."
According to the suit, Krofft says that after having granted oral permission to use the Krofft Puppets during the AMA performance, Krofft and the band's manager had a conversation about merchandise relating to the puppets. "At the time, Wright stated to Krofft, 'Don't worry, you are 'in' on any and all merchandise.' At the time of the conversation, no other terms were discussed," says the suit. A formal agreement was never made.
Krofft is asking for 10 percent of all monies received from sales of the 'NSync souvenir program, the backstage pass, and the other puppet merchandise that bear the image of the Krofft Puppets he originally created for the AMAs.
12/1/00-*NSYNC Possibly To Appear on New Destiny's Child Album. In the Nov.25-Dec.1 issue of TV Guide in the Music News section by Rebecca Rankin, the boys are mentioned in the article "Manifest Destiny". Manifest Destiny On the heels of "Independent Women Part 1," their single off the "Charlie's Angels" soundtrack, Destiny's Child are recording a new CD, Independent Women. Not that they don't want help from a few good men. "We're trying to get 'N Sync [on the CD]," says Destiny's Beyonce Knowles. "And we're talking about Michael Jackson - we're working with the same producer that he is." While she feels "a little pressure" about the new release, due in February, Knowles is happy to take the heat: "We're becoming the celebrities we've always wanted to become."
12/1/00-MTV Reports New *NSYNC Album Due out July 2001. They said that *Nsync was going into the studio in January and February to record their next album! It's supposed to be out next July!"
12/1/00-NSync have become boy toys. At least the boy band have become one of the fastest toy selling items on sale this Christmas in the USA. New York toy-maker Living Toyz is having trouble keeping up with production as their 10 inch marionette NSync dolls are flying off the shelf as fast as they are being put on. The dolls are based on the cartoon characters from their It's Gonna Be Me video. They are currently for sale in K-Mart, Target, Toyz-R-Us and FAO Scwarz stores across America and retail for $20. Meanwhile, NSync are out to raise more than $500,000 for charity with their annual. This year they have issued a toy challenge to their fans. Each fan attending one of their concerts on Nov 26, 27 and 28 is urged to bring along a toy to be donated to the NSync charity Challenge for the Children.
12/1/00-*NSync agony uncles. *NSync are following Britney Spears by being agony aunts for BBC Online. They'll be dishing out advice between the 4th and 18th December, so if you want your problems solved, email them on www.bbc.co.uk/so/agony.
12/1/00-Win $1,000 FumanSkeeto Shopping Spree. FuMan Skeeto Inc., headed by *NSYNC's Chris Kirkpatrick, CEO and Founder and Danielle Raabe, President, is a cutting edge creative arts and media company specializing in clothing design, the visual arts, and music production. FuManSkeeto will be launching two new exclusive clothing lines. One in Nordstrom's across the nation on November 24th and the other, online at FuManSkeeto.com Just in time for the holidays, amuZnet wants you to have a piece of FuMan Skeeto's new clothing line and is giving away a $1,000 shopping spree at FuManSkeeto.com! For all the details check out fumanskeeto.com.