‘N Sync
- Justin met future band mate JC Chasez during their time on The Mickey Mouse Club. In 1995, Justin recruited him to be in an all-male band that was to become ‘N Sync. He was just fourteen years old when the band was formed!
- The band’s bass singer was to be Jason Galasso, but after weeks of rehearsals he dropped out saying that being a teen idol was never a goal of his. The band then auditioned several hopefuls but to no success. Justin then called on his voice coach, who recommended Lance Bass.
- The boys performed in front of record company executives from BMG and despite concerns they had over the band’s name and Lance’s dancing abilities, they signed a deal.
- The bands lead single I Want You Back was first released in Germany in 1996 and made it into the top ten. The album was later released in 1997 and peaked at number one during its second week of release. The boys quickly became an overnight success throughout Europe.
- I Want You Back was released in the US in January 1998 followed by the album release in March. The sales were poor and it sat at number 85 in the album charts, until...
- The Disney Channel aired a special concert in July (originally offered to the Backstreet Boys but Brian Littrell needed heart surgery). Three weeks after the show the album had shot up to number nine in the charts!
- With single releases and regular tours, the boys’ profile continued to grow and VH1 even considered Tearing up my Heart as one of the ‘100 greatest songs of the 90s’.
- In January 2000, they released Bye Bye Bye off their new album No Strings Attached which spent five weeks in the Hot 100 Airplay chart - this is often considered their ‘signature track’.
- The second single to be released from the album was It’s Gonna Be Me and it was the band’s first US number 1.
- The band’s last album release was Celebrity which produced three singles: Pop, Gone and Girlfriend. Justin and Chasez had much more creative involvement with this album and wrote and produced many of the tracks. It showed Timberlake’s maturity not just as an artist but as a songwriter too.