50 Moments That Changed the History of Rock & Roll
(6/4/04) Rolling Stone Magazine (thanks candy and to saturn92103 for typing!)

Teen Pop Takes Over: Riding the crest, 'Nsync sell 2 million CD's in a week
March 21st, 2000

In March 2000, Barry Weiss was skiing in Colorado when the phone calls started coming in. Wiess, the president of Jive Records, was dumbstruck when an employee gave him the early sales figures for 'Nsync's second album No Strings Attached. "It was unbelievable," he recalls. "Usually after the first day, numbers drop off drastically. It didn't happen this time." The album eventually sold more than 2.4 million copies in its first week, more than doubling the previous record held by another Jive act, Backstreet Boys who moved 1.1 million copies of their 1999 effort, Millenium in its debut week.

Weiss returned to New York and did what any successful executive would do: He partied. "We went to the Palm and had lobster," he says. "It was the ultimate."

The sales explosion for No Strings Attached was the high point in the tidal wave of teen-pop acts that ruled the charts, airwaves and cash registers in the late Nineties. Coming off the gloom of the grunge era - punctuated by the death of Kurt Cobain in 1994 - the country's mood began to brighten and the economy started to hum. "People were feeling good," says 'Nsync member JC Chasez. "And people love pop albums. They love albums by Michael Jackson and George Michael. And when we started, there wasn't anything like that."

Selling all those records required more than a pretty face. "We showed everybody that we were musical," said 'Nsync's Justin Timberlake, "that we're not just poster boys."

"The songs were ubermelodic, with uberhooks - but production that was just edgy enough to make it hip," add Weiss. "We sold our records to the people who live between New York and L.A. That's where the pop audience was."

The Backstreet Boys had gotten the first jump, kicking down the door in 1997 with their debut album, Backstreet Boys. 'Nsync, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera followed close behind, all going multiplatinum several times over with each successive record. Even second-tier acts such as 98 Degrees and O-Town sold millions. "It was normal to sell that much," says Chasez. "Now, everything has been reset. Going just platinum is a big thing again."

Crucial to the success of these acts was the explosion of the Internet - which allowed artists to build a community of fans they could reach direclty - and MTV's Total Request Live. The call-in show was hosted by Carson Daly, who became a de facto baby sitter for millions of preteens. "It was such a powerful thing to see young kids get so into music and reacting to it," Daly says. "The screams still ring in my ears. One week it'd be Britney, Christina, Backstreet, in the studio, one right after another. I felt like a used-car salesman. And I was moving a lot of cars."

The boys of 'Nsync knew all too well that they were in a tough business. "I'm glad we haven't become jaded, because we've been screwed over a lot of time as far as business goes," Timberlake said. "But, really, I can't complain."

JC in July's Cosmo
(6/4/04) Cosmopolitan Magazine (thanks Eva!)

A nice pleasant surprise?

"I like it when a girl sends me flowers with a handwritten note that mentions something personal we've shared."

Do you typically like to sing to the girls you date?

No way, that would be cheating. Singing is my job. I'm a pro at it, so that it makes it not personal. Its like mixing business with pleasure.

What do you think is sexy?

Classy girls. Some girls get caught up in a lot of hype and trends and too much makeup. I like sophisticated girls who keep it simple much more than I like a Pam Anderson type.

Have you ever hit on a girl who didn't know who you were?

Yes, and its actually better. You don't have to work as hard in the beginning to figure out is she's putting on a front just because of who you are.

You sing about dreaming about sex all day long? Do you?

Not all day long, but I think about it during the day. I'm a guy.

Elisha engaged?
(6/4/04) Miami Herald

Fans of 24 whose heart rates elevate significantly when Elisha Cuthbert brightens a scene might not like this rumor: Britain's The Sun tabloid reports that the 21-year-old beauty is getting married.

The Girl Next Door star is said to have accepted a proposal from boyfriend Trace Ayala, a personal assistant to pop star Justin Timberlake. In April, the tabloids went crazy when the 21-year-old actress -- who rocketed to fame playing Jack Bauer's daughter Kim on Fox's thrill-a-minute hit TV series -- was spotted sneaking into Timberlake's hotel in Dublin. Was the Cry Me a River singer creepin' behind Cameron Diaz's back?

No, Cuthbert angrily insisted -- she was actually paying Ayala a visit.

"Those rumors about Justin and I put me in an awkward position,'' she said, "as I was actually seeing his best mate Trace Ayala and have been for the past year.''

No wedding date has been reported.

Meanwhile, contrary to rumors, Timberlake will not be part of the upcoming movie Rent, which was first to be directed by Spike Lee and now is helmed by Chris Columbus.

He has, however, just completed his first motion picture feature, Edison, costarring Kevin Spacey, Morgan Freeman and LL Cool J.