Chris and Chantel Nicole go track-by-track through *NSYNC's "No Strings Attached" - the best-selling album of 2000. Get ready for honest and unfiltered opinions - join in and let us know what you think of the album!
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"No Strings Attached" Tracklisting:
Bye Bye Bye It's Gonna Be Me Space Cowboy (Yippie-Yi-Yay) feat. Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes Just Got Paid It Makes Me Ill This I Promise You No Strings Attached Digital Get Down Bringin' Da Noise That's When I'll Stop Loving You I'll Be Good For You I Thought She KnewReferences:
“Bye Bye Bye” Music Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eo-KmOd3i7s “Bye Bye Bye” Live at TOTP https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxIeb5CAc4k “It’s Gonna Be Me” Music Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQMlWwIXg3M “It’s Gonna Be Me” Live at Atlantis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdC6SDQmBdU “Space Cowboy (Yippie-Yi-Yay)” Live on No Strings Attached Tour https://youtu.be/8PARVjMkc-o?si=a27BPrD1RVjHprkJ “Space Cowboy (Yippie-Yi-Yay)” Live on PopOdyssey Tour https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqIuNP-4aNk “Just Got Paid” Live at Billboard Music Awards https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3rinHZy-Wo “Just Got Paid” Live on No Strings Attached Tour https://youtu.be/fJvIz1i10qk?si=Qgw8rlsjHoS-f0J4 “It Makes Me Ill” Live on No Strings Attached Tour https://youtu.be/EM1iYNQYNZc?si=v630jjQlJteMS093 Ariana Grande & *NSYNC Performance at Coachella https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E38h0nkGXlY “This I Promise You” Music Video https://youtu.be/6thmPrTxBtI?si=wniz1zJddj0atp5f “This I Promise You” Live https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rppVf1UGbKM “This I Promise You” Live with Richard Marx https://youtu.be/OSh3YrUU5Oo?si=_T7Xm1r-BHazcAW9 “No Strings Attached” Live on No Strings Attached Tour https://youtu.be/03pJI4rHCXA?si=bxgU79Z9U3Nqv_SU “Digital Get Down” Live on No Strings Attached Tour https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hohGkdoI9Ck “I’ll Be Good For You” Live at Ntimate Holiday Special https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeBbef8XtEs “I Thought She Knew” Live on No Strings Attached Tour https://youtu.be/G0a9cO_O6Lk?si=fZXI0LnYph2dFiVX00:00:00 --> 00:00:14 Boom. You and your friends just finished suing your manager slash label head slash creator slash sixth-ish kind of member for fraud. And then you decide to make a huge, the biggest comeback without him. This is No Strings Attached by Insane.
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00:01:07 --> 00:01:36 Yes. Oh my gosh. Wow. So we've spoken about the boys before on our show. The men. But they were boys at the time. We've spoken about the boys on our show quite a bit. We talked about their debut album and gave a review of that. So definitely watch that and the bonus episode that we did post on our YouTube. And we also did a lovely Pop 101 before the Deadpool movie. So we were here, honey. We were already here talking about before the hype. Just want to say that. But yeah, it's fun to kind of get into it now. NSYNC!
00:01:36 --> 00:02:02 Since 2020, I want to say, since Relayless Watch concerts and whatnot, watching their concerts, have become one of my favorite boy groups ever. And I didn't realize that I would become such a stan. OMG, I am so jealous of everyone that has gotten the chance to see them, enjoy them, even breathe the same air as them at any point in time. Like, literally love them. And growing up and becoming a woman is realizing that J.C. Chazé was the one.
00:02:02 --> 00:02:32 I'll just leave it at that. I'll leave it at that. Oh, yeah. Well, so speaking of, I actually got to meet JC because he recently did a signing for his new musical album, the concept album at Barnes & Noble. So, yeah, I got to meet him. And I told him, I was like, you should be the blueprint for every pop star. Yes. Like, everyone needs to see and learn from your performance skills. And he was very humble about it. He was, like, kind of embarrassed about it. He's very thankful. Oh, so fine. Super, super nice.
00:02:32 --> 00:02:47 And yeah, there's not many people that I would go to these types of signings for. I've been very lucky in that the people that I would do that for have all been doing it. But honestly, out of like the pop star men, JC might be one of the only ones.
00:02:47 --> 00:03:11 Can I tell you something? You're still right. When you told me you were going, I was like, I wish I knew, but I was like so busy with stuff. But yes, the whole group is amazing as a whole. I appreciate Joey even doing half of what he's doing because no one's really singing NSYNC songs except him and then AJ from BSB. They've been performing together and stuff like that. So it's been nice to see it. Lance has been fabulous. I mean, honey, I love a good boy band member gay because honey-
00:03:11 --> 00:03:34 Everyone else could be like, I look haggard and tired, haggard and tired. They're like, my hair is dyed, my lips are filled, and my skin is fresh. What you're not going to do is clock me out, age 49. Go ahead, Lance. And of course, Chris was doing a lot of writing and singing. He's been performing some of the old stuff, too. I think he was on one of those Y2K tours recently. Yeah. And there was a video of him. I think he put on the goggles and like...
00:03:34 --> 00:03:53 I love that he is so on today's. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, man. Okay, so very excited to get into their No Strings Attached album, which was their third studio album, which followed their self-titled debut and the winter album. And No Strings Attached was the biggest-selling album of the year 2000. Yeah.
00:03:53 --> 00:04:23 And it was also their first album with Jive Records after parting ways with Transcontinental Management, its corrupt owner Lou Pearlman, who took a huge percentage of the group's earnings, and RCA Records. The album's title is a play on the idea of being free from corporate control and establishing their own identity. And during a car ride in London, NSYNC's Chris Kirkpatrick was inspired by the song I've Got No Strings from Pinocchio to come up with the album title No Strings Attached.
00:04:23 --> 00:04:45 And the album, Those Strings Attached, is a diverse kind of album that has pop, R&B, and dance elements with contributions from a variety of producers and writers. And there was a deliberate effort to set themselves apart from the Backstreet Boys, their main competition at the time. And the group took more creative control this time, carefully choosing the songs with JC, Chris, and Justin contributing to the writing.
00:04:45 --> 00:05:11 Yes, the album's debut was number one on the U.S. Billboard 200. And it was marked by a record-breaking sales of 2.4 million copies, which is a record that stood for 15 years until Adele's 2015 release of 25. Crazy, right? I know. That's insane. And also, that included streaming, too. So I feel like you can't even fully equate it because NSYNC's was pure physical sales.
00:05:11 --> 00:05:38 Right. Ooh, a couple of things. There was effort to go buy that album, you know? Shoot. Yeah. So yes, there are other editions of this album, such as the UK, Spain, and Japan editions, which have various track listings and bonus tracks. But we're going to do the US track listing today. And we will have a bonus episode that will feature all of these extra tracks that will be released exclusively on our Patreon first before a wide release sometime later. Yeah.
00:05:38 --> 00:05:57 So if you want it now, head over and join us at Patreon.com. Let's go track by track through No Strings Attached. So first up we have Bye Bye Bye, which was done by Andreas Carlson, Jake Schultz, and Christian Lunded. And not Max Martin.
00:05:57 --> 00:06:27 Which even Lance forgot that it's not Max Martin. So Bye Bye Bye is often considered NSYNC's signature song. And it was released in January 2000 as the first single from the album. And the song peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100. And actually re-entered at number 45 very recently in August 2024. And this was because of its feature in the Deadpool and Wolverine movie. And basically the entire song was used for that intro. And it was iconic.
00:06:27 --> 00:06:44 And everyone was learning the dance. Yeah. Isn't that something? Yes. And some fun facts. So the song was actually originally intended to be for Five, the British bad boy boy group. But they rejected it because they wanted a full rap song and they thought it was too cheesy. Yeah.
00:06:44 --> 00:07:06 And I believe the song actually originally did have a rapped chorus, but I guess that just wasn't enough for them. And the song does carry the double meaning of a breakup. But with NSYNC singing it, it's also kind of a farewell to Lou Pearlman and all the horribleness that they had to deal with before that. And the song was nominated at the Grammys for a record of the year. It won...
00:07:06 --> 00:07:21 The MTV VMAs for Best Pop Video, Best Choreography, and Viewer's Choice. And the music video features members as marionettes being controlled by a manipulative love interest that they are actively running away from and features choreography from Darren Henson.
00:07:22 --> 00:07:47 Everything I think about Darren, I think about either Bye Bye Bye or just completely jump cut to, um, okay, drive me crazy, bye bye bye, or jump cut to Stop the Yard. Because he was such a menace in that dang movie. He was a good antagonist. So that's competition. He was pressure. But yeah, so I feel like to start this album out with this song is intense. It's so dramatic. The intro is so dramatic.
00:07:47 --> 00:08:02 You have like this, it sounds so cheesy, like the island strings, you can tell they're fake, you know? But it comes in, it's all sad, it sounds like it's gonna be a breakup song, it's like... But then it's like really just like...
00:08:02 --> 00:08:20 In your face. There's a 30 second rule in music. Like, if you can't make me like the song in 30 seconds, then I'm skipping it. Within 10 seconds, you've got the hook already. You've got the bye, bye, bye. I'll just say bye three times. It's good. The first voice punctuates what they're feeling, what they're saying. You have the background vocals kind of like,
00:08:20 --> 00:08:46 really again punctuating jc's assertive tone and i feel like this is a song that people kind of slept back like slept on like obviously people liked it but i feel like it was slept on in terms of the melodic content the the power behind it obviously is very catchy but this is a really good like well-written song um so much so that people keep crediting it to one of the greatest pop
00:08:46 --> 00:09:09 producers we went to crazy um but it's true um i feel like now everyone references it right it's like who doesn't think of the song during a breakup breakup or like when they're leaving something or they're just being done like i'm doing this tonight you're probably going to start a fight like you already know there's going to be some bullcrap with it but you're ready for it it's it's aggressive it's punchy and so is instrumental um and i think it's
00:09:10 --> 00:09:26 amazing how the bridge gets all dramatic with the harp sound. I'm like, y'all ain't, y'all ain't ish for that because it sounds so like, oh my god, there might be a chance that we're going to be really good. And it's like, I'm leaving you behind. I'm like, ooh, girl.
00:09:26 --> 00:09:45 I can sing this song bar for bar. I think everyone can sing this song bar for bar. Like literally five screwed up letting this one go. I mean, then again, they don't, they didn't know what was going to be right. But the song is a solid song. It's, I mean, it's honestly what they're known for, but I think this encompasses everything that they can do as a group.
00:09:45 --> 00:10:15 Yes, I completely agree. I think this song deserves its iconic status. And I think you're right in that it was kind of dismissed at the time because it was like another, quote unquote, throwaway, like boy band cheesy pop song. But now I think it has the respect that it deserves just as a good song. And all the Deadpool stuff, I think, helped with that as well. Like, it was kind of great seeing all, like, just kids, actually. Like, acknowledging how good the song was.
00:10:15 --> 00:10:30 is. Yeah. Different. And it's just such a good representation of what made pop music of this time so awesome. I don't know. I can see why people say this song and this album is peak
00:10:30 --> 00:10:53 boy band yes essentially yeah totally yeah i also love in addition to kind of all the other inspirations of the song that i was reading that it was also a kind of a response to some of the male bashing songs that were happening at the time like destiny's child bills bills bills because there was a lot of that going on so this is kind of them being like hold on
00:10:54 --> 00:11:15 Woman can be toxic too. Oh, yeah. Which is true. Everyone can be toxic. Everyone, yes. Doesn't even matter what gender you are. But yeah, the chorus is so perfect. There's such an attitude to it. There's a confidence. The harmonies are so full. And there's just an energy to that backing track too. Like the way the bass hits...
00:11:15 --> 00:11:38 um and just every single part of the melody like you said it's all catchy and it's just it's just so smart yes that's just such a perfect pop song that's the word it's a very smartly written song but it doesn't feel like you know we're writing it for streaming because they didn't know what the heck that was they were writing a hit that's it that's it yeah and the music video
00:11:38 --> 00:11:55 Yes, and the music video, of course, also brilliant. I mean, the whole marionette puppetry thing. Obviously, it makes sense with the album title and the whole album concept. Then it works with this song, too. And so that imagery, like, it's hard not to...
00:11:55 --> 00:12:15 ever see any puppet really and think of this video sometimes yeah so it's i mean that's awesome like that's what you need in a pop video you need something super iconic and memorable and it's timeless yeah as well because if any group or any artist ever did a marionette thing you would think that it's a reference to this
00:12:15 --> 00:12:44 Yeah, and that's a good thing. I mean, like, this whole video itself, shout out again to Darren Henson for creating iconic choreography for so many of Pop's music videos. Like, I mentioned he did. It drove me crazy. But I think everyone can remember the Blue Room, Joey's red hair, JT's very juicy, luscious curls, because they weren't the crunchy bleach blonde. It was, like, highlight curls. He looked really good. Everyone looked really good. Everyone was, like, looking like, you know, nice young...
00:12:44 --> 00:13:06 But I think the best part is that blue room. And shout out to the production designer, Paul Martin, who created that rotating room. The rotating room and music dance media is iconic. You have Fred Astaire, who originated it in the Royal Wedding. Billie Eilish for SNL. Inception, of course. But we can definitely add NSYNC to the mix.
00:13:06 --> 00:13:16 because of Paul Martin. So like, again, it's something that no pop fan will ever forget. The song, the dancing, the room, like, how could you ever forget it? Yes. How could you? Yeah.
00:13:17 --> 00:13:43 Yes, and even all the little pauses too, like Justin's laugh, JC blowing on the CD. All that stuff, it just makes it fun. Yeah. And the video just has great pacing as well. The way they split up the members and how they're being chased in various ways. I thought that was all very, very smart. And then, of course, we did mention Darren. And, of course, I learned this choreo from Darren's dance grooves. Yeah. But the live performances of this are so amazing.
00:13:43 --> 00:14:05 Good. Like this choreo requires, it's a lot of cardio, this choreo. And to get on the floor multiple times too, there's a lot of jumping. And watching all these live performances, they were singing live. All those harmonies are live. The choruses are live. Yeah. I mean, it's amazing. And it just says pop music choreography. Yeah.
00:14:05 --> 00:14:30 It's just all the fist pumping and the head nodding and stuff. Again, just super memorable, but very simple. Yes. But that's what makes it so effective. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I'll take notes. Seriously. All right. So all that being said, this song, first song on the album, it's going to give a fat 10 for me. Oh, yeah. I mean, this is one of the best pop songs ever. So yes, I will also give it a 10.
00:14:30 --> 00:14:59 All right. So moving right along to It's Gonna Be Me by Max Martin, Andreas Carlson, and Rami. So Max Martin is actually featured on this one, y'all, so you can take that to the bay. And this was the second single in the U.S. It's the third single internationally, and it was released May 16th in 2000. It peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks. And if you didn't know, now you will find out that Max consciously wanted the lyrics to be sung, It's Gonna Be May.
00:15:00 --> 00:15:26 Yes, he purposely did it. So it wasn't just Justin being Justin. And it's been confirmed in the Hot Ones episode by the group as well. And of course, there are many memes of this song every fifth month of the year. It's going to be May. And this was made famous on Tumblr. I have actually tried it. If you play the song at 11.59, specifically at 11.59, it goes, it's going to be May. By the time that minute changes over...
00:15:26 --> 00:15:54 It's freaking May. My friend and I did it because it was her birthday that the next day. It was real. Wow. That went to the Tumblr girlies from back in the day. Y'all hooked us up. And of course, this song also had a very iconic video. And I'm not just saying iconic because I'm saying it. Truly, it was iconic because it features the members as Ken dolls fighting other toys to get into the heart and shopping cart of one special girl. That one girl from the Bye Bye Bye video. I bet.
00:15:54 --> 00:16:09 Yes. Yes. We love the continuation. And even the start of the video, you hear Bye Bye Bye playing in the background. Yes. Come on, Continuity. All right. Yes. Oh, man. This is also a pretty perfect pop song, I would say.
00:16:09 --> 00:16:37 It's very signature to Max Martin because you get his rock sensibilities. Yeah. And now you've added in some beatboxing in there. There are those kind of R&B-ish guitars. And so it is a great sign of the progression from the kind of more, I won't say, I kind of want to say faceless, but not necessarily faceless. I know she's meaning. The stuff on the first album, like, they all could have been Backstreet Boys songs. You know? Yeah.
00:16:37 --> 00:16:47 But in this case, you can hear the influence of the boys and the kind of more R&B-ish sound that they wanted. Mm-hmm.
00:16:47 --> 00:17:12 And it's also a great progression from the first album in that it's just a lot more intense. Yeah. Like lyrically, like even the way they sing it, it's all just a lot more powerful. And especially in that second verse, I love the too blind to see. Like just like stuff like that where that's a very rock actually like kind of.
00:17:12 --> 00:17:34 thing right yeah it's kind of like the music kind of stopping and the vocal kind of like having this kind of energy to it and so that's just one of my absolute favorite parts yeah and i also love how the song there's a few different emotions in it there's a confidence to it but there's also frustration yeah there's desperation and there's even some like melancholy
00:17:34 --> 00:17:49 in the melody as well. Like, it's so many dimensions to it. So, yeah, I think this is also one of the best pop songs of that time. Oh, yeah. What do you think? Yeah, I think it's sticking to how they started the album with both of these songs. It's so annoying. Oh,
00:17:50 --> 00:18:16 Like annoying in a good way for people like, what do you mean annoying? It's a good thing. If a lot of persons say, look, I used to know annoying. It's a very good thing. So, yeah, I love a good pleading pick me song, okay, especially when it's good. But this is not that with this song, right? So I feel like people hear like it's going to be me. Like, oh, my God, you're going to pick me, girl. No, it's like, listen, I get that you've been hurt. I get that you've been through something. But by the time you figure out that I am actually the one that's for you,
00:18:16 --> 00:18:42 I might be gone. So like you do understand right now I'm that guy. I am. I am Mr. Right. Right now. Like I like how they do not sound as if they're begging. They sound almost a little fed out, fed up, like seriously, you know, which gave it more of an edge. And I don't think people realize that you see boy band. People are making all the little comments about all these other things. I just went again, but there's an edge to it back and appreciate. I'm going to say this now.
00:18:42 --> 00:18:48 I keep saying I'm going to say it once. I'm not going to say it once. I'm going to say it on forever and ever. J.C. Should I say it? Mm-hmm.
00:18:49 --> 00:19:17 He takes this home, okay? Oh my gosh, he takes it home, his ad-libs, the belting, the voice. I think these two singles, Bye Bye Bye and It's Gotta Be Me, did a really amazing job of differentiating them from BSB, who had already released what Black and Blue, which is nowhere near this in terms of sound, which is really good, but also it's like, we dance.
00:19:18 --> 00:19:39 Like, yes, we all sing really well, but like we dance and this song moves, it grooves and it just keeps going. And then when you need them to actually sing, they do. And that bridge, you get that five part harmony that everyone recreates. I've done it like legit. I was in a dance class. There was five of us, four girls and myself. And the song was playing. I said, ladies, come on. We were in a deep lunge.
00:19:39 --> 00:19:55 on the ground. And I was like, come on y'all, it's gonna. And it just picked up. And I was like, it's gonna be me. Let's freaking go. Switch legs. You know, so it's like, this song is undeniably good. And that's, that's a testament to that. And of course the video. Mm-hmm.
00:19:55 --> 00:20:12 Why was this not referenced in the Barbie movie? It was so good. Where were these Ken's in the Barbie movie? I would have. I love these Ken's. Oh my gosh. Do you think about the video with this song? Because I think about. I do. The dance scene a little bit more than I do the Ken scene.
00:20:12 --> 00:20:33 Oh, okay. Yeah. I think I think of both. Okay. Because obviously, like, I think Toy Story was only released a few years before this too. Or I forget when Toy Story 2 came out. But anyway, like, this whole kind of, like, doll thing was, like, I don't know, just very memorable at the time. Yeah. And the way they did the makeup and hair is awesome. Like, the hair actually genuinely looks like it's, like, super, super, like, super.
00:20:33 --> 00:20:49 Yes. Plastic. Yeah. And then I love the way they, like they use a weird frame rate so that they'd kind of be like robotic with their movement. Like I love that dance scene at the end when they're dancing the chorus as the dolls. Like I think that's so, yeah, because it's just so like jittery.
00:20:49 --> 00:21:15 And then I love how the choreo, like, obviously the song itself doesn't really mention anything about being a puppet or anything like that. Yes. But in the choreo, a lot of the moves feel like that kind of puppetry, like, kind of thing. It's, again, still, like, kind of stilted and, like, they're being controlled in some way. Yeah. And so I love that. Like, they are still referencing the name of the album, the whole kind of theme of the era without, just through movement.
00:21:16 --> 00:21:45 That's just to move it along. Yeah. Like, I think that's awesome. No, absolutely. And, you know, I think just as a performance piece, like, it's just, again, it just shows how great they were as a boy band. Like, especially when they're in, like, just that V formation. I feel like boy bands and girl groups in a V formation is always just, like, their most powerful. So it's the most powerful formation. And they're in it for, like, half this song. Oh, my God. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I love watching them perform this. It's so good.
00:21:46 --> 00:22:15 Yes. Can I tell you, I love watching the Japanese... I don't know what show they were on in Japan, but I love watching it. Yeah. The mics are definitely always on, but just something about that one is just, ugh. Because there's a belt note at the end of this song that is just so hard to hit. And JC either does his head voice or does full chest, but everyone's locked in. And the one thing about this group I think people realize is that even though the other guys were not singing Lee...
00:22:15 --> 00:22:40 It does not mean they were not engaged. And I think that is so important. I think the chemistry in this group as a whole is so different from Backstreet Boys. I'm not going to say they had Beat the Boys, but you had Howie who was supposed to be leading up. Suddenly Brian is, and then AJ's singing, and Howie's kind of sort of singing. And you got, we have to split it up vocally, guys. You know, like, this is what they do. We know them for splitting it up. Like, this is my favorite part because Kevin's going to sing here. Here, it was like everyone knew their role.
00:22:40 --> 00:22:57 And they did it well. I like hearing them perform it live because sometimes the mix was a little off. So Lance's bass is super loud. You're like, he's singing. Yes. He's singing. But yeah, back to the video as well. Shout out to Wayne Isham, who choreographed, who directed the video.
00:22:57 --> 00:23:23 because he didn't come up with the treatment alone. NSYNC actually did, but he made it come to life. And at that time, Wayne Isham had directed Bye Bye Bye, obviously, but he also did Aaliyah's Try Again video. So he was making a lot of good videos that one a year. Iconic videos, great vision. So it's really cool to see how NSYNC is now in charge of their careers. They gave you a swoop.
00:23:23 --> 00:23:40 Pearlman the boot. So like the humor, the dance scenes, they were perfect for the group's sensibilities and abilities. And I think people don't realize it. And now we get the chance to actually look back and be like, wow, it's going to be me. They were them. They were those guys. Like for real.
00:23:40 --> 00:23:55 Also, just a quick note, going back to just the vocals and giving every member kind of their due. Pretty much throughout the whole album, they do such a good job of mixing everything because you really can hear all five and kind of all the very intricate harmonies that they have. Yeah.
00:23:55 --> 00:24:24 And I was also listening to this fan on YouTube who breaks down harmonies in these pop groups. And he did It's Gonna Be Me. And he was trying to sing Joey's harmony in the chorus. And he was like, oh, this is actually really complicated. So he was kind of giving Joey all the props. And so I have to give Joey all the props because I think he's the most underrated vocally. And people don't realize kind of where he sits.
00:24:25 --> 00:24:52 stuff yeah i don't know i'm not really well versed with men's um like harmonic sex i'm pretty sure they're different than like women's but like altos people like oh yeah the alto the highest the sopranos are singing up here so usually it's a consistent note the altos are always getting the weird jumpy jumpy switch switch which wherever joey is in this five-part harmony i've never actually had to sit there and stack the five-part harmony wherever he is yeah
00:24:52 --> 00:25:11 He's not, he's not having easy notes. He's kind of like the in-betweener to make sure he's the, he's the one that, he's the blending brush, honey. What you hear in between Lance all the way up to Chris, he's in there bringing it all together with JC and, and Justin kind of sitting right underneath him and above him. He's right there kind of just like,
00:25:12 --> 00:25:28 Here are the hardest notes I have to sing. And he does it. He does it so well. Yes. It's diabolical. All the props. Yeah, I think he's a baritone, I believe. Baritone, okay. Please correct us if we're wrong. Yeah. Anyway, I will give this one a 10, obviously. Yeah, this one's a 10, too.
00:25:29 --> 00:25:54 Yeah. Yeah. Wild. Okay. Now moving on to track three, we have Space Cowboy, Yippee-Yee-Yay, featuring Lisa Left Eye Lopez. And this was done by Rip Rock and Alex G, member JC Chazay, and, of course, Lisa Left Eye Lopez. Oh my gosh. I remember when we watched it. We watched Pop Odyssey first. So when we came out with these mechanical vocals, like, what's that? Yeah.
00:25:54 --> 00:26:14 Listen, I don't mind cheesiness. Okay, this song's performance is cheesy, right? But I love a little shikuchi board. Give me the shikuchi board. I love cheese on it. And this gives that, but also the song is not bad. Like, it's almost kind of silly because of the cowboy, I-P-I-A, I-P-I-O.
00:26:14 --> 00:26:31 So it's kind of cheesy, silly because of that. But I mean, you have a laser kind of sounds going off in the back. It sounds very galactic. There's rock inspirations. And of course we have the Queen Lefi who was very much into space. Like her solo album was supposed to be called Supernova. She was interested in like,
00:26:31 --> 00:27:01 astrology, and numerology. So having her kind of be that, like, cosmic voice is great. But also, ever since, you know, J.C. slid in on Left Eyes Girl Group's Black song, Bring It All To Me, why not keep the feature going with his thug appeal? Let her bring her good space... Her space goddessness on Space Cowboy. So, yeah, I think this is the kind of song that now, if it would release, it would not do well in American music. But in K-pop, this song would...
00:27:01 --> 00:27:23 do something serious can you imagine shiny doing it could you imagine like honestly any sm group could possibly do this like justice or if someone wants to take a risk from any other company but this is a sm very sm leaning song for sure they like the weirdness of it they would do the rap that's already in there too damn the song's already done
00:27:24 --> 00:27:43 And it's crazy, but no, it's a good song. I mean, it wouldn't be tolerated in what's considered cool here in the American soundscape, but I think it's a really solid song. This song was also one of those millennium, the world gonna end, 1999, Y2K songs to a T. Right now, we're like, Y2K is so cool.
00:27:43 --> 00:28:13 But like back in the day, people thought the world was going to end, bro. Yeah. But yeah, this song is a reflection of that millennium apocalyptic pop. And it's... Yes. But it's not like, oh my God, the world's going to end? It's more like... Well, we just loved space at that time too. That too, exactly. Star Wars Episode I had come out in 99. Yeah. Ike to nae. Like, yeah, the whole space thing was also a thing. Yeah. So this is definitely of its time for sure. Yeah. But I think the production is super fun. It has that kind of
00:28:13 --> 00:28:30 Max Martin inspired kind of rock sensibility with kind of the heavy bass and stuff like that. But then you get the spacey bleeps and synths and stuff. And you get those like vocoder spoken messages in the back, the transmission messages in the back. So, yeah, I think it's super fun.
00:28:30 --> 00:28:59 I think this is just another great example that pop music can just be really cheesy and kind of stupid and fun. Yes. Like, why, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's, like, so stupid. But it's very fun to sing along to. And, of course, they have so much fun singing, like, when they perform it, too. And this isn't their first, like, cowboy-related reference. Because then they had Giddy Up in the first album, too. So it's, like, almost a sequel, I feel like. Almost a sequel. Yeah.
00:28:59 --> 00:29:23 Yeah, I love the tour performances of this. Like that dance routine is so energetic. Yeah. And of course you get the little like twerking, not really twerking, but like just the bunny hops, I guess. Oh yeah, honey, no. That's what I just kind of looked at JC, but I'll talk about that later. So yeah, call it twerking, call it what it is. Yeah, they perform the crap out of it and like they just look like they're having so much fun. Yeah. And that's what pop music should be.
00:29:24 --> 00:29:39 Hello. Yeah. Hello. All right. So fun pop music. What is your rating for this fun pop song? I will give this an eight. I'll give it an 8.5 because I sing the crap out of that. If you want.
00:29:39 --> 00:30:09 Do not know Left Eyes Versus. Terrible. Oops. Sorry, girl. We'll get there. Yeah. All right. Moving right along. We have Just Got Paid by Aaron Hall, Keith Sweat, Teddy Riley, Johnny Kemp, rest his soul, Gene Griffin, Justin Timberlake, and Chris Kirkpatrick. And of course, this song is a not-so-secret jab at Pooh Pearlman for being a thief. And this is, of course, a cover of Johnny Kemp's song of the same title, the one I grew up with. So this is definitely interesting to listen to.
00:30:09 --> 00:30:33 I remember thinking like, I think I saw it on the tour first. I didn't listen to the album, but I saw it on the tour first, the performance. And I was like, what y'all about to do with this song? I thought it was just them covering it for the actual tour. But it was this, it was actual album track. I thought to myself, this better be good when I listen to the album track. And it was like, it's fun. It's a great song to, you know.
00:30:33 --> 00:30:51 kind of let loose to, but also kind of throw a little jab in there. I do wonder how many people though knew that this one was a cover because I recently saw a Reddit post from three weeks ago that mentioned that the person had no clue that NSYNC were the egg in the situation and Johnny, Kemp, and Teddy Riley were the chicken.
00:30:51 --> 00:31:12 But it happens. Sometimes you're getting introduced to certain music, certain sonics via another artist, which is absolutely fine. But it's just interesting how that just kind of turned out. I feel like the song was elevated, not elevated, but maybe like made their own because of their melodic choices. It came in the form of their harmonies in different...
00:31:12 --> 00:31:37 choices in terms of like what they decided to do with the verses and especially that rap um i'm the rap happened i'm not mad at it uh i mean if jt was as wiggerish as i remember and as much as britney described then his ability to write a decent rap with with chris definitely checks out i feel like this is normal it wasn't hard it wasn't bad the flow wasn't bad either and he does have a tendency to be a little you know freaky freaky
00:31:37 --> 00:31:55 Pete, you know, I'm gonna throw a random rap so it's not, go ahead white chocolate, do your thing baby, do your thing and yeah, so we'll talk about the live performance later, but the song is not poorly covered, and we've heard some bad covers on the show, so it was good yeah, I feel, yeah, I think it's just
00:31:55 --> 00:32:09 Covers in general are just so interesting in pop music because you're right. Obviously, the Johnny Kemp one came out in like the mid 80s. Yeah. So covers are such a great way, I think, to kind of reinvigorate a song and bring it to a younger audience. Yes. Yes.
00:32:09 --> 00:32:30 But it's hard if you already know the original, right, to compare it. So it's just interesting. Like, just all the pop groups at this time were releasing so many cover versions. And I was introduced to a lot of songs that way. Yeah. You know? Yeah. And even with, like, American Idol, too. Yes. A lot of those songs, like, I didn't, you know, I was introduced to through that, too. So, yeah.
00:32:30 --> 00:32:55 Yeah, I think the whole kind of cover version thing definitely is an interesting trend. I also was reading that this was the final song recorded for the album, and it actually was recorded so late that they had to push the album release back a few weeks in order to add it to the track list. So they felt obviously that this was very important to the album. And I think it was worth it. Like, I think the commentary is fun. It's cheeky in a way.
00:32:56 --> 00:33:21 And compared to the original one, they stayed pretty faithful to the funkiness of it. But they did make it their own. Like all the added harmonies are awesome. Yes. And again, there's all that vocoder talking in the background, which I love that. I feel like I mentioned every time we listen to a pop song that has it because it's so cheesy. You know, you want to get on down, you know, or like responses to the verse. But I kind of love that. I feel like people need to bring that back.
00:33:21 --> 00:33:42 I appreciate it. But again, no one wants to take that risk. Everyone wants to sound cool. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Right. It's just fun. And I know you've been praising JC, but his ad-libs in this. Yeah. And that little back and forth with him and Justin for the final choruses too. Ah, that's so, so good. Yes. And yeah, I think of the Billboard performance. Yeah.
00:33:42 --> 00:34:12 when I hear their version of this song. Because, again, it's just fun. Like, it's just so silly. Like, all the props, like the cardboard car. Yes, I love that car. That weird bar fight that happens in the middle. The cardboard bar. And then, yeah, and then they do this, like, insane acapella moment. You get a dance break. Yes, money songs. Yes. So good. It's just, again, it's what you want. Like, again, I feel like all the current K-pop groups need to watch that. Yeah.
00:34:12 --> 00:34:39 And yeah, some of them just take it too seriously. Or I think a lot of music artists take it too seriously right now. Yeah, yeah. And this is just, yeah, a great example of just, it doesn't need to be that. It's so true. And honestly, and it's going to sound terrible to some people, but like this was the performance that made me go, JC Shazé, I'm so sorry I ignored you because literally watching No Strings and they said, you know, shaking booty. No, yeah. Something about shaking booty all around.
00:34:39 --> 00:35:08 And I was like, no one pops their butt like J.C. Chazé. I mean, listen, I know better than a man when I say this, but, like, he was popping. He was popping it. And I know that's so wild to say because he can sing his butt off. They were all singing their butts off. He's running across the street. He's still hitting notes. But, honey, his fervor, his dedication to making that thing jump, made him earn this eight. Yeah. I agree with you. I'll also give it an eight.
00:35:08 --> 00:35:37 All right, moving on to track five. We have It Makes Me Ill, which was done by Candy and Kevin Shakespeare Briggs. And according to Candy, the group considered making the song a single, but it never happened. But Lance has actually recently said that it's one of his favorites or maybe the favorite from his discography or from their discography. And the bridge of Ariana Grande's song, A Breakup With Your Girlfriend, of course, features an interpolation of this song. And they did perform...
00:35:37 --> 00:36:06 it with her at Coachella a few years back. Word. So what do you think of It Makes Me Ill? Should it have been a single? You know what? Maybe. Maybe. Because the other singles that they have on this album, I'm like, okay, okay. Let the ballad have her moment. But maybe. Shout out to Candy and Shakespeare. They were dating at the time, if I'm not mistaken. But they did Bills, Bills, Bills, No Scrubs, Bugaboo. They were a great writing duo. And they made good songs with undeniable single potential. I'm like, yeah, mom.
00:36:06 --> 00:36:27 every song they were right was a single song. They were doing something right. But this song really, really embodies what happens when someone spins the block on you because they regret letting you go. I'm saying like, I like experienced this. I did not. But my point is, it's annoying when my friends tell me like, oh my God, girl, Gus, who just said he misses me. Oh, sir, sir, what are you doing?
00:36:28 --> 00:36:45 But I think it's so funny. The whole, I don't know what I've got until I lost you. Also, your boyfriend's whack. That's hilarious. That first verse, Justin is driving that new boyfriend to filth. He's like, I saw that my competition is slim. I was like, sir.
00:36:45 --> 00:37:08 I suffer. Excuse me. I will say this song does have like a weird like moment for me in that bird section because it just switches in a way that I don't know how to describe it, but it just loses a little bit of its energy or like it tries to give. I don't know, but there's some weirdness happening because the used to be my girl. I know the line like the OJ. She used to be my girl. It goes up.
00:37:08 --> 00:37:25 This one goes used to be my girl, my girl. And I was like, I guess, whatever. And it just didn't go anywhere compared to the other parts of the song. And Candy could write a better bridge. The boys could have written a better bridge. It just feels very like... I think they just wanted to show off the harmonies there.
00:37:25 --> 00:37:49 Yeah, yeah. But then the harmony, the way they were arranged just went down as opposed to giving me like a little bit of more of a catharsis. It's more just like, oh, I'm kind of sad, I think. I don't like the way the note sat in my ear. That's just me. So a little anticlimactic. But, you know, aside from that, I enjoyed the song. Yeah, I think this is one of the most obvious examples of where the sound...
00:37:49 --> 00:38:19 was going to go where where their sound would end up when they got to the celebrity album because i think it actually fits on that album as well because it's definitely one of the more i don't want to say mature because lyrically it's not that mature but i think sonically it feels more mature maybe so minimal yeah and there's there's those kind of affected guitar strums and the drum pad patterns that are just so of that time yep too uh and and a lot of the quote-unquote cooler groups
00:38:19 --> 00:38:39 Yeah, I appreciate the angle of the lyrics here. Yeah. Like we don't get a song that's about this a lot. I feel like you get it from that other side that you were saying. Yeah. Where it's like, I don't need that person anymore. Yeah. I don't care that they want me back or they still want me or whatever. Yeah. But to hear it from the other side where the jealousy is like very real and it's also a little desperate. Yeah. Yeah.
00:38:39 --> 00:38:59 Like, I appreciate that. I think it's creative. Yeah. And yeah, it's fun to sing along to. Like, the melody has a ton of ups and downs, especially those verses and their pre-chorus. There's a ton of ups and downs. There's an interesting cadence to some of it as well. And Candy's always been really good with that, like, in all of her writing. So yeah, I think this is a good track.
00:39:00 --> 00:39:29 I think it could have been a single. I mean, maybe, maybe. I would maybe choose this one. I think it is a good bridge to the celebrity album. But it's funny because I say that it sounds more mature ish, but then the tour performance is so not like the whole doctor thing. And the choreo is like interpretive dance. They're like through the attention salute and the like pointing and the grabbing of their stomachs and bending over for ill.
00:39:29 --> 00:39:40 I hate that so much. It was giving General Hospital. I cannot. Hey, that was popular then. Yeah, exactly. That's why they just jerks. Oh, my God. You know what?
00:39:40 --> 00:39:59 I have nothing else to say about it. But we enjoy a good little, like, you know, on-the-nose corniography. Yes. So I'll let them have it. It's just so funny. But, you know, as the song has been used, as we mentioned, in Break Up With Your Boyfriend. Sorry. Wow. Break Up With Your Girlfriend. Hello. Yeah. I think...
00:39:59 --> 00:40:26 that was another way to reintroduce NSYNC to a younger crowd as well. Their Coachella performance was great. I hate that JC's in-ears were playing him. He sounded amazing, though, but I hate that he could not hear himself. Yes. He sounded good either way. I don't care if I like it. Still. But yeah, no, no, I think it was fun. This song's good. Yes, yes. So yeah, I'll give it a nine. How about you? Give it an 8.5. That bridge took me out.
00:40:26 --> 00:40:44 I like the bridge. Not terrible. Concert was there. All right, guys, before I get to that next song, let's make sure that you made it this far. You just hit that subscribe button on wherever you're listening or wherever you're watching us. Because, honey, you already made it this far, right? Just, you know, go that extra mile because you're making me ill.
00:40:44 --> 00:41:02 Why not subscribing? All right, moving on to the next song. It's This I Promise You, written and produced by Richard Marks. And this was the final single released in September 2000 in the Spanish version. Yo Te Voy Amar, a amar, excuse me, was released as well.
00:41:02 --> 00:41:21 The song reached number five on the Hot 100 and number one on the AC charts for 13 weeks. And Richard Mark has revealed that the song was originally written with a three-piece girl group in mind. I'm so glad I went to a boy group. I love them. And they're going to tell me how long they love me. Oh, Lord. Oh, Lord.
00:41:22 --> 00:41:51 This one's not really begging, though. I'm just saying, my point is, I just love songs when the guys don't actually sing. When they sing down, honey, and they tell you how much they love you, it does something for you. When they sing down, they're begging for you, I love it. Either way, come on, boys, sing it. I love a boy band ballad, for sure. And this is up there with some of the really great ones. It has a really beautiful melody. It's super warm and sweet. And even the versions that Richard Marks has written,
00:41:52 --> 00:42:20 like more recently, kind of just released on his own or when he's performed it. His voice is amazing. I don't really know anything about Richard Marks because obviously he's like kind of before our time. But wow, his voice is so pure and it's like so emotive as well. Anyway, their execution was good too. Justin's execution, super delicate and really beautiful, the way he used the head voice. And the way the whole song builds is super like...
00:42:20 --> 00:42:38 I don't know, it's a really slow build almost. Yeah. Where you don't fully, fully notice it. Because even the way the strings kind of come in for the second verse gives it a bit of a boost. Then JC is singing much more powerfully than Justin was. And then the chorus kind of switches up.
00:42:38 --> 00:43:00 And then the bridge, of course, is where it kind of climaxes before it kind of comes back down with the guitar solo and everything. So yeah, just a really, really good build. I feel like with ballads, it can be harder to kind of keep her interest sometimes. But in this case, I don't get bored with this one at all. And again, JC, I mean...
00:43:00 --> 00:43:26 he just needs to someone needs to clone him we need a jc in every boy band you know yeah uh joshua he takes the songs home okay and it really is unfair because i have in my notes as well like we're looking for a vocal and pop like this now like let's be real here it does not exist in the mainstream pop boys most singers now are not really singing down like this anyway
00:43:26 --> 00:43:44 Because of their influences not being really derivative of actual R&B or even gospel or even jazz singers. But you can hear his inspirations in his voice and in his vocal tone and his choices and things like that. Even Justin, you can tell he listened to R&B. Even the way he acted sometimes. Even if it was a little white chocolate-ish.
00:43:44 --> 00:44:07 He believed what he was singing. You know what I'm saying? So I can appreciate it. I think the only way we could ever hear anything like this is in K-pop, which is why I enjoy listening to K-pop. Because, I mean, you put on an NCT song. You got Doyeon, Jaehyun, the other guy who is no longer in the group anymore. But they could sing down. You listen to EXO. You have how many members singing their little hearts out about how much they love you.
00:44:07 --> 00:44:33 call me baby things like that like i feel like that's why i'll always be a fan of k-pop because they have vocals like a justin like a jc actually being like hey study these singers you want to hop on the song you gotta sing your face off okay we found you for this reason you know um this i promise you is really one of those play play this at my wedding play this at my wedding kind of songs like literally i can imagine this being thrown in there especially of like
00:44:33 --> 00:44:54 Urban Radio had gotten a hold of it. If it was like Boyz II Men or like Immature or IMX at the time, whatever they were at the time. But yeah, any kind of like boy group really singing it. Honey, a soloist, it would have been like, put it at my wedding, girl. Put it at my wedding. I promise you too, baby. Justin sounds really sweet. His voice is in Titan, like really tight.
00:44:54 --> 00:45:18 Because he's not singing in the higher key, so you can hear all the great parts of his voice in English and in Espanol. Love that. Which brings me to that music video really quickly. The video kind of made sense for like two seconds, and then suddenly they're at a restaurant at the end of the video, which I don't understand. Nothing about this, I promise you, with all the stakes...
00:45:18 --> 00:45:46 makes sense having dinner with steak. I don't get it. Lunch with steaks. I don't get it. Like those two things don't make sense. You know what I'm saying? Were they eating steak? I thought they were like burgers. No, I'm just, I'm just literally trying to put, I'm just trying to like make a joke. But point is, this song is about, you know, all the steaks here, baby. I love you. Everything I promised you. And then that we're having lunch. We're having steak for lunch. I don't want to hear, like, it didn't make sense. I didn't get that for us. Yeah, I've tried to, I think I said this in our 101 too, where I was like, why are they eating lunch at the end?
00:45:46 --> 00:46:09 But then they're surrounded by all the couples that you saw earlier. Yeah, yeah. So I guess it's just them being surrounded by love. Yes. I guess. Yeah. It's just so funny. That's the only way for me to rationalize it. I mean, I think the bubbles and stuff, it's very cheesy, which is fine. Yeah. I don't know. I feel like...
00:46:09 --> 00:46:31 just them in various parts of the forest would have been fine you know i don't think we needed all the b-roll of the other couples to be honest yeah uh also jc's a really good lip singer he is like his neck is going like his his he's like it really feels like he's built i mean maybe he's just singing along you know oh yeah i was like dang he's he's like really in it that's my man
00:46:31 --> 00:46:57 Yeah. Also, some of the live versions are so, so good. Like, just a great example of their blend. And there's a version they did with Richard Marks on their Christmas special with a lot of strings and stuff. I love that version so much. And there's a part where, like, all the comments are about this one second where you can see just Richard looking very impressed and satisfied with JC's execution. Yeah. Like, he's just looking at him like a proud father. Yeah.
00:46:57 --> 00:47:27 Yeah, he said that. He said that. There's a picture of them and he was like, it's in sync with their dad. But when he met, he said when he met them, it was like no egos, just only talent. Just super professional. So I think it's a lot of mutual respect, which is good because he seemed like he's very serious about his craft. I'm an artist and I'm sensitive about my, you know, it's giving that. So for him to look at this boy group that people kind of were like, it's a boy group. And actually say, yeah, no, they're good. It's cool. It's kind of cool. It's like a, you know, stamp of approval there.
00:47:27 --> 00:47:41 Yes. Yeah. Okay. So I will definitely give this a 10. Absolutely. 10. Stamp for me. Up next, we have the title track, No Strings Attached, which was done by Alex Greggs, Brad Damon, and JC Chazé.
00:47:42 --> 00:48:08 I like this song and I was going to give it a 10. I'm giving kind of a little spoiler here. I was going to give it a 10 because for me, it's good. It's great. But it does say what it's going to be me says. Like, this was just like a little bit more of like an honest, not honest, a patient and understanding version. It's like, hey, I'm not the, you're not the only one girl. Even the nice guys get played sometimes. You know, don't be afraid to fall in love. I'll give you my love. No strings attached.
00:48:08 --> 00:48:37 It's pretty much saying the same thing, but just in a different tune, but the tune is really good. But because the thematic elements are pretty similar, I was like, okay. The production of the song kind of was what made me oscillate between a perfect score. But, you know, and, but the theme kind of like snatched it away just a little bit, just a little bit. I love live performances of the song, the leg flapping, the fingers going, I don't know. I guess this is them cutting the strings off.
00:48:37 --> 00:49:05 get the swing off me um it is it is literally my favorite part during the chorus and i think pop odyssey the performance of pop odyssey with justin and the little skit about him like trying to charge it with a key blast it is so cheesy but it's fun again bring on the shikuchi board i love cheese on my board yes it's so much fun yeah super fun yeah yeah i feel like this song is clearly just written for performance yeah
00:49:05 --> 00:49:31 Right, because even in the production, the... Like, you can hear that live. You just know that that's going to hit, you know? And so I feel like, yes, maybe it is a little similar to kind of some of the other stuff that I can see in their inspiration. They're like, we need a really powerful song that will just go off live and encompass the whole theme of this album. So I think for that...
00:49:31 --> 00:49:55 I feel like it's definitely effective. And yeah, I feel like the vocal choices made as well also kind of contribute to that, right? Like they have like the, baby, you're not the only one. Like they have like the MJ, like kind of like extra breasts. And like they, again, sound very like an extra kind of just push in all of it. Again, it just kind of feels like it's made to be sung alive. Mm-hmm.
00:49:55 --> 00:50:18 So yeah, I don't know. I think it's great. I think it's just it's pure energy. I think it's a great pop song. Performance track. Let's get it. So for me, I just gave it a 9.5. I guess it almost hit a 10, but it's the same thing. Yeah, I'll do 9.5 too, because I don't think it's as good as some of the other singles and stuff. But it's great. Yeah, yes. Up next, we have Digital Get Down. This was done by JC, David Nicole.
00:50:18 --> 00:50:39 Vite, Ren, and Rip Rock, and Alex G. So Digital Get Down was mentioned a lot in the album reviews because at the time, people were surprised by the lyrics since they were about cyber smex, which is not a new topic, which is so interesting because it's like... Well, it was then, right?
00:50:39 --> 00:50:55 No, because I mean, it depends on who you are listening to. Like, cause for me, I heard computer love, right? That's, that's, uh, Roger's app. It wasn't like sideways, but he was being like computer love or falling love, you know, like my computer screen, like the whole idea of the talk box.
00:50:55 --> 00:51:16 Which is incorporated in this song. And then also me being a TLC fan, like obsessed with like Left Eye, when they were making fan mail, she came up with the concept that Dallas and the rest of the girls were like, girl, no. It was called Fantosi, which is fantasy, which is meant to be like a digital voyeurist experience that is adjacent to what JC and his writers partners are suggesting here in this song.
00:51:16 --> 00:51:42 So I guess it depends on your frame of reference and what you're interested in or what you've heard first, chicken and the egg kind of situation in terms of music. But for me, I was just like, is it really that scandalous? But I think in the terms of a boy group who came from this, I guess what you would call bubblegum pop machine, singing now as 20-something-year-old men about having digital dirtiness and cyber...
00:51:42 --> 00:52:07 coitus that's like oh my gosh you have such young fans this is crazy this is dirty you're telling them to show you show them your body and get on the phone right now and oh my goodness it's so dirty but honestly for me all i can think about with digital get down is how jc at the no strings attached concert made the glass floor mother
00:52:07 --> 00:52:26 Hello. Come be talking about it. Oh my God. Delicious. But let's be real here. Digital get down is the direction a lot of people were going in terms of like their webcam usage. And like, you know, the fringes of the online world. Role players were kind of already doing it to kind of sending each other like lovely emails that were actually like,
00:52:26 --> 00:52:45 This is what I would do with the instant message, like right then and there. The song is risque. I get it, but they're 20 something there. They're at the age where they want to kind of get a little nasty. The lyrics are clue are clear. Excuse me. The lyrics are clear about the lustiness. The verses paint a really good picture, but all that aside,
00:52:46 --> 00:53:11 All that aside, even JC's thrusting, it's not a strong chorus. It is not a strong chorus. The chorus is not strong enough. Even with all that crashing in it, it's not strong enough for me to be like, wow, the song is like everything I need in my life. The ending is fun, though. And I do appreciate the beat switch up and the performance, like with the, how do you say it? Like the treadmill that they're on? What's that thing called?
00:53:11 --> 00:53:29 Oh, the conveyor belt kind of thing? Yes. Yes, because Honey, that I enjoyed. That's it. I like the chorus of the song. Yeah. I think the reason that it was so scandalous at the time was more so because their fans were very young. Yes. That's what I said. Yeah, that's what I said. Yeah. Less so because of them. Yeah. Yeah.
00:53:29 --> 00:53:58 But it's funny, even in all the more recent interviews that JC has been doing because he's been promoting this musical concept album, everyone always brings it up. Stop, get out of here. I love that for him. Good. Always like, oh, you invented cyber sex. Or popularize it. He popularized it. That is so cute. But yeah, I appreciate the experimentation, at least. You know, the kind of vocodering and all that was still relatively fresh and different at the time. Yeah. There's some interesting synths and stuff in the production. Yeah.
00:53:58 --> 00:54:08 But yeah, I pretty much just agree with you in all this, that it's the melody is just only okay for me. It's just a bit repetitive and doesn't really go anywhere. Yeah.
00:54:08 --> 00:54:29 when the when the drum hits kind of speed up and you get that little kind of like breakdown and stuff that's super fun again feels like it's kind of made for performance uh and the choreo is is fun it's actually quite intricate like they have to be quite sharp with kind of the robotic stuff that they're doing yes uh but yeah not a fave for me so yeah i gave this one a seven
00:54:31 --> 00:54:57 I'll match you this time. I'll match you this time. I won't be nasty because I don't think it's a terrible song. I just feel like this is not his best work as a songwriter. Yes. Yes. Okay. Moving on to Bring in the Noise, which was done by J.C. Chasse, Veidt, Wren, and Rip Rock, and Alex G yet again. Mm-hmm. So this one definitely feels filler-ish. Mm-hmm.
00:54:57 --> 00:55:06 And again, it does feel like a, oh, we need more songs that could potentially just go off on tour. But then they never actually performed it.
00:55:07 --> 00:55:30 Because it's just... I mean, it's just not as good as most of the other songs on this album. Yeah. Because even... Like, you can kind of tell there's, like, a built-in dance break. Yeah. There's, like, chants in the chorus. Oh, yes. That feel like they're made for audience participation. Yeah. But, yeah, I feel like it just doesn't really bring anything new for them. It just feels a little...
00:55:31 --> 00:55:49 Not really NSYNC by the numbers. They don't really have another song that sounds exactly like this. But I feel like their standard is just so high. Yeah. That when you have just a decent pop song. Mm-hmm. Then it isn't that good. In terms of comparison. Because their standard is so high. Yeah. Totally. Totally. Totally.
00:55:50 --> 00:56:16 That's so funny because I was thinking about this song. Honestly, there's a song on the bonus tracks that we're going to talk about on our Patreon, which is not to plug it again, but this is why you guys should definitely come to it. Because I'm going to talk about it. I feel like there's a song in the bonus tracks or like the international releases that I feel like could have swapped out with this one, honestly. But since Bringing the Noise is here, I feel like it's like Here We Go's older brother, but not even as effective as...
00:56:16 --> 00:56:39 Here we go, because here we go embodies their vocals. It's not just JC either. I was actually kind of surprised it was just JC here. But it has, it's not self-referential, obviously, but it has that jock jam feel to me. It just feels like something that could be played at a game. It sounds of its time in terms of like whatever decade they were trying to embody.
00:56:39 --> 00:57:02 And also, I remember this song because it was featured in a Disney Channel original movie called The Other Me with Andrew Lawrence, where he makes a clone of himself. And in the scene, he's dancing him and the other kids are dancing on tables. I thought that was the coolest thing ever. But yeah, this is a fun song where JC really held it down on his own. I will say it felt a little solo track ish. Is it a bad thing? I don't know.
00:57:02 --> 00:57:29 I don't think so, because obviously he can sing. But this is that moment where I'm like, okay, was this a demo that you probably really killed? And I was like, hey, guys, I have an idea. And they were like, hey, just throw it on there. It's great. Because why not have Joey on it? Why not have Chris on it? Who those two, their personalities alone would be great for this track. It's very unserious, very performative. Why not have it them on it? It may not be as sexy as Digital Get Down, or maybe you could have had
00:57:29 --> 00:57:52 lance do some bass moment there whatever but it's upbeat it's high energy and those two guys are the members i think of when i think of crackhead energy like they are absolutely perfect for this like fun sporty jock jammy thing and they could have had a moment um i will say between this one and digital get down i appreciate the slight difference in his song arrangement there is no bridge
00:57:52 --> 00:58:18 The chorus does repeat an excessive amount, which leads me to believe that the song was a demo that he created. They love it and fleshed out. It's not a bad thing, but it's also missing something other than dance breaks and such. So it's kind of like, I like it a little bit more because of how it's arranged. And also to what you were saying, they have better versions of what they've done with this. And the songs before this one were almost so good that this one's like, okay, nice try, sweetie. So it's like...
00:58:18 --> 00:58:44 But even then, I still enjoy it. I would never skip this when it comes on. I still sing along to it. Exactly. It's like this weird like brother thing where it's like, okay, it's cool. Not your older brother, younger brother. That's not as cool. This could have been a single for like another boy band. Maybe, yeah. It could have been a successful single for another boy band. I think NSYNC is just so good. Yeah, at this point. Yeah, exactly. So I'm going to give it a 7.5 because again, of the reasons I mentioned, but 7.5.
00:58:44 --> 00:59:13 Okay, I will go an eight just because I actually do like it. It's just not as good as some of the other tracks on the album. Up next is That's When I'll Stop Loving You by Diane Warren and Guy Roche. And this was the first song recorded for the album around the time that the group recorded Music of My Heart with Gloria Estefan. And it was also by Diane Warren. So, you know, just bring it all together. They recorded it around one mic, emulating the groups of the 60s. So you guys know that old school way we couldn't afford more than one mic. That's what they did.
00:59:13 --> 00:59:36 for this one so it's not that simple oh diane warren oh man the ballad queen word up yeah this song is very pretty for sure i think it is their vocal execution that elevates it to something more than just a generic ballad yeah the harmonies are super super beautiful and i have to shout out chris
00:59:36 --> 01:00:06 For this one. Yeah. Because he's super prominent on the highs. Yes. And there's some really great moments. Like in that. The bridge. Oh, yeah. You can really hear him very prominently. And then JC and Justin have great harmony moments as well. Yeah. Like that part before the final chorus. Where the music cuts away. And you get them doing. That's what I'm about. That part. Yeah. Just so dramatic. And that's for sure the highlight of this song for me. Totally. What do you think? Welcome back, Justin. Nice to hear you.
01:00:06 --> 01:00:28 it was bringing the noise jc was like this is my song so yeah i can add my my joke is kind of just bringing it back to my point where it's like i can truly appreciate the combination of the jt jc mix like we need that dynamic to create sonic i guess difference uh
01:00:28 --> 01:00:52 The feeling, the ethos of the music kind of is embodied with both their voices, but they both approach it in such different ways. And it's like, you can hear it. Oh, my gosh. I will say I like the verses and the prehooks parts way more. And I pay attention to them more, especially because JC built over the chorus in the verse two, in the second verse, excuse me. But like in the choruses, like the melody is not really like...
01:00:52 --> 01:01:11 okay it's there the sentiment is very sweet it's like until the world ends or like until pigs fly basically i'll love you right like it's just trying to give you the idea um something about the song does remind me of thinking of you from the debut album oh something about the melody right which made me think like oh my god interesting
01:01:12 --> 01:01:39 I'm curious how the song would have sounded with Chris on versus as opposed to only harmony. Cause he does have like that more pure, like innocent voice. And the song sentiment is more innocent. And because I'm thinking of you had Chris, then Justin, and then JC, like bring it home. It felt like it was building a little bit more with this one. We're following that same structure. Cool, cool, cool. But when we finally get to that bridge, it's like, oh my gosh. Like the bridge is the only thing really giving me like, ah, yeah.
01:01:39 --> 01:02:03 I enjoy the sentiment for sure, but I think I needed a little bit more boys to men overall in the whole song, not just toward that bridge. Yeah, JC and Justin definitely saved the song for me. That and then that bass drum at the end mimicking a heartbeat. So that little tidbit at the end was cute, too. And I was like, OK, all right, I'll give it to you. This could be a wedding song, too.
01:02:03 --> 01:02:20 Yeah, just at the end. You better cut to the end. That's when they'll stop moving you. You better give it to me there. That's when the lift happens. Oh, yes. After the costume change, because I'm not going to get lifted up in the address. Oh, man. So this song is a little down the road for me, so I'm going to give it a seven.
01:02:20 --> 01:02:48 Okay, I'll go 7.5. I think it has a good place on this album. We did need just one more ballad, I think. Ballad, ballad, ballad like salad. Okay, moving on to I'll Be Good For You, which was done by Justin Timberlake, Kevin K-Tunes, Antunes, Teddy Pendergrass, Reggie Calloway, and Vincent Calloway. And it does sample Believe in Love by Teddy Pendergrass. And I believe Kevin Antunes was their music director as well.
01:02:48 --> 01:03:10 So really cool to see him get a credit on this. So yeah, what do you think of this Justin co-write? You know what? This song surprises me because it has a live sound, quote, unquote, live sound to it. I asked for more Boyz II Men feel, and this definitely gives it. This song, I think it's really one of those...
01:03:10 --> 01:03:27 we can sing, we can actually sing songs. It's definitely one of those songs where it's like, hey guys, listen to us. We have vocals, we have groove, and we have rhythm. Because it's more focused on the R&B elements, we get a lot more of that mid and lower tones grounding the sound in.
01:03:27 --> 01:03:56 And it helps us really get more focused on Joey and Lance. So with higher songs, more upbeat songs, and the other tracks, you have to kind of raise the highs because you want to sound bright and, you know, pop. But with this one, we want the soul. We want the groundedness of everything. So it's a fun addition to the album. And toward the end of the album, it's good to how. I will say that it doesn't make complete sense
01:03:56 --> 01:04:18 in the album the full picture of the album i'm gonna be real here this live sounding track this very r&b sounding track um it's giving 90s r&b singer which isn't terrible not terrible but in the whole grand scheme of this album that's been filled with swedish pop this and live inspiration here that
01:04:18 --> 01:04:38 and then kind of sort of doing a cover that was R&B, but not really having anything else that followed up with it until this track. It does not make sense in the full picture, but it makes sense to them as a group. So I am not completely against it being here because it's still a good song, but I just think certain things I'm like, okay, okay, I get it. But like, I don't.
01:04:39 --> 01:05:02 Yeah, that makes sense. I understand that. Yeah. I agree with you with that. Yeah. But the song is so good. I don't care either. So funny. Because yeah, this song has grown on me so much through the years. I remember I feel like I didn't think that much about it. Maybe the first few times I heard the album, but it's now since become one of my absolute favorites from pretty much across their entire discography. Yeah.
01:05:02 --> 01:05:31 I think the funkiness is really great. I like that the production is so different from the rest of the album and that it is a bit more organic with everything. And the vocals are super, super smooth. Like, I just appreciate how relaxed and chill it is. Because, as I mentioned for other songs, there was just such a push to be really powerful in most of the other songs. It's kind of nice to hear something that's just a bit more relaxed. Yeah.
01:05:31 --> 01:05:59 And I think watching them perform it and hearing them perform it on that intimate Christmas special definitely helped me grow that love for the song. Because the band is so good with the horns and the percussion and the harmonies are so good. And JC and Justin have some really, really great little ad-lib-y moments together, too. And you can feel the teamwork because you can kind of see them kind of watching each other to kind of get the timing and everything. So, yeah, this is one of my favorites. Yeah.
01:05:59 --> 01:06:18 Yeah, this is a good one. I like it, but I just gave it a 9.5. Nothing terrible, but I did give it a 9.5. But you say a 9.5 is nothing terrible, but it's like one of the best scores you can get. This is definitely a 10 for me, for sure. All right, moving on to...
01:06:21 --> 01:06:30 of the standard edition of No Strings Attached, we have I Thought She Knew, written by Robin Wiley. And this song is a fully acapella song.
01:06:31 --> 01:06:56 written and arranged by their vocal coach, Robin Wiley, and the group credits her for helping to create NSYNC's sound. Hello! And they even spoken about it recently, about how the song holds a special place for them as a group. This is one of the first songs that they sung back together in the mid-90s, and there is a demo version online from 1995 that also exists, so thank you to the people who upload that.
01:06:56 --> 01:07:19 It's also a rare occasion where members Joey and Chris get to sing lead vocals. So shout out to them once more. All right. So this one, I remember hearing when we're doing the 101, which you guys should all watch because it was a fun episode. I remember watching that and I was like, wow, these guys can really sing. Wow, these guys are so good.
01:07:19 --> 01:07:34 Like, yeah, this is great. Yeah. And it's so nice to be able to be into a group and then be able to like, hey, guys, listen, they can actually sing like I'm not just into them because they're cute. This is one of those songs that do that. Do you I feel like you you like this song, right? Yeah.
01:07:34 --> 01:07:50 You like the song, right? I wouldn't say I don't like it. Obviously, I love it. The voice of men sound on this one definitely draws me in, and I can't help but to compare. They have the most solid examples for amazing harmonies in the 20...
01:07:50 --> 01:08:08 century. There we go. Late 20th century. Let's be real here because harmonies were always in groups. But in the late 20th century, they were a great example. So now NSYNC is definitely up there for me now. This is also one of those songs for me, even though
01:08:08 --> 01:08:29 I'm kind of like, on the album, I understand why it's there. Because it's like, this is a song that we sang when we were figuring out ourselves with a sentimental value. And then the album also mellowed out quite a bit. But to close the album with this one, I don't know if I'm like, I would say maybe switch it for me mentally with good music.
01:08:29 --> 01:08:49 or I'll be good to you. Good for you. Excuse me. So I'm like, eh, but I'm also like, okay, I can understand why it closes the album. Cause like we are finally returning back to basics, which is us as a group. So I get the sentiment. I'm just like, Oh my God, the album is just so high energy. So I ended on this. I was a little bit like,
01:08:50 --> 01:09:05 Okay, yes. All right. Okay. Okay. So like the song, you had like slight discrepancy. That's just, it's two separate things. Like one is just a preference and one is like the song's actually good. So again, Joey's taking lead in the moment and I'm,
01:09:05 --> 01:09:25 I've said it a couple times. He could have had a lot more moments on the album. But that's not what they're known for. But when he did come out to actually sing, especially for live performances, he holds it down. So shout out to him for taking lead. Him taking lead was the moment. We love the live performances because he gets to have his moment to shine. But yes. What do you think about it? Because I know, like...
01:09:25 --> 01:09:49 Yeah, I really like it. I mean, yeah, I think it's awesome that the song has never had a band arrangement ever. Like, it's only written as an acapella. And the arrangement is so intricate. And the way it kind of keeps your interest the whole time, too. Like, they're never doing the same oohs and ahs the whole time. Like, it kind of switches up.
01:09:49 --> 01:10:11 The whole time, which I think is really cool. And I think the feeling is nice, too. Like, the lyrics are super sweet and kind of sad. And it's so funny hearing the 95 demo because Justin's voice is barely broken. It almost sounds like. Like, he sounds like a little boy doing it. And it's great that you can kind of hear. Obviously, this is a very produced version that ended up on the album.
01:10:12 --> 01:10:32 But you can still feel the teamwork. It still takes so much skill to execute something like this well. Yes. And, you know, I think especially with the rise of Glee and everything many years later, and, like, I feel like the whole kind of harmony group kind of thing... Yeah. It lost its...
01:10:32 --> 01:10:59 I get people just aren't as impressed by it. Yeah. Anymore. Which is sad because I feel like it. I don't know. This is part of why I love groups. That they can do stuff like this. Yeah, you're right. And, you know, we talked about K-pop earlier in this episode. Like they don't do any harmonies. Any full group harmonies like this. It's very, very rare. They might have a couple members come out and do a little harmony here and there. But they don't do a full thing like this.
01:10:59 --> 01:11:18 Mm hmm. And I think it's so important. I think it builds teamwork as well, having them have to figure this out together. Yes, absolutely. Where each of them, you know, sits. And so anyway, I appreciate this as the ending of the album. I agree with you. I kind of like that it starts off so high energy and it kind of tapers off. I'm kind of okay with that, I think. Mm hmm.
01:11:18 --> 01:11:40 But yeah, I understand why they love this so much. And I know, I remember people saying that they really wished when they got like their Hollywood star and stuff like those random appearances that they've had these past kind of few years, they wish that they just like did a little chorus of this or something just to kind of sing together kind of properly again. But you know, we'll see, maybe we'll get...
01:11:40 --> 01:11:51 We'll get something at some point. Yeah, I think it's great. I'll give it a nine. I keep it a 9.5. It's up there for me. I was like, why is it there? It was like separate things, y'all. Just separate things there.
01:11:51 --> 01:12:17 Okay, well, as you mentioned earlier, there are many other alternative track listings for this album. I got... Some actual album tracks and then also some bonus tracks as well. So we will discuss those in a separate bonus episode that will first be released on patreon.com slash cctvpops. So we're going to end the review here of the standard album. And we now have our cut or keep section. So...
01:12:17 --> 01:12:24 Let's do no singles. Yeah. Let's say if you had to keep an album track. Yeah. What would you keep and why?
01:12:24 --> 01:12:48 So I would definitely keep No Strings Attached. I think, again, because it embodies the sentiment that It's Gonna Be Me does, but also maintains the sound of the singles that are already released very well. I think that No Strings Attached is the song that should be kept if I were to show anyone anything. If I were to warm up to any song and tell people this is NSYNC, it'd be this. No Strings. Yeah.
01:12:48 --> 01:13:16 Okay, I will do I'll Be Good For You almost for an opposite reason. I get you. Like, I feel like it's something different for their discography. So I feel like on kind of a track list, like a best of track list, it just shows something a little different for them. Yes. And so I love that. Absolutely. So yeah, I'll do that. And then for a cut, I would cut Digital Get Down. That's valid. That's one I tend to honestly tend to skip it. Yeah.
01:13:16 --> 01:13:38 sorry oh you know that's the only one yeah that's valid that's super valid okay so i would cut oh style because i was really good like oh you know it sucks if it didn't have such a good bridge i would have cut that's when i'll stop loving you but i think i'll just match you at this point i
01:13:39 --> 01:13:58 maybe bringing the noise. I don't know. I mean, bringing the noise is okay. I really still feel it. A little fillery. I get that, too. Yeah, so I'll say bringing the noise just to kind of give us another one to cut out because, again, I still believe there's another song on the international version that could have been replaced here and giving a revamp. So...
01:13:58 --> 01:14:10 Bye-bye. Bring in the noise. Okay. Yeah. So that's so interesting that the first time you heard this album, or most of the songs on the album, was actually live. So I guess now going back, what do you think of the album overall? And what would your final rating be?
01:14:10 --> 01:14:32 I hate, I hate, I hate that there are no boy groups here in America, but I am okay with it not being American boy groups. Like I said before, I don't care if it comes from India. I don't care if it comes from Czechoslovakia. If there is good music, if there is some, even if there's no dancing, but if there's good music, good vocals...
01:14:33 --> 01:14:51 I am there. I don't care. If you're a good boy group, you're a good boy group. A good girl group, vice versa. I don't care. This is a very good album for many reasons. If you close your eyes and listen, it's good. If you open your eyes and close your ears, they're moving really well. If you had all your senses involved, you're going to be
01:14:51 --> 01:15:14 It's good. Yeah. I mean, if you like pop music, if you actually like pop music, you would like this song. This is one of those, like, how can you not like it? Because it's true. How could you not like it? So my final score for this, I would say, because I gave it a couple of sevens and almost gave it a six somewhere. I'm going to give it a nine. I'm going to give it a nine. Nine. A nine.
01:15:16 --> 01:15:34 Sorry. Is that final? Yes, it's a nine. It's a nine because I like it better than... I like it almost a little bit better than Celebrity, but Celebrity's up there too. So just a nine. Yeah, I like Celebrity. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I just think it's a pretty perfect boy band album. Like, it really is.
01:15:34 --> 01:15:57 such a good representation of why pop music was so awesome back then and if it was the only representation that we had for what made boy bands so popular you would only really need this album i mean like this encapsulates all of them i mean yeah for them to be the last big boy band heck yeah yeah so yeah i uh i'll match you i'll also do a nine it's my full rating yeah
01:15:58 --> 01:16:12 Guys, listen, this was tough. Let us know why this album was great or not great to you. Let us know what your scores were. Let us know all that good stuff. And let us know what songs you were cut or keep. Don't be mean. You have to pick one. Okay? Okay. Um.
01:16:13 --> 01:16:32 I'm going to try to figure out a fan name, even though fan names were not a thing back in the 2000s, which is like, hey, we love them. And Sinkers is one. We have Sink Ups or the Sink Up. Yeah. Or is making Chris is giving Chris crunchy toes. He is like, it's cringing. It's cringing him. And then I was another one.
01:16:34 --> 01:16:58 NSYNC lovers. Done. Problem solved. Oh lord. I know. I know. I know. But there we are. And let us know in the comments what other albums you'd like to hear us review. You can also hang out with us and the crew on Patreon and you can also message us at CCTV Pops on all social media. Don't forget to like, subscribe, and turn on those notifications for our YouTube channel. We are at 3 subscribers.
01:16:58 --> 01:17:20 And you're not the only one. Help us get to 5, okay? Don't be afraid to fall in love, okay? If you're enjoying the show on a podcast platform, please give us a follow, a rating, and a review. Until next time, that's Chris. That's Chantel. And this is CCTV. And we're signing off for the nonstop pop show. I bet.