*NSYNC (album)

*NSYNC
Studio album by *NSYNC
Released	May 26, 1997 (Germany) March 24, 1998 (America) (See Release history)
Recorded	August 1996 – February 1997 (Germany) August 1996 - February 1998 (America)
Genre	Teen-pop, dance-pop
Length	56:19 (Germany) 50:06 (U.S.)
Label	RCA
Producer	Johnny Wright
*NSYNC chronology
*NSYNC (1997-1998) No Strings Attached (2000)
Alternative cover
1998 UK & US Cover
Singles from *NSYNC (German Edition)
"I Want You Back" Released: October 7, 1996 "Tearin' Up My Heart" Released: February 10, 1997 "Here We Go" Released: May 5, 1997 "For The Girl Who Has Everything" Released: August 18, 1997 "Together Again" Released: November 3, 1997
Singles from *NSYNC (American Edition)
"I Want You Back" Released: January 20, 1998 "Tearin' Up My Heart" Released: June 30, 1998 "God Must Have Spent A Little More Time On You" Released: February 9, 1999
Singles from *NSYNC (British Edition)
"I Want You Back" Released: January 20, 1998 "Tearin' Up My Heart" Released: June 30, 1998

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

*NSYNC is the self-titled debut album by American boy band 'N Sync.

Background: 1995-1997

In 1995, Chris Kirkpatrick met with Lou Pearlman to talk about forming a pop group. Pearlman said that he would finance the group if Kirkpatrick would find other young male singers to be with him in the band. This prompted Kirkpatrick to call Joey Fatone, a friend he had met while working at Universal Studios. Then, Fatone and Kirkpatrick approached Lou Pearlman for more suggestions. Pearlman looked through some tapes they had, and one of Justin Timberlake from the Mickey Mouse Club caught their eye. Timberlake soon joined the group and recommended his friend JC Chasez, who also was a cast member on the Mickey Mouse Club. Soon, they decided to even out their sound by finding a bass singer. Initially, their fifth member was to be Jason Galasso. After several weeks of rehearsals, the group set up a showcase and began planning to officially sign with Pearlman's Trans Continental Label. However, at the last minute, Galasso dropped out. He was not fond of the group's musical direction, claiming that being a teen idol was never a goal of his.^[2] In need of a bass, the group auditioned several people without success. Timberlake soon called his vocal coach, who suggested a 16-year-old from Mississippi named Lance Bass. Bass flew to Orlando to audition and was immediately accepted into the group. After being signed to BMG Ariola Munich, another of Pearlman's labels, the group were sent to Sweden to begin working on their debut album with the help of producers such as Denniz Pop, Max Martin and Andreas Carlsson. The album's official lead single, "I Want You Back", was released in Germany on October 7, 1996, and entered the top 10 in Germany on November 18, 1996.^[3] The group's second single, "Tearin' Up My Heart", was released in Germany on February 10, 1997, also peaking within the top 10.^[4] A third single, "Here We Go", was released in Germany on May 5, 1997, just three weeks prior to the release of the album, to similar success.^[5][6] Their self-titled debut album was then released by BMG Ariola Munich on May 26, 1997, in Germany, peaked at number one in the week of release.^[7] The group soon became an overnight success throughout much of Europe.^[8] The album also charted successfully in both Switzerland and Austria eventually selling 820,000 units in GSA (Germany, Switzerland, Austria) region and Eastern Europe.^[9][10] Two further singles, "For The Girl Who Has Everything" and "Together Again", were subsequently released on August 18 and November 3, 1997 respectively, achieving success in Germany and other European territories.^[11][12]

Background: 1998-1999

Following their success of their debut album in several European territories, the band captured the attention of Vincent DeGiorgio, an A&R rep for RCA Records. After watching the group perform a rendition of their single "Together Again" in Budapest in November 1997, he offered them a record deal with RCA, which the group immediately agreed to. In January 1998, their first German single, "I Want You Back", was released in both the United Kingdom and the United States, becoming their first single in both territories, achieving success on both the UK Singles Chart and the Billboard Hot 100. Around this time, RCA Records announced that they wished to release the group's debut album, which was previously only released in Germany, in both the UK and US, however, wanted to make adjustments to suit both markets. This resulted in the tracks "Riddle", "Best of My Life", "More Than a Feeling", "Together Again" and "Forever Young" being cut altogether, and new mixes of "I Want You Back", "Tearin' Up My Heart" and "For The Girl Who Has Everything" being recorded. The new version of the album also included four new tracks: "I Just Wanna Be With You", "God Must Have Spent A Little More Time On You", "Everything I Own", "Thinking Of You (I Drive Myself Crazy)". This version of the album was subsequently released in the United States on March 24, 1998. On June 30, 1998, the group's second German single, "Tearin' Up My Heart", was released in both the UK & US, once again achieveing success on both charts. Further edits were made for the British version of the album, including remixes of "Thinking Of You (I Drive Myself Crazy)", "God Must Have Spent A Little More Time On You" and "For The Girl Who Has Everything", plus an all-new track, "U Drive Me Crazy", written exclusively for the British market. This version of the album was released in the UK on July 5, 1998. At first, sales of the album were mediocre in both British and American territories, until the band's worldwide broadcast Disney Summer Concert in 1998. After the concert was aired, sales of the album began to sky rocket. It reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and shipped over 10 million copies in the United States alone, making it certified 10x Platinum and earning the group a RIAA diamond award.^[13] On February 9, 1999, a third single from the new version of the album, "God Must Have Spent A Little More Time On You", was released exclusively in the United States, peaking at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[14]

Track listing

German Edition (1997)
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Tearin' Up My Heart"	Kristian Lundin; Max Martin	4:47
2.	"You Got It"	Veit Renn	3:33
3.	"Sailing"	Christopher Cross	4:36
4.	"Crazy For You"	Christian Hamm	3:42
5.	"Riddle"	Pat Reiniz	3:41
6.	"For The Girl Who Has Everything"	Joylon Skinner; Veit Renn	3:51
7.	"I Need Love"	Gary Corolla	3:14
8.	"Giddy Up"	Veit Renn	4:09
9.	"Here We Go"	Bonny Aris; Toni Cottura	3:36
10.	"Best Of My Life"	Bonny Aris; Toni Cottura; V.D. Toorn	4:46
11.	"More Than A Feeling"	Tom Scholz	3:42
12.	"I Want You Back"	Denniz Pop, Max Martin	4:24
13.	"Together Again"	Andy Renoylds, Tee Green	4:09
14.	"Forever Young"	Nemo Fahrenkrog; Tim Peterson	4:07

Japanese Bonus Tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
15.	"Tearin' Up My Heart" (Back Beat Radio Edit)	Kristian Lundin; Max Martin	3:30
16.	"I Want You Back" (Back Beat Radio Edit)	Denniz Pop, Max Martin	3:22

American Edition (1998)
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Tearin' Up My Heart" (US Version)	Kristian Lundin; Max Martin	3:30
2.	"I Just Wanna Be With You"	Full Force	4:03
3.	"Here We Go"	Bonny Aris; Toni Cottura	3:36
4.	"For The Girl Who Has Everything" (US Version)	Joylon Skinner; Veit Renn	3:51
5.	"God Must Have Spent A Little More Time On You"	Carl Sturken; Evan Rogers	4:43
6.	"You Got It"	Veit Renn	3:33
7.	"I Need Love"	Gary Corolla	3:14
8.	"I Want You Back" (US Version)	Denniz Pop, Max Martin	3:22
9.	"Everything I Own"	David Gates	3:59
10.	"Thinking Of You (I Drive Myself Crazy)"	Rick Nowels; Allan Rich; Ellen Shipley	3:58
11.	"Crazy For You"	Christian Hamm	3:42
12.	"Sailing"	Christopher Cross	4:36
13.	"Giddy Up"	Veit Renn	4:09

Australian & Japanese Bonus Tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
14.	"Sailing" (Live Version)	Christopher Cross	5:21
15.	"More Than A Feeling"	Tom Scholz	3:42
16.	"Sundreams"	Jolyon Skinner; Veit Renn	4:18
17.	"Tearin' Up My Heart" (Phat Dub)	Kristian Lundin; Max Martin	5:22
18.	"I Want You Back" (Back Beat Radio Edit)	Denniz Pop, Max Martin	3:22

British Edition (1998)
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Tearin' Up My Heart" (Radio Cut)	Kristian Lundin; Max Martin	3:35
2.	"I Just Wanna Be With You"	Full Force	4:03
3.	"Here We Go" (Radio Cut)	Bonny Aris; Toni Cottura	3:33
4.	"For The Girl Who Has Everything" (Club Mix)	Joylon Skinner; Veit Renn	3:46
5.	"God Must Have Spent A Little More Time On You" (Remix)	Carl Sturken; Evan Rogers	3:58
6.	"You Got It"	Veit Renn	3:33
7.	"I Need Love"	Gary Corolla	3:14
8.	"I Want You Back" (Radio Cut)	Denniz Pop, Max Martin	3:12
9.	"Everything I Own"	David Gates	3:59
10.	"Thinking Of You (I Drive Myself Crazy)" (Remix)	Rick Nowels; Allan Rich; Ellen Shipley	4:00
11.	"Crazy For You"	Christian Hamm	3:42
12.	"Sailing"	Christopher Cross	4:36
13.	"Giddy Up"	Veit Renn	4:09
14.	"U Drive Me Crazy" (Radio Cut)	Max Martin, Kristian Lundin	3:34

Taiwanese Bonus DVD
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Tearin' Up My Heart"	Kristian Lundin; Max Martin	3:35
2.	"Here We Go"	Bonny Aris; Toni Cottura	3:33
3.	"For The Girl Who Has Everything"	Joylon Skinner; Veit Renn	3:46
4.	"God Must Have Spent A Little More Time On You"	Carl Sturken; Evan Rogers	3:58
5.	"I Want You Back"	Denniz Pop, Max Martin	3:12
6.	"Thinking Of You (I Drive Myself Crazy)"	Rick Nowels; Allan Rich; Ellen Shipley	4:00
7.	"U Drive Me Crazy"	Max Martin, Kristian Lundin	3:34

Singapore Bonus Disc
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"U Drive Me Crazy" (Extended Version)	Max Martin, Kristian Lundin	4:42
2.	"For The Girl Who Has Everything" (Unplugged Version)	Joylon Skinner; Veit Renn	4:18
3.	"Sundreams"	Jolyon Skinner; Veit Renn	4:18
4.	"Riddle"	Pat Reiniz	3:41
5.	"Best Of My Life"	Bonny Aris; Toni Cottura; V.D. Toorn	4:46
6.	"More Than A Feeling"	Tom Scholz	3:42
7.	"Together Again"	Andy Renoylds, Tee Green	4:09
8.	"Forever Young"	Nemo Fahrenkrog; Tim Peterson	4:07
9.	"The Lion Sleeps Tonight"	Solomon Linda; Hugo Peretti; Luigi Creatore; George David Weiss; Albert Stanton	3:03

Personnel

• Alan Armitage – Assistant Engineer, Mixing Assistant
• Adam Barber – Engineer, Mixing Assistant
• Tony Battaglia – Guitar
• Kim Biggs – Artwork
• Gary Carolla – Producer, Mixing
• Elizabeth Chang – Violin
• Roger Che – Mixing Assistant
• Full Force – Arranger, Group, Producer, Engineer, Performer, Vocal Arrangement
• Al Hemberger – Engineer
• Kristian Lundin – Producer
• Sheryl Lutz-Brown – Design
• Max Martin – Producer
• Mark Matteo – Guitar
• Daniel Miller – Cello
• Maxine Neuman – Cello
• Lou Pearlman – Executive Director
• Denniz Pop – Producer
• Veit Renn – Guitar, Producer
• Evan Rogers – Producer
• Bob Rose – Mixing
• Jolyon Skinner – Guitar (Bass)
• Justin Star – Mixing Assistant
• Carl Sturken – Guitar (Acoustic), Producer
• Michael Tucker – Engineer, Mixing Assistant
• Johnny Wright – Executive Producer
• Alexander Yudkovsky – Violin

Release history

Country	Date
Germany	March 26, 1997
United States	March 24, 1998
United Kingdom	July 5, 1998
Canada	April 13, 1999

Sales and certifications

Country	Certification	Sales or shipments
USA	10x Platinum	10,000,000+
Canada	4x Platinum	400,000+
Germany	Gold	250,000+
Switzerland	Gold	15,000+
Austria	Gold	10,000+
Poland	Gold	20,000+

End of decade charts

Chart (1990–1999)	Position
U.S. Billboard 200[15]	17

Charts

Chart (1997/98)	Peak Position
Austrian Albums Chart	2
Canadian Albums Chart	4
Dutch Albums Chart	59
German Albums Chart	1
New Zealand RIANZ Albums Chart	34
Norwegian Albums Chart	40
Swedish Albums Chart	56
Swiss Albums Chart	5
UK Albums Chart	30
U.S. Billboard 200	2

See also

• List of best-selling albums in the United States

References

1. ^ Allmusic Review
2. ^ "VH1's Driven's *NSYNC Episode Summary". VH1.com. http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/driven/59733/episode_about.jhtml. Retrieved 2008-01-04. 
3. ^ "CHARTS-DEUTSCHLAND:Single Top 100 (18.11.1996)" (in German). Charts.de. http://www.charts.de/weekchart.asp?cat=s&year=1996&date=19961118&country=de. 
4. ^ http://www.amazon.de/Tearin-Up-My-Heart-Sync/dp/B0000076HW/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1302347705&sr=1-1
5. ^ "*NSYNC – Tearin' Up My Heart". GfK Dutch Charts. http://www.dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=%27*NSYNC&titel=Tearin%27+Up+My+Heart&cat=s. 
6. ^ "'N SYNC – Here We Go". GfK Dutch Charts. http://www.dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=%27N+Sync&titel=Here+We+Go&cat=s. 
7. ^ "Charts-Deutschland:Album Top 100 (09.06.1997)" (in German). Charts.de. http://www.charts.de/weekchart.asp?cat=a&year=1997&date=19970609&country=de. 
8. ^ http://www.starpulse.com/Music/*NSYNC/Biography/
9. ^ "*NSYNC – *NSYNC (ALBUM)". Hung Medien. http://www.swisscharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=%27N+Sync&titel=%27N+Sync&cat=a. Retrieved 2010-05-12. 
10. ^ N Sync's Inderect Path to the Top. Billboard. 1999-03-20. http://books.google.com/books?id=nw4EAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA7-IA5&dq=*N%20SYNC%20sold%2056%20million&lr&rview=1&pg=PA84#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 2010-05-12. 
11. ^ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Girl-Who-Has-Everything/dp/B001IM662U/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1302347517&sr=8-2-fkmr0
12. ^ http://www.amazon.de/Together-Again-Enhanced-N-Sync/dp/B00000B9DV/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1302347611&sr=8-1
13. ^ RIAA website list of Diamond award winners
14. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_Must_Have_Spent_A_Little_More_Time_On_You
15. ^ Geoff Mayfield (December 25, 1999). 1999 The Year in Music Totally '90s: Diary of a Decade - The listing of Top Pop Albums of the '90s & Hot 100 Singles of the '90s. Billboard. http://books.google.co.kr/books?id=9w0EAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PP1&lr&rview=1&pg=RA1-PA4#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved October 15, 2010.