by: Sandra Sperounes, Journal Music Writer, Edmonton
The members of 'N Sync are used to answering questions about their
dance moves--not their legal ones. That's probably why their new record
label doesn't want reporters asking the boy band about its ongoing legal
problems.
"You can't ask any questions about the lawsuit," a rep from
Zonba/Jive Records warns before my interview with the group's cutie, Justin
Timberlake.
That lawsuit, worth $150 million (US), was prompted when 'N Sync
moved from BMG/Trans Continental to Zomba/Jive in September. (Incidentally,
Zomba/Jive is also the home of the Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears.)
Confused?
Just think of the lawsuit in terms of girlfriends.
'N Sync was dating BMG/Trans Continental for a few years. During
that time, 'N Sync recorded two albums, 'N SYNC and Home For Christmas, and
scored four pop hits, including God Must Have Spent A Little More Time On
You.
Everything seemed to be going well, but then 'N Sync fell in love
with Zomba/Jive and decided to break up with BMG/Trans Continental.
Naturally, the old girlfriend wasn't happy about being dumped and is
now fighting to get 'N Sync back. BMG/Trans Continental says 'N Sync
promised to record six more albums for her before dating other girls.
BMG/Trans Continental's "father," Louis Pearlman, is mad at 'N Sync
too. Pearlman claims he owns the 'N Sync name and wants the group to stop
using it. Pearlman says he created and managed 'N Sync, and paid for
songwriters, vocal coaches, choreographers and school tutors.
A court didn't see it Pearlman's way. In late November, a judge
ruled that the members of 'N Sync have full control of their name. The
BMG/Trans Continental lawsuit has yet to be decided.
That doesn't faze Timberlake. The baby-faced singer has no qualms
talking about 'N Sync legal problems, despite the warning from his new
label. "The fact that somebody would try to sabatoge us like that hurts,"
says Timberlake.
"You put faith in people when you do business with them. It kinda
warps your view of the music business, but we all got good heads on our
shoulders. We take everything with a grain of salt. Everything is going to
work out."
Timberlake partially blames the court case for 'N Sync's need to
reschedule its Edmonton gig twice. On top of that, the boys were also in the
midst of making a new record.
The lawsuit, howerver, wasn't filed until after 'N Sync postponed
its concert to tonight. As it turned out, the boys couldn't make that date
because they were asked to appear on the Billboard Music Awards the same
night. So 'N Sync rescheduled its show again, until tonight.
All those delays have hurt ticket sales, says a spokesperson for
House of Blues Concerts. As of Tuesday only 7,000 out of 12,000 tickets were
sold. The spokesperson also says sales are slow because 'N Sync hasn't
released its new album yet. Timberlake says the group still has to record a
few more tracks, but the disc should be out sometime in the "first quarter"
of 2000.
To make the wait more bearable for their hordes of female fans,
Timberlake and his pals recently collaborated with Gloria Estefan on Music
of My Heart. Even though it was written by hit-maker Diane Warren, the song
wasn't a chart-topper. Yet Timberlake says he's pleased with the results.
"Diane is a really good friend of ours and a very sweet lady.
"We didn't want to pass up the opportunity to sing one of her
songs," Timberlake explains.
"Then we heard that Gloria Estefan was going to be dueting the song
with us and we were so excited.
"We want to work with as many people as we can and Gloria is just a
sweetheart. She's very cool and down-to-earth."
Timberlake is also pleased with 'N Sync's almost-finished new album.
So far, the boys have worked with a band of writers and producers--including
Warren, Max Martin, Christian London, Richard Marx, Babyface, and David
Foster.
The album also features a "luuuuv" song written by Timberlake. It's
no wonder he's excited about the album.
"Oh my gosh. It's so good," Timberlake gushes. "We've got some
wicked songs. We're really, really happy with it. I wouldn't say we changed
our sound. I would just say we widened our sound, you know what I mean?
"We got a little more innovative with it. We just took our sound to
the next level with this album."
