Celebrity (album)

''Celebrity'' is the fourth and final studio album by American boy band NSYNC. It was released by Jive Records on July 24, 2001. Due to constant criticism that they were not a "credible group", NSYNC began experimenting with genres such as hip hop and two-step. As with their previous studio album, '' No Strings Attached'' (2000), numerous producers, including BT, Rodney Jerkins, Brian McKnight, PAJAM, and the Neptunes, worked on the album. Justin Timberlake and JC Chasez also contributed to production, while they co-wrote 10 of 13 tracks in an attempt to develop a unique sound, which includes pop, R&B, teen pop, and urban genres.

After being delayed by unfinished recording sessions, ''Celebrity'' was released to generally favorable reviews from music critics, many of whom praised the production and songwriting. The album was the band's second album to debut at number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, with first week sales of 1,879,495 copies in the US, which became the second-best debut week sales in the country. It was also the third-best selling album on the ''Billboard'' 200 in 2001, after Shaggy's '' Hot Shot'' (2000) and Linkin Park's ''Hybrid Theory'' (2000), and has since been certified quintuple platinum in the US by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). NSYNC embarked on the accompanying PopOdyssey and Celebrity tours for promotion.

Background and development

At the 2000 ''Billboard'' Music Awards on December 5, NSYNC announced they would begin "experimenting with new music" for their third studio album at a recording studio in Florida during January and February 2001. Justin Timberlake said the band planned to spend two months in the studio to come up with ideas, while Joey Fatone stated that they may leave Florida as the album progresses. NSYNC also said they wanted to collaborate with Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs and Richard Marx, with whom they had worked on their third studio album '' No Strings Attached'' (2000).

Although ''No Strings Attached'' sold 14 million copies worldwide, including a record 2.4 million in the United States during its first week, critics ridiculed the band, who did not match the critics' perceptions as a "credible group" and were not considered "artistic". In response to this, NSYNC decided to be more involved in production, co-writing 10 of the 13 tracks on ''Celebrity''. JC Chasez discussed the recording process in an interview with ''Billboard'': "Our objective was not to be self-conscious and try to make another hit record. Instead, we set out to make a record that was more reflective of what turns us on musically. We also wanted to prove that pop music comes in a lot of different flavors. It's not all bubble-gum." The band decided to assign roles for each member to combat media perception of "leadership roles within the group". Timberlake and Chasez worked on the album's production and music, while Lance Bass was assigned to handle business and management, and Fatone started to plan the supporting tour alongside Chris Kirkpatrick. ''Celebrity'' finished production in June 2001.

Recording and production

NSYNC sought out several collaborators to add new styles to their sound for ''Celebrity''. BT was recruited when Chasez, a fan of BT's music, befriended the producer at shows. Though initially hesitant to work with the band as their styles were opposite from each other, BT finally agreed when Timberlake told him he could do whatever he wanted with the group's vocals. Timberlake told BT he wanted the track to sound like "The Hip Hop Phenomenon" on the UK version of BT's 1999 album ''Movement in Still Life'', to which BT responded, "If you wanna do something that punk-rock, I'll do it." During the production of " Pop", BT tried 40 different treatments for vocals, with him using equipment that is commonly used for movie sound effects, and he constantly shouted Michael Jackson's name at Timberlake to inspire him. BT changed the song from " new-school R&B, Timbaland-style beats, to progressive house".

NSYNC choreographer Wade Robson also took on a bigger role for the band as he co-wrote and produced multiple tracks for ''Celebrity'', including "Pop", " Gone", and the title track. "Gone" was initially written as a duet between Timberlake and Jackson, but was declined by Jackson. Timberlake took the song to NSYNC's A&R team and the band later recorded it. Jackson changed his mind after the song's release and wanted it to be performed only as a duet between himself and Timberlake, but they could not find a way to rewrite the song. American production duo the Neptunes produced ''Celebrity''s third single "Girlfriend". Timberlake was determined to get American musician Stevie Wonder to play the harmonica for "Something Like You" after Timberlake composed the song with his songwriting partner Robin Wiley. Wonder recorded the harmonica part after Jive Records contacted him, with Timberlake describing his presence as a "surreal moment". Brad Daymond and Alex Greggs, known as Riprock 'n' Alex G, returned from ''No Strings Attached'' to write and produce three tracks: "The Two of Us", "Up Against the Wall", and "The Game is Over". Bass stated that "The Two of Us" was inspired by the music of Craig David.

Composition and lyrical content

''Celebrity'' includes elements of several musical genres, including pop, R&B, teen pop, and urban. In contrast to ''No Strings Attached'', the decision to experiment with different sounds on songs such as "Pop" was made so NSYNC could appear more mature and musically diverse. The album fuses sounds from NSYNC's earlier songs such as "Bye Bye Bye" (2000) with experimental genres, including hip hop and British two-step. Several of the producers who worked on ''Celebrity'' influenced the unique sound of each track, which was attributed to the band's self-awareness and desire to accentuate different aspects of their music.

The album's first track, "Pop", refers to NSYNC's defense of the pop genre towards their critics. Larry Flick of ''Billboard'' described the song as "a crafty, anthemic blend of Cameo-style electro-funk beats, Euro-pop synths, heavy-metal guitars, and Timberlake's now-signature human beat-box riffs", while John Hugar of Uproxx referred to it as "a sort of proto-salvo against in the rockist vs. poptimists argument", and called the song a preview of Timberlake's 2003 single "Rock Your Body". The next track, "Celebrity", was produced by Rodney Jerkins, who used "low-key, funksome, two-step slither" along with camera clicks. The lyrics outline the negative consequences of being "a multi-millionaire, globe-trotting pop star", while Jon O'Brien of ''Billboard'' noted that the song is influenced by the Blackstreet and Janet Jackson song " Girlfriend/Boyfriend" (1999). "The Game is Over", according to Barry Walters of ''Rolling Stone'', includes the "Pac-Man theme and dance-y squeaks", and "echoes the sounds and sentiments of the last album's edgiest cuts". The fourth track, "Girlfriend", is an R&B song that was produced by the Neptunes. A remix of the track that features rapper Nelly was noted for giving the song a hip hop influence. Nelly raps over a minimal guitar figure for two verses; the first which lasted for 61 seconds before the song's first verse. "The Two of Us" is an "R&B waltz" containing a "British dancefloor beat", which was compared to that of "Digital Get Down" from ''No Strings Attached''. Staff writers at ''Billboard'' considered the ballad "Gone" to be "harrowing, relentless and unmistakably final". Hugar noted "Gone" as the precursor to Timberlake's second single " Cry Me a River" (2002).

"Tell Me, Tell Me... Baby" was written by Max Martin and includes elements of Europop. According to O'Brien, the song contains "larger than life beats, swelling strings" and a bombastic chorus, which serves as a "blatant throwback". "Up Against the Wall" is an R&B song that features two-step garage elements; it was compared to Billy Joel's song "Get It Right the First Time" from his 1977 album '' The Stranger'', while the middle eight was compared to songs by the UK garage group So Solid Crew. "See Right Through You", the ninth track on ''Celebrity'', has an R&B sound; according to David Browne of ''Entertainment Weekly'', the song is "another tale of betrayal by scheming girls". The Brian McKnight-produced track "Selfish" combines the vocals of Chasez and Timberlake with an adult contemporary track. "Just Don't Tell Me That", a teen pop track, is similar to songs by Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys. The song's lyrics describe a "fame-seeking girlfriend" spending too much time at the Playboy Mansion. According to Browne, "Something Like You" is a "squishy ballad with drooling-puppy harmonies and lyrics". The chorus was compared to the Boyz II Men song " 4 Seasons of Loneliness". The US version of the album's final song "Do Your Thing" contains "stuttering electronic beats" and a bar by the songwriter J. Moss. Browne described the song as "mild electronica"; "Do Your Thing" is included on ''Celebrity'' because Jive Records wanted a song that showcased NSYNC's vocal talents and harmony.

Artwork and title

The artwork of ''Celebrity'' depicts the band walking on a red carpet while surrounded by flashing cameras and a crowd. Jackie Murphy created the artwork, which was photographed by Mark Seliger. Writing for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine considered the garish cover art to be a hybrid of the cover of the Beatles' 1967 album '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' and music videos by alternative rock band Sammy, and said the title ''Celebrity'' "none too subtly rawsattention to the fact that they're stars". Ariana Bacle of ''Entertainment Weekly'' stated the appearance of each member on the artwork is "tame" in comparison to that of NSYNC's 1997 self-titled debut studio album, specifically criticizing Chasez and Joey Fatone's highlights for seeking unneeded attention.

Release and promotion

The album was officially announced on April 2, 2001 as ''Celebrity'', with Jive Records having intentions to release an "uptempo" first single later that month. On May 11, 2001, MTV played a recording of "Pop" via satellite during NSYNC's tour rehearsal for PopOdyssey, leading to the song's release to radio stations as the album's lead single three days later. ''Celebrity'' was initially set to be released on June 26, 2001, with the opening date of PopOdyssey on May 12, 2001. The tour was postponed to May 18, 2001, because the staging was still in development, and the album's release date was postponed to July 24, 2001. NSYNC decided to perform the tracks from ''Celebrity'' on tour before its release. The tour was sponsored by Verizon, which launched several television and radio advertising campaigns across the US in promotion of the album and its release date. In an interview with ''Billboard'', Chasez stated the concept of playing new songs at a concert was unusual but he felt it was a good sign that the crowd was actively participating. Jive Records president Barry Weiss was surprised by the band's touring approach, acknowledging the audience response would indicate "an album of immeasurable creative and commercial depth".

MTV broadcast a television special entitled ''The Road to Celebrity'' on July 21 and 22, 2001. The premiere of ''Celebrity'', which included celebrities such as Britney Spears, Hugh Hefner, the Olsen Twins, and Aisha Tyler, was held at West Hollywood on July 23, 2001. NSYNC also played several songs at a tailgate party in the parking lot and appeared on MTV's ''Total Request Live'' on July 24, 2001, coinciding with the date of the album's ultimate release. To promote ''Celebrity'', NSYNC appeared on ''The Rosie O'Donnell Show'', ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'', and ''Today (American TV program), Today'', between June and August 2001. On the August 2001 magazine issue of ''Rolling Stone'', each NSYNC member was featured on an individual cover, in addition to a cover with the whole group. The recording process and promotional cycle for ''Celebrity'' was more condensed than previous albums, as the group scrambled to finish the album while planning for PopOdyssey. Chasez stated that the process of recording, promoting and touring was "everything at once".

Tours

NSYNC embarked on two concert tours to promote the album. The first was PopOdyssey, which began on May 23, 2001, in Jacksonville, Florida, and concluded on September 1, 2001, in Mexico City. The tour's set was a five-story-high main stage with several smaller stages surrounding it, with the setup being transported by 88 trucks in comparison to the 19 trucks used for their No Strings Attached Tour (2000). Earning over $90 million, PopOdyssey was the second biggest tour of 2001. The band's second tour for ''Celebrity'' was the Celebrity Tour, which began on March 3, 2002, in Portland, Oregon, and concluded on April 28, 2002, in Orlando, Florida. In contrast to PopOdyssey, the tour favored music over spectacle and incorporated their older songs with new arrangements. It earned $33 million.

Critical reception

''Celebrity'' was met with generally favorable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a Standard score, normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an Weighted mean, average score of 65 based on 11 reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

Erlewine said ''Celebrity'' is NSYNC's "most varied album yet" and called it a highlight from the teen-pop era of 1999–2001, and praised the musicianship of Timberlake, Chasez, and the songwriters. J.D. Considine of ''Blender (magazine), Blender'' said the album "shines brightest when the group matures enough to forget about its image and focus on the tunes". Alex Needham of ''NME'' wrote that although NSYNC display feelings of discontent on ''Celebrity'', they "have the tunes to make up for it". In one of his "Robert Christgau#Consumer Guide, Consumer Guide" reviews, Robert Christgau gave the album a Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s#Grading key, one-star honorable mention, writing, "they survive writing their own songs", highlighting "Selfish" and "Do Your Thing". Neil Strauss of ''The New York Times'' singled out "The Game Is Over," with its "skittering, robotic video-game beat" as an impressive track.

Browne stated that ''Celebrity'' is "the consummate teen-pop experience", listing R&B, ballads, self-expression and Europop as examples of genres included. He also said it is "pleasant filler and nothing more". Walters said the anxiety in the singers' vocals allowed them to "pave a new high road for teen pop’s future", and that he found the band's calling out of "anonymous gold diggers" on several tracks tiresome. Writing for ''Slant Magazine, Slant'', Sal Cinquemani criticized the album for being "slightly overcooked and a tad overzealous", saying it is unfortunate NSYNC "couldn’t completely discard the classic hit-making formula in favor of the more experimental pop that seems so inherent in this and their last album". He said NSYNC could become "The Beatles of their generation" if they abandoned the pop genre and survived the growing pains and the aging of their fans. The staff of ''Q (magazine), Q'' said ''Celebrity'' is "quality froth" despite not being good, and the staff from ''E! Online'' stated that 13-year-old girls would love the album while others will only reluctantly appreciate it.

''Dotmusic's'' Cyd Jaymes was critical of ''Celebrity'', praising the first track "Pop" for being one of the best singles of 2001, but describing the remainder of the album as "formulaic, less-than-meaty balladeering and the odd glimmer of upbeat hope", and largely underwhelming. Jason Thompson of ''PopMatters'' described it as "threadbare cookie crunch" and accused the band of setting double-standards for their fans, saying NSYNC "enjoy flaunting their own image while at the same time playing a candy-ass game of 'don't like us only for our status'".

Commercial performance

In the US, ''Celebrity'' debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200. Although it did not sell as many copies as ''No Strings Attached'', ''Celebrity'', selling 1,879,955 copies, had the second-best debut week sales at the time since Nielsen SoundScan had begun monitoring record retailers in 1991. ''Billboard'' said the album's failure to match the first-week sales of its predecessor was due to the 2001 US economy's weaker state in comparison with the previous year, as well as the first decline in album sales in more than a decade. On August 22, 2001, ''Celebrity'' was certified quintuple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments of 5,000,000 units in the US. It became the third best-selling album of 2001, selling 4.42 million copies. Sales of the album were marginally lower than those of Shaggy's '' Hot Shot'' by 86,000 copies, which only beat it in the cassette tape, cassette format; ''Hot Shot'' sold 304,000 tapes while ''Celebrity'' only sold 92,000 tapes. ''Celebrity'' was ranked at number nine on the ''Billboard'' 200 year-end chart for 2001. As of March 2015, the album had sold 5,002,000 copies in the US according to Nielsen Music. It has sold an additional 826,000 units at the Bertelsmann Music Group, BMG Music Club, as of February 2003.

''Celebrity'' debuted at number one in Canada on the Canadian Albums Chart, selling 71,254 copies, which was the biggest first-week album sales of 2001. It was certified double platinum by Music Canada (MC) for selling over 200,000 units in the country on November 7, 2001. In the United Kingdom, the album sold 13,000 units in its debut week, entering at number 12 on the UK Albums Chart. ''Celebrity'' was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for selling over 100,000 copies in the UK on May 17, 2002. Several European companies reported slow album sales, including Fnac in France and Spain, ''WOM magazin, WOM'' in Germany, and Casa Ricordi, Ricordi in Italy. The album sold 20,000 units in the first week in Japan, where it peaked at number 11 on the Oricon Albums Chart. ''Celebrity'' peaked at number 10 on Australia's ARIA Charts, ARIA Albums chart, and was certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for selling over 35,000 units in the country. In 2001 ''Celebrity'' was the ninth best-selling album globally, selling 6.5 million copies.

Legacy

At the end of the Celebrity Tour in May 2002, NSYNC went on hiatus to take time off from touring and recording and to accommodate for Timberlake's desire to record a solo album. Although the hiatus was originally planned to be temporary with the band intending on recording a fourth album once Timberlake released the album, they never returned to record together in the studio.

''Celebrity'' is retrospectively seen as "a logical swan song" for NSYNC because it came after the record-breaking commercial success of ''No Strings Attached'' and before the band's eventual dissolution. Music critics observed that the album was the basis for Timberlake's solo career, as the album's singles consisted of only songs Timberlake co-wrote, in addition to album promotion that centered around Timberlake. Hugar compared ''Celebrity'' to Zayn Malik's and Harry Styles' desires for solo stardom after One Direction's hiatus, concluding that it is "a reminder that boy bands are rarely built to last". NPR's Maria Sherman stated the album shifted the band further towards the R&B genre and "firmly established Timberlake as the bandleader and pushed Chasez's powerful pop vocals to the periphery". Andrew Unterberger of ''Billboard'' acknowledged that ''Celebrity'' contained sounds which "pushes pop music into the future".

Track listing

Track listing and credits adapted from the album's liner notes. All lead vocals provided by Justin Timberlake and JC Chasez.

Personnel

All credits taken from AllMusic.

NSYNC
* Lance Bass background vocals
* JC Chasez lead vocals, producer
* Joey Fatone background vocals
* Chris Kirkpatrick background vocals
* Justin Timberlake lead vocals, arranger, multi instruments, producer, beatbox

Instrumentation
* Kenny Blank guitar
* Bryan Popin piano, cello, strings
* Richard Fortus bass guitar, electric guitar
* Hampton String Quartet strings
* Michael Landau electric guitar
* Michael Lang (producer), Michael Lang piano
* Michael Thompson (guitarist), Michael Hart Thompson acoustic guitar
* Anthony Nance drum programming
* Esbjörn Öhrwall guitar
* WaWa chant
* Stevie Wonder harmonica
* Yasu string engineer

Production
* BT arranger, programming, producer, engineer, mixing
* Rodney Jerkins multi instruments, producer
* Kristian Lundin producer, engineer, mixing
* Brian McKnight keyboards, producer
* J. Moss, James Moss producer, engineer, rap, mixing
* J. Valentine background vocals, writer, producer
* Rami Yacoub, Rami producer, engineer, mixing
* Wade Robson arranger, multi instruments, producer
* Jake Schulze producer, engineer, mixing
* Robin Wiley producer, digital editing, string arrangements

Technical
* Alan Armitage engineer
* Brady Barnett digital editing
* Stuart Brawley engineer, mixing
* Christopher Carroll mixing
* Love Inc. (band), Bradley Daymond mixing
* Todd Fairall engineer
* Tony Flores mixing
* Michael Forbes engineer
* Brian Garten engineer
* Alex Greggs, Alexander Greggs mixing
* Paul Gregory engineer
* Kevin Guarnieri engineer, digital editing, assistant engineer
* Chris Haggerty digital editing
* Chaz Harper mastering
* Jean-Marie Horvat mixing
* Bill Importico engineer
* Joel Kazmi engineer, assistant vocal engineer
* Scott Kieklak mixing
* Peter Mokran mixing
* Dylan Koski-Budabin engineer
* Pablo Munguia engineer, assistant engineer
* Paulino Oliveira assistant engineer
* John O'Mahoney mixing
* Charles Pollard programming, engineer, string arrangements
* Talley Sherwood engineer
* Mary Ann Souza assistant engineer
* Rich Tapper assistant engineer, mixing
* Jim Tobin FOH Manager
* Michael Tucker engineer, assistant engineer, mixing, vocal recording
* Carlos Vazquez beat programming
* Chris Wood engineer

Other
* Steven Gerstein stylist
* Jackie Murphy art direction, design
* Frankie Payne hair stylist
* Mark Seliger photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

See also

* 2001 in music#Albums released, List of 2001 albums
* List of Billboard 200 number-one albums of 2001, List of ''Billboard'' 200 number-one albums of 2001
* List of fastest-selling albums worldwide

Notes

References

{{Authority control

2001 albums
NSYNC albums
Jive Records albums
Albums recorded at Metalworks Studios
Albums recorded at Record Plant (Los Angeles)
Albums recorded at Westlake Recording Studios
Albums produced by Rodney Jerkins
Albums produced by Kristian Lundin
Albums produced by Brian McKnight
Albums produced by the Neptunes
Albums produced by Rami Yacoub
Albums produced by Justin Timberlake