"U Drive Me Crazy" is the first single taken from American boy band

NSYNC NSYNC ( ; also stylized as *NSYNC or N Sync) was an American vocal group and pop boy band formed by Chris Kirkpatrick in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich. The group consists of Kirkpatrick, JC Chasez, ...

's seasonal studio album, '' The Winter Album'', as well as on the UK version of their self-titled debut album.

Music video

Background

The video for "U Drive Me Crazy" was released in 1998 outside of the US, and was directed by

Lionel C. Martin Lionel C. Martin is an American music video director, film director and VJ from Queens, New York. While he is known primarily as a music video director, he has also directed the films '' Def Jam's How to Be a Player'' (1997) and '' Longshot'' (2 ...

Lou Pearlman Louis Jay Pearlman (June 19, 1954 – August 19, 2016) was an American music manager and scam artist. He was the person behind many successful 1990s boy bands, having formed and funded the Backstreet Boys. After their massive success, he then dev ...

is briefly seen in the video.

Synopsis

The video begins with a montage resembling a TV sitcom opening. The members of

are introduced in the apartment in a frame freeze;

Justin Justin may refer to: People and fictional characters * Justin (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Justin (historian), Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire * Justin I (c. 450–527) ...

is making a sandwich,

Lance The English term lance is derived, via Middle English '' launce'' and Old French '' lance'', from the Latin '' lancea'', a generic term meaning a wikt:lancea#Noun">lancea'', a generic term meaning a spear">wikt:lancea#Noun">lancea'', a generi ...

is making

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, JC is playing the guitar,

Joey Joey may refer to: People *Joey (name) Animals * Joey (marsupial), an infant marsupial * Joey, a blue-fronted Amazon parrot who was one of the Blue Peter pets Film and television * ''Joey'' (1977 film), an American film directed by Horace ...

is reading "Girlymag" and

Chris Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, and Christine. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common. People with the given name * Chris Abani (born 1966), Nigerian autho ...

is trying to get his dog to pull him on his wagon. Lance sees an advertisement which states that a famous producer by the name of Johnny Correcto (played by their manager Johnny Wright) is looking for a new star. They drive to the audition where they get rejected at the reception desk. Feeling dejected, the group notices a girl holding a bouquet of flowers and decide on a plan. They return to the hotel dressed as a

glam metal Glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal music, heavy metal that features pop music, pop-influenced Hook (music), hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat arena rock, rock anthems, and slow Sentimental ballad#Powe ...

band and while Justin distracts the receptionist with the flowers, the rest sneak in and play for Johnny before getting kicked out, dressing as

Slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash th ...

and

Axl Rose W. Axl Rose ( ; born William Bruce Rose Jr., February 6, 1962) is an American singer and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist and lyricist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, and has been the band's sole constant member since its inception in ...

from

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...

, as well as members from

Twisted Sister Twisted Sister was an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in 1972 in Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, and later based on Long Island, New York (state), New York. Their best-known songs include "We're Not Gonna Take It (Twisted Sister song ...

. The NSYNC members are able to figure out where Johnny is and attempt to play for him but are constantly rejected by the producer and the audience present. They arrive to a dinner for international dignitaries and pose as

The Jackson 5 The Jackson 5, later known as the Jacksons, are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was formed in Gary, Indiana in 1964, and originally consisted of brothers Jackie, Ti ...

, show up at a pool party dressed as the

Spice Girls The Spice Girls are an English girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Mel B ("Scary Spice"), Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"), Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"), Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"), and Victoria Beckham ("Posh Spice"). They have sold over 10 ...

, and appear as rappers. The group eventually dance as themselves to the delight of the audience, as Johnny offers them a contract.

Reception

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' noted that the video's message was about "being yourself", despite commenting on the absurdities of "dressing up in drag to distract a record executive's secretary or infiltrating a dinner party for world leaders dressed as, more or less, the Jackson 5."

Track listings

# "U Drive Me Crazy" (Radio Edit) – 3:34 # "U Drive Me Crazy" (Extended Version) – 4:40 # "U Drive Me Crazy" (2-4 Family 7" Remix) – 3:24 # "U Drive Me Crazy" (Trime'n Delgado 12" Remix) – 5:33

Charts

Weekly charts

Release history

References

{{NSYNC 1998 singles 1998 songs NSYNC songs RCA Records singles Torch songs Music videos directed by Lionel C. Martin Songs written by Bülent Aris Songs written by Toni Cottura