Maps of Music

Celebrity (2001)

Where the lyrics of Celebrity take you, and where it was really made.

Written to answer critics who called NSYNC not a credible group, the album opened with a track that defended pop itself.

Key places

Recorded at Backroom (2001)

Recording site Echo Sound — Listed as a recording location for Celebrity. The point marks the Glendale city center, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Battery Studios (2001)

Recording site Record Plant Studios — Listed as a recording location for Celebrity. The point marks the New York City center, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Larrabee North (2001)

Recording site The Listening Station — Listed as a recording location for Celebrity. The point marks the Universal City center, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Location Studios (2001)

Recording site Master Plan — Listed as a recording location for Celebrity. The point marks the Stockholm city center, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Metalworks Studios (2001)

Recording site Metalworks Studios (Mississauga) — Listed as a recording location for Celebrity. The point marks the Mississauga city center, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Parc (2001)

Recording site Parc Studios — Listed as a recording location for Celebrity. The point marks the Orlando city center, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Record Plant (2001)

Recording site Record Plant (Los Angeles) — Listed as a recording location for Celebrity at the Record Plant in Los Angeles. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Westlake Recording Studios (2001)

Recording site Westlake Recording Studios — Listed as a recording location for Celebrity at Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Celebrity: fourth and final studio album by American boy band NSYNC
• Released by Jive Records on July 24, 2001
• Band members co-wrote 10 of the 13 tracks
• Blend of pop, R&B, and teen pop
• Officially announced on April 2, 2001, with an uptempo first single planned
• Release date moved from June 26, 2001 to July 24, 2001

Background

• The band faced constant criticism that it was not a credible group
• In response, NSYNC experimented with genres such as hip hop and two-step
• At the 2000 Billboard Music Awards on December 5, the band announced new experiments for the album
• Recording began at a Florida studio in January and February 2001
• Predecessor No Strings Attached (2000) sold 14 million copies worldwide
• Production was finished in June 2001
• The band went on hiatus after the Celebrity Tour ended in May 2002
• The group did not record together in the studio for 21 years, until the 2023 song Better Place

Recording

• Producers included BT, Rodney Jerkins, Brian McKnight, PAJAM, and the Neptunes
• Choreographer Wade Robson co-wrote and produced Pop, Gone, and the title track
• Stevie Wonder played the harmonica part on Something Like You
• Mastering credit: Chaz Harper

Cover

• The artwork shows the band walking on a red carpet surrounded by flashing cameras and a crowd
• Jackie Murphy created the artwork, and Mark Seliger photographed it

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com · es.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed by Chris Kirkpatrick in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich.
• Original members: Kirkpatrick, JC Chasez, Joey Fatone, Justin Timberlake, and Lance Bass.
• The name came from Timberlake's mother's remark on how "in sync" their voices were.

Members

• JC Chasez (melody/1st tenor), Justin Timberlake (melody/2nd tenor), Chris Kirkpatrick (countertenor), Joey Fatone (baritone), Lance Bass (bass).

Career

• Debut album NSYNC (1997) succeeded in Europe before entering the American market with "I Want You Back".
• No Strings Attached (2000) sold a record 2.42 million copies in its first week in the US.
• Celebrity (2001) debuted with 1,879,955 copies in its first week.
• Went on indefinite hiatus in 2002 after Timberlake's departure; reunited occasionally from 2013 onward.
• Released "Better Place" in 2023 for the film Trolls Band Together and reunited with Timberlake for a 2024 appearance.
• Has sold over 70 million records and is among the best-selling boy bands of all time.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Music critics gave generally favorable reviews, and many praised the production and songwriting
• AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine called it NSYNC's most varied album and a highlight of the 1999–2001 teen-pop era
• Blender's J.D. Considine wrote that the album shines when the group focuses on the tunes rather than its image
• NME's Alex Needham wrote that the band's discontent is made up for by the tunes
• Robert Christgau gave the album a one-star honorable mention
• The New York Times' Neil Strauss singled out The Game Is Over
• Slant's Sal Cinquemani called the album slightly overcooked and overzealous
• Dotmusic's Cyd Jaymes called the ballads formulaic and the album largely underwhelming
• PopMatters' Jason Thompson called it threadbare

Reappraisal

• In hindsight it is seen as a logical swan song for the band, coming after No Strings Attached and before its eventual dissolution
• Critics observed that the album became the basis for Timberlake's solo career, since its singles were all songs he co-wrote

Records

• Debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, the band's second album to do so
• First-week sales of about 1.88 million copies in the US, the second-best debut week at the time
• Third best-selling album on the Billboard 200 in 2001
• Certified quintuple platinum by the RIAA on August 22, 2001
• Debuted at number one in Canada and certified double platinum there
• Debuted at number 12 on the UK Albums Chart and certified gold by the BPI
• Peaked at number 11 on Japan's Oricon Albums Chart
• Peaked at number 10 on Australia's ARIA Albums chart and certified gold there
• Ninth best-selling album globally in 2001, with 6.5 million copies

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The first track, Pop, was described by Billboard's Larry Flick as a blend of Cameo-style electro-funk beats and Euro-pop synths
• For Pop, BT tried 40 different vocal treatments and constantly shouted Michael Jackson's name to inspire Timberlake
• Gone was first written as a duet between Timberlake and Michael Jackson, but Jackson declined it
• Stevie Wonder's harmonica part on Something Like You was recorded after Jive Records contacted him
• The MTV special The Road to Celebrity aired on July 21 and 22, 2001, before the album's release
• The premiere was held in West Hollywood on July 23, 2001, a day before the album came out

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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