NSYNC
Incredibly, it’s been twenty years since JC Chasez released his debut solo album, Schizophrenic — his first and only solo foray following his time in *NSYNC. But after all that time — during which Chasez has explored various creative outlets, from judging America’s Best Dance Crew to, more recently, reuniting on two songs with his former bandmates — Chasez is back with an unexpected release.
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Playing With Fire is the concept album for a musical based on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, which Chasez co-wrote with longtime collaborator Jimmy Harry — and the singer stopped by Billboard News to discuss the project and how it pushed him creatively.
“We knew we wanted to write a musical, we just didn’t know what about,” says Chasez of the seeds of the project. “[Jimmy and I] come from pop music — we write different styles of pop music, but essentially our strengths are in pop music. [But] we’re more mature, we have more ideas than just the typical pop song, and this gave us the opportunity to express those ideas — to do something that’s bigger than three minutes and is a bit more focused but allows us to dream in different ways.”
Chasez is a deep theater fan who admits, “I could go to a show every night if I was lucky enough,” and he says Jesus Christ Superstar was their biggest inspiration for Playing With Fire. “They started with a concept album, and that’s kind of what inspired us to release it as an album first. If someone as smart and talented as Andrew Lloyd Webber thinks [it’s a good idea] is to release the music for a show first, why don’t we give it a shot?”
He also opens up about reuniting with *NSYNC for both “Better Place” (from Trolls Band Together) and “Paradise” from Justin Timberlake’s Everything I Thought I Was. “We’re all great friends, and we’re always talking,” says Chasez. “The conversation has been a little more open — right now I’m focusing on Playing with Fire, Justin’s on tour, Joey’s about to do & Juliet [on Broadway], but we’re always talking and anything’s possible in the future. It’s always gotta be for the right reasons.”
And speaking of potential reunions, he speaks about celebrating the 25th anniversary of fellow former Mouseketeer Christina Aguilera’s debut album with her — and the potential for them to do a duet someday: “If it was the right thing and organic, I’d be happy to sing with her anytime,” he says with enthusiasm.
Watch the full interview — including the story behind “Better Place,” how *NSYNC’s performance with Timberlake earlier this year in Los Angeles came together, and how Playing With Fire pushed Chasez vocally — above.
Besides being a beloved pop icon, JC Chasez is also a lifelong animal lover.
That’s why teaming up with Meow Mix was a natural fit for the *NSYNC superstar. In a new advertisement for the cat food brand, Chasez joined a different kind of boy band — full of cats. The group brings back all the 90s nostalgia by transforming Meow Mix’s original 1980 jingle into a perfectly harmonized, quintessential boy band pop hit.
In the commercial clip, the five-piece furry group (a.k.a. The Catty Five) performs sleek choreography while dressed in coordinating denim and all-white outfits. Chasez comes in halfway through the jingle to belt out some serious “meow, meow, meow” ad libs.
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“I was made to host The Catty Five,” Chasez tells Billboard with a laugh. “I grew up with cats — and dogs to be fair. I’m an animal lover in general. So, I loved the Meow Mix idea. Of course, there’s a lot of 90s Nostalgia going on right now, so putting a 90s spin on the longtime jingle was so fun.”
The star also gushed over how “cute” the final product is. “It’s so good. It’s the sound, right? You automatically go back to that era. They they nailed the sound of the era.”
“Thanks to the brilliant Meow ReMix creative from incredible agency and brand partners in Publicis, BBH, and JMS, BCL Entertainment knew that the talent had to be legendary,” Bettie Levy, talent producer of the campaign and founder and CEO of BCL Entertainment, said of the new collaboration in a press statement. “Beyond JC being part of one of the most iconic boy bands of all time, his interest in engaging in and contributing to unique campaigns made this partnership so natural and authentic.”
“We couldn’t be more excited to release the latest installment of our Meow ReMix campaign” added Peter Defries, GCD of BBH USA. “When we were tasked with launching the wet-food range, there was only one genre that could really bring it to life – the rain-soaked boybands of the 90s. And when JC Chasez came on board, we knew we were sitting on another hit.”
“Our latest campaign honors Meow Mix’s storied heritage while also bringing new cultural relevancy to the brand,” said Gail Hollander, chief marketing officer of JM Smucker’s.
The Meox Mix boy band-themed spot comes amid a particularly fun renaissance for boy bands in the music industry, with K-pop groups like BTS and SEVENTEEN dominating the pop landscape. “I want more!” Chasez says.
Besides the emergence of new boy bands, classic groups like Chasez’s own *NSYNC have been getting a second life on TikTok. In particular, a page called @justice4jc has been going viral on the platform, spotlighting the 46-year-old’s impressive vocal range and giving him the “credit & recognition he deserves,” per the user’s bio.
When asked if he’s seen the Justice for JC movement, Chasez admits that he hasn’t personally been following it, but has been told about it by some of his friends. In fact, he hasn’t had much time to scroll on TikTok, as he’s been immersing himself in writing musical theater. “There are similarities [between writing a pop hit and musical theater songs] and there are some some very big differences,” he explains. “When you’re writing a single for something, you’re just looking to write about what you’re feeling in the moment. When you’re working on a musical, there’s alwaysa bigger picture and the story is always the driving force. I would say, in pop music, you can live in the moment and not be worried about what you’re singing about in terms of it not working with another piece.”
He continued, “What really attracted me to it lately is that there’s such a human experience in live theater. There’s no hiding. There’s no AI up there. There’s no dirty tricks. It’s people up there giving you everything in that moment. So that’s what’s really been fun about.”
So far, Chasez has written two plays — a coming-of-age-story and one that’s a “bit more serious” and “beautiful” look at humanity. “It’s kind of like the last thing that I haven’t really dabbled in,” he says of theater. “I started in television, then I moved into music and I made a couple of films. Now it feels like this is the last untapped thing. It’s nice to experience all sides of it.”
Lastly, the singer gave his official response to fellow *NSYNC member Chris Kirkpatrick’s claim that he’s the least active in the boy band’s group chat. “I don’t have an official response, because it’s true!” Chasez says. “They go off on tangents, man. It happens in waves, like, the chat will be quiet for a couple of weeks and then somebody chimes in with something and then everyone’s riffing on that. I get my piece in there, but they get they get chatty.”
Watch the new Meow Mix commercial here.
As a member of one of the most beloved boy bands of all time, JC Chasez is the person to ask about today’s popular groups, including BTS, ENHYPEN and more.
“I really like it,” the *NSYNC member tells Billboard of the K-pop superstars. “It’s going to happen for every generation, and we’re always curious to see what is that voice of that generation. I think that the new scene is exciting. The dancing is absolutely incredible when you watch the performances these days, and how they’re tricking out their performances. Even their songs, they have a different kind of magic about them because they have so many different sections, in a way, to create more excitement throughout the songs.”
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Chasez, who chatted with Billboard‘s Tetris Kelly fresh off of filming an upcoming Meow Mix commercial, where the cat food brand created their own feline boy band, also took some time to reminisce on “the greatest days of my life” making music with bandmates Justin Timberlake, Chris Kirkpatrick, Lance Bass and Joey Fatone.
“We were fortunate enough to have a lot of great moments. The touring is amazing, but you have those one-off moments and they’re going to stand out to you because you’re among your peers,” he recalls. “When we played the Super Bowl with Aerosmith and Mary J. Blige, that was amazing. When we sung to the Bee Gees at the Grammys, that was amazing because they were a boy band in their own way.”
While, unfortunately, the group doesn’t have any current reunion plans, Chasez teases that “we never know what the future holds” and that he’ll always have his *NSYNC friends’ backs. “I’m always happy for all the guys. We all want all of us to succeed in doing whatever our passions are,” he says. “Whenever Lance has an idea, I want to support it fully. Whenever Joey has an idea, I want to support it fully. Whenever J’s dropping a record or making a movie, I want to support it fully. Same with Chris. We all love each other and have that brotherhood that we came up together and became men together. There’s an unbreakable bond, and we’ll always be rooting for each other and that’s why we’ll always be *NSYNC.”
Watch Billboard‘s interview with JC Chasez above.
MTV Entertainment Studios is teaming up with Glass Entertainment Group for the brand-new docuseries MTV’s Family Legacy, which will dive into MTV’s most celebrated events and iconic artists through the eyes of their children.
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The intimate docuseries will capture musicians through the lens of their kids, with exclusive footage and brand-new interviews with the children of beloved music stars, including Van Halen’s Sammy Hagar, Backstreet Boys’ Brian Littrell, *NSYNC’s Joey Fatone, Boyz II Men’s Nathan Morris, TLC’s Chili, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Brandy and Melissa Etheridge. The kids of late legends The Notorious B.I.G. and Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington are also featured in the series, which will be narrated by actor and musician Quincy Brown, the son of Al B. Sure and Diddy’s late ex Kim Porter.
While the MTV’s Family Legacy docuseries doesn’t arrive until 2023, a special around the series is set to premiere as part of the monthlong “We Speak Music” programming on MTV starting Dec. 19.
In other big news for MTV, RuPaul’s Drag Race announced a “global expansion” of its brand, which includes a new deal that will see the flagship show move over from VH1 (its home for the last six years) to MTV for its long-awaited 15th season.
In alphabetical order, season 15 of RuPaul’s Drag Race will see Amethyst, Anetra, Aura Mayari, Irene Dubois, Jax, Loosey LaDuca, Luxx Noir London, Malaysia Babydoll Foxx, Marcia Marcia Marcia, Mistress Isabelle Brooks, Princess Poppy, Robin Fierce, Salina EsTitties, Sugar and Spice all compete for the title of America’s Next Drag Superstar — as well as a newly increased cash prize of $200,000.
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