This might be one of the worst songs I’ve ever heard, and the worst 80s tribute video ever made.
Can you imagine JC showing this song to Justin Timberlake? Either Justin is a great liar who hates JC and wants his solo career to fail or JC is an idiot.
Here’s a video of JC singing an NSYNC song with Matthew Morrison of Glee. I bet JC really misses those NSYNC days. He sounds good doing NSYNC, not weird 80s creep songs that don’t even take advantage of his 4 octave range!
I’m knee deep in an all out NSYNC obsession and pop music BINGE right now. It’s weird and nostalgic and oddly refreshing to get away from super synthy heavy tunes that are plaguing all radio stations, except when Adele is on (so every 5 minutes).
But here we have an original of a song that was featured on NSYNC’s second album No Strings Attached . “Just Got Paid” was actually recorded in 1988 by a guy named Johnny Kemp. I’ve never heard of him before. Maybe I’ll begin my Johnny Kemp obsession right now, cuz this song is all sorts of funky funky jam.
Ummmmm…………. FUCK YEAH. Sampling Ashanti?! Now there’s a fresh person to sample and build a sick electronic beat around. Perseus, keep workin’ it like a champ. AWESOME.
Speaking of Ashanti, whatever happened to her? Just a voice behind some good production or what? That’s normally the case. Ashanti: Find some good producers and come back.
God, I wanna get my freaky dance on to this song. This should be the summer of the strict dance party. “If you’re not dancing, get the fuck out or start movin’ yo bod like any god you like intended.” The funky fun instruments in this song remind me of Yelle’s “Safari Disco Club” and I’m diggin’ it SO much.
Check out some other funky, dance-y hits at Moon Boots’ soundcloud page.
NSYNC on a farm? Sure, why not. Image via blue-box.blueislands.net
I take pop music seriously. Not creepy serious to where I’m sweating while imagining that Joey Fatone (someone recently pointed out to me that his last name is literally ‘fat one’ and I died laughing) is feeding me fruit while quoting NSYNC love songs and poking me in the eye with his dangerously pointy frosted tips. I don’t have fantasies about these people.
I mean that I take pop music seriously to the point where the songs are well crafted, feel-good, emotive and filled with choreographed dance. The compilation of choreographed dance while singing amazingly solid pop music is probably the single greatest entertainment thrill of my life. So when it comes to my favorite era of pop music, I like to take a step back and examine which albums were the best of the best.
Image via indyposted.com
The best NSYNC album for me was No Strings Attached. I still remember dancing for hours in my room to all the fast songs on that CD (and then slow jamming to the ballads when I was feeling vulnerable). They had some awesome dance hits on there. The title track was never released as a single, but No Strings Attached is SUCH a good early 00’s dance song. Most of the dancey songs on NSA seem like they were tailored for sick dance breakdowns. They had so many punches, dramatic pauses and fast beats that it’s impossible even as a listen to stay still.
In terms of album theme construction, NSA was an album about cutting ties with their former business partner Lou Pearlman who Ponzi-schemed the shit out of their success and finances. They got into legal battles with him and his record label and eventually were freed of contracts with shady Pearlman and moved on to Jive Records (home of B. Spears at the time.) Bye Bye Bye is written about a relationship thats totally fucked up, and in the beginning of the vid the dudes are held up by puppetmaster strings until they’re cut free.
The second release from the NSA album was It’s Gonna Be Me, in which the dudes are packaged and lined up in a store, mass produced and ready to be sold, just like they were in real life! Either it’s a scathing review of modern capitalism or an amazing product placement. Probably both. Nonetheless, NSA sold 2.42 million copies in its first week. Then on to 9 million by the time 2000 ended. The last great era of record sales for sure.
Image via stillnsync.com
The other notable thing about NSYNC and others alike from this era of pop music is that it’s more like pop performance music. If you go back and watch videos of New Kids on the Block, they are singing live, dancing, sweating and flirting with the crowd. It’s a lot to do at one time. Throw into that mix heavily choreographed routines and often times ridiculous layers of costumes plus themed songs where you need to act as well, and you my friends have got a nice, thick piece of pop performance art.
So many times I hear from people that this sort of pop music is lame or unworthy of its success because most of the time-but not all of the time– the performers don’t write their own lyrics or music. But if you look at pop performance art like actors in a theatrical performance, it starts to shine a different light on the honest talent that it takes to be a pop performance star. Music preference and personal opinion aside, it’s always good to respect talent.
Fuck, now I want to go learn all these dances. (YESSS!!!!!!!) Check out the good ol’ days of amazing choreography and solid as fuck pop songs from the best dancers and singers of the boy band era.
Follow 20poorandfabulous on Facebook and Pinterest. Just do it. Do it for pop music.
EDITORS UPDATE:
I just came across this song off the European version of NSYNC’s first album called “Riddle” and it’s a TOTAL clubby european electronic. So obvious it wasn’t released in America because apparently we could handle clubby hits until this decade.
Ahh, the playful and often terribly misguided talent of a manufactured group. Dream! One or two hits, and then never seen again. Except I think the blonde one acted once or twice in something. Note to self: Anything Diddy touches literally turns to entertainment kryptonite. J.Lo and the club shooting incident, Dream, Making the Band everything, his own rap career, etc. He was probably even involved in every major oil spill of the last two decades. But we’ll never prove it. DAMN YOU DIDDY!!!!
Anyways, Dream had a fun song or two. The girls desperately lacked personality though. Having a good voice is cool, but not necessary. You need to be a STAHHHHHH. Sorry ladies. But we’ll fondly remember you always as that girl group that had that one okay song from around when Britney was an untouchable. Hugs!
Fuck yeah for dudes jumping. Image via themusicninja.com
This is roll down your windows on the highway en route to your friends’ barbecue on a Saturday afternoon. New summer jammy jam plus cute dudes to think about. It could only get better if there were free drinks involved, courtesy of youtube, 3D printing and the future. A girl can dream.
NUFF SAID. This is what I miss in pop music. Choreographed heavy dancing to amazing, Max Martin produced pop music. Ahh, to be in the 90s/pre 9/11 years. I will never forget this era of pop music. Never ever ever ever!!!
This was American pop at it’s height of perfection. Eat your heart out, Katy Perry!
Remember waaaaay back when, when Justin Timberlake shed his pop music wings that carried him to the top of the world? His performance of Like I Love You was one of the most anticipated tween girl moments of my lifetime. Everyone was nervously thinking he couldn’t do it alone, or that his new song wasn’t poppy enough. But lo and behold, he danced into our hearts before he descended from the giant stereo set.
This video was TEN FUCKING YEARS AGO. Cripes. But still awesome. The dancing and singing is fab, and he ends the performance with a dance solo and the disappears into a life-sized tape deck. Pure brilliance.
Fast forward to now, with Justin Bieber’s latest release. It’s not like this song is anything super innovative, but at least it doesn’t sound like the eurotrash trend that hit America radio like 3 decades too late. It’s a little more R&B than we’re used to with the Biebs, but he makes it sound good and his voice is fucking spot on.
Way to go Biebs. Be our new JT, because it’s getting to be obvious that he’ll never return to us. A true sign of the impending apocalypse, I’m almost sure of it.
PS: SO many girls (and some diluted middle-aged, Twilight fan-type women) are gonna be creeping out to pictures of JB while listening to this song and probably plotting Selena Gomez’ death. Fuck off, they’re the new Brit and JT. Leave pop royalty alone, dicks. It’s not like child stars (even if they’re LOADED) don’t have enough problems on their hands without death threats and stalkers.
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