Solo debut fit for a Prince
Feb. 28th, 2004 07:13 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
foxmonkeyOkay, I lied. Another review, separate entry. I love the title! Interestingly enough, I was listening to 100 Ways when I found this. From the London Free Press.
Solo debut fit for a Prince
'N Sync member JC Chasez tries to go from boy to man with a sexy new album.
ANGELA PACIENZA AND DONNA FREYDKIN
Free Press news services 2004-02-28 04:29:18
LOS ANGELES -- JC Chasez is the latest of the boy-band marvels to release a solo album. And if he's feeling apprehensive releasing a record in the shadow of 'N Sync bandmate Justin Timberlake's enormous success, he's not showing it. "All the business people are more nervous (than me). I'm just excited. I'm an artist. I love to sing songs and I'm excited that I have a platform to do it," he said.
The album, Schizophrenic, sounds like a blend of new wave, techno and soul with big nods toward Prince, Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson.
Chasez, who had a hand in writing almost all of the tracks, said he wasn't trying to emulate any of his idols.
"It's a very eclectic collection of music. It's a mixture of whatever I felt like that day," said the 27-year-old Washington, D.C.-born singer. "I just took the approach that I'm not going to try to program anything. I'm just going to make great music. I don't care if it's one style or the other."
Lyrically, the album is best described as lustful with plenty of sexual innuendo in songs such as All Day Long I Dream About Sex and Some Girls (Dance With Women).
"Some people say it's a really horny album . . . I don't see it that way. There's a million records that have a million songs about sex on them," said Chasez, who, like Timberlake, was once a member of the Mickey Mouse Club.
Aside from the new album and some April tour plans, Chasez has kept busy during his 'N Sync hiatus working with some celebrity friends. Aside from recent collaborations with electronica duo Basement Jaxx and his track for the soundtrack to Drumline, he's jotted down some song ideas with socialite Paris Hilton.
"I threw a couple of ideas on her lap," he said, adding they were brought together by producer Rob Bolt, who produced some tracks on Chasez's album. "I haven't physically written out an entire song for her or anything like that just because this is her record and she's actually going to be involved in a lot of it. That's why she's taking her time. And I applaud that."
But he did get a sneak preview of her work.
"I popped in on one of their sessions one day and they were like, 'What do you think?' I didn't know what to think," he said. "She's got her own style. She's got a vibe going and it's pretty cool. It's better than some stuff out there. I'm proud of her for being brave enough to do it because she knows she's going to stand under a microscope and everybody's going to scrutinize the hell out of her."
Chasez isn't the only singer trying to redefine himself as an adult after cutting his pop teeth in telegenic boy bands.
Nick Lachey, 30, who made his name in the pop group 98 Degrees and on the MTV reality series Newlyweds, released SoulO last November.
The mmmbopping Hanson brothers -- Isaac, 23, Taylor, 20, and Zac, 18 -- are releasing the acoustic Underneath, their first album in four years, on April 20.
After numerous solo efforts, the Backstreet Boys are back in the studio working on a new disc.
And Chasez is hardly kissing 'N Sync bye, bye, bye. He and his bandmates are planning to work on new songs this summer.
It's an open question whether performers can shed their boy-band pasts and enter adult territory. Or overcome the public perception that their music won't "have dimension or depth," says Jive Records head Barry Weiss, whose label is home to Chasez and Britney Spears.
To succeed, industry watchers agree, popsters need the singing chops to back up their ambition. Timberlake's solo effort was a critical and commercial hit because "looks aside, he is a genuine talent," says independent music consultant Tom Vickers. His album, which has sold 3.2 million copies, will add luster to 'N Sync's disc, Vickers says.
"He and JC are the star attractions and will power renewed interest in the band," he says. "Hanson will have the hardest time getting fan interest because no marquee star has emerged out of the group."
Still, top-notch tunes, risk-taking, working with hot producers -- as both Timberlake and Chasez did -- and giving yourself a defined, mature identity can take you back to the top of the charts.
"You have to have some authenticity," says Ron Shapiro, co-president of Atlantic Records. "If you are so manufactured throughout your rise to fame, so controlled by the record company and your parents, the public will use you up and spit you out."
'N SYNC UPDATE
'N Sync is working on new songs this summer, but meanwhile, the guys are busy with their own projects:
- JC Chasez: His solo album, Schizophrenic, hit stores this week.
- Justin Timberlake: The Grammy-winning solo singer will play a reporter in the movie Edison.
- Joey Faton: He appeared in Rent on Broadway in 2002 and played a lounge singer in the 2003 drama The Cooler.
- Chris Kirkpatrick: He has been writing songs with the Dallas band Ohno and is writing material for a potential solo project.
- Lance Bass: The would-be cosmonaut was a judge on America's Most Talented Kid and will be seen in Wes Craven's fall horror flick Cursed.
Solo debut fit for a Prince
'N Sync member JC Chasez tries to go from boy to man with a sexy new album.
ANGELA PACIENZA AND DONNA FREYDKIN
Free Press news services 2004-02-28 04:29:18
LOS ANGELES -- JC Chasez is the latest of the boy-band marvels to release a solo album. And if he's feeling apprehensive releasing a record in the shadow of 'N Sync bandmate Justin Timberlake's enormous success, he's not showing it. "All the business people are more nervous (than me). I'm just excited. I'm an artist. I love to sing songs and I'm excited that I have a platform to do it," he said.
The album, Schizophrenic, sounds like a blend of new wave, techno and soul with big nods toward Prince, Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson.
Chasez, who had a hand in writing almost all of the tracks, said he wasn't trying to emulate any of his idols.
"It's a very eclectic collection of music. It's a mixture of whatever I felt like that day," said the 27-year-old Washington, D.C.-born singer. "I just took the approach that I'm not going to try to program anything. I'm just going to make great music. I don't care if it's one style or the other."
Lyrically, the album is best described as lustful with plenty of sexual innuendo in songs such as All Day Long I Dream About Sex and Some Girls (Dance With Women).
"Some people say it's a really horny album . . . I don't see it that way. There's a million records that have a million songs about sex on them," said Chasez, who, like Timberlake, was once a member of the Mickey Mouse Club.
Aside from the new album and some April tour plans, Chasez has kept busy during his 'N Sync hiatus working with some celebrity friends. Aside from recent collaborations with electronica duo Basement Jaxx and his track for the soundtrack to Drumline, he's jotted down some song ideas with socialite Paris Hilton.
"I threw a couple of ideas on her lap," he said, adding they were brought together by producer Rob Bolt, who produced some tracks on Chasez's album. "I haven't physically written out an entire song for her or anything like that just because this is her record and she's actually going to be involved in a lot of it. That's why she's taking her time. And I applaud that."
But he did get a sneak preview of her work.
"I popped in on one of their sessions one day and they were like, 'What do you think?' I didn't know what to think," he said. "She's got her own style. She's got a vibe going and it's pretty cool. It's better than some stuff out there. I'm proud of her for being brave enough to do it because she knows she's going to stand under a microscope and everybody's going to scrutinize the hell out of her."
Chasez isn't the only singer trying to redefine himself as an adult after cutting his pop teeth in telegenic boy bands.
Nick Lachey, 30, who made his name in the pop group 98 Degrees and on the MTV reality series Newlyweds, released SoulO last November.
The mmmbopping Hanson brothers -- Isaac, 23, Taylor, 20, and Zac, 18 -- are releasing the acoustic Underneath, their first album in four years, on April 20.
After numerous solo efforts, the Backstreet Boys are back in the studio working on a new disc.
And Chasez is hardly kissing 'N Sync bye, bye, bye. He and his bandmates are planning to work on new songs this summer.
It's an open question whether performers can shed their boy-band pasts and enter adult territory. Or overcome the public perception that their music won't "have dimension or depth," says Jive Records head Barry Weiss, whose label is home to Chasez and Britney Spears.
To succeed, industry watchers agree, popsters need the singing chops to back up their ambition. Timberlake's solo effort was a critical and commercial hit because "looks aside, he is a genuine talent," says independent music consultant Tom Vickers. His album, which has sold 3.2 million copies, will add luster to 'N Sync's disc, Vickers says.
"He and JC are the star attractions and will power renewed interest in the band," he says. "Hanson will have the hardest time getting fan interest because no marquee star has emerged out of the group."
Still, top-notch tunes, risk-taking, working with hot producers -- as both Timberlake and Chasez did -- and giving yourself a defined, mature identity can take you back to the top of the charts.
"You have to have some authenticity," says Ron Shapiro, co-president of Atlantic Records. "If you are so manufactured throughout your rise to fame, so controlled by the record company and your parents, the public will use you up and spit you out."
'N SYNC UPDATE
'N Sync is working on new songs this summer, but meanwhile, the guys are busy with their own projects:
- JC Chasez: His solo album, Schizophrenic, hit stores this week.
- Justin Timberlake: The Grammy-winning solo singer will play a reporter in the movie Edison.
- Joey Faton: He appeared in Rent on Broadway in 2002 and played a lounge singer in the 2003 drama The Cooler.
- Chris Kirkpatrick: He has been writing songs with the Dallas band Ohno and is writing material for a potential solo project.
- Lance Bass: The would-be cosmonaut was a judge on America's Most Talented Kid and will be seen in Wes Craven's fall horror flick Cursed.
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no subject
Date: 2004-02-28 08:20 am (UTC)It's a little more than half a page (leaving a little less than half for the other five albums they reviewed, including the Indigo Girls) and has this picture in black and white. JC! Thank you for pointing it out. :)
no subject
Date: 2004-02-28 08:37 am (UTC)Yay! I know that some people are probably tired of the reviews, but this is the kind of reaction I like. :-)
That picture...his eyes!!!
no subject
Date: 2004-02-28 10:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-02-28 01:06 pm (UTC)No problem, I'm glad you're enjoying seeing them. :-)