Celebrity is the fourth and final studio album by American boy band NSYNC. It was released by Jive Records on July 18, 2001. Due to constant criticism that they were not a "credible group", NSYNC began experimenting with genres such as hip hop and two-step. As with their previous studio album, No Strings Attached (2000), numerous producers, including BT, Rodney Jerkins, Brian McKnight, PAJAM, and the Neptunes, worked on the album. Justin Timberlake and JC Chasez also contributed to production, while they co-wrote 10 of 13 tracks in an attempt to develop a unique sound, which includes pop, R&B, and teen pop.
After being delayed by unfinished recording sessions, Celebrity was released to generally favorable reviews from music critics, many of whom praised the production and songwriting. The album was the band's second album to debut at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, with first week sales of 1,879,495 copies in the US, which became the second-best debut week sales in the country. It was also the third-best selling album on the Billboard 200 in 2001, after Shaggy's Hot Shot (2000) and Linkin Park's Hybrid Theory (2000), and has since been certified quintuple platinum in the US by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). NSYNC embarked on the accompanying PopOdyssey and Celebrity tours for promotion.
Background and development
At the 2000 Billboard Music Awards on December 5, NSYNC announced they would begin "experimenting with new music" for their third studio album at a recording studio in Florida during January and February 2001. Justin Timberlake said the band planned to spend two months in the studio to come up with ideas, while Joey Fatone stated that they may leave Florida as the album progresses. NSYNC also said they wanted to collaborate with Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs and Richard Marx, with whom they had worked on their third studio album No Strings Attached (2000).
Although No Strings Attached sold 14 million copies worldwide, including a record 2.4 million in the United States during its first week, critics ridiculed the band, who did not match the critics' perceptions as a "credible group" and were not considered "artistic". In response to this, NSYNC decided to be more involved in production, co-writing 10 of the 13 tracks on Celebrity. JC Chasez discussed the recording process in an interview with Billboard: "Our objective was not to be self-conscious and try to make another hit record. Instead, we set out to make a record that was more reflective of what turns us on musically. We also wanted to prove that pop music comes in a lot of different flavors. It's not all bubble-gum." The band decided to assign roles for each member to combat media perception of "leadership roles within the group". Timberlake and Chasez worked on the album's production and music, while Lance Bass was assigned to handle business and management, and Fatone started to plan the supporting tour alongside Chris Kirkpatrick.
Recording and production
NSYNC sought out several collaborators to add new styles to their sound for Celebrity. BT was recruited when Chasez, a fan of BT's music, befriended the producer at shows. Though initially hesitant to work with the band as their styles were opposite from each other, BT finally agreed when Timberlake told him he could do whatever he wanted with the group's vocals. Timberlake told BT he wanted the track to sound like "The Hip Hop Phenomenon" on the UK version of BT's 1999 album Movement in Still Life, to which BT responded, "If you wanna do something that punk-rock, I'll do it." Timberlake took the song to NSYNC's A&R team and the band later recorded it. Jackson changed his mind after the song's release and wanted it to be performed only as a duet between himself and Timberlake, but they could not find a way to rewrite the song. American production duo the Neptunes produced Celebritys third single "Girlfriend". Larry Flick of Billboard described the song as "a crafty, anthemic blend of Cameo-style electro-funk beats, Euro-pop synths, heavy-metal guitars, and Timberlake's now-signature human beat-box riffs", The next track, "Celebrity", was produced by Rodney Jerkins, who used "low-key, funksome, two-step slither" along with camera clicks. The lyrics outline the negative consequences of being "a multi-millionaire, globe-trotting pop star", while Jon O'Brien of Billboard noted that the song is influenced by the Blackstreet and Janet Jackson song "Girlfriend/Boyfriend" (1999). The fourth track, "Girlfriend", is an R&B song that was produced by the Neptunes. Nelly raps over a minimal guitar figure for two verses; the first which lasted for 61 seconds before the song's first verse. "The Two of Us" is an "R&B waltz" Hugar noted "Gone" as the precursor to Timberlake's second single "Cry Me a River" (2002). it was compared to Billy Joel's song "Get It Right the First Time" from his 1977 album The Stranger, "Just Don't Tell Me That", a teen pop track, is similar to songs by Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys.
Release and promotion
thumb|right|NSYNC appeared on [[Total Request Live to promote Celebrity on its release date.|alt=The Total Request Live exterior building in 2006.]]
The album was officially announced on April 2, 2001, as Celebrity, with Jive Records having intentions to release an "uptempo" first single later that month. On May 11, 2001, MTV played a recording of "Pop" via satellite during NSYNC's tour rehearsal for PopOdyssey, leading to the song's release to radio stations as the album's lead single three days later. Celebrity was initially set to be released on June 26, 2001, with the opening date of PopOdyssey on May 12, 2001. NSYNC decided to perform the tracks from Celebrity on tour before its release. The tour was sponsored by Verizon, which launched several television and radio advertising campaigns across the US in promotion of the album and its release date. NSYNC also played several songs at a tailgate party in the parking lot and appeared on MTV's Total Request Live on July 24, 2001, coinciding with the date of the album's ultimate release. On the August 2001 magazine issue of Rolling Stone, each NSYNC member was featured on an individual cover, in addition to a cover with the all the members. The recording process and promotional cycle for Celebrity was more condensed than their previous albums, as the group scrambled to finish the album while planning for PopOdyssey. Chasez stated that the recording, promoting and touring process was "everything at once". and concluded on September 1, 2001, in Mexico City. The tour's set was a five-story-high main stage with several smaller stages surrounding it, with the setup being transported by 88 trucks in comparison to the 19 trucks used for their No Strings Attached Tour (2000). Earning over $90 million, PopOdyssey was the second biggest tour of 2001. The band's second tour for Celebrity was the Celebrity Tour, which began on March 3, 2002, in Portland, Oregon, and concluded on April 28, 2002, in Orlando, Florida. In contrast to PopOdyssey, the tour favored music over spectacle and incorporated their older songs with new arrangements. It earned $33 million.
Critical reception
Celebrity was met with generally favorable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 65 based on 11 reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Neil Strauss of The New York Times singled out "The Game Is Over," with its "skittering, robotic video-game beat" as an impressive track.
Browne stated that Celebrity is "the consummate teen-pop experience", listing R&B, ballads, self-expression and Europop as examples of genres included. He also said it is "pleasant filler and nothing more".
Dotmusic's Cyd Jaymes was critical of Celebrity, praising the first track "Pop" for being one of the best singles of 2001, but describing the remainder of the album as "formulaic, less-than-meaty balladeering and the odd glimmer of upbeat hope", and largely underwhelming.
Commercial performance
In the US, Celebrity debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. Although it did not sell as many copies as No Strings Attached, Celebrity, selling 1,879,955 copies, it had the second-best debut week sales at the time since Nielsen SoundScan had begun monitoring record retailers in 1991. Billboard said the album's failure to match the first-week sales of its predecessor was due to the 2001 US economy's weaker state in comparison with the previous year, as well as the first decline in album sales in more than a decade. On August 22, 2001, Celebrity was certified quintuple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments of 5,000,000 units in the US. Celebrity was ranked at number nine on the Billboard 200 year-end chart for 2001. As of March 2015, the album had sold 5,002,000 copies in the US according to Nielsen Music.
Legacy
At the end of the Celebrity Tour in May 2002, NSYNC went on hiatus to take time off from touring and recording and to accommodate for Timberlake's desire to record a solo album. Although the hiatus was planned to be temporary, with the band intending to record a fifth album once Timberlake released his album, they did not return to record together in the studio for 21 years, until the release of the song "Better Place" in 2023.
Celebrity is retrospectively seen as "a logical swan song" for NSYNC because it came after the record-breaking commercial success of No Strings Attached and before the band's eventual dissolution. as the album's singles consisted of only songs Timberlake co-wrote, in addition to album promotion that centered around Timberlake. Hugar compared Celebrity to Zayn Malik's and Harry Styles' desires for solo stardom after One Direction's hiatus, concluding that it is "a reminder that boy bands are rarely built to last". Andrew Unterberger of Billboard acknowledged that Celebrity contained sounds which "pushes pop music into the future".
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