Earlier this month, Billboard posted an article called “In Defense of JC Chasez” *NSYNC's Underappreciated Boy Band Frontman.” In January of last year, a Buzzfeed post argued that “JC was actually the best member of *NSYNC.” JC Chasez is having an Internet moment and I am HERE for it for two reasons: one, each of these declarations of JC’s talent is throwing shade at Justin Timberlake and two, they’re not wrong.
Today *NSYNC will be getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. All five members will be at the ceremony which means that it will be THE JT SHOW. He will inevitably make it all about him, cracking the loudest “jokes” and standing front and center in all of the photos. Here’s the thing: Justin Timberlake WAS the breakout star of *NSYNC. You could argue that he should be front of center. When I was in my Justin Timberlake Sunken Place, I truly believed he was the most talented and best member of *NSYNC. He’s the only one who went one to achieve solo success and the only one with a relevant career today. Justin Timberlake’s talent isn’t up for debate here. The debate is whether, in the confines of *NSYNC the boyband, JC Chasez was the one who actually deserved the praise and access to the best producers to give him the best shot at success post-*NSYNC? If JC was given the shot JT was, would we be living in an alternative reality where JC Chasez is the Billboard chart-topping pop star and Justin Timberlake is the one giving tours of the new *NSYNC pop-up shop?
Justin Timberlake had Timbaland and The Neptunes create incredible songs for him. Justin’s first solo single was Like I Love You, produced by The Neptunes. That song holds up. It’s still a banger. Even though I broke up with Justin years ago (#NeverForget), I can still admit that the entire Justified album is solid. On the other hand, JC Chasez’s first solo single was called Blowin Me Up (With Her Love) and it is god-awful. I forgot how bad it is. Try to get through this music video without laughing so hard tea comes out of your nose. Just me? Also, it was on the Drumline soundtrack and Tara Reid stars in the video. This video is SO 2002 it should be wearing low-rise jeans and a belly button ring.
Blowin Me Up (With Her Love) was co-produced by JC and Dallas Austin, who actually has legit songs on his resume like TLC’s Unpretty and Pink’s Don’t Let Me Get Me. I don’t know what happened here but this song is trash. It was followed up with an even bigger heaping pile of garbage called All Day Long I Dream About Sex.
I’m sorry I am subjecting you to that atrocity on a Monday. You don’t deserve this. My intention when I started writing this post was to point out that now would be a great time for JC Chasez to attempt to resurrect his solo career. I’m not interested in an *NSYNC reunion, mainly because Justin Timberlake would, as Lainey would say, “cockjack” the entire thing. I also have no desire to ever see Chris Kirkpatrick again. Plus, if we’re being real, it’s probably never going to happen. My point was going to be that JC should ride the nostalgia for his talent and the pieces calling for him to claim his rightful place as the true frontman of *NSYNC (at the band’s peak he was the best looking and had the best vocals, let’s fight) but after revisiting those videos, I don’t know anymore. Those singles and videos were not worthy of a man who could deliver a vocal performance like this.
So, I guess my point is that now would still be the perfect time for JC to release new music but he’s going to have to come with a lot better than the sh-t he’s released in the past.
He also, um, needs to do something about his ...styling. (Lainey: Or at least his hair!) I’m sorry but what’s going on in this video? He looks COMPLETELY different.
Here's JC at the farmers market in LA on the weekend.
