In honor of both Justin Bieber and One Direction's new album coming out on Friday and the inevitable war of the fandoms that will come after, we thought it was necessary and very important to revisit one of the original pop music wars. It was intense. It was bloody. It is still going on. We're talking of course about 'N Sync vs. Backstreet Boys.
Two 30-year-old women, Jenna and Nicole, reminisced about the two boybands at the height of their popularity (late '90s-early 2000s) and what the world was like when BSB fans butting heads with 'N Sync fans was as synonymous with daily adolescent life as making sure to put a blank tape in the VCR before school to record MTV's TRL.
Jenna is team ‘N Sync. Nicole is Team BSB. They tried to remain respectful, but when it comes to this feud, it's a given that things will get a little nasty. Did their friendship survive the boyband fight? Read on and rehash with us…
Jenna: OK, let's start our war. Come at me.
Nicole: Friendship is about to be over. It was nice knowing you.
Jenna: Can you tell me about your history with BSB? When you started to love them? When it reached a dangerous level that borderlined on shameful?
Nicole: I remember exactly where I was the first time I heard "Quit Playing Games With My Heart" on the radio. Driving in the car with my dad and suddenly something…awoke in me. The sweet dulcet tones of Brian Littrell's angel voice on our way to Sam's Club. I'll never forget it.
Nicole: I knew things had crossed a line twice: when I screamed in a Sam Goody when I found the rare European version of their debut CD (that is a very old sentence), and again when I woke up my little sister before school to cry about the fact that Brian had gotten engaged. Also, I don't know why I'm focusing on Brian? He was never my favorite. But I knew he was the most talented.
Nicole: Your turn. How did you get hooked?
Jenna: So we all know Britney Spears is a gateway pop music drug. Back in the day, McDonald's was giving away Britney Spears-‘N Sync VHS tapes (another old sentence) and I only cared about the Britney part. But ‘N Sync was on it, too, so I watched their footage and realized they were perfect for me.
Jenna: But I also distinctly remember watching the "Drive Myself Crazy Video" and seeing Justin with his neon ramen hair looking fly as hell and hearing JC's heavenly voice. Also, silk pajamas! "Drive Myself Crazy" will always be my favorite ‘N Sync song because of that reason. It made me fall for them so hard.
Nicole: See, that video did not do it for me. Mostly because Chris Kirkpatrick was in it.
Jenna: OK, this is where it gets real because Chris was always my favorite
Nicole: STOP.
Jenna: YOU STOP.
Nicole: WE'RE DONE HERE. He was my best friend's fave and I was disgusted.
Jenna: Everyone was all over the rest of the guys but no one appreciated how funny he was. I did!
Jenna: Who was your favorite BSB member?
Nicole: It changed a few times. Nick at first. AJ when I got rebellious. Kevin as I matured and his Versace modeling pics came out.
Nicole: Fun fact: at the height of my AJ love, I had an AIM screenname to riff on his nickname Bone and the fact that our birthdays were so close (1/6 and 1/9): "LuvDaBone69."
Jenna: That AIM name proves you were in need of a higher power.
Nicole: Surprising no one, my parents made me delete it immediately. And wouldn't explain why. Looking back, I understand. Thank you, parents.
Jenna: BSB just always felt too old for me. Like, I was a hip youngster in the late ‘90s/early 2000s.
Nicole: I think my BSB fandom really spiraled because I didn't have a boyfriend. They were the focal point for all my teenage hormones.
Jenna: Speaking of hormones, does BSB have an equivalent to "Digital Get Down?" Because that song was scandalously sexy to 14-year-old me. Especially when they performed it live and JC humped and licked the floor.
Nicole: "Hey Mr. DJ!" It was AJ's solo. And he totally does the same floor-hump dance move JC did. Pure sex.
Jenna: And who can ever forget this:
Jenna: See, 1D fans get their boys shirtless and wet. They don't know how good they have it. ‘N Sync fans only had that to work with. That was boyband porn in our day.
Nicole: You know what, those tight mustard shirts were enough back then.
Jenna: Did you ever see them in concert?
Nicole: I think I saw them four times? I remember taking my camera and going through an entire roll of film. (Another old as hell sentence). And nothing came out! They were all black!
Jenna: Yes! Today's kids will never know the struggle. They have fancy cameras and zoom lenses and iPhones.
Nicole: Right? Unlimited shots. Your turn. How many ‘N Sync concerts did you go to?
Jenna: Two. I went to their "Celebrity" tour. But more importantly, I got to see them live during the Iconic, Undisputed Peak of Boyband-ness. The "No Strings Attached" Era!
Jenna: Before they came to my hometown of Chicago, they had that Live from Madison Square Garden HBO special. My friend taped it for me but told me to wait to watch it so we could see it live for the first time. Do you think I waited?
Nicole: I would be so disappointed if you had. No fangirl worth her mettle would. Carson Daly would not approve
Jenna: No, Carson and his painted nails would never approve. So yeah, watched the crap out of that tape. I knew that show backwards and forwards before I went and saw them live. To this day I can still, hand to JC, do the opening number dance.
Jenna: Actually, I can probably do more of that concert's choreography. I can barely remember my niece's birthdays, but you damn well better believe I can do the "It's Gonna Be Me" dance.
Nicole: I think most boyband fangirls from yesteryear can do at least some choreography.
Jenna: Also, at the "No Strings Attached" concert, we had terrible seats. Obviously. I ain't made of money. But when the boys came out on that platform during "This I Promise You," I will swear until my last breath that when the spotlight went over my section, Justin locked eyes with me.
Jenna: I felt it. In my bones. In my soul.
Nicole: You got touched by an angel!
Jenna: Do you remember getting into it with an ‘N Sync fan?
Nicole: Not hugely, no. But when they both came out, I was Team BSB and my two best friends were both Team ‘N Sync and I made them convert. I think it got ugly and there were a few days we didn't talk at school but them came around. They saw light.
Nicole: I would have brought you over, too. I could have saved you!
Jenna: I didn't need saving. JC's vocals, Justin's dance moves and Lance's deep baritone was all the salvation I needed.
Nicole: Final thoughts? Maybe regarding One Direction and Justin Bieber's fanbase about to do battle on Friday?
Jenna: One Direction and Justin Beiber fans: you have no idea how good you have it, what with social media and the constant connection with the boys. We had to live in fan fiction land and tape TRL appearances on VHS.
Nicole: Preach. We had no access to them. Having them on TRL was a treat. Or maybe you would get lucky and they would appear on a local radio station.
Jenna: Your final thoughts?
Nicole: I think time has healed the great divide between NSYNC and BSB fans. It felt like a war back then, but reminiscing like this has made me feel like we fought the good fight together. We ran home after school to catch TRL appearances, we had VHS recordings of "specials" and memorized every second of them. If anything, I feel like the real divide is between teenyboppers of old who knew how to appreciate their idols from a distance and today's youths who tweet "why won't you follow me?!" until their accounts get deactivated.
Jenna: True. Although I can't knock fans on Twitter too much because if I had access to ‘N Sync back in the day on social media….ooo, boy. I'd probably be in a "stay 1000 yards away from them" sort of situation.
‘N Sync fans and BSB fans: Do you remember the boyband wars of yore?! And as for the 1D and Bieber fandoms: good luck this weekend!
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