N'Sync tops boy band race

It is true N'Sync has broken the sales record set by the Backstreet Boys last year. Millennium the big seller by the BSB broke all existing sales records when it sold a whopping 1.13 million copies after just seven days in the market when it was released in June last year. But late last month, N'Sync did even better with sales of 2.4 million copies of the album No Strings Attached a week after it was released on March 21.

Does this mean that N'Sync is the better band? Not necessarily. Besides, the members of N'Sync are still a long way off from attaining the music sophistication that the BSB showed off in Millennium. Is Jive Records doing a better job marketing N'Sync's No Strings Attached than they did with the Back-street Boys? Maybe or it might be because Jive has already learned a lot working with the BSB and is now applying all those lessons to N'Sync. Remember N'Sync is a newcomer to Jive. The boy group was formerly with RCA when it made a much-talked about shift to Jive late in 1998. This new album is the first in the new deal.

Are the boys of N'Sync better looking, sexier, younger? Younger perhaps but looks and sex appeal all depend on individual tastes. Are the fans switching loyalties from the Backstreet Boys to N'Sync? Quite likely. I tell you there is nothing that will turn off young female fans more than news that their idols are getting married and we might soon lose two of the BSB from bachelorhood. The girls eventually return to the fold but only after they have shown their displeasure over being "ditched." And take note of that title, No Strings Attached, These boys are free for the taking.

The explosive Bye Bye Bye is the first hit out of the new album. It also includes It's Gonna be Me, Space Cowboy (Yippie-yi-yay) featuring Lisa Left Eye Lopez, Just Got Paid, Ît Makes Me Ill, This I Promise You, No Strings Attached, Digital Get Down, Bringin' Da Noise, That's When I'll Stop Loving You, I'll Be Good for You, I Thought She Knew, I'll Never Stop and If Only in Heaven's Eyes.

N'sync is made up of Lance Bass, JC Chasez, Joey Fatone, Chris Kirkpatrick and Justin Timberlake. Some of their earlier hits were I Want You Back, Tearin' Up My Heart, God Must Have Spent a Little More Time on You and Drive Me Crazy.

Meanwhile, here is the list of nominees to the MTV Philippine Video Music Awards 2000!: Best Female Video: Pwede Ba? by Viktoria; Honesty by Jaya; For the Love of You by Regine Velasquez; I Remember the Boy by Lea Salonga. Best Male Video: More and More by Gary Valenciano; Ikaw Lamang by Janno Gibbs; Kung Mawa-wala Ka by Ogie Alcasid. Best New Artist: Freestyle for So Slow; Barbie's Cradle for The Dance; Seven Shots of Wisdom for Who's Got the Funk?, Session Road for Alone. Best Group Video: Atomica by Wolfgang; Ask for More by Kulay; Picha Pie by Parokya ni Edgar; and Awit Para sa Kanya by True Faith.

The nominees were selected after a tight screening by a panel composed of entertainment industry insiders. All you MTV fans out there can now vote for your favorites in each category through the following methods: Go online through www.mtvasia.com; by filling up ballot slips available at Tower Records, Odyssey, Music One or Radio City; and by sending a postcard with your name, age, address and telephone number to P.O. Box 1696, Makati Central Post Office, 1256 Makati City. Voters who get all the four choices right will receive a bunch of goodies from MTV.

Watch out for the awards night, which will be held at the Philamlife Theater on June 10, 2000. It is in this event that the Best Video of the Year will be announced. The winner in this category will be the official entry of the Philippines to the MTV Southeast Asia Viewer's Choice Award, the winner of which will go to the big MTV Awards night in the US of A in September. Take note that the Philippines has already won this honor twice. These were with Huling El Bimbo by the Eraserheads in 1997 and Harana by Parokya ni Edgar in 1999. Let us all hope that we will do as well this year.

Just a question. Isn't Janno's Ikaw Lamang a duet with Jaya and should therefore go into the group category?