Trl Time Square Fans Holding Funny Signs

That 'N Sync-ing Feeling
Girls Swarm Times Square to See the Boy Band

By Alona Wartofsky
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 22, 2000; Page C01

NEW YORK, March 21—Imagine that after months of hoping, praying, dreaming, aching with passion, you are about to come face to face with the man you love. So what if you've spent the night camped out on a grimy Manhattan sidewalk?

This afternoon, Fallon Fabrizio, a 14-year-old from Clifton Heights, Pa., was prepared for her brief encounter with Justin, the blond curly-topped hottie of top-selling boy band 'N Sync. Even though she had been waiting in line outside Times Square's Virgin Megastore for more than 24 hours, her makeup was flawless: pale pink lips, limned by purple lip liner. Mascara and eye shadow expertly applied.

"I haven't had a shower since yesterday, but we brought makeup and toothbrushes," she said, shivering in the chill. "Justin could not take a shower for a year and people would still love him!"

Today marked the much-anticipated release of 'N Sync's third album, "No Strings Attached." The group's 1998 self-titled debut was recently certified platinum times 10, which translates to a whole lot of adoring fans. This afternoon it seemed like all of them convened on Times Square, where the group made two promotional appearances: one at Virgin, another on MTV's countdown of most-requested videos, "Total Request Live."

The weekday afternoon "TRL" always draws a crowd to the sidewalk below MTV's Times Square studio. Some days, between 50 and 100 fans will show up. But when the guest artist is an act of 'N Sync's stature, thousands will convene. Today, police estimated, about 7,000 fans showed up, and their shrieks could be heard from five blocks away. Some of the police who struggled to control the frenzy wore rubber earplugs.

"This is the most I've ever seen for a music event," said officer Jeff Granowski. "We may lose control of the sidewalk, and we had to close some of them, but we don't lose control of the intersections."

It is a "TRL" tradition to invite one or two sidewalk shriekers into the studio and many of the fans try to worm their way inside by holding up clever signs. This afternoon, signs were decorated with pictures of the five 'N Sync boys and messages that included "NSANE 4 'N SYNC" and "I know I'm only eight but I'm in-love with you Justin." A happy face was drawn inside the o in only.

The mostly female crowd sang 'N Sync songs, especially "Bye, Bye, Bye," the new single. When a couple of nice-looking guys walked by, the girls shrieked at them. A van with tinted windows passed by, and they shrieked at that, too. Once "TRL" began, they shrieked even louder.

Outside Virgin, the perfectly made-up Fabrizio jiggled in a vain attempt to warm up. What might be the best-case scenario after all these hours of waiting? "I guess that Justin would look at me and it would be love at first sight," she said.

The 'Nevitable 'N Sync backlash was in evidence. As Corey Edwards and Hector De La Paz, both 15 and from the Bronx, led a half dozen other boys in anti-'N Sync chants, the afternoon started to feel like a high school sporting event. Chris Pawlick, 17, and Matt Cortina, 16, taunted the girls by lifting their shirts to reveal slogans scrawled on their chests. "We're here because there's no message to this music," Cortina said. "These guys are made for money. Pure profit. That's terrible, so we're protesting that."

Jive Records shipped more than 4 million advance copies of "No Strings Attached" to retailers across the country. This is an unprecedented number for the label, which is also the home of the Backstreet Boys, which like 'N Sync is the product of Lou Pearlman's Orlando, Fla., boy-band factory.

"We hope to hit the 1 million mark in the first week," Janet Kleinbaum, vice president of marketing at Jive, said Tuesday. "Every day we keep thinking, well, maybe it will be more.

"The group is extremely personable, extremely talented, very dedicated, and they have a lot of fun. Something about them is very realistic to their female fans."

"They're not stuck up, not at all," said Karen Dominguez, a Union City, N.J., 16-year-old who was wedged up against a barricade and clutching a disposable camera. "I saw on MTV that Joey was poor growing up and a lot of people are poor. He had a hard time and that makes him appreciate what he has so much more. Seeing him gives you hope."

Kleinbaum, who is in her thirties, remembers her teenage crush on a pop star from another age--David Cassidy. "It was him, it was Donny Osmond, it was Michael Jackson. But it's very different now. Back then, the thought of having a chance to meet them or interact with them was the farthest thing from our minds. Now there's MTV, there's the Internet, there's several TV shows. These groups become part of the fabric of the fans' lives. . . . This creates a whole different sensation."

As do the corporations who profit from them. "We have to become more sophisticated because the tools are more sophisticated. Kids are more sophisticated," Kleinbaum said.

Last Saturday, 'N Sync appeared on a two-hour special on MTV, drawing a huge crowd. Amanda Nieves, a 15-year-old from the Bronx, spent both hours standing across the street from MTV, holding up a sign: "I Love N Sync, Especially My Future Baby's Daddy Justin!!!"

She hoped it would get her inside the studio. "I thought maybe he would laugh or something because it's funny. If he sees it," she said.

Nieves was back today, this time clutching a red rose ($2) and a newly purchased copy of "No Strings Attached" ($15). Again, she was sorely disappointed. "I'm dejected. My feet are killing me. I didn't even go to school today, and I didn't get to see them in person. I'm not gonna cry though, because I got mascara on and I don't want to smear it.

"Just in case . . . "

© Copyright 2000 The Washington Post Company

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Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPcap/2000-03/22/081r-032200-idx.html

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