Pop (song)

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This article is about the 2001 NSYNC song. For Pop Songs, see Pop Song (disambiguation).

"Pop"
NSYNC posing in front of a gray background. The group's name and song title are positioned in front of them.
Single by NSYNC
from the album Celebrity
ReleasedMay 14, 2001 (2001-05-14) (US) July 9, 2001 (2001-07-09) (UK)
Studio
Genre
Length3:57
LabelJive
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Brian Transeau
NSYNC singles chronology
"This I Promise You"
(2000) 		"Pop"
(2001) 		"Gone"
(2001)
Music video
"Pop" on YouTube

"Pop" is a song by American boy band *NSYNC. It was released to U.S. radio on May 14, 2001, as the first single from their third studio album, Celebrity. The song was written by Wade Robson and Justin Timberlake and produced by BT. It won four MTV Video Music Awards, for Best Group Video, Best Pop Video, Best Dance Video, and Viewers Choice, as well as a Teen Choice Award for Choice Single.

Background and release[]

BT was personally asked by Chasez and Timberlake to produce the song.

Despite the success of NSYNC's previous studio album No Strings Attached (2000), the band were constantly blasted by critics who had preconceptions of what a "credible group" was, which forced them to be more involved in the production of their next album, Celebrity. While disccusing about "Pop" in a 2001 interview with Billboard, Justin Timberlake stated that NSYNC "put everything that is not considered 'pop music' in [the] song".[1]

The group enlisted BT after JC Chasez and Timberlake befriended the musician. Chasez asked BT to appear on NSYNC's next album, but BT was initially hesitant due to his "ambivalence" towards the band.[2][3] He eventually relented when Timberlake heard BT's song "The Hip Hop Phenomenon", from the UK version of his 1999 album Movement in Still Life,[2] on the request that he "treat [their] vocals so irreverently, it's not even funny". While the song was in production, BT heard Timberlake beatboxing under his breath, demanding him to use his vocals. Timberlake initially hesitated, as he did not want it to be featured on any track, but relented as BT created four tracks using broken headphones. After BT created over 1,200 edits of the track using Max Headroom-styled stutter-edits, he showed the song to Chasez and Timberlake, who immediately loved it.[4] Jive Records was initially reluctant to release "Pop" as the first single from Celebrity, as they reasoned that the song is "not radio-friendly" and did not "have a formula". "It's not radio-friendly. There's no songs like it. It doesn't have a formula.[5]

On May 11, 2001, MTV broadcast a recording of "Pop" via satellite during NSYNC's tour rehearsal for PopOdyssey, which subsequently led to the song's radio release on May 14, 2001.[1] In the United Kingdom and Australia, it was released on July 9, 2001.[6][7]

Composition and critical reception[]

"Pop" was written by Wade Robson and Timberlake, and produced by BT using his famous "stutter edit" sound.[8] The song contains genre transitions such as turntablism, hair metal and electro-funk. It also includes a "dance-friendly breakdown",[9] and a Timberlake-performed beat-box,[1] which Jon O'Brien of Billboard compared to the sound of a drum machine.[9] BT used a total of 3,642 vocal edits in the song.[10]

John Hugar of Uproxx opined that the song is "a sort of proto-salvo against in the rockist vs. poptimists argument."[11] Billboard writer Larry Flick 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."[1]

Commercial performance[]

"Pop" reached number one on the Canadian Singles Chart. It charted in the top 10 in several countries, including number seven in Norway, number nine on the UK Singles Chart, and number 10 on the Australian ARIA Charts. It peaked on the US Billboard Hot 100 at number 19.[citation needed]

Music video[]

Background and reception[]

The music video for "Pop" was directed by American director Wayne Isham and filmed in Sony Pictures Studios from May 13 to 15, 2001. Three sets were built: an apartment shot as the opening scene, a multi-storey club, and a green screen where the band performed the song's dance choreography aided with several computer-generated imagery (CGI) sequences. A 35-foot tall stage was built with a 40-foot ramp, where the dancers were harnessed to the ceiling.[12] Two days before filming, Joey Fatone injured his leg while rehearsing for the PopOdyssey tour in New Orleans, as the area between his knee and calf was trapped between a 300 pound platform underneath the stage, creating a hole in his leg as well as the bone being exposed.[4] Throughout the music video, long-distance camera angles superimposed Fatone's face on Wade Robson's body, as the latter substituted in his place due to the sustained injury.[13] Production costs were reported to be $2.5 million (equivalent to $3.8 million in 2020), making it one of the most expensive music videos of all time.[14] The video debuted on MTV's Making the Video on May 28, 2001.[1] Filming lasted for over two straight days, which the band members were not able to sleep and complained about being overworked.[15]

O'Brien described the music video as "Part-infomercial parody, part-club night, part-Warholian expedition" and opined that it is "dizzying".[9]

Synopsis[]

The music video begins with Sandra McCoy holding a cereal bowl with Alpha-Bits watching the commercial of Justin Timberlake advertising pop to her: "Hey you! Yeah, I'm talking to you, sassy girl. Need a little ahh in your step? Try this on for size: i-i-i-i-i-it's Pop! I-i-i-it tastes great and makes you feel kind of funny, not here, not down there, but all up in this area. And, c-coming J-July 24, 2001, Jumbo-pop."

She drops her cereal bowl and the camera passes through three pieces spelling the word "POP". After the music starts, the video takes place at a colorful disco club with *NSYNC performing on a lighted circle with the word "POP" in a neon sign behind them. While they are singing, Justin is also on a spinning spiral, and JC is in the crowd. Many special effects, including fast-motion, bullet-time, and computer generated warp-transitions, are used. During the song's breakdown, the group perform an extended choreographed sequence, while they are seen in various outfits. At the end of the video, Justin begins to beatbox for thirty seconds, while the other members float in the background.

Live performances[]

NSYNC performed "Pop" at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards on September 6, where they were accompanied by Michael Jackson.[15]

Track listings[]

Credits and personnel[]

Credits adapted from the liner notes of "Pop".[8]

Recording

Personnel

  • Justin Timberlake – songwriter, producer, arranger, beatbox
  • BT – songwriter, producer, arranger, engineer, programmer, mixing
  • Wade J. Robson – songwriter, producer, arranger
  • Mike Tucker – vocal recording engineer
  • Carlos Vasquez – additional beat programming
  • Chris Haggerty – digital editing
  • Richard Fortus – electric guitar, bass
  • Kenny Blank – additional guitar
  • Chaz Harper – mastering

Charts[]

Release history[]

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref(s).
United States May 22, 2001 (2001-05-22)
Jive [41]
Australia July 9, 2001 (2001-07-09) CD [7]
United Kingdom
  • CD
  • cassette
 [6][42]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Flick, Larry. "'N Sync: Shouldering The Burden of Celebrity". Billboard. p. 2. Archived from the original on July 2, 2001. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Moss, Corey (June 22, 2001). "BT Earns 'King Of Dirty Pop' Title With 'NSYNC, Britney Tracks". MTV News. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  3. ^ Moss, Corey (November 18, 2002). "BT Secretive About 'NSYNC Payback On Upcoming Album". MTV News. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Touré (August 31, 2001). "'N Sync: True Tales of the Pop Life". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  5. ^ Graff, Gary (July 6, 2001). "Feature -'N Sync still spinning 'Pop' gold". Yahoo! News. Archived from the original on July 10, 2001.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b Stavenes Dove, Siri (July 7, 2001). "Airborne" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 19 no. 28. p. 17. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b "The ARIA Report: ARIA New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 9th July 2001" (PDF). ARIA. July 9, 2001. p. 24. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 21, 2002. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b NSYNC (2001). Pop (liner notes). Jive Records. 9252282.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b c O'Brien, Jon (July 22, 2021). "*NSYNC's 'Celebrity' at 20: All the Tracks Ranked From Worst to Best". Billboard. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  10. ^ "Most vocal edits on a single recording". Guinness World Records. Archived from the original on February 23, 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
  11. ^ Hugar, John (July 24, 2016). "NSYNC's 'Celebrity' Signaled Their Imminent Demise". Uproxx. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
  12. ^ Dangelo, Joe (May 29, 2001). "No Pain, No Gain On Set of 'NSYNC's 'Pop' Video". MTV News. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  13. ^ "*NSYNC: Pop". Making the Video. Season 5. May 28, 2001. MTV.
  14. ^ Zivitz, Jordan (July 12, 2001). "NSYNC pops one to critics: [Final Edition]". Montreal Gazette. p. D14. ISSN 0384-1294.
  15. ^ Jump up to: a b Barlow, Eve (March 24, 2020). "The Best, Worst, and Most Questionable of *NSYNC, According to Lance and Chris". Vulture. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
  16. ^ "Australian-charts.com – *N Sync – Pop". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  17. ^ "Austriancharts.at – *N Sync – Pop" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  18. ^ "Ultratop.be – *N Sync – Pop" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  19. ^ "Ultratop.be – *N Sync – Pop" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  20. ^ "N SYNC Chart History (Canadian Digital Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  21. ^ "Top Lista Hrvatskog Radija". Croatian Radiotelevision. Archived from the original on August 22, 2001. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  22. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 19 no. 31. July 28, 2001. p. 7. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  23. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – *N Sync – Pop" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  24. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – 'N Sync". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  25. ^ "Italiancharts.com – *N Sync – Pop". Top Digital Download.
  26. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 27, 2001" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  27. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – *N Sync – Pop" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  28. ^ "Charts.nz – *N Sync – Pop". Top 40 Singles.
  29. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – *N Sync – Pop". VG-lista.
  30. ^ "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 19 no. 42. October 13, 2001. p. 13. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  31. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  32. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – *N Sync – Pop" Canciones Top 50.
  33. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – *N Sync – Pop". Singles Top 100.
  34. ^ "Swisscharts.com – *N Sync – Pop". Swiss Singles Chart.
  35. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  36. ^ "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  37. ^ "N SYNC Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
  38. ^ "N SYNC Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
  39. ^ "N SYNC Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
  40. ^ "The Official UK Singles Chart 2001" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  41. ^ "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1402. May 18, 2001. pp. 39, 47. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  42. ^ "New Releases – For Week Starting July 9, 2001: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. July 7, 2001. p. 25. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
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