Backstreet Boys vs *NSYNC

Backstreet Boys vs *NSYNC

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RJN

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Inspired by the other thread

The two big turn of the century boybands (in America at least). But which is better?
 
For me its easily NSYNC

Tearin' Up My Heart and I'll Never Stop >>>>
 
Ag said:
Backstreet Boys by a mile.

NSync had some outrageously good bangers, but BSB just had more presence in the UK and more familiar hits.
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I just looked up the chart positions and found it pretty surprising

Screen Shot 2022-07-31 at 5.59.11 PM.png


No top ten albums??
 
ButterTart said:
This is a Sophie’s Choice except without the shit daughter to make it easy.

I went for *NSYNC just because Tearin Up My Heart is such a 12455/10
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I wasn't sure how to vote or what to write then found that someone had already perfectly summed up my thoughts.
 
N’Sync pretty much split up just as they were starting to gain some traction outside the US, didn’t they? I liked a couple of their uptempo songs but their ballads were all shockingly poor and I don’t remember any particularly great videos. BSB had some good, memorable ballads and mostly good videos.
 
I think *NSYNC's highs are just that much higher than BSB's plus they leant slightly more into pop than BSB as they really took off (BSB veered dangerously MOR at times, with a few exceptions like LTL).

Tearin' Up My Heart, I Want You Back, It's Gonna Be Me, Bye Bye Bye and I'll Never Stop are just knock-out pop songs and define that very particular sound and era so well.
 
VoR said:
Absolutely Backstreet Boys

On certain days I would rank this in my top 5 Cheiron moments

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This, along with some of their other uptempo, hardly even register as actual songs that someone wrote, performed, and released at some point. They’re just so ubiquitous
 
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**NSYNC have like 3 good songs. BSB’s back catalogue is full of bangerz.
 
Backstreet Boys' Millenium album is shockingly solid. N Sync had some mild bops but they were so cringey (even by US boyband standards)

I agree with Ellie - N Sync weren't as big as Backstreet Boys in the UK because they emerged later and broke up in less time than BSB did. Back then it weirdly took a couple of albums for American boybands to translate in the UK. I often forget that BSB's first hit was in 1996 - they were way more known for 1998-2000.
 
Backstreet Boys have some of the greatest tracks ever written. What do NSYNC have?
 
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"Tearin' Up My Heart", "It's Gonna Be Me", "Bye Bye Bye", and "I Want You Back" tower over anything the Backstreet Boys have done, although I do like BSB ballads more.
 
I find Justin Timberlake's vocals on those early N'Sync hits really awful to be honest...
 
VoR said:
I find Justin Timberlake's vocals on those early N'Sync hits really awful to be honest...
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I agree. And I can't really tell the difference between It's Gonna Be Me, Bye Bye Bye and I Want You Back. It's the same song.
 
Whatevar said:
Not dissimilar to Nick Carter’s, surely?
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Was he ever really the lead vocalist though? I feel like the older blonde one and the goatee one did the heavy lifting on the BSB hits, and whoever was singing them I found them generally much more easy to listen to.
 
Top 5 fave BSB:

1. Larger Than Life
2. Everybody (Backstreet's Back)
3. Show Me The Meaning Of Being Lonely
4. I Want It That Way
5. The Call

Top 5 *NSYNC

1. It's Gonna Be Me
2. Pop
3. Bye Bye Bye
4. Gone
5. Tearin' Up My Heart

BSB wins but both were great
 
Tearin' Up My Heart is up there with I'll Be There For You. What a side splitter.

BSB simply have the better batch of bangers overall if not over all, and I don't object to a few of the ballads too (As Long As You Love Me is so silky and easy on the ears). And I'd love the Bible basher to bash my back doors in.

Larger Than Life is their best for me and it's not surprising there wasn't much left for them as how on earth do you top that?
 
straightorbroken said:
Tearin' Up My Heart is up there with I'll Be There For You. What a side splitter.

BSB simply have the better batch of bangers overall if not over all, and I don't object to a few of the ballads too (As Long As You Love Me is so silky and easy on the ears). And I'd love the Bible basher to bash my back doors in.

Larger Than Life is their best for me and it's not surprising there wasn't much left for them as how on earth do you top that?
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Oh Larger Than Live was their magnum octopus and a genuine classic.
 
Backstreet Boys were just so much better all rounders. As @Ellie said, N'Sync were SHIT at ballads.

I also think it's hard to argue either of them topped Everybody (Backstreet's Back) in terms of classic status that's endured with the public, even if I prefer other songs by both of them.

That said...I lived for N'Sync's full throttle kitchen sink approach and commitment to insanely fast dance routines. BSB never quite had that as it was obvious most of them weren't dancers. Everything about N'Sync right down to the hair was like a boyband that had jumped out of a cereal box as a free gift. Utterly ridiculous and amazing at their best.

I'm grateful we got both (and the numerous flop clones)
 
Oh is it meant to be *NSYNC with a star at the beginning? I thought there was a star somewhere, it felt natural to put an apostrophe though
 
funky said:
I agree. And I can't really tell the difference between It's Gonna Be Me, Bye Bye Bye and I Want You Back. It's the same song.
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I was about to say my BSB track of choice was probably "The One" and the backing track is IDENTICAL to "I'll Never Stop", "Tearin Up My Heart" etc. Max Martin must have been cackling with glee as a few "oohs" and "yeahs" were switched up and someone said "oh publish"

And GOOD FOR HIM, because they're all 10s :disco:
 
straightorbroken said:
Larger Than Life is their best for me and it's not surprising there wasn't much left for them as how on earth do you top that?
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I feel like they tried to with "The Call" or at least hoped to emulate LTL and Everybody somewhat.

I always thought they were singing "I'll get your shopping out, my battery's low" in the chorus
 
I actually love This I Promise You. The vocal is brilliant from both of them

It’s probably the most gloopy song I love.

I like Gone too for being mostly an R&B song. Which reminded me of Girlfriend, which is also a great track.
 
As Long As You Love Me was definitely Maxine Carr's favourite song.

I don't care who you are (who you are)
Where you're from (where you're from)
What you did
As long as you love me (I don't know)
Who you are (who you are)
Where you're from (where you're from)
Don't care what you did
As long as you love me (yeah)
As long as you love me
As long as you love me
 
BSB all the way for me, I think as much a product of timing and location - BSB just had a bigger career in the UK and *NSYNC didn't quite do it for me until too late.
I can see why slightly younger people might prefer *NSYNC though, when *NSYNC finally broke through in the UK (I'd say in 2000), BSB were on the way down.

But 1996-1999 BSB really were showing us how it's done. I remember rinsing one of those videos I got with TOTP or Smash Hits magazine that had "Get down" on it, and being sort of obsessed. That first album had some great singles, and that "Quit Playin Games" video? Little gay teen Diddy was really getting his life.

Then "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" was a real pop triumph, and "As Long As You Love Me" too. And the sort of denouement to all that was Millennium, that felt like the real world-conquering moment with "I want it that way", I mean COME ON. I feel like that was the peak, and even though "Larger than Life" saw out the decade, I always felt like that was just like a sequel to "Everybody", and the peak was sort of cresting then.

Then a few months later, "Bye Bye Bye" was here and I was turnt. But I always found Timberlake's hyper-nasal vocals a bit annoying, none of them as cute as BSB in their early days, and for the Max Martin stuff, we had Britney by that point. I mean *NSYNC still had some great moments, "Pop" really was the one for me, and then they went down the tired old urban-courting image change attempt, Timberlake went on to bigger things, JC Chasez had a few decently intriguing singles, and that was sort of it.
 
BTW totally gooped that BSB have not only been releasing albums fairly regularly, but they have ALL BEEN TOP 10 in the US, including a No.1 in 2019!?

Have any of their singles since "Incomplete" been any good? I think that's the last I saw of them.

And I forgot that their debut wasn't even released in the US, and ended up being smooshed together with the 2nd album (and going diamond - or 14x Platinum, why doesn't wiki say Diamond?)
 
Top 5 BSB

1. Get another boyfriend
2. Larger than life
3. The Call
4. I want it that way
5. Shape of my heart

Top 5 *NSYNC

1. It’s gonna be me
2. Just don’t tell me that
3. That Girl (will never be mine)
4. I’ll never stop
5. Pop

Love both but I enjoy *NSYNC more on the whole
 
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