Chris Kirkpatrick headlined a 2000s pop revival show on Saturday, Feb. 28, at The Grand Theatre Center for the Arts, leading a night of nostalgia that also featured performances from O-Town and LFO.
The Grand Theatre filled with fans reliving the height of boy band fame, as Kirkpatrick, a founding member of *NSYNC, served as the driving force behind the show.
Before taking the stage, Kirkpatrick reflected on *NSYNC’s rapid rise in the late 1990s and 2000s. While the group experienced numerous milestones, he said signing their record deal was the moment everything became real.
“That was the moment we knew this wasn’t just going to be some fun little thing,” Kirkpatrick stated. “That was the first time I was like, ‘Oh, this could be my job.’”
He recalled hearing the group’s music on the radio for the first time and filming early music videos as defining experiences but said his perspective on fame has evolved over time.
“I used to think famous people walked around with people around them all the time. Once I started meeting famous people and people started stopping me, it became different. They’re regular people like I am,” Kirkpatrick said.
At the height of the late ‘90s boy band competition, Kirkpatrick said *NSYNC maintained its identity by establishing its sound early and committing to hard work.
“We always challenged ourselves to be the best and to outwork everyone. We were always thinking about the next song, the next show, the next video,” Kirkpatrick explained.
He also addressed the early attempts by the industry to assign specific personas to each member, like the branding of the Spice Girls.
“They wanted to put identities on us,” Kirkpatrick recalled. “But we were like, ‘We’re not the Spice Girls.’ We all had similar traits and different traits. We just wanted to be our own thing.”
Looking back at *NSYNC’s legacy, Kirkpatrick said he has always been careful about protecting what the group built.
“For the longest time, I wouldn’t do anything because I didn’t want to hurt the legacy of the band. Now I do these shows because I love to do it,” Kirkpatrick stated.
This event marked another stop in Kirkpatrick’s efforts to bring back 2000s pop back to live stages, this time in the heart of Tracy.
