Celebrity Tour

The Celebrity Tour was the fifth and final concert tour by the American boy band NSYNC. Promoting their fourth studio album, Celebrity (2001), this is the second tour to showcase the album. The group stated that the tour would go "back to their roots", as they would be performing obscure songs from all three of their albums. The tour earned nearly $30 million.[1]

Celebrity Tour
Tour by NSYNC
Associated albumCelebrity
Start dateMarch 3, 2002 (2002-03-03)
End dateApril 28, 2002 (2002-04-28)
Legs1
No. of shows36
Box office$33,356,237
NSYNC concert chronology

The tour was NSYNC's last before the group went on a scheduled hiatus in May 2002[2][3] that led to an eventual disbandment.[4]

Background

In January 2002, NSYNC announced another string of tour dates known as the "Celebrity Tour".[5] They believed that their songs were well known by then and were able to experiment a little more. Originally, the group wanted to perform in theaters, however, they were pushed to arenas due to demand. During an interview, band member Chris Kirkpatrick stated the second outing would remove the spectacle of their previous tour PopOdyssey and focus on just music.[6] The tour would offer a more intimate vibe with "a circular stage that gives...a 360-degree view" for fans and would incorporate reworked versions of older songs.[7] Justin Timberlake said,

"[Fans] knew when they were coming to the show last summer that they were going to get something that nobody else had, which was basically about 80 percent of the album that was going to come out after the tour. This year, obviously, they'll know the songs, but we put a twist almost on everything, so it makes it fun for them to hear it a different way and to try to recognize those tunes."[8]

The opening acts for the Celebrity Tour included R&B singer Ginuwine,[9] rapper and entrepreneur P. Diddy,[10] and alternative rock band Smash Mouth.[9] The new tour dates coincided with the band's partnership with Chili's, which they were featured in several advertisements online and on television. Before the tour began, NSYNC released the third single from their album "Girlfriend", and performed at the 2002 Winter Olympics at the Olympic Medals Plaza on February 23, 2002.[11]

Synopsis

The show opens with a short black-and-white clip of the guys talking about how fame and celebrity have not changed them, with Kirkpatrick saying, "We're just five guys doing what we've always done."[12] The guys rise to the stage through fog and open with “Do Your Thing," later shifting to “Bye Bye Bye” which ends with “a waterfall of sparks”.[13]

After singing “(God Must Have Spent) A Little More Time on You”, “Tearin’ Up My Heart”, and “Celebrity”, the guys slide down black poles out of sight.[14] Towards the middle section, a large oval platform descends from the ceiling, allowing the guys to stroll from the stage to the center of the arena. On this elevated platform, the guys, now dressed in black tuxedos, sing a medley of covers from The Beatles and The Temptations.[3] They end the set with a remixed two-step version of “Sailing” which was well-received.[15]

For “No Strings Attached”, the guys swing on ropes over the crowds.[12] Towards the end, the guys sit on stools on the stage to sing their more downtempo songs, including a singalong version of “Thinking Of You (I Drive Myself Crazy)” and a New Orleans inspired-blues version of “I Want You Back”. While sitting on the stage, the guys engage in witty banter with the audience and joke around. The band ends the show with a high-energy encore of their latest hits.[14]

Critical response

The tour was reviewed positively by critics, who praised the tour's stripped-down feel and showmanship. Pam Sitt of The Seattle Times lauded “the new, down-to-earth, accessible [NSYNC]".[16] Reviewing the Rose Garden show, Marty Hughley of The Oregonian wrote, "Lead singers Justin Timberlake and JC Chasez sounded more assured than ever, the whole group's harmonies were tighter and stronger, the dancing looked like second nature, and the show kept a breathless pace without ever seeming to rush".[17] Some critics felt the tour showed NSYNC's ability to successfully cross over from the teen pop bubblegum sound to a more mature persona.[17] Makeisha Madden of The News Tribune called the Tacoma Dome show "one big joyride through an amusement park...starting off slowly and building anticipation in the near sellout crowd during a fine-tuned, 24-song frenzy that exploded at the very end".[14]

Much acclaim was given to NSYNC's Beatles/Temptations medley, which was called "a joyous, finger-snapping tribute...offering coolly confident versions of 'My Girl' and 'The Way You Do the Things You Do' that brought grins from the parents and grandparents in the audience".[13] Hughley wrote the band "captured the exuberance of The Beatles as well as the silky sound and steps of the Temptations".[17]

Leah Greenblatt of MTV News described the Rose Garden show as "electric".[15] She dubbed it "the Justin and JC Show" and said "Justin was quickly established as the star...at least as far as the Jumbotron cameramen were concerned—with JC running a close second. Joey, Lance and Chris have all the moves down, but appear to be going through the motions at times".[15] Greenblatt noted "Justin especially reveled in his role, and played the audience like a Stratocaster, goading them into sing-alongs and putting in some quality time alone up front at the lip of the stage". A segment in which a solo Timberlake riffs with the band guitarist[18] received mixed reviews, with Kelefa Sanneh of The New York Times saying, "'Gone', a fluttery slow jam sung by Justin Timberlake, is the best song the group has ever recorded, but it was nearly ruined by a histrionic coda that found him dueling with the guitarist".[12]

Sanneh continued, "The group is getting older, and its audience is, too: the young woman in the 'Justin I'm legal' t-shirt may not have been misrepresenting herself. And this tour is clearly designed to emphasize the group's musical credibility. And yet NSYNC is still a boy band, which means its existence—and its self-image—depends on its ability to entertain screaming teenagers".[12]

Broadcasts and recordings

Though the closing show at the TD Waterhouse Centre was filmed for a possible Celebrity tour DVD release, to date a DVD has not been released due to the footage being deemed "unusable."[19] Bootleg DVDs were sold on eBay in 2003 with amateur footage of the concerts in Anaheim and Dallas. A six-minute video montage of the Orlando show professionally filmed by Steve Fatone appeared on YouTube in 2006.[18]

Personnel

NSYNC

Band
  • Kevin Antunes – music director, keyboards
  • Troy Antunes – bass
  • Billy Ashbaugh – drums, percussion
  • Greg Howe – lead guitar
  • Ruben Ruiz – rhythm guitar, keyboards
  • David Cook – keyboards
  • Paul Howards – saxophone, percussion, keyboards
  • Juan Sepulveda – percussion

Opening acts

Set list

The following setlist was obtained from the concert held on March 3, 2002, at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon.[15] It does not represent all concerts for the duration of the tour.

  1. "Video Sequence"
  2. "Do Your Thing"
  3. "Bye Bye Bye"
  4. "It's Gonna Be Me" (contains elements of "It Ain't My Fault")
  5. "Instrumental Sequence (contains elements of "You Make Me Wanna..." and "Back & Forth")
  6. "For the Girl Who Has Everything"
  7. "(God Must Have Spent) A Little More Time on You"
  8. "Tearin' Up My Heart" (contains elements of "If")
  9. "Celebrity"
  10. "Up Against the Wall"
  11. "Video Sequence"
  12. "She Loves You" / "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" / "Hey Jude"
  13. "Twist and Shout"
  14. "My Girl / "The Way You Do the Things You Do" / "I Can't Get Next to You"
  15. "Sailing" (contains elements of "Don't Tell Me")
  16. "Video Sequence"
  17. "Tell Me, Tell Me...Baby" (contains elements of "A Little Bit" and "Baby, Come Over (This Is Our Night)")
  18. "No Strings Attached"
  19. "This I Promise You"
  20. "Thinking of You (I Drive Myself Crazy)"
  21. "I Want You Back"
Encore
  1. "Gone"
  2. "Girlfriend (The Neptunes Remix)"
  3. "Pop" (contains elements of "Control")

Shows
List of concerts, showing date, city, country, venue, opening act, tickets sold, number of available tickets and amount of gross revenue
Date City Country Venue Opening act Attendance Revenue
March 3, 2002 Portland United States Rose Garden Ginuwine 12,913 / 17,840 $825,843
March 4, 2002 Tacoma Tacoma Dome 19,542 / 20,604 $1,126,473
March 6, 2002 Oakland The Arena in Oakland 13,219 / 16,579 $682,146
March 7, 2002 Sacramento ARCO Arena 14,661 / 15,272 $883,101
March 8, 2002 San Jose Compaq Center 14,857 / 16,615 $896,542
March 10, 2002 San Diego San Diego Sports Arena 12,312 / 14,391 $838,556
March 11, 2002 Anaheim Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim 26,525 / 28,994 $1,742,981
March 12, 2002
March 14, 2002 Phoenix America West Arena Ginuwine
NSBB
Tony Lucca		 12,140 / 17,442 $806,218
March 15, 2002 Las Vegas MGM Grand Garden Arena 11,519 / 14,393 $958,090
March 18, 2002 Houston Compaq Center Smash Mouth
Tony Lucca		 13,059 / 15,394 $950,691
March 19, 2002 San Antonio Alamodome 14,569 / 17,667 $1,010,388
March 20, 2002 Dallas Reunion Arena 16,545 / 17,667 $1,010,388
March 25, 2002 Denver Pepsi Center 12,337 / 15,900 $810,568
March 27, 2002 Ames Hilton Coliseum 12,385 / 13,000 $764,528
March 29, 2002 Grand Forks Alerus Center — —
March 30, 2002 Minneapolis Target Center 12,291 / 17,832 $765,881
April 1, 2002 Auburn Hills The Palace of Auburn Hills 19,040 / 19,040 $1,133,623
April 2, 2002 Grand Rapids Van Andel Arena 9,496 / 10,334 $839,095
April 4, 2002 Rosemont Allstate Arena 30,637 / 34,354 $2,910,322
April 5, 2002
April 7, 2002 Buffalo HSBC Arena 12,854 / 18,221 $829,065
April 9, 2002 Philadelphia First Union Center 14,333 / 14,333 $916,847
April 11, 2002 Uniondale Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum 13,627 / 16,630 $778,395
April 13, 2002 East Rutherford Continental Airlines Arena Smash Mouth
P. Diddy
Tony Lucca		 36,442 / 38,774 $1,969,370
April 14, 2002
April 15, 2002 Boston FleetCenter P. Diddy
Tony Lucca		 33,473 / 35,357 $2,097,028
April 16, 2002
April 18, 2002 Philadelphia First Union Center Tony Lucca 18,297 / 18,297 $1,133,227
April 19, 2002 Hartford Hartford Civic Center P. Diddy
Mr. Cheeks		 14,948 / 15,262 $1,046,720
April 21, 2002 Washington, D.C. MCI Center 17,656 / 18,373 $1,123,553
April 22, 2002 Pittsburgh Mellon Arena 14,606 / 16,114 $970,801
April 23, 2002 Columbus Nationwide Arena 12,751 / 15,934 $842,307
April 25, 2002 Memphis Pyramid Arena 15,426 / 17,907 $875,904
April 27, 2002 Sunrise National Car Rental Center 14,146 / 18,456 $962,817
April 28, 2002 Orlando TD Waterhouse Centre 14,344 / 16,619 $854,769
Total[9][10][5][22] 510,950 / 583,595 (88%) $33,356,237
Cancellations and rescheduled shows
March 22, 2002 Toronto, Canada Air Canada Centre Cancelled
March 23, 2002 Montreal, Canada Molson Centre Cancelled
April 10, 2002 Uniondale, New York Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum Rescheduled to April 11, 2002

References
  1. Wiederhorn, Jon (December 20, 2001). "Britney, 'NSYNC Buried In Ticket Sales By McCartney, Stones". MTV News. Archived from the original on September 11, 2011. Retrieved January 9, 2009.
  2. "For The Record: Quick News On Ashanti, 'NSYNC, Notorious B.I.G., White Stripes, Adema, Coldplay & More". MTV News. April 18, 2002. Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2021. On 'TRL' Wednesday, 'NSYNC's Joey Fatone told host Carson Daly that after the boys are done touring, they're going to take a few months off before they start their next album.
  3. Mervis, Scott (April 21, 2002). "Music Preview: 'N Sync trusts 'Nstincts". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on August 20, 2022. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  4. Blickley, Leigh (April 30, 2018). "A History Of *NSYNC's Breakup, According To Bandmates Not Named Justin Timberlake". HuffPost. Archived from the original on August 12, 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  5. Mancini, Robert (January 24, 2002). "'NSYNC Line Up 'Celebrity 2002' Tour". MTV News. Archived from the original on September 11, 2011. Retrieved January 9, 2009.
  6. Stout, Gene (February 28, 2002). "Oh boys! On a 'Celebrity' high, N' Sync journeys to Tacoma". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved September 14, 2011.
  7. D'Angelo, Joe (February 19, 2002). "'NSYNC Promise Surprises, Coziness On Celebrity 2002 Tour". MTV News. Archived from the original on March 23, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  8. Baker, Soren (February 19, 2002). "*NSYNC Embarking On 'Celebrity' Tour With A Twist". Yahoo! Music. Archived from the original on September 11, 2011. Retrieved January 9, 2009.
  9. Moss, Corey; Tina Johnson (January 30, 2002). "'NSYNC Bringing Smash Mouth, Ginuwine On Tour". MTV News. Archived from the original on September 11, 2011. Retrieved January 9, 2009.
  10. Armstrong, Max (February 13, 2002). "Sean 'P. Diddy' Combs Likely To Join Smash Mouth & Ginuwine On *NSYNC Tour". Yahoo! Music. Archived from the original on September 11, 2011. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  11. LiveDaily Staff (November 7, 2001). "Briefly: Winter Games snag 'NSync, Bon Jovi, Harry Connick Jr". LiveDaily. Ticketmaster Entertainment, Inc. Archived from the original on November 14, 2001. Retrieved September 14, 2011.
  12. Sanneh, Kelefa (April 16, 2002). "POP REVIEW; Playing a Crowd for Well-Tuned Squeals". The New York Times. Retrieved September 14, 2011.
  13. Stout, Gene (March 6, 2002). "Mother-daughter duos joyfully endorse 'N Sync and its musical tributes". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Archived from the original on April 30, 2004. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  14. Madden, Makeisha (March 6, 2002). "Review: 'N Sync popsters build giddy crescendo". The News Tribune.
  15. Greenblatt, Leah (April 4, 2002). "'NSYNC Tour Opener: It's The Justin And JC Show!". MTV News. Archived from the original on September 11, 2011. Retrieved January 9, 2009.
  16. Sitt, Pam (March 6, 2002). "N Sync strips down and ditches the glitz". The Seattle Times.
  17. Hughley, Marty (March 4, 2002). "N Sync isn't just for kids anymore". The Oregonian.
  18. "Nsync - Celebrity Tour Montage". YouTube. January 14, 2006. YouTube. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  19. Brown, Harley (August 8, 2014). "Lance Bass Talks Surprise 'N Sync Album: 'I Was Shocked'". Billboard. Retrieved August 3, 2021. We still have a DVD of the Celebrity tour that we've never edited, and [the fans have] been asking for that for 10 years, and we've been trying to figure out how to get that done for them.
  20. Reid, Shaheem (April 11, 2002). "Mr. Cheeks Promises New Lost Boyz Releases". MTV News. Archived from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  21. Munson, Kyle (March 28, 2002). "N Sync adds a fresh twist to old songs". Des Moines Register. Archived from the original on October 19, 2003. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  22. Box score data:
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