No Strings Attached Tour


The No Strings Attached Tour was the third concert tour by American boy band, NSYNC. Primarily visiting North America, the tour supported the band's second studio album No Strings Attached. Beginning in May 2000, the tour sold out all dates within the first day of the ticket sale. Additional dates, also in North America, were added for the Fall of 2000. When the tour ended in December 2000, it became the second highest-grossing tour in North America, earning more than $70 million.

Background

The tour was initially announced during an AOL chat with bandmember JC Chasez in 1999. The band were on tour and promoting their latest single, "Bye Bye Bye" when Chasez announced they were rehearing their upcoming tour. It was officially announced on March 21, 2000, the same day as their album was released. The outing was sponsored by MCY Music and Nabisco. It was also produced by SFX Touring. The tour became an instant success, with all 50 initial dates being sold out, selling one million tickets within the first day. This was followed with the album selling over two million copies within the first week. Several tickets for the concert at Madison Square Garden and the Staples Center were auctioned off through Yahoo! Auctions. Proceeds went to the "Justin Timberlake Foundation" and the "Challenge for the Children Foundation".
Rehearsals began in April 2000 at the Lakeland Center in Lakeland, Florida. Due to the closeness of their previous tour, the stage for this outing was very similar. However, the stage included new elements including pyrotechnics, stage lifts and aerial suspension. These elements were the reason why the band opted to perform in stadiums and arenas instead of outdoor amphitheatres. Describing the stage, Lance Bass stated, "It's amazing with the pyro and different things. I can't really reveal a lot of the gags that we are going to do, but it's going to be very entertaining and we are going to get very close to everybody in the audience". Due to the limited number of dates performed, the stadium dates were centralized regionally, in order to give each fan a chance to see them.
During an appearance on TRL, the band announced Destiny's Child would join them on tour, however the R&B group backed out and joined Christina Aguilera on her debut tour. Later in the tour, Sisqó dropped out of the tour to film his role in the film Get Over It. When the tour kicked off, Justin Timberlake received his high school diploma onstage at the Pyramid Arena. Another honor was received when the band were given the key to the city by Orlando mayor Glenda Hood. The band also opened a Ronald McDonald House, where a room was named in their honor.
The success of the tour prompted the band to add an additional leg of dates in the United States. In response to the additional dates, Joey Fatone stated,
"We’re real excited about that. But I think we’re just going to do a great show again. You know, a lot of people have seen some of the show. But you know, every show that we do is different. We add little things here and there to change it up and make it an original show, so hopefully everybody will enjoy it"

The band also announced they would join Britney Spears on a co-headlining tour of Europe in October. However, the tour was dropped due to legal actions and Spears toured the region solo. As the second North American leg came to a close, the band announced they would star in their first feature concert film. The film was released exclusively through IMAX theaters for six months. Additionally, the band partnered with MSN to give fans exclusive access to newsletters, photos and video footage. Known as "NSYNC@MSN", the service provided web and email access along with MSN Messenger and Windows Media Player.

Concert synopsis

The show began NSYNC revealed as marionettes dropping 40 feet above the stage featuring a small sample of I Got No Strings. When they land, the group cuts the strings and unhooked themselves before heading into two dance-oriented performances of No Strings Attached and I Want You Back. This was followed by Lance Bass welcoming the crowd before slowing things down with a performance of A Little More Time on You which the group rose 30 feet above the stage on 5 small platforms.
After the group left the stage, there was a video interlude hosted by television persona Ananda Lewis called Total *NSYNC Live which fans were given 4 selections of possible songs that *NSYNC would sing next. The first 3-song choices always ended up getting jeers and a laugh from the crowd. By the time Lewis says the 4th option Tearin' Up My Heart, the crowd goes wild, it gets selected as the chosen song, and the group returns to the stage dressed in freestyle clothing to perform the song.
The show then continues with Justin Timberlake returning the stage showcasing some his freestyle Beatbox skills before the group's drummer begins to upstage him and calling him out, Timberlake challenges the drummer to a battle which ends in victory for Timberlake. The rest of the group returns to the stage in urban attire to perform It's Gonna Be Me. This was followed by the group putting together a living room setting to slow things down again with 2 ballads I Drive Myself Crazy and I Thought She Knew.
After the group leaves the stage again, another interlude is shown featuring the group heading into their quick change room featuring circus people, an arcade, and a movie Theatre. They then returns to the stage dressed in club attire all designed with money on it for a performance of "Just Got Paid". During the song, pre-selected fans were chosen to go up on stage and dance with the group with confetti dropping everywhere. They also introduce their band members before all leaving the stage again.
The show continues with a futuristic interlude which included a laser lightshow and the face of the No Strings Attached clown mascot appearing out of a virtual head giving the audience riddles. NSYNC then rises out of the floor dressed in mid western futuristic attire for a performance of Space Cowboy featuring an extended dance break. At the end of the song, the group goes back down into the ground with the band playing an extended instrumental interlude of the chorus. It ends abruptly with the sound of a car crashing, a woman screaming, a man yelling "Someone's hurt", and the sound of an ambulance siren. NSYNC returns to the stage in a little brief hospital skit dressed in doctor lab coats taking care of an injured Timberlake before heading into It Makes Me Ill. This was followed by the group bringing out stools to slow things down for another song. However, Chasez comes up with an idea to go more closer to the crowd. The group brings out the stools before the center piece of the stage breaks. The stage piece brings the members out to the center of the arena getting closer to the crowd ending the main set list with This I Promise You. The stage piece goes back to where it was, the group takes their bows, and leaves the stage.
The show continues with a large video screen that says "*NSYNC" appeared on the set while the band dressed on a futuristic space with Digital Get Down while NSYNC disappeared on a video screen wall and then we concludes the encore set with Bye Bye Bye, As the guys walks over the platform stage, they say goodbye and walks over the main stage while JC walks over and introduced to the musicians. The group then disappears through a geyser as fireworks go off at the same time.

Occurrences

Despite the success of the tour, it faced a few bumps in the road. The bands were targets for an assassination by a male teenager. The mother of the Hendersonville, Tennessee, teenager discovered a notebook that contained a detailed plan to kill all five members of the band during their show in Atlanta. The plan featured the teen robbing a local gun store to obtain the weapons and money to carry out his plan. The mother informed the local authorities and the teen was detained at the Sumner County Juvenile Detention Center. Although the authorities felt the teen had no true intentions of executing his plan, he was later admitted to a psychiatric hospital. Extra security precautions were taken during both of the Georgia shows.
Before performing in Joliet, Illinois, the stage was destroyed by a tornado at the Route 66 Raceway. The date was rescheduled for August. For the rescheduled show, many parents attempted to sue the band and SFX Touring for being unable to attend the show due to traffic. An hour before their show in Greensboro, North Carolina, a bomb threat was phoned in. No one was evacuated or told what was going on. They didn't want people to panic in fear so instead left everyone at risk if there would have in fact been a bomb in the building. After the authorities felt there was no threat, the concert resumed minutes before midnight. This was proceeded with the band and their manager being sued by Sid & Marty Krofft Pictures, Inc.. The lawsuit cited copyright infringement and breach of contract with the company. The company was hired to replicate life-sized puppets the mimicked the image of the bandmembers. The puppets were to be utilized for their performance of "Bye Bye Bye" on tour and at the American Music Awards. The duo were told they would receive a cut of merchandise profits related to the use of the puppets. When asked for payment, they were informed by Johnny Wright they were not entitled to any funds. The lawsuit was dismissed in November 2000.
The band faced another lawsuit in December 2000 filled by a Missouri teenager. The young girl alleged that she was verbally assaulted by Justin Timberlake. After waiting for the band at the Chase Park Plaza in Central West End, St. Louis, the teenager states she was "snubbed" by Timberlake, who refused to give her an autograph. She then yelled, "I think JC is better anyway. He's cuter." The teen says this was followed with Timberlake shoving her into a wall and shouting profanities at her. A reporter for KSDK claimed to be a witness to the incident. The teen would end up dropping the suit before it could reach court.

Opening acts

NSYNC

Throughout their concerts, the five were accompanied by the following instrumentalists on this tour:
  1. "Intro"
  2. "No Strings Attached"
  3. "I Want You Back"
  4. " A Little More Time on You"
  5. "TNL: Total NSYNC Live"
  6. "Tearin' Up My Heart"
  7. "Justin's Beat Box"
  8. "It's Gonna Be Me"
  9. "Thinking of You "
  10. "I Thought She Knew"
  11. "NTV: 'NSYNC TV"
  12. "Just Got Paid"
  13. "Space Circus Clown"
  14. "Space Cowboy "
  15. "It Makes Me Ill"
  16. "This I Promise You"
;Encore:
  2. "Unititled III"
  4. "Digital Get Down"
  6. "Bye Bye Bye"
  8. "Outro"
;Notes
;Music festivals and other miscellaneous performances
;Cancellations and rescheduled shows

Box office score data

Broadcasts and recordings

The tour was first documented on the MTV series, Making the Tour. The documentary followed the band's process from song selection, wardrobe and rehearsals. A full length performance of "Space Cowboy " at the Tacoma Dome was shown during the show. The episode aired on July 16, 2000. A feature length VHS and DVD followed in February 2001. The expanded edition contained more planning and backstage footage, performances of "Bye Bye Bye" and "This I Promise You", along with the music videos from their current album. The video was certified platinum by the RIAA on March 9, 2001. The concerts at Madison Square Garden were filmed for a HBO special. The special attracted over six million viewers, becoming one of the highest rated concert specials on the network. The concert aired on July 27, 2000. The concerts were released on VHS and DVD on November 21, 2000. The DVD featured an interactive gallery containing pictures of the band during recording sessions, rehearsals and performing on stage. The video was certified three times platinum by the RIAA on December 18, 2000. The HBO special was nominated for "Music Special of the Year" at the TV Guide Award.
In August 2000, Iwerks Entertainment announced they were in talks with the band to release a full length concert film in 2001. The film, entitled "*NSYNC: Bigger Than Live", was released exclusively to IMAX theaters in select cities in the United States and the United Kingdom. Filmed at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan. The 90 minute concert was edited down to 47 minutes, removing all of the interludes and performances of "I Drive Myself Crazy", "Just Got Paid and "It Makes Me Ill". The film opened on February 23, 2001. The film remained in theaters for ten months and grossed over one million dollars. In September, the band's performance at the "Summer Music Mania" aired on Fox on September 15, 2001. The performances of "No Strings Attached", "Digital Get Down" and the medley were edited out.

Critical response

The tour received mixed reviews from music critics, with the majority of reviews being positives. Many critics applauded the band's onstage persona however felt the theatrics of the concert took away from the heart of the show. Jim Abbott said the band "made the crowd feel at home" during the concert at the TD Waterhouse Centre. He continues, "But the power of this concert was in its impeccable production. It was an assault on the senses from the moment the five singers were lowered to the stage as human marionettes for the opening "No Strings Attached".
Jim Farber felt the shows at Madison Square Garden were "cliché and contrived". He explains, "In fact, Tuesday's show proved there certainly are strings attached, though the tugging on NSYNC's post-adolescent limbs is coming not from unseen handlers but from a more insidious force. Namely: the guys' own need to please. That they have an overwhelming desire to placate their youngest fans seemed obvious, since the show conformed to the most worn clichés of current teen-pop".