JC appreciation

I'm about to sink any street cred I may have with the cool kids or as a classical music major (or as a straight guy for that matter), but I like Nsync.  I think they were incredibly talented and I still enjoy their music.

Now, when most people think of Nsync they think of Justin Timberlake, who has gone on to have a stellar solo career.  But the other lead tenor in the group was a man named JC Chasez who, in my estimation, is one of the more talented performers of all time.  He danced just as well as Justin and was an infinitely better singer.  Whenever there was a high sustained note to be taken, it was JC, not Justin, who handled it.  As Timberlake put it...

"...in my opinion, he had the best voice out of all of us.  Out of all the boy bands, call 'em what you will, he was the one that could out-sing all of us."

He is also, by all accounts, a very shy person.

Unfortunately, after Nsync split up and Timberlake made it big, JC's first attempt at a solo album was a flop imitation of Timberlake's style.  It was absent of JC's power and incredible range as a vocalist.  JC's second album, a pop opera called The Story of Kate, was supposed to be a return to his idiom, but it has never been released.  A few tracks have leaked though, and they're incredible. ["I'm Not Sleeping Alone" is writer's favorite]

For all you music nerds out there, he's on a high B in that song (and could keep going up).  I'm an operatic baritone and I top at a high Bb. That's insane, and it takes a tremendous amount of talent.

I love JC's passion as a singer.  He just seems to pour every inch of himself into the song, and I respect that.  I find it far more appealing than Timberlake's vacuous songs.  It's a downright travesty and an indictment on the taste of Americans that Justin Timberlake has garnered more acclaim than JC Chasez.

source, via JC-Chasez.net