Tour byNSYNC | |
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Associated album | Celebrity |
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Start date | March 3, 2002 (2002-03-03) |
End date | April 28, 2002 (2002-04-28) |
Legs | 1 |
No. of shows | 36 |
Box office | $33,356,237 |
NSYNC concert chronology | |
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TheCelebrity Tour was the fifth and last concert tour by the Americanboy bandNSYNC before their indefinite hiatus, in May 2002. 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] The tour was in the months right before the group went on a scheduled hiatus, in May 2002.[2][3][4]
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 memberChris Kirkpatrick stated the second outing would remove the spectacle of their previous tourPopOdyssey 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 includedR&B singerGinuwine,[9] rapper and entrepreneurP. Diddy,[10] andalternative rock bandSmash Mouth.[9] The new tour dates coincided with the band's partnership withChili'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 the2002 Winter Olympics at the Olympic Medals Plaza on February 23, 2002.[11]
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 fromThe Beatles andThe 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]
The tour was reviewed positively by critics, who praised the tour's stripped-down feel and showmanship. Pam Sitt ofThe Seattle Times lauded “the new, down-to-earth, accessible [NSYNC]".[16] Reviewing the Rose Garden show, Marty Hughley ofThe Oregonian wrote, "Lead singers Justin Timberlake andJC 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 ofThe 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 ofMTV 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 ofThe 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]
Though the closing show at the TD Waterhouse Centre was filmed for a possibleCelebrity tour DVD release, to date a DVD has not been released due to the footage being deemed "unusable."[19] Bootleg DVDs were sold oneBay 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 onYouTube in 2006.[18]
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.
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 |
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 |
April 11, 2002 | Uniondale, New York | Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum | Cancelled |
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.
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.