NSYNC’s Debut Album Turns 28

It’s 1997. Grunge is gasping for air. Classic rock is holding steady, because legends don’t die, but the airwaves? They’re getting suspiciously…shinier.

Then out of nowhere, five fresh-faced kids from Orlando — NSYNC — show up. Not a guitar solo in sight. No leather jackets. Just harmonies so tight they could cut glass and choreography that looked like it was cooked up in a secret boy band lab under Disney World.

Their self-titled debut dropped 28 years ago today, May 26, 1997, but not here. Nope, Germany got the first blast (because apparently America wasn’t ready for that much frosted-tip energy just yet). And over there? They blew up. Think Beatles-in-Hamburg levels of hysteria.

By March 1998, NSYNC finally unleashed their debut in the U.S. — and buddy, it was like a glitter bomb exploded in every mall food court from coast to coast. (But today, we’re saluting the real debut date.)

Sure, it was bubblegum. Sure, it was engineered to melt teenage brains. But even a stubborn classic rock junkie had to tip his hat (grudgingly) at that tight harmony and production slicker than a ’70s Camaro hood.

MTV couldn’t play them enough. Teenage America couldn’t buy enough posters. Meanwhile, us rock guys? We were standing around, clutching our Aerosmith vinyls, wondering what the hell just happened.

These kids weren’t totally homemade. They had the full pop machine behind them with producers like Max Martin and Denniz Pop (yeah, real names, real powerhouses) turning every track into a radio missile. Justin Timberlake and JC Chasez carried a lot of the vocal weight early on, and honestly? The talent was there, whether we liked the packaging or not.

That first album was a full-frontal pop assault. Just pure, weaponized hooks that wormed into your skull whether you liked it or not. Even the “I only listen to Zeppelin” guys were humming “I Want You Back” in the shower and pretending they weren’t.

NSYNC didn’t kill rock ‘n’ roll — let’s get that straight. They just elbowed their way onto the stage, lit a few fireworks, and made the teenage world lose its collective mind. 

Meanwhile, the rest of us held our lighters up for Slash and muttered something about “real music,” but deep down, even the toughest among us had to respect the hustle.

Pop wasn’t the same after those five dudes crash-landed from wherever Max Martin builds boy bands. Neither was MTV. Neither were our younger sisters.

Was it our scene? Hell no.

But denying what NSYNC’s debut pulled off would be like pretending Journey never packed stadiums. You don’t have to live and breathe it, but you gotta respect the muscle.

And admit it: somewhere deep in the dusty jukebox of your soul, when you hear that first “Oh oh ohhh…” from “Tearin’ Up My Heart,” you smirk.

Because you remember.

We all do.

Stay chill, 

Sam 

P.S. If you’re a millennial who remembers when pop still knew how to bring the heat, check out these vintage tees from your favorite band, NSYNC. (No judgment if you still know all the dance moves.)