popslash overview
Popslash: Where Embarrassment Goes to Die
Where to begin? Well, there are few different possibilities here, but I'm going to go with my obsession like always and begin with the boys. *Nsync (from left to right, that's JC Chasez, Joey Fatone, Chris Kirkpatrick, Lance Bass, and Justin Timberlake).
According to the newly revamped (and highly cool, I must say -- especially for those karaoke fans among us) nsync.com, *Nsync's history can be summed up in one simple sentence: "In 1996 five guys got together, formed a band, made an album, and changed the world, all in one shot." Now that? Is not informative. It's also, as anyone with any experience in this fandom will tell you, bull.
A much more accurate (and, yes, long-winded) statement would read: "In 1996 five guys got together and formed a band. They set off immediately to tour Germany -- armed only with certifiably nightmarish manager Lou Pearlman, the worst outfits ever to burn corneas across Western Europe, an album including a song almost entirely composed of the lyrics 'giddy up giddy up giddy up giddy up...now', and a piece of jailbait young enough to be required to travel with a parent at all times. There, they sang and danced. They signed autographs, they did radio shows, they used the most ill-concieved hair products known to man, and consumed nothing short of a ton of Pixie Sticks -- all in an attempt to win over the hearts and minds of their audience. Pre-teen girls predictably adored them. The rest of the world turned it's head, clutched it's well-worn Alanis Morrisette album tightly to it's chest, and shuddered. *Nsync -- as they were named -- could not be stopped, however, and returned to America in 1998. They released two singles there, wore scary skin-tight crushed velvet in their videos, and had choreographed hip thrusts. A few people outside the group's target pre-teen age range noticed and thought 'Hell, what's not to love?' Years passed and the boys grew. Lawsuits, unfortunate outerwear decisions, girlfriends, wax figurines and MTV Video Award shows came and went. Incredibly slashy glances were given and recieved. And, slowly, larger and larger numbers of fans began to become aware of how incredibly hot and incredibly gay the guys sometimes seemed. People started slashing and writing sexy, sweet, smart, funny, intelligent stories starring the boys. And those stories -- and, yeah, the group, too, I guess -- changed the world, all in one shot. Heh. We hope."
I'm so losing my indie cred by reading this, aren't I? Fine, just tell me what it is.
Basically, what I wrote above describes the essence of popslash. It's stories about those overexposed, overpaid popstars who you may claim to hate (but may secretly -- or not so secretly -- love). It's Real Person Fiction that, being slash and all, tends to feature Real Person Sex. A lot. One might even use the term "heavily". (I had intended to put in a section regarding the ideas/joys/problems of working with popslash canon here. Left it out for length and y'all's sanity. If anyone is interested, however, then please comment and I'll link you up.)
The *Nsync-ers aren't the only ones featured in popslash, though the majority of fics (and the vast majority of fics that I'll be recc'ing) do revolve solely around them. Other common -- and semi-common -- appearances in pop!fic are made by: The Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Eminem, Aaron Carter, Nelly, Pharrell Williams, Madonna, Wade Robeson, Robbie Williams...and so on. Given that (and the fact that RPF of any kind can be expanded to include any celebrity who wanders into it's wicked web), I'm not going to do any individual character sketches here for any of the non-Syncers I just listed. Instead, I will make sure to include all the necessary information on a fic by fic basis.
For now, however, here are the basics you'll need to keep you from falling into a sparkly pit of confusion and despair when reading popslash:
Chris Kirkpatrick:
Oldest member of the group at age 31. From Pennsylvania.
Chris has seen the most personal hardship out of the group (his father abandoned the family when Chris and his siblings were still young, though he doesn't appear to have cut all contact with them. As a result, however, the family struggled and Chris was a part of that -- even living in a car with his mom and sisters for a while). As well -- unlike Justin, JC, and possibly Lance -- he is well aware of how life can be when you're NOT in showbiz. He's got a notably different worldview as a result and it shows through, I think, in the way he interacts. For example, he's unquestionably the funniest man in the group, but fandom also has it that he tends to use his black humor as a weapon.
He instigated the formation of the band and so, I think, he could be seen as having a rather fatherly role with the rest of the boys. That is, he could be seen that way -- if he could stop playing endless video game competitions with Justin, control the boundless energy, and tone down his not-always-tactful wit a bit.
He's smart -- college educated -- and is maybe the most removed from the fame side of the pop business.
(edited by zaneetas on 7/8/05 to add: Those of you interested in accurate & factual information regarding Chris's family life and father, specifically, should probably disregard that section of the above bio and peruse the following comment threads instead: one, two, three. Thank you!)
JC Chasez:
Aged 27. From Maryland/Washington, DC.
JC is simultaneously the most intense member of the group and the most laid back. Which is weird, I know, and it's because of that oddness that there are approximately two billion popslash fics dealing with that duality in his character. How does he manage to make you question whether or not he's aware of what day/month/year it is, and yet make it so clear that he is fiercely aware of and involved in the group -- to the point of being a little intimidating about it at times?
Hmm. Tends to be a bit underestimated intellectually, I think, though it's actually hard to gauge just how smart he may/may not be, given how rambling and cyclical his speech can be.
The member with the most early ties to other members, also. He knew both Joey and Justin before the group began. He and Justin were both members of the new Mickey Mouse Club -- along with Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Keri Russell, and Ryan Gosling.
Joey Fatone:
Aged 26. From New York.
Joey is largely seen, IMO, as the most genuinely easy-going and loveable member of the group. He's jovial and unthreatening mainly, but will also whip out the sarcasm from time to time. He and Chris seem to share the role of protector for the rest of the group.
Despite having a slight (fandom) reputation for...uh...promiscuity, he's a dad now and has seemed to take that responsibility seriously. Pretty frank sexually.
Justin Timberlake:
Youngest member of the group at age 22. From Tennessee.
Ahhh, Justin. Fandom controversy absolutely rages about what Justin is really like. Is he an unapologetic diva, quashing the trembling, fragile hopes and dreams of his bandmates whenever they inconvience him and his plans for TRL domination? Or is he a genuinely nice guy who's been famous for so long that 'warped' doesn't even begin to describe his possible view of the world? I tend towards thinking the latter, personally, though there is no denying the ego is a definite part of the Mr. JT equation. Either way, he's a fascinating character in a lot of these stories.
He's grown up within the group, but is in the process of branching out from it now (not necessarily with the aim of breaking the group up, however). Complete Momma's boy and, within the group, maintains a strong friendship with Chris and a definite bond with JC, as well.
Lance Bass:
Aged 24. From Mississippi.
I've heard Lance referred to in this fandom as "a chameleon", which I think is an apt way of describing him. He's changed drastically since the days of Baby!Sync -- losing some of his shyness and replacing it with a serious air of detatched snarkiness (if that makes sense). Smart and business minded -- or would have you believe so -- but also gets caught up in grand schemes and plotting. There's a reason why he tends to be the evil mastermind in popslash AUs, you know.
A Small Visual/Textual Overview of the *Nsync Timeline
Baby!Sync (From left to right, that's Joey, JC, Chris, Justin, and Lance.)
1996 - 1998 or so. The boys in Germany and during their early US days.
No Strings Attached!Sync (From left to right, that's Joey, JC, Lance, Chris, and Justin.)
2000 - 2001. Around the time of their massively popular 2nd album. It was during the making of NSA that the group split with Lou Pearlman, convinced they were being scammed. An era defined, visually, by that 'fro.
Celebrity!Sync (From left to right, that's Lance, JC, Justin, Chris, and Joey.)
2001 - 2002. Their massively popular 3rd album, which earned them quite a bit more critical respect than the previous two. It was during this period that JC underwent the transformation from "intense" to "intense...and really, really pretty. Gah."
Hiatus!Sync (From left to right, that's Chris, JC, Joey, Justin, and Lance.)
Early 2002 - Current. Hiatus for *Nsync fans has lasted for...uh...over 500 days at this point. A quick update of what the guys have been doing over the break:
JC has made endless news this hiatus by...not releasing an album. Err, yet. Instead, he's recorded a number of collaborations with other artists (Basement Jaxx and BT are the most recent two) and also came out with 'Blowin' Me Up (With Her Love), for the "Drumline" soundtrack. He's also, of course, spent long hours testing the public's reaction to his varying hair lengths and, every evening, retired in his musty attic, lighting candles and writing tear-jerkingly beautiful love songs for Justin. *ahem*
Although his relationship with Cameron Diaz has swamped the press recently, Justin has spent hiatus doing more than just dating and dodging the intrepid reporters of Us magazine. He spent his "time off" working. Hard. His (excellent) solo album came out to good sales and Justin launched a world tour with fellow former Mouseketeer Xtina, giving rise to incessant rumors of an *Nsync break-up. Serious fandom strife resulted. Possibly Justin felt guilty over this, because he clearly attempted to make amends by providing some quasi-gay porn. Won big at MTV Video Awards, 2003.
Lance also went the quasi-gay porn route (but I can't find the daggone link), after traveling to Russia in an attempt to become part of a manned space flight. That plan fell through (for the time being, at least) and, since then, he's been spending time making the talk show circuit and showing off his tanned self at a variety of Hollywood events.
Joey played off the successes of both *Nsync and "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" to get a spot hosting the talent show "Fame". He also appeared in both "Grease" and the latest incarnation of "RENT", and has begun to record a comedy album. Is well on his way to being the first married member of the group, too, as he proposed to Kelly during the break -- she's the mother of his child, Briahna.
As for Chris...well, who knows? No gay porn that I know of, as the oldest member of the group has kept a relatively low profile recently -- despite being in the process of recording his solo album. He did, however, show at *Nsync's Charity Games (Challenge for the Children) and attended one or two of Justin's concerts.
(Wow, writing that made me feel incredibly like an indulgent mother writing the family Christmas newsletter. Except, again, with the porn thing.)
Link me, yo.
No central archives here folks. While there are archives for specific genres of popslash, this fandom thrives largely through author pages and recs.
Here are a number of large sources for recs and links. I'll expand this list to include the largest author pages as I get my bookmarks more organized.
X-Month Recs (each month is devoted to a figure in the pop universe -- September is Justin, for example -- and these are the daily recs given out for stories focusing on the person of the month)
Sandy Keene's 210 Recs (also includes a thorough listing of other author's rec pages)
Recs from the authors at obsessivetendencies.net
disco-ball.com's Slash Links (a huge list of links to various archives, challenges, and author sites)
Genre Specific Archives:
The Popslash High School AU Archive
AUs and ARs Archive
The Challenge Archive
The Popslash Kink Archive
That's it for now. Enjoy, comment with questions, have a great day!
**All images from nsyncgallery.org**
**Thanks to everyone who has provided links and information**