“Justin was nervous and antsy, wanting to get down and record right away whereas the other boys were joking around and not in a hurry,” says Roche, who produced NSA’s “That’s When I’ll Stop Loving You.” “Justin was the uptight one. He was like the boss. The leader. It’s pretty obvious why he was so successful.”
At the time, he told the New York Times, there was “no reason my solo career and *NSYNC can’t coexist,” however it soon became apparent that *NSYNC wouldn’t be reconvening
Musician Alex Greggs meanwhile recalls a more low-key Timberlake during his first meeting with the group at their manager Johnny Wright’s office in Orlando, Florida. Greggs and his late producing partner, Brad Daymond, had released remixes of previous hits like “Tearin’ Up My Heart,” which caught Chasez’s attention and led to the duo working on NSA.
“They were all very quiet,” Greggs says of his first impressions of the quintet. “I think they were so used to producers being the big people in the room. Then as time goes on, it changes and they walk into the room and the producers are the ones going, ‘Alright, the big guys are here!’ But in that beginning stage, it was cool because we got to do things with them that we wouldn’t have if they’d already been established. They were very receptive to everything we asked.”
“At first it I thought it was obviously JC who was the big star,” Greggs adds. “Then, within a week, I figured it would be both of them, and that Justin was going to be a great total act as well. Continue reading “Guy Roche adds that despite only working with *NSYNC on one song, Timberlake’s drive and passion made a strong impression”