This is the longest installment yet. I didn't do it on purpose, it just sort of turned out that way. I've been getting some good responses from readers about the story and would just like to thank you all. The next installments will be the last day-to-day plots. After I have them start touring, it's going to be jumping a little. I still haven't worked out the problems with my account, I am waiting for someone to do it. Like before, if you e-mail me and it says that I don't have an account try sending it a day or two later, now on with the show!
XVI
I started the car and we pulled off. My family all waved from the porch and we waved back.
"That went well!" I said.
"Yeah!" Lance agreed.
"You think they liked us?" Justin asked me.
"Oh yeah! No doubt!"
"How could you tell?" Joey asked.
"When you've gone through these things time and time again like I have, you can tell when they don't like someone."
"Oh."
"Damn! I am dead tired!" JC said once we got on the highway.
"Yeah me too!" I said, "I don't think I can make it back to the hotel!"
"It's ok, once we get to your house we can catch a cab!" Chris said.
"NO! I wouldn't allow it! How bout this? How bout we all just crash at my place?"
"Is there enough room?" Lance asked.
"Yeah, the couch is a sofa bed, that can fit at least two, three, if we squeeze. I have an air mattress, and my bed is big, so at least three people can fit in it comfortably."
"Fine, then to your house it is!" JC said.
We listened to music the rest of the way to my house. We didn't listen to their album like planned earlier; instead I played them some Latin House music that I had on a tape. They liked it. By the time we got back to my place we were all awake and not ready to go to bed.
"Whoa, this is a phat place you got here!" Justin said as we entered.
"Yeah man! I wish I had an apt like this!" Joey said.
"Yeah, my uncle left it to me when he moved. Speaking of which, I gotta call him!"
"OH shit! You gotta pool table?" Justin said.
"Yeah, the cue sticks are on the wall over there and the rack is on the coffee table, if you guys wanna play!"
"Come on JC, let's play, you owe me from last time!"
"Bring it on curly!" JC said as they went over to the table.
"You guys can chill out here, I'm gonna go call my uncle real quick. I'll be right back." I said as I went into my room and closed the door.
I dialed my uncle's number and sure enough, he was up. He could never go to sleep before 1.
"Hey tio!"
"Rob! Wassup little brother!" he said surprised to hear from me.
"Nothin man! Wassup with you?"
"Nothin, same ol' shit different day."
"Yo, guess what?"
"What?"
"You are never going to believe this!"
"What?!?"
"I gotta record deal!"
"WHAT?!?! Oh shit! Congratulations!!"
"YUP!"
"How, how?"
"Well, I'll have to go into details another time, because I have company over right now. But, I'll tell you this! Not only do I get to record my own album, I also get to produce some of it."
"All right!"
"Yup, and that's not all! I'm going on tour with one of my favorite groups, remember I told you about them, N SYNC!"
"Oh yeah you told me about them."
"But wait, it gets better!"
"What?"
"Not only am I touring with them, I'm also dating and am in love with one of the members."
"What?"
"Yup, his name is Lance. We met a few days ago and have fallen in love! I know what you're thinking, it's too fast. But, you're wrong! I know what love feels like and I feel it for him and he feels it for me! It's not just because of the record deal, cause I realized this before they even offered it to me. And I didn't get the record deal because I'm goin out with him, because they didn't even have anything to do with me getting it. The producer of their album saw that, I had a knowledge of music and asked me to help him with one of the tracks. The only thing that they did for me as far as music was, they offered me a chance to sing with them. After hearing me, Tom, that's the producer, told some people about me and how much I knew about music and they offered to sign me."
"WOW! It looks like you really know what you're doing! WHAT DID I TELL YOU!?!? I always told you that you were gonna be famous!"
"I know, I know! And I have you to thank! You've inspired me the most out of anyone!"
"Aww..thanks!"
"I mean it man! Look, I gotta go. I'll call you in a couple of days and give you all the details."
"Alright buddy!"
"Alright bye! I love you!"
"Love you too! Bye."
I hung up the phone and went out to the living room with the guys. JC and Justin were arguing over a shot that Justin had made. Chris was watching them play and Joey and Lance were playing my Nintendo 64.
"Alright, let me show you how to really play some pool!" I said as I took out my cue stick.
"Whoa! Cool stick!" Chris said.
"Yup, my uncle gave it to me. Let's get this game started."
"Two on two?" Justin asked.
"Yeah, how bout me and Chris -VS- you two."
"Fine with me!"
"Let's go then!"
We played 3 games, two of which Chris and I won. After we finished playing pool we all sat in the living room and talked for a while.
"So, what did you guys do today while we were playing basketball?" I asked.
"Well, as you know I went out with Jessica."
"Yeah, what happened?" Justin asked.
"Well, at first it was cool, we were having fun. Then, after a while of talking to her, it was just like...there was nothing there. She was a little too ditzy!"
"Yeah, I know! She can be that way sometime." I said laughing.
"Thanks for warning me!"
"Sorry!"
"It's ok, I'm just playin!"
"What about you Joe?" Lance asked.
"Well, I went down to see my uncle."
"Oh, how is he?" Chris asked.
"He's good. But that's not the important part. I met this girl!"
"For real? Is she fly?" I asked.
"What do you care?" Lance asked.
"Uh.well.."
"Yeah, she looks mad good!" Joey said cutting me off.
"What's she like?" Chris asked.
"She's really nice. We were talking and she seems really cool. I asked her to go on a double date with me and she said yes."
"Who you gonna double with?" I asked.
"Um.I was hoping..you two?"
"I don't think so! What if word gets out?" Lance said.
"Well, she didn't even know who I was! That's the best part! She doesn't listen to our kind of music."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I asked her if she ever heard of us."
"What did she say?"
"She said yeah but it was cause her ex-boyfriend used to listen to us."
"I still don't know!"
"Come on please!! Look, I'll make her swear not to say anything! Anyway, who would believe her? We could just sat that it is another rumor!"
"I'll go, as long as Lance agrees." I said.
"See, he'll go, come on Lance! Help me out here!"
"Alright fine!" Lance said finally giving in.
"Yes! I'm gonna call her tomorrow and tell her. We'll go out Fri night!"
"What about you Chris, what did you do today?" I asked.
"Nothing much! I met up with this girl, but nothing came out of that."
"Hey Rob!" Justin said.
"Wassup?"
"Your friend Jay, is he..."
"Is he what?"
"You know!"
"No what?"
"You know!!"
"No, what!!"
"Well, I was checking him out today. He's fly!"
"NOOOO, no! Sorry, but no! He's as straight as they come!"
"Oh. never mind then." He said sadly.
"I'm sorry!" I said feeling bad.
"It's not your fault! I'm used to it by now."
"Don't worry, you'll meet somebody!" Lance said as he put his arm around his shoulder trying to cheer him up.
"Yeah man! It's ok." Joey said also trying to cheer him up.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah! I know! I just wish that I could have what you guys have." He said looking at Lance and I.
"You'll find that some day! You're still young! You've got your whole life ahead of you!" I said still feeling bad.
"Yeah but, as long as I'm a star, it'll never happen!"
"That's not true! Look at us! That above all should teach you something!" Lance said.
"I know, you're right! But, I just want that now! I can't wait." He said starting to get teary eyed.
"Come on! Don't cry! It'll be ok!" Lance said giving him a hug.
"Yeah man! Look, I'm alone too! I know it's just a matter of time before I finally meet some one! The same will happen to you!" JC said consoling him.
"Yeah, but, at least you get to date! I gotta think of my image before I can do anything!" He said a little angry.
"You think I didn't? Now I got to even more so! Just because you find someone doesn't mean all of your problems go away! I gotta hide who I am, and who I'm in love with! That kills me! Especially now! He has to worry about it too! We gotta hide who we are and how we feel about each other just to please the public, to maintain our images." Lance said angrily.
"Calm down baby!" I said as I got up to calm him down, "Look, you're all right! It's not easy! Especially for you guys, and now me as well. But as long as we all have each other and stick together we can get through all of this! Justin, you'll find someone who will love you for who you really are not because of your job. Lance, I would love nothing more than to shout from the rooftops how we feel about each other, but we can't. Sad, but true! But what does it matter as long as we know and the people we care most about know? That's all that matters! As for the rest of the guys, it's not easy for them either. But we all got to deal with it! In the end we will all come out happy!"
"He's right you guys!" JC said backing me up, "We knew when we first started this that we wouldn't have a normal life. But, I know that none of us would give up what we have to be `normal'. We are doing something that millions of people wish they could do! We are very lucky, not only do we have fame, but we each have five other people in our lives that we can trust with our lives and always count on to be there for us!"
"Five?" I interrupted.
"Yes 5! Even though we've only known you for a short time, we know that we can count on you to be there for any one of us! It was just like when we first met Lance. It was no coincidence that you two bumped into each other! IT WAS FAIT! You were meant to be apart of our family! Like you said, as long as we have each other and we stick together we can get through anything!"
"You're all right! I'm sorry I overreacted!" Justin said as he got up and hugged Lance and I.
The rest of the guys came over and we all hugged. It was getting really late and we all decided to get some sleep. Justin, Joey, and Chris slept in the living room. JC, Lance, and I all shared my bed. It was 1:30 when we all finally went to sleep. It was around 9:30 and I was the first one to get up. I got out of bed, went to the bathroom, then went into the living room to see if anyone else was up. They were still sleeping so I decided to make them all breakfast. I went into the kitchen, got out the frying pan, the bread and the eggs, bacon and some sausage. I decided to make French toast and eggs. I made the French toast first. I made about 15 pieces, put it on a plate and put it in the microwave. I then started on the bacon, sausage and eggs. I cooked the bacon and sausage in one pane while I made the scrambled eggs in the other. As I was cooking, the sound of the bacon sizzling and the smell of all the food woke up Chris. He came in the kitchen and saw me cooking.
"You cook?" he asked yawning.
"Oh! Chris, um.. yeah!" I said a little startled.
"Didn't mean to scare you!" He said.
"It's ok. Is anybody else up yet?"
"No."
"Good, I'll wait till this is all done to wake them all up."
"Can I help you with anything?"
"Uh..let me see? Um.. you can... set the table. The plates are in there and the forks and stuff are in there." I said pointing to a cabinet and a drawer.
He set the table in no time and came back asking if he could do anything else.
"What else is there to do?" I asked.
"What about drinks?"
"Yeah, you know what they drink?"
"Yeah. Do you have OJ?"
"Yeah, in the fridge."
"What about coffee?"
"Yeah but it's Puerto Rican coffee!"
"So, what's the difference?"
"It's really strong!"
"How strong can it be?"
"Here, try some of mine." I said giving him a sip of my coffee.
He took a sip and said,
"DAMN!!"
"Told you!" I said laughing.
The smell of the food and the sound of us in the kitchen woke up Joey.
"Hey guys! What's going on?" He said rubbing his eyes.
"Making breakfast." I said.
"What you making?"
"Don't worry about it, wait till it's served." Chris said getting him out of the kitchen.
"Why'd you do that?" I asked.
"Cause if we let him stay, he would've picked at the food."
"Oh, well it's ready to be served now anyway."
"Ok, let's serve it then." He said as he took the plate of eggs, and the plate of bacon and sausage.
I got the French toast out of the microwave and got out the syrup.
"Do you have sugar?"
"Yes, I was just about to get it. I know that Lance likes sugar on his French toast."
"Scuse us!"
"OK, you go wake up Justin and get Joey, I'll go wake up JC and Lance."
"Ok."
I went into the room and woke JC up first. I told him that breakfast was ready and he got up and went to the bathroom. I then went over to Lance and kissed him. It took him a min to respond then he woke up and just kissed me back. I told him that breakfast was ready and told him to get out of bed. He obeyed and I left the room and he went to the bathroom. As I got into the living room, I saw the guys still trying to wake Justin up.
"He doesn't wanna wake up!" Chris said.
"Hmm, looks like we'll have to take drastic measures then." I said motioning them to go around the other side of the bed.
I mouthed the words tickle him.
"NOW!" I said as we all jumped on top of him and started to tickle him.
Lance came out of the bathroom and didn't know what was going on.
"What the hell is going on!?!" He yelled.
"Justin won't get up!" Joey said.
"Oh, in that case!" he said running over to the bed and jumping on top of all of us.
"AAHHHHHH hahahahaha! ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT! I'm up, I'm up!" Justin said trying to get us off of him.
We woke him up, and he was all grumpy. His hair was all messed up and he crawled into the bathroom.
"Is he always this grumpy, or is it because we attacked him." I asked.
"No, he's always this grumpy!" JC said.
"Whatever, anyway breakfast is served. We have French toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, OJ, coffee, and milk. Whatever you want, just let me know." I said guiding them to the table.
Justin came out of the bathroom still looking like a zombie.
"Any of you want anything else?" I asked.
"No." said JC, Chris, Lance, and Joey.
"Justin?" I asked.
"Ugh!" he groaned.
"OK?"
"Just give him a few minutes." Lance said.
"Yeah, he has to eat first, then he'll be able to talk." Chris said.
"Whatever." I said as I sat back down.
"This is good!" JC said.
"Thanks!"
"Yeah, especially these eggs!" Joey said.
"Eggs are my specialty!"
"Cool!"
"The French toast is good too!" JC said.
"Thanks! Now, eat up! We got a long day ahead of us!"
"What time are we gonna leave here?" Lance asked.
"Well, we gotta be there by 1, so we'll leave here at 11:45. It'll take about an hour to get there. Cause of mid-day traffic."
"What time is it now?" Justin asked.
"Well, look who's up!" I said.
"Shut up!"
"It's 10:30, so eat up! I don't think we'll have time to stop off at the hotel, so you're just gonna have to wear the same thing y'all wore last night."
"No problem!" Chris said.
"You can all shower and stuff, but don't take too long or else the hot water will leave."
"Ok, I think I'll go do that now then." Joey said getting up from the table.
"Ok, let me get you a towel then." I got up and gave him a towel and sat back down.
"What about all the dishes?" Chris asked.
"Don't worry about those, I'll just rinse them off real fast and put them in the dishwasher."
They were all finished. Lance and Chris helped me with the dishes and JC and Justin went to clean up the living room. Joey got out of the shower and JC got in. I went into my room and made my bed. While I was straightening up, Lance came in the room.
"Hey, that was some really good food you cooked." He said.
"Why, thank you."
"Hey you!"
"What?"
"Come here!"
"OK," I said as I went over to him, "What?"
"Give me a hug!"
I gave him a hug and he just held me for around five minutes and let go.
"What was that for?" I asked.
"Because I love you!"
"Aww!"
"I realized after last night and the whole deal with Justin, that I am very lucky! Not all of the guys in the group can find what I have. I thank god for our meeting each other!" I gave him a kiss and then a hug. We were interrupted by JC telling us that the shower was free.
"Hey guys, the showers free..oh I'm sorry!" He said as he started to walk out.
"NO, it's ok. We were just coming out there anyway!" Lance said.
"You sure? I mean, I can leave the two of you alone if you want!"
"NO, really, it's ok!" I said.
We all went into the living room and Justin went to the shower next.
"So, how much time do we have?" JC asked.
"Well, it's ten to 11 now, so we got time." I said.
"Ok, well we all should talk then!"
"About what?"
"Just some standard things you need to know. About touring, interviews, all that shit!"
"Ok, then shouldn't we wait for Justin then?"
"No, when he gets out, he can add anything he wants to."
"Ok, shoot!" I said as we all sat down.
"Ok, as you know already, you are not to let anybody know about Lance's, Justin's, or you sexuality."
"I know!"
"Also, you gotta try not to be too affectionate with Lance in public." Joey said.
"I know!"
"We know you know! We just gotta make sure!" JC said.
"Also, what are you going to do about your apt and car?" Chris asked.
"Oh, well the apt I'll keep. I don't pay rent. My uncle owns it and the mortgage is, paid off. As for mail and stuff, I'll get it forwarded to my parent's house. I was thinking about letting Jay house sit for me while I am out of NY. I'll have to check with him on Sat though. My car, I'll let my mom or my brother take it."
"Ok, did you put in your resignation for your job yet?" Joey asked.
"Yeah, I did that yesterday. I gotta go pick up my check tomorrow."
"Now, about touring." JC said.
"What about it?"
"It can be a really hectic lifestyle and it takes a while to get used to it."
"Yeah, we're talking major cut back of sleep!" Lance said.
"Hardly any free time." Chris said.
"I'm sure it's a hassle, but I can get used to it!" I said.
Just as I said that, Justin came out of the shower and Chris went in.
"What we talking about?" asked Justin.
"Just letting Rob know a few things about tour life and all that stuff." JC said.
"Oh, don't forget about the rumors!"
"Oh, yeah! Can't forget that! You tell him."
"Ok. Well, you gotta expect rumors to flow when you have a job like this. The most important thing is though, that you don't let them get to you! Whether they be true, lies, stupidity or otherwise! If you show people that they bother you, they'll only do it more!"
"You sound like my uncle!"
"It's true though!" Lance said.
"I know!"
"A good way to avoid letting anything slip about your sexuality is to get associated with as many girls as possible." Justin said.
"What do you mean?"
"Meaning, that if you get a chance, try and be seen with other girls from show business. That way, rumors will fly that you are seeing that person and they will not pay attention to any rumors about you being gay or bi." Lance said.
"You won't get jealous?"
"Only if it goes beyond appearances and some flirting!"
"Well then I expect the same from you!"
"Deal!"
"Ok! Anything else?" I asked.
"Yeah, there's been a change in plans!" JC said.
"What?"
"We leave Tuesday instead of Wednesday."
"Why?"
"We gotta do a radio appearance in Orlando." Lance said.
"So, that means I gotta cut my good-bye's a little short."
"Yeah, sorry!"
"It's ok, it's not your fault."
Chris got out of the shower and Lance got in.
"Let's see, today after we leave the studio, we go to Z100. After that, we have the rest of the night free right?"
"Yeah." Justin said.
"Ok, tomorrow, we're going out to lunch with you and your date."
"Yeah, but first, we have to go on Regis and Kathy Lee. Then around 12, we'll go out to lunch." Joey said.
"Ok, am I appearing with you?"
"No, but you can go and wither sit in the audience or wait in the green room."
"Nah, I don't think I'm gonna go. I have to take care of some things."
"We have from Friday till Monday off. Tuesday we leave around 9." JC said.
"Saturday, I'm gonna spend the day with Jay, and we'll meet you later on at night. Sunday, I plan on spending the day with one of my other close friends then, I'll meet you guys around 5 then we'll go out to dinner with my parent's and my brother. Monday, me and Lance will spend the day together and around 5 or 6 we'll meet you guys. And Tuesday, we leave."
"Yup." Chris said.
Lance was the quickest one to take a shower, he got out and I being the last, went in. I made it a quick shower because 1- the hot water was almost completely gone, and 2- we had to leave. I got out of the shower and got dressed. Once I was done we got into my car and headed for the studio. As I had predicted there was traffic. We got there around ten to 1. Tom was already there when we walked into the studio.
"Hey guys! How's it goin?" Tom asked as he saw us all pile into the control room.
"Hey Tom!" We all said.
"Ok, I'm glad you're all here, and on time! Hmm, seems like ever since you guys met Rob, you've been on time for every session."
"Yeah, he's worse than Lance!" Chris said.
"Shut up! I can't help it if I don't like to be late!" I said.
"Ok, here's the agenda for today!" Tom began, "Rob, you're gonna be meeting with some song writers and some producers for you album. You can get as involved as you want with writing and producing the songs. As for you guys, we gotta get at least two songs done today. Hopefully by the time we're done with the first one, which is just a remix to the song we did a couple of days ago and adding some additional lyrics. Rob, will be finished with all he has to do and can give me a hand with the second song, which is a new song. If not, then it's ok. But anyway, let's get to work. You guys go set up and Rob you follow me."
We all did as we were told. I met with the songwriters first. There were about 3 guys and 1 girl. They all seemed nice and ready to work. We got down to business and wrote at least five songs until they said that, that was enough for today. I was pretty impressed, they really knew what they were doing. I made sure that I put some of my own lyrics into each song that we did. At the end they asked me to try and come up with a whole song and submit it to them when we got to Orlando. I said I have a few songs that might be good and that I would still write a new one. They told me to bring them all in and they would either make them better or if the songs were fine the way they were, then they would put them on the album. It was around 2:30 when I was done with the songwriters. I was told that I could break for lunch so I went upstairs to the cafeteria. When I ordered my lunch I saw Chris sitting at one of the tables. I walked over to him and sat down.
"So, how's it going?" I asked as I put my tray on the table and sat down.
"Huh? Oh, Rob hey! Sorry, I was somewhere else."
"It's.. ok! Is everything alright?"
"Oh, yeah! I was just thinking!"
"About what if you don't mind me asking?"
"Nothing important! Really."
"Looked pretty important to me! You can tell me, I won't say anything."
"Really?"
"Yeah, if you don't want me to."
"Well, ok. It's like this. nah, forget it!"
"It's ok really! You can trust me!"
"Ok fine. It's just that, ever since what happened last night with Justin, I've been thinking about things."
"Like?"
"Well, I'm the oldest of the group, 30's not too far from me either. I just.."
"Hoped that you would have someone by now to settle down with?"
"Yeah, I mean, don't get me wrong. I love being in the group and touring and all that stuff. It's just, sometimes I wonder if I'm ever gonna find someone who will love me for me, not because I'm a star, and someone who will put up with me having to go on tour. It's just so hard!"
"I won't lye to you, it is hard! You might not find that person for another 5 years."
"Thanks!"
"But, you also might find that person in five days. The point is, you never know when love is gonna hit you. But, when it does you have to hold on to it with all your might and not let go. As long as you focus on the good things you have going for you, the bad things don't look as bad."
"You're right! I just wish I could have that person now!"
"I know, but.."
"You really don't know. You have Lance."
"Oh yeah! Where do you think I was before Lance? Depressed and heartbroken because the person who I loved most at the time destroyed me. You should've seen me before. It was like someone took all that I knew and burned it till all it was, was ashes. Then they took those ashes burned them and took the remains and threw them away. I was bad. It wasn't till I met Lance that, I knew that I could go on. That, my love, was meant for someone else. That, I could truly, be happy once again. I know that we fell for each other pretty fast. At first I thought it was just cause we were lonely and missed being in love. But, it wasn't till that one morning when I woke up and... well, I'll spare you the details, but let's just say that I looked at him and I knew that it was really love. He completed a part of me that I thought could never be restored."
"Damn! It was like that?"
"Yup! But see, everything turned out for the best right?"
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Thank you!"
"For what?"
"You've made me realize something."
"That being?"
"Well, I'm lucky. I have accomplishing something that only a few people get to accomplish. I'm doing what I've always dreamed of doing. I can't have everything all at once, so when love finds me that will be when I can say, that I have everything that I have always wanted. Right now I just have to wait until that happens."
"Yup."
"Thanks!"
"No problem man! Anytime!"
"Well, I really ought to get back to work."
"Yeah, me too!"
"Come on, I'll walk you down."
"Ok."
We got up and threw our trays away. We got into the elevator and got off at the same floor. He walked me to the office where I was supposed to meet the producers and then he went back to the studio.
"Hey man, what took you so long?" JC asked Chris.
"Oh, I was eating lunch and bumped into Rob."
"Oh, how's he coming along with everything?" Lance asked.
"Oh, good! TO tell you the truth we really didn't talk about that."
"What did you talk about then?"
"Oh, nothing much.really!"
"Come on! Don't start keeping secrets from us now!" Joey said.
"Nothing, really! He helped me out with something."
"What?" Justin asked.
"Nothing, just something that was on my mind!"
"Come on man! Tell us!" JC pried.
"Fine! I was just thinking about what happened last night, about what Justin said, and I started to wonder the same thing, if I would ever find somebody. Rob saw me, he sat down and we talked. He just gave me some, advice, that's all!"
"Oh, ok." JC said.
"Where is he now?" Lance asked.
"He's meeting with the producers now."
"Oh, ok. Let's get back to work then."
They got back to work, and in the meantime I was in the conference room meeting with the producers. There was a team of 4 producers in there with me, and were asking me some questions.
"So, what type of music do you like?" one of the guys named Dan asked me.
"Well, I like all types of music, except for Gospel and Country."
"Who are some of your influences?" a lady named Sarah asked.
"A long list, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Babyface, Boys II Men, Mariah Carey, Gloria Estefan, Marc Anthony, Tito Nieves, Hector Lavoe, so many others."
"Who were the last three you mentioned?" one guy named Larry asked.
"Oh, they're all Latin artists."
"You've never heard of them?" the last guy named John asked.
"No. I don't listen to Spanish music." Larry said.
"Do you?" I asked John.
"Yeah, I'm Puerto Rican."
"Cool, me too!"
"Anyway, back down to business." Sarah said, "So what we are going to do with this album is make it mainly Pop. Once you've become popular, we can do a few remixes with artists and some DJ's of your choice. Once we've got some songs written we will begin recording."
"Oh, we've already come up with at least five songs already. All we're waiting for is to hear a beat to suit them and then we can record."
"So, it looks like you're really dedicated to this and are ready." John said.
"Yeah! I've been ready for this my whole life. I have a few suggestions for a couple of the songs."
"Well, once we get to Orlando, we'll start recording. As for now, this meeting was just to get to know each other a little bit." Dan said.
"Oh well, ok! What else would you like to know?"
They asked me a few more questions and we talked for a little while, John and I sort of clicked and we were talking to mostly each other. We were done in about an hour. It was now around 4:30. I still had time to get into the studio and help out. Immediately after the meeting was done, I ran down the hall to the studio. The red light was on, so I couldn't go in yet. I waited outside for a couple of minutes and the light went off. I went inside and Tom, as well as, the rest of the guys, was happy to see me.
"Just the man I was looking for!" Tom said as I took a seat next to him.
"Hey guys!" I said though the intercom, "So, what's up Tom?"
"Well, we're almost done, but I'm kind of stuck at this part right here. It needs something. See if you can figure it out." He said as he played back a piece of the track.
"Hmm, play it again!" I said trying to analyze it, "Ok, well, what do you have after that?"
"Here, listen!"
"There's a little pause in between."
"I know, I don't know what to fill it with. I've tried a couple of things but I didn't like them."
"What did you try?"
"I tried adding a drum beat but it sucked. I tried a bass line, it also sucked."
"What about having them extend the notes into the next phrase?" I asked pointing to the guys.
"Hmm, let's try it!"
"Ok guys, I want you to extend the notes from the last phrase into the next phrase. Don't take a rest."
They did as they were told and Tom got out of his chair and said,
"That's it! I was just thinking that too! Perfect! Now let's record it!"
He sat back down and they recorded the new part. They went on to singing the last verse and were done. They came into the control room to hear the finished product. Satisfied with what they had sung, we left the studio to head for the radio station. We got to the radio station a little after 5 because of traffic. Cubby, the DJ at the radio station was happy to see the guys. They introduced me and told him about my album and everything. Just as we were setting up to do the interview they came back from commercial and immediately played "Tearin' up my heart". Once the song was over Cubby got on the air and said,
"Z100, Cubby here. N SYNC is in the studio now! Hey there fellas!"
"Hey!" the guys said.
"Wassup NEW YORK!!" said Justin.
"Last I saw you guys was at `Jingle Ball'!"
NOTE: Jingle Ball is an annual concert put on by Z100 around Christmas time with a whole bunch of popular bands and artists.*
"Oh yeah, we had a blast!" Joey said.
"Yeah, Shania looked hot!" Lance said as I laughed and looked at him.
"Yeah, she was definitely looking good there! So guys, the success of your album, is it a big shock?" Cubby asked.
"Oh yeah! I mean, we didn't know that we would become this popular in the states." JC said.
"We had an idea of what the album was capable of in Europe, and we just hoped that once we got back home that it would have the same affect."
"Current single is "God must have spent a little more time on you". The video for that is really cool. Who came up with the idea?"
"Well, it was really all of us. We didn't want to do a typical video where you have two lovers and they're being separated. We wanted to express another kind of love. The love that a mother has for her child." Justin said.
"Yeah, then we figured, what scenario could we use? And bam, it was like, how bout WWII when you had all of those people sending their sons and husbands off to war?" JC said.
"We told our idea to the producer of the video and he added some things and we shot it." Chris said.
"Now, I see you brought a friend here with you guys! How bout introducing him to all the listeners." Cubby said.
"Well, this is Rob. He is an up-and-coming artist on our label. He is currently recording his first album and will be touring with us." Lance said.
"Well, Rob, say something to all the listeners out there!"
"Wassup everybody!" I said into the mic.
"I detect a New York accent, am I right?"
"Yeah, I'm from NY."
"What part?"
"Born and raised in the Bronx, and am currently living in Manhattan."
"And when does your album come out?"
"It should be out in late March early April, hopefully."
"When can we expect to hear a single from it?"
"Well, the first single is featuring these guys. That should be out in late Feb early March."
"That single is also going to be featured on our next album which we are in the studio recording now, and should be out in Sept." JC said.
"Wow! Nice plug! Sounds like you guys rehearsed this before you came in. Well folks, you heard it here on Z100 first, new N SYNC album coming out in, Sept and the new artist Rob's album out in early spring. Well, the phones are ringing off the hook, let's answer some questions!"
The guys answered some questions from the fans that called in, they were your standard stupid questions.
"Are you going out with this person? Do you wear boxers or briefs? Are you all single? The funny thing was that they were asking me as well! I got a kick out of it too! It was funny when they asked us if we were seeing anybody we all smiled and looked at each other as we went around the room saying that we were all single. It was weird how these people didn't know who I was but were treating me as if I'd been in the business for years. A couple of people who I knew recognized my voice and called in. One of them was Jay, he was put on the air and I immediately recognized his voice.
"We have here Jay with a question for the guys." Cubby said.
"He guys wassup?" Jay asked.
"Jay? That you?" I aksed.
"Yeah man!"
"Sup Jay!" The guys said.
"You guys know him?" Cubby asked.
"Yeah, Jay's one of my best friends! We all hung out yesterday matter of fact!" I said.
"Oh really? So, Jay, how are these guys when they're not doing interviews or on stage?"
"They're just a bunch of regular guys!"
"Yo, Jay! Call me later we gotta talk about Saturday!" I said.
"Aight cool! Bye guys!"
"Later Jay!" they all said.
"So guys, what can we expect on your next tour?" Cubby asked.
"Well we have been off for the past couple of weeks to start recording. We are going to continue and finish our current tour starting next week. We do a show in Orlando then its back on the road. Our new tour begins in March. That is the tour where Rob will be co- headlining with us. The things you can expect from that is just one hell of a show!" JC said.
"Can you let us in on a few new things?"
"Well, the only thing I can say is that it'll be a great show!"
"Yeah, and if you liked our previous shows, you're gonna love this one!" Justin said.
"The suspense is killing me!" Cubby yelled.
We all laughed as Cubby said,
"Well we're gonna get into another song by N SYNC right now, this one's called "I want you back", now this was your first single correct?"
"Yeah." Justin said.
"How long ago was it recorded?"
"It was about two years ago, in Europe. They had set aside like three days for us to do the song and we got it done in the first day." Chris said.
"Whoa that's pretty cool. Now, what about the video, I understand that you had to re- shoot it for America? Why is that?"
"Well, the first time we shot it was in Europe. It was totally different then the one America sees. It was like, we were in some space station and all this futuristic stuff." Joey said.
"It was funny, they had us running through these hallways, it was so stupid!" Justin said.
"We wound up re-shooting it when we came over here, cause we all looked totally different then, than when we did the video." Lance said.
"Y'all looked soo funny in that video!" I said laughing.
"You seen it?" Joey asked.
"Yeah, you got it on the N SYNC home video. I was crackin up when I first saw it!"
"Shut up!" Lance said.
"Anyway, here's the song. `I want you back', Z100." Cubby said as we went into the song, "Ok guys, its going great! How bout when the song finishes, you guys go into a live version of it?"
"Sure." They all said.
"After that, we're gonna take a few calls and then you are done. All you have to do after that is a couple of promo's then you're free to go!"
"Ok!"
"The song is almost finished, as soon as it fades out go into the live version." The song ended and they did as they were asked. They sang the live version over the radio. They sounded good! It gave me goose bumps! They finished singing and everybody clapped.
"Wow, that was really good you guys! N SYNC with `I want you back' we're gonna take a few calls right now, Melissa, you are on the air, what's your question?" Cubby said.
"Hello? Well, first of all let me say that I love you guys!"
"Thank you!" they said.
"I have a question for Rob." She said.
"Go ahead!" Cubby said.
"Why didn't you call me and tell me about all of this?"
"I knew it! I knew it was you!!"
"Another person you know?" Chris asked, "Damn, what we gonna have a whole High School reunion up in here?"
"Shut up! Hey girl! How you doing? I was gonna call you tonight as a matter of fact!"
"Yeah right! Whatever! I'm mad at you Roberto!" she said in a sort of funny pissed off way.
"Oohh, she used your full name! You're in trouble now!" Lance said.
We all laughed and I tried to calm her down.
"I swear to you, I was gonna call you tonight! I have a lot of stuff to tell you! I'll call you later, ok?"
"You promise?" She asked.
"I promise!"
"Ok, anyway, I really do have a question for the guys though."
"And what is that?" Chris asked.
"Is it true that Justin is going out with Brittany Spears?"
"No, no, no! Brittany and I are just good friends! JC and I know her from the Mickey Mouse Club. She's like a little sister to me!" Justin said.
"Now that we got that cleared up we have time for one more caller. Lisa, you are on the air." Cubby said.
"Wait, is this Lisa, Jay's sister?" I asked.
"No, this is Lisa from Sheep's Head Bay."
"Oh, ok good!" I said with a sigh of relief.
"My question is for Lance and Joey."
"Shoot!" Lance said.
"Are we gonna get to hear you two sing by yourselves a little more on the new album?"
"Oh, yeah definitely!" Lance said.
"Matter of fact, we just finished recording a song a couple of days ago that has me singing a solo, which Rob helped produce." Joey said.
"You produce too?" Cubby asked.
"Yup, I sing, I can produce, I write music, I can dance. You name it I can do it!"
"Can you, rub you belly and pat your head at the same time?"
"You mean like this?" I said as I got up and did it.
"Whoa! You really can do everything!" He said as we all laughed, "Well, I'm afraid that's all the time we have. I'd like to thank N SYNC and Rob, for coming. How bout you guys leave us with a little `God must have spent a little more time on you'?"
"Sure!"
They sang the first verse and chorus and then we were done. The guys just had to do a couple of promo's then we were gonna go out to eat. They finished and we went to the Hard Rock Cafe.
To be continued.. It had to stop somewhere! E-mail me with your questions and comments.
Papito1465@aol.com