Dear Nsync,
The 90s were a simpler time, when boy bands ruled the world and they did it because they were talented, not because they had lots of money and could autotune their voices. Back then, sharing a love for a popular band brought two people closer together instead of making them compete to see who was a bigger fan. I may have only been in elementary school when you were at your greatest, but that didn't make my love for you any less real.
Your band introduced me to something that will be a huge influence on me for the rest of my life: music. I'd been used to hearing what my parents listened to or hearing songs played in stores, but when I finally heard the harmony that you created it changed my life (shoutout to my older sister for introducing me to that sound). I think it's hard to say you truly enjoy music until you find a certain type to obsess over, and for me, it was you. For so many years I listened to nothing but your music and I can say with certainty that I know every lyric to every song you ever put out (including the Christmas album, and I have no shame). My walls were covered with posters from pop magazines and official Nsync calendars and my "Pop" Hit Clips was attached to my ear wherever I went. My mom wrapped all my birthday presents in Nsync wrapping paper and bought any book that had your faces on it. Honestly, I might as well have had "I Love JC Chasez" tattooed on my forehead.
I was 7 when you broke up and that day felt like the end of the world to me (and I'll admit I'm still hostile toward Justin for wanting to go solo, that jerk) but the influence your music had on me will be with me forever. Now in college, when I meet someone who knows all the words to your songs I instantly feel like I've made a new best friend, and I think the best night I ever had with my roommates was when we decided to shuffle your music and dance around our apartment in our pajamas. I was 11 when Lance came out of the closet and the realization that you were all real people with real lives made me feel like I instantly grew up. My obsession for your band (and my collection of your marionette dolls) continued for several years after the breakup and everyone in my middle school knew it. And I still had no shame.
I've grown so much in the 13 years that you've been broken up. I no longer listen to pop music because I've found my own style away from the mainstream that my friends got dragged into. Maybe that's because after you stopped making music, as well as bands like the Backstreet Boys and 98 Degrees, pop music changed completely. The jaw-dropping talent just isn't there anymore. But you left a legacy for all the fans whose hearts you touched all those years ago: you taught us how to love music. You weren't a group of snobby guys just making music for money, you loved what you did and your personalities are what made you so lovable to your fans.
Basically, for us 90s kids, you started our passion for sound and whether we're listening to a CD player or an iPhone, what we do with that passion is credited to you.
With love,
A Forever Fan
