It's not often that you review a concert and then have to face the artist the very next day.
But there I was opposite NSYNC's Chris Kirkpatrick yesterday while he and his bandmates talked to some select press to promote their new album, Celebrity, due July 24.
It was the day after the group had performed at SkyDome in front of 40,000 fans, and my review -- and rating of three and a half out of five stars -- had appeared.
"Oh, I saw your little picture on there, that's right," said Kirkpatrick talking about the photo that runs with my column. "Wait, what did you say? Hold on. I read the whole thing, I read your whole article (Tuesday) night. I actually signed it for somebody. They had it like (Tuesday) night, like two o'clock, three o'clock in the morning. They had it fresh off the press. It smelled new, too. I sniffed it for the first 20 minutes."
Kirkpatrick wasn't sure how someone might have a first edition copy of The Sun so early.
"I didn't get it. I just signed it for somebody. And then I wanted to read the article 'cause I said, 'That was me only about 20 minutes ago.'
"Oh I know what it was, 'Three- and-a-half stars? Three-and-a-half?' Three-and-a-half? Hopefully there'll be a one-star addition (today). I think you should (write),'You know what, just because I know the guys now, I'm just going to give it one more star'."
When I told Kirkpatrick my biggest concern was about NSYNC's sequined chaps, which they wore during the number, Space Cowboy, he continued to taunt me.
"Do you have sequined chaps? Do you know of anybody that has sequined chaps? It's the new thing. It's the new thing. I'm telling you right now. You watch out. Everybody is now going to be in sequined chaps. That's the new thing."
Kirkpatrick, who has his own clothing line, Fuman Skeeto, and was wearing one of the T-shirts during yesterday's interview, said they aren't mass-producing sequined chaps yet.
"We don't do sequined chaps yet. We're not right on top of it. The group's right on top of it. Fuman -- we're two weeks behind. We'll work on it."
