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Rejected Boy Bander's Determination Birthed *NSYNC
1 Oct
Summary
- Chris Kirkpatrick was passed over for Backstreet Boys
- Kirkpatrick formed *NSYNC with Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, Joey Fatone, and Lance Bass
- *NSYNC was officially formed on October 1, 1995

Back in 1995, Chris Kirkpatrick, a then-23-year-old aspiring singer, was devastated when he was passed over by music manager Lou Pearlman for the Backstreet Boys. Undeterred, Kirkpatrick convinced Pearlman to fund a second band, and he set out to find the perfect voices to harmonize.
Kirkpatrick's search led him to 14-year-old Justin Timberlake, a former Mouseketeer, who recommended his friend JC Chasez, also a Mouseketeer alum. Kirkpatrick also recruited Joey Fatone, an 18-year-old he had performed with at Universal Studios, and a 16-year-old from Mississippi, Lance Bass, whose vocal coach had suggested him.
On October 1, 1995, Pearlman and Timberlake drove a black Rolls Royce to the Orlando airport to pick up Bass, and the pop group *NSYNC was officially formed. The band's origin story, born from Kirkpatrick's determination after being rejected, would go on to shape the landscape of 90s pop music.