Whenever you see Joey Fatone rocking his physique to “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)” within the hit Broadway musical “& Juliet,” you may suppose that you’ve been transported to an alternate boy band universe.
However sure, that’s the *NSYNC crooner singing the signature bop by the Backstreet Boys within the reimagining of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” — the place the heroine decides to not kill herself after discovering her beloved beau useless.
As Lance Du Bois — a man-in-tights position he might be enjoying by March 16 on the Stephen Sondheim Theatre — Fatone additionally performs one other Backstreet fave, “Shape of My Heart.”
“It’s gonna be interesting for people that are fans of Backstreet and fans of *NSYNC to come see that,” he instructed The Put up.
Fatone, 48, additionally sings Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” and Ariana Grande’s “Break Free” within the musical set to the tunes of Swedish hitmaker Max Martin — from Britney Spears’ “… Baby One More Time” to Justin Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop the Feeling!”
Martin additionally lent his golden pen to *NSYNC classics akin to “Tearin’ Up My Heart” and “It’s Gonna Be Me.” Though the latter monitor is featured in “& Juliet,” it’s not considered one of Fatone’s numbers.
“The first song we ever actually did with Max was ‘I Want You Back,’” mentioned Fatone of *NSYNC’s debut single. “He gets it, you know? And he has a great team of people that get … what makes a hit and what has the hook.”
After “I Want You Back” was launched within the US in 1998, *NSYNC bought an unwitting increase from the Backstreet Boys when, later that yr, the “I Want It That Way” group turned down a proposal to seem on the “Disney Channel in Concert” collection.
“They were exhausted,” mentioned Fatone. “Abruptly, Johnny [Wright, who managed both boy bands] was like, ‘Well, these guys from *NSYNC, they’re model new … you wish to give them a shot to do the present?’ And so they mentioned, ‘Yes.’
“And guess what — we waltzed right in there and blew up. So thanks, Backstreet.”
However the two quintets weren’t as in sync as you may suppose.
“They had a lot more ballads. It was a little bit more sophisticated,” mentioned Fatone. “We’re known more for our uptempos. And I think we danced a lot more than they did.”
Though a lot was manufactured from a rivalry between the 2 teams again within the day, there isn’t any unhealthy blood between them. In reality, Fatone and Backstreet’s AJ McLean teamed up for the A Legendary Night time tour, through which they crooned to one another’s tunes.
“This was kind of a thank you to our fans,” mentioned Fatone of the tour, which he and McLean hope to renew with extra exhibits later this yr. “We put a couple of shows out for A Legendary Night, and it sold out fast.”
For now, although, the New York native is concentrated on his return to Broadway after 21 years in “& Juliet,” after beforehand showing in “Rent” in 2002 and “Little Shop of Horrors” from 2003 to 2004.
“It used to be the young characters,” mentioned Fatone. “Now, I’m playing the dad parts.”
