subject: What Has Happened to Your Favorite 90s Musicians? [print this page] What Has Happened to Your Favorite 90s Musicians?
There used to be a fun old television show called "Where Are They Now?". Viewers could tune in every week to find out what happened to their favorite musicians and actors from years past. Now, with celebrity culture so strong in the U.S., if you own a satellite TV you probably know a lot about what the B-listers of yore are up to these days, as they are likely starring in their own reality television shows, or being photographed while stumbling drunk with no panties on up the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. But for those who manage to be uninformed, here's a rundown of what's happened to some of the most famous musicians of the late 90s.
1. Sugar Ray
This sunny California band made some of the sugary-est pop hits of the decade. Songs like "Fly", "When It's Over", and "Every Morning" could be heard at every barbeque and beach party. The band made two platinum albums and one gold, but couldn't replicate their earlier successes with the 2003 album Sugar Ray. While much of the band has gone to do unremarkable solo work, hunky lead singer Mark McGrath has had the most success at maintaining his celebrity status. He has hosted the gossip show Extra since 2004, as well as the reality show Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll. If you have satellite TV, you might be able to catch him in bit-acting rolls in shows like Charmed and North Shore.
2. NSync
Part of the late-90s boyband machine, NSync is one of the most successful groups of all time. Their album No Strings Attached went 11 times platinum, while the album *NSYNC went 10 times platinum. Even their Christmas album went 2 times platinum! But the group decided to take a hiatus in 2002, at the peak of their popularity. The biggest success story, of course, is Justin Timberlake, who has made two highly popular solo albums Justified and FutureSex/LoveSounds, and has actually managed to become a respected artist as far as pop stars go. JC Chasez has had more modest success, with 2004's Schizophrenic reaching #17 on the U.S. Charts. But he now focuses more on producing and writing. Joey Fatone has had some success acting, starring in My Big Fat Greek Wedding and a few independent films that you can catch on satellite TV. Lance Bass is mostly known for coming out as gay and trying to fly a Russian rocket to space. Chris Kirkpatrick has done some television work for Nickelodeon and VH1.
3. The Backstreet Boys
There was a time when you couldn't turn on the radio or your satellite TV without seeing these 5 squeaky clean boy toys crooning about their broken hearts. (Seriously, a sampling of their hits includes the following songs: "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)", "I'll Never Break Your Heart", "Shape of My Heart", and "Straight Through My Heart"). The boyband has sold more than 120 million albums to date, and 15 million more singles. But unfortunately, none of the Boys went on to much solo success. Nick Carter the blonde pretty boy had modest success with the release Now Or Never in 2002, but has laid low since then. Brian Littrell has gone on to release a Christian solo album. Howie Dorough has done some solo work including a 2008 duet with Filipino singer Sarah Gernonimo called "I'll Be There" but hasn't released a full album. AJ McLean released a solo album earlier this year, the lead single of which was co-written by former NSync-er JC Chasez, but the disc didn't go too far with fans. Kevin Richardson, who was the only member to actually officially leave the Backstreet Boys, has laid low since his retirement in 2006. The rest of the band released a new album in 2009 called This is Us and went on a successful reunion tour.
