N Sync - N the Mix

Late '90s contender in the time-honored sweepstakes for teen idolatry, 'N Sync is best explained by the late blues sage Willie Dixon: "The men don't know, but the little girls understand." The quintet's buoyant dance pop, chopped and channeled to weld post-New Jack rhythms with creamy harmonies, won't qualify them for their own patent application, but musical originality isn't the point. "The official home video," 'N the Mix with 'N Sync, gives the Orlando, Florida group's mostly female, young teen constituency an unabashedly glowing portrait of Justin, JC, Lance, Joey, and Chris performing for their fans, musing over their musical kinship, and moving behind the scenes.

This 75-minute valentine will remind parents of venerable Tiger Beat profiles, right down to the bullet-point crib sheets on individual members listing full names, birth dates, and "likes" ("Hard Rock café menus" among the more perplexing choices). Versions of their first hits, "I Want You Back" and "Tearin' Up My Heart," videos for two subsequent tracks, plus sneak previews for two additional songs are interspersed with documentary footage, and there are plenty of quick-cut glimpses of their tightly choreographed, athletic dance routines, garbed in de rigeur sportswear and fashionable logos. The souvenir package also includes "an exclusive 1999... locker poster." --Sam Sutherland