I was 10 when the Backstreet Boys' first album came out, 11 when NSYNC's "I Want You Back" climbed the Billboard Hot 100. I was the exact age and demographic to get swept up in the boy band tsunami, and also aware enough of the complicated politics of middle school to know that, whether or not I actually liked the music, I had to pretend I was part of it anyway. Yes, my boy band obsession was, at times, an elaborate ruse.
Still, despite my best efforts to not care about pop music, I developed opinions. I thought 98 Degrees was underrated. I legitimately love (present tense) Hanson. And I maintain that nobody gives Chris Kirkpatrick enough credit.
Did you know that without Kirkpatrick, there wouldn't even be an NSYNC? Yeah, probably not, because you were too busy making fun of his pants, even though Justin Timberlake was wearing the exact same ones. Here's the story: Kirkpatrick missed the cut for the Backstreet Boys—AJ had apparently beaten him out for the "weird, edgy guy" spot. Notorious manager/scam artist Lou Pearlman asked Kirkpatrick to find a bunch of guys for a second group, so he called his friend Joey Fatone, and the two recruited Justin Timberlake, J.C. Chasez, and Lance Bass. So it would all never have happened without him.
This all went down in 1995, when Kirkpatrick was 23, and Timberlake was 14. Can you imagine that? Being a goddamned adult and having to sing backup countertenor for a child as you begin your European tour? And, when your hits start coming out, being in your late twenties while a teenaged Timberlake gets all the attention? You probably can't imagine this, but Chris lived it. Because he just wanted to sing. Give the man some respect.
He also truly knew how to dress, although we are not going to defend his terrible braids/faux-dreadlocks—always a bad look on a white guy, no matter what. Take this Sexy Rabbi + Cultural Appropriation situation:
Or this Guy Who Should Have Been in Sugar Ray thing:
Truly horrific, and there is no excuse.
Still, he did have some iconic looks, like Sexy Vacationing Ski Instructor:
And Guy Who Inspired Panic! at the Disco's Whole Thing:
He also had a healthy sense of humor. After NSYNC, Chris Kirkpatrick made some appearances as the pop star character Chip Skylark on Nickelodeon's The Fairly Oddparents, because any good artist knows how to poke fun at himself.
Since his days in the sun, Kirkpatrick has had his ups and downs. He's done some acting, appeared on reality shows like Gone Country and Dancing With The Stars (to give a pep talk to Lance Bass), and once ran an ill-fated clothing line named FuMan Skeeto (tee hee). He also started the Chris Kirkpatrick Foundation, which works to "develop mentoring and after school programs, implement summer camps, provide health care, scholarships and other educational programs." Lovely!
I don't know why Kirkpatrick was so underappreciated in the '90s, but he deserved more. And given my antipathy for boy bands, my fondness for Kirkpatrick bears some examination, too. It could actually have been my quiet way of rebelling against that boy band mania. If I had to choose, then I was going to pick the one that seemed the weirdest, the one who belonged the least, to mirror my own station.
But I think I chose him because, in middle school, I felt like "the weird one." I was Chris Kirkpatrick. My favorite NSYNCer worked hard and didn't get enough credit and was the butt of a lot of jokes, and who hasn't felt like that? For me, it was because I was chubby and had hair I couldn't control and I tried too hard, but now that I think about it, it probably wasn't just me. I doubt you'll find anyone who didn't feel like the underdog during those adolescent years.
Obviously, our struggles weren't that similar in a lot of ways; NSYNC was NSYNC, and I'm sure that if Kirkpatrick ever cried himself to sleep, it was on a pile of money. But he was the teenybopper for all the kids who really wanted to fit in, and ultimately learned that there was no point in trying. Wear the dumb hat, like Chris did. Sing your heart out, even if you're not up front. You do you, Chris Kirkpatrick.