For the fans, by the fans
If you head to iTunes or Apple Music and search “JC Chasez Playing with Fire” you are able to pre-save and pre-order a copy of the album in advance of its release date of October 25th. The power of the pre-save button helps record labels gauge interest in a project before it is released.
Elsewhere in his set, Criss brought out Chasez — who is penning the musical to the upcoming Frankenstein musical, Playing with Fire — for a performance of two *NSYNC hits: “It’s Gonna Be Me” and “Bye Bye Bye.”
“I’ve known JC Chasez for a long time from my time in Los Angeles,” Criss tells PEOPLE. “I met him and we got on really well. We were writing music together and he’s just been such a bench in my life. I’ll ask him to show up for shows that I’ll play, if I’m doing ’90s songs, he’ll come up and say yes, which is beyond my wildest dreams.”
“I have to play it cool as if I think I belong singing his songs with him on stage,” Criss adds.” I was — I think people say this to be nice in interviews, like, ‘I was such a fan.’ But I was a f—ing fan! I am a f—ing fan of *NSYNC. I know that whole album like the back of my hand, No Strings Attached. And he was always one of my favorite singers so getting to be with him is pretty amazing.”
It’s gonna be JC.
Former *NSYNC member JC Chasez graced the stage in a rare performance over the weekend alongside former Glee star Darren Criss in a delightfully 2000s throwback boy band moment.
The surprise appearance and performance took place at Elsie Fest — considered Broadway’s music festival — in New York City on Sunday, Sept. 8, and included acoustic covers of “Bye Bye Bye” and “It’s Gonna Be Me.”
“You still remember the words?” Criss teased Chasez before the pair launched into the songs. “My favorite verse from one of my favorite singers!”
“Bye Bye Bye” is having its moment in pop culture once again after the 2000 pop hit was used in the beginning of the summer blockbuster film Deadpool & Wolverine, which ended up grossing more than $1 billion worldwide. The track also ended up on the Top 10 of Billboard’s Global Excl. U.S. at the No. 8 position the week of Aug. 12.
The resurgence of the track even reunited Chasez with his former *NSYNC band members Lance Bass, Chris Kirkpatrick and Joey Fatone at the New York City premiere of Deadpool & Wolverine on July 23. Justin Timberlake did not make an appearance at the time since the premiere clashed with his European tour dates.
The band told Entertainment Tonight at the premiere that they’ve been “talking about [a possible reunion tour] for a while,” and that they are “kicking the tires, seeing if the car will still drive, and, you know, we’ll see where it leads.”
Other surprise performances at this year’s Elsie Fest included a collaboration between Rachel Zegler and Lizzy McAlpine, songs from Jordan Fisher and even a surprise Glee reunion between Criss and his former costar Chord Overstreet.
As for the *NSYNC moment, Criss told PEOPLE exclusively, “I’ve known JC Chasez a long time from my time in Los Angeles. We were writing music together and he’s just been such a bench in my life.”
“I’ll ask him to show up for shows that I’ll play, if I’m doing ‘90s songs, he’ll come up and say yes, which is beyond my wildest dreams,” Criss continued. “I have to play it cool as if I think I belong singing his songs with him on stage. I think people say this to be nice in interviews, like, ‘I was such a fan.’ But I was a f—ing fan! I am a f—ing fan of *NSYNC. I know that whole album like the back of my hand, No Strings Attached. And he was always one of my favorite singers so getting to be with him is pretty amazing.”
Along with the surprise performances with Criss, 37, Chasez also exclusively announced his upcoming new musical theater concept album, Playing With Fire, set to release in October.
“It’s a musical basically about Frankenstein,” the 48-year-old told the crowd. “We’re writing songs that will connect to one another and tell a bigger story and it’s one of the most fun things I’ve ever done.”
The upcoming concept album — a collaboration with Golden Globe Award-winning songwriter and composer Jimmy Harry — will be Chasez’s first major musical theater recording project. According to a release, Playing With Fire will “blend Electronic pop juxtaposed against classical music from the romantic era, forming a captivating symphony of contrasts that reflect the characters own internal conflicts.”
“When we first discussed creating a musical inspired by Frankenstein, obvious topics such as technology, artificial general intelligence, monsters, immortality and death came up,” Chasez said in the release. “However, when we began the process of writing the songs, we couldn’t help but lean into topics dealing with familial relationships, love, deceit and denial. In the end, we flipped the technological beast on its side to reveal that, in spite of all its benefits and horrors it creates, it changes nothing about our basic humanity.”
Playing With Fire will be available on Oct. 25. Criss returns to Broadway on Nov. 12, 2024, in Maybe Happy Ending.
JC Chasez is shifting gears for his first album in 20 years: He’s releasing a musical theater concept album inspired by Mary Shelly’s 1818 novel Frankenstein. Made in collaboration with Golden Globe-winning songwriter and composer Jimmy Harry, Playing With Fire will be out just in time for Halloween on Oct. 25.
Chasez and Harry’s project is a reimagined take on the monster classic, inspired by a theatrical adaptation of the story penned by playwright, and Harry’s late mother, Barbara Field. The concept is a conversation between a dying Frankenstein and his creation, which takes place at his wife’s grave. The songs will explore that conversation while the music will blend electronic pop and romantic era classical music. Along with co-writing the album, Chasez will sing on it alongside Cardamon Rozzi and Lily Elise.
Playing With Fire marks Chasez’s first album since 2004’s Schizophrenic. Though his musical output since ‘NSync disbanded has been minimal, he has still shown up as a featured artist or songwriter over the years. While appearing on songs by Basement Jaxx and Blues Traveler, he has appeared in the songwriting and production credits for tracks by Diplo, Liam Payne, Sugababes, Matthew Morrison, and more. He has joined various ‘NSync reunions over the years, including an appearance during Ariana Grande’s headlining set at Coachella and songs on the Trolls Band Together soundtrack as well as Justin Timberlake’s latest solo album.
As a longtime songwriter, artist and musical theater enthusiast, JC Chasez knows the power of a good story that strikes an emotional chord.
That’s why he was floored when his friend and Golden Globe-winning musician Jimmy Harry showed him a theatrical adaptation of Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein by his late mother, playwright Barbara Field. “What I found really appealing and very inspiring about the piece is her ability to make it more direct and accessible in terms of the emotion,” the *NSYNC star tells Billboard. “It wasn’t just about a big monster and this kind of, like, growling thing that I initially had the impressions of in films and when reading Frankenstein. I guess I was just young, and just didn’t really have the time to settle in and really dig into the material. Recently, I was able to spend some time with the material and really get a good read and a good understanding of how emotional it was.”
From there, Chasez and Harry took the story’s themes of love, responsibility, loss and the human condition and channeled it into a major creative project: a 16-track musical theater concept album called Playing With Fire, which adds to Fields’ theatrical adaptation that originally written as a play and not a musical. “I was a little bit apprehensive at first. It’s like, you start messing with somebody family,” Chasez says with a laugh of musically building off of Harry’s mother’s project.
Justin Timberlake’s world tour might’ve hit a snag, but that doesn’t mean that his former *NSYNC colleagues can’t thrive. The boy band’s totemic 2000 smash “Bye Bye Bye” recently reentered the Billboard Hot 100 after soundtracking the Deadpool & Wolverine opening credits, and now group member JC Chasez is getting ready to release his first album in two decades. Naturally, it’s a musical theater concept album inspired by Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein.
Fun fact: In between his time on The Mickey Mouse Club and *NSYNC, JC Chasez was part of a Universal Studios Florida live show called Beetlejuice Graveyard Revue — playing Dracula, not Frankenstein’s monster. But Frankenstein is the Universal monster that Chasez will sing about on the new album Playing With Fire. Billboard reports that Chasez and songwriter/composer Jimmy Harry have teamed up to make a record built around the original 1818 novel Frankenstein. The project reportedly started after Harry showed Chasez a theatrical adaptation written by his later mother, playwright Barbara Field, and the album takes the form of a conversation between Victor Frankenstein and the creature that he created.
Center Stage Records will release Playing With Fire, a concept album of a new musical from Grammy nominee JC Chasez (*NSYNC) and Golden Globe winner Jimmy Harry (Madonna‘s Masterpiece), October 25.
Drawing inspiration from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the 16-track album features Chasez, Cardamon Rozzi, and Lily Elise.
The collaboration began after Harry shared with Chasez an adaptation of Frankenstein written by his late mother, playwright Barbara Field.
The musical reimagines the Shelley classic through a conversation between Frankenstein and his creation, The Creature, at the grave of Frankenstein’s wife, Elizabeth, 10 years after her murder. As they confront their past actions, Frankenstein and The Creature gradually find understanding.
The complete track listing follows:
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Performer and member of boy band NSYNC, JC Chasez, is trying his hand at musical theater! The singer, songwriter, producer and actor has teamed up with songwriter and composer Jimmy Harry to create a concept album inspired by Mary Shelley‘s 1818 novel, Frankenstein.
The album, titled “Playing With Fire”, will feature 16 tracks and blend electronic pop and classical music. According to description on Broadway Records, Playing With Fire reimagines the classic tale through a conversation between Frankenstein and his creation, The Creature, at the grave of Frankenstein’s wife, Elizabeth ten years after her murder. Through dynamic interplay of dialogue and shared flashbacks of key events in both their lives, the concept album plunges into the heart of their intertwined destinies. As they confront their past actions and the devastating impact they’ve had on one another, Frankenstein and The Creature gradually find understanding, sympathy, and forgiveness.
The album will feature performances by Chasez, Cardamon Rozzi, and Lily Elise, Playing With Fire is a profound exploration of love, redemption, and the human condition.
Chasez also took the stage at Elsie Fest last night, alongside Darren Criss, to discuss and promote the new project.
Playing With Fire will be released on October 25 and can be pre-ordered here.
While we are waiting for official confirmation from JC and his camp, the internet is beginning to post on sale information for the concept album for the musical JC and Jimmy Harry are working on entitled “Playing with Fire.”
The album will be available in October worldwide, still waiting on potential domestic release.