A fresh-faced, green-eyed, blond from small town Mississippi who went from a choirboy to a teen idol in record time, Lance Bass didn't see fit to rest on his *NSYNC superstar laurels but instead made the most of his fame, using his worldwide recognition to launch the careers of other young hopefuls through Free Lance Entertainment and building a safety net acting career should the tide ever turn on the seemingly unstoppable boy band phenomenon.
The last to join *NSYNC, Bass (whose name is pronounced like the fish) brought the bass voice to the group's harmony in 1995, recommended for his powerful vocals by the coach who helped refine members and former "Mickey Mouse Club" co-stars Justin Timberlake and J.C. Chasez. Reared on country music and church hymns, Bass contributed a genuine down-home wholesomeness to the group that won him many fans, while his relaxed, unflappable attitude and reliable attention to detail helped to solidify the group dynamic. While *NSYNC was enjoying fame in Europe in the mid-1990s, it wasn't until the group's self-titled debut was released in the USA in 1998 that the members' careers took off. With the bubbly dance numbers "I Want You Back" and "Tearing Up My Heart" tearing up the charts and the sentimental ballad "God Must Have Spent a Little More Time on You" winning hearts, *NSYNC was well on their way to superstardom. The release of their 1998 Christmas album was also a success and the quintet seemed unstoppable until a falling out with their record label spelled trouble.
Electing to switch over to Jive Records, *NSYNC was hit with a $150 million breach of contract lawsuit by manager Lou Pearlman and record conglomerate BMG Entertainment in the fall of 1999. Legal woes kept the band tied up and an impending record release held back until differences were settled in the final days of 1999. Aware of the fact that their long absence could mark the end of their career, the five not only turned in a consistent album full of catchy instant pop classics, but promoted the record as if their life depended on it, turning up everywhere to talk about the release in the month leading up to the day the album dropped. This work was paid back in spades when the weekly numbers came in and they showed that not only did *NSYNC break Backstreet Boys 1999 sales record for "Millennium", they more than doubled their rivals and labelmates sales, moving 2.4 million to the elder group's 1.13 million.
With this remarkable sales record to their credit, *NSYNC continued to please fans and convert non-believers with their "No Strings Attached" concert tour, chronicled in the impressive HBO special "*NSYNC Live at Madison Square Garden" (2000) and the IMAX big screen event "*NSYNC: Bigger Than Live".
Having launched Free Lance Entertainment with a nationwide talent hunt that culminated in an MTV special, Bass was serious about uncovering otherwise undiscovered gems. His first artist, Meredith Edwards, was a gifted teen country singer who benefited greatly from Bass' attention and exposure and released her debut album on his Mercury Nashville imprint label in 2001. Later that year, *NSYNC returned with the musically riskier "Celebrity", a pop album that drew from more eclectic sources than their previous efforts had shown like the beat-driven UK garage sound as well as traditional salsa flavors. Though he would likely remain best known as a singer due to *NSYNC's rousing success, Bass made forays into acting that proved that his voice wasn't his only talent. In addition to appearances with the band in such television shows as "Clueless" (UPN) and "Touched by an Angel" (CBS), Bass was featured in a 2000 episode of "7th Heaven" in which he screen kissed star Beverley Mitchell and broke the hearts of millions. In 2001, he made his feature starring debut as a young man who meets the girl of his dreams "On the Line" in this charming public transport-set independent romance.