"Bye Bye Bye" is a song by the American

boy band A boy band is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform love songs marketed towards girls and young women. Ma ...

NSYNC NSYNC (, ; also stylized as *NSYNC or 'N Sync) was an American boy band formed by Chris Kirkpatrick in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich. Their 'N Sync (album), self-titled debut album was successfully rele ...

. It was released on January 17, 2000, as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

from their third studio album '' No Strings Attached''. The song was written and produced by

Kristian Lundin Kristian Lundin (born 7 May 1973) is a Swedish composer, music producer and songwriter. Biography Kristian's worked on the song " Quit Playing Games (with My Heart)" which he co-produced with Max Martin for the Backstreet Boys. He co-wrote & pro ...

and Jake Schulze, with additional writing by

Andreas Carlsson Andreas Carlsson (; born 3 April 1973) is a Swedish music producer and pop songwriter. Biography Carlsson was part of the Cheiron Studios team until the studio was closed down in 2000. In January 2001, former Cheiron-members Andreas Carlsson, K ...

. Its lyrics describe the end of a romantic relationship; it was reported to also reference the group's separation from their manager

Lou Pearlman Louis Jay Pearlman (June 19, 1954 – August 19, 2016) was an American record producer. He was the person behind many successful 1990s boy bands, having formed and funded the Backstreet Boys. After their massive success, he then developed NSYNC. ...

and their record label

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also ...

. "Bye Bye Bye" was a commercial success, peaking at number 4 on the US ''Billboard''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

and within the top 10 in almost every country in which it charted. The song received a

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

nomination in 2001 for

Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...

, but lost to U2's "

Beautiful Day "Beautiful Day" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the first track on their tenth studio album, ''All That You Can't Leave Behind'' (2000), and was released as the album's lead single on 9 October 2000. The song was a commercial success, ...

Background and development

"Bye Bye Bye" was written and produced by

and Jake Schulze, as part of Cheiron Productions, with additional writing by

. Lundin stated that it was "totally production driven" and "created from the kick and the bass up". Carlsson wrote the song's lyrics while he was taking a driver's test in Stockholm, Sweden. The song was originally intended to be recorded by English boy band

5ive Five (stylised as 5ive) are a British boy band from London consisting of members Sean Conlon, Ritchie Neville, and Scott Robinson. They were formed in 1997 by the same team that managed the Spice Girls before they launched their career. The ...

, but they rejected it as they wanted to become a rap band. Carlsson recalled that one of the band members immediately called for security and left for the airport. The song's chorus was initially written as a rap, where 5ive feared that they would be competing against

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing Hip hop music, hip hop in Middle America (United Sta ...

. Prior to its official release, NSYNC performed "Bye Bye Bye" at the

Radio Music Awards The Radio Music Awards was an annual U.S. award show that honored the year's most successful songs on mainstream radio. Nominations were based on the amount of airplay recording artists receive on radio stations in various formats using chart inform ...

on October 28, 1999, at the LIFEbeat AIDS benefit concert in New York on December 1, 1999, and on ''

The Rosie O'Donnell Show ''The Rosie O'Donnell Show'' is an American daytime variety television talk show created, hosted, and produced by actress and comedian Rosie O'Donnell. It premiered on June 10, 1996, and concluded after six seasons on May 22, 2002. This talk ...

'' on Christmas Eve in 1999. The song was released on January 17, 2000, although it was not available as a commercial single in order to increase demand for NSYNC's 2000 studio album '' No Strings Attached''.

Jive Records Jive Records was an American independent record label founded by Clive Calder in 1981 as a subsidiary to the Zomba Group. In the US, the label had offices in New York City and Chicago. Jive was best known for its successes with hip hop, R&B, ...

feared that "Bye Bye Bye" was released too early ''vis-à-vis'' the album, which caused them to consider releasing a second single in order to sustain interest.

Composition

The song opens with a string

crescendo In music, the dynamics of a piece is the variation in loudness between notes or phrases. Dynamics are indicated by specific musical notation, often in some detail. However, dynamics markings still require interpretation by the performer dependin ...

that climbs before

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with sales of over 88 million records. Timberlake is the recipient of numerous awards and ac ...

nasal Nasal is an adjective referring to the nose, part of human or animal anatomy. It may also be shorthand for the following uses in combination: * With reference to the human nose: ** Nasal administration, a method of pharmaceutical drug delivery * ...

falsetto ''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentou ...

ad-libs In music and other performing arts, the phrase (; from Latin for 'at one's pleasure' or 'as you desire'), often shortened to "ad lib" (as an adjective or adverb) or "ad-lib" (as a verb or noun), refers to various forms of improvisation. The r ...

the phrase, "Hey, hey", which leads to the five-part

harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. Howeve ...

of the song's title. Instrumentation consisted of "buzzy electronics" adding texture to the band's vocals in contrast to the

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...

of the

Backstreet Boys Backstreet Boys (often abbreviated as BSB) are an American vocal group consisting of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson. Lou Pearlman formed the group in 1993 in Orlando, Florida. The ...

, as well as hard drums, with a snare and

kick drum The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter much greater than the drum's depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. Th ...

. Lyrically, "Bye Bye Bye" describes a man's desires to end a romantic relationship with a difficult significant other. Carlsson initially wrote the song after his girlfriend left him for another man, whom she married and had children with. it is written in a key of

A-flat major A-flat major (or the key of A-flat) is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has four flats. The A-flat major scale is: : Its relative minor is F minor. Its parallel minor, A-flat m ...

and composed in a tempo of 173 beats per minute per common time.

Critical reception

"Bye Bye Bye" was met with generally favorable reviews from music critics.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, oc ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

described the song as a "piledriving dance number with the catchiest chorus they've ever sang.” Robert Christgau commented that it featured "prefab rhythm at its most efficient." In 2015, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

''s Jason Lipshutz ranked it third on the list "Top 20 Essential Boy Band Songs," describing the song as "an absolute monster of a lead single." Additionally writing for the same magazine in 2018, ''Billboard'' staff placed "Bye Bye Bye" at number 12 on "The 100 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time", stating that it was one of "the most decisive breakup anthems in pop history" that contained "an iconic dance move to match". ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' staff ranked it as the sixth-greatest boy band song of all time, writing, "it remains their defining track, a four-minute blast of big hooks, tight harmonies and intriguingly meta subtext." However, another editor from the same magazine listed it as the 17th most annoying song of all time in 2007. In 2013, ''

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

''s Kathy Iandoli ranked it as the best boy band song ever. The song won "Best Pop Video,” "Best Choreography in a Video,” and "Viewer's Choice" at the

2000 MTV Video Music Awards The 2000 MTV Video Music Awards (stylized as MTV Video Music Awards vma.00) aired live on September 7, 2000, honoring the best music videos from June 12, 1999, to June 9, 2000. The show was hosted by Marlon and Shawn Wayans at Radio City Music Ha ...

, the most awarded to a single video that year. It also won a Radio Music Radio award in 2000 for best song of the year. The song was nominated for "Record of the Year" and "Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal" at the

2001 Grammy Awards The 43rd Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 21, 2001, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Several artists earned three awards on the night. Steely Dan's haul included Album of the Year for '' Two Against Nature''. U2 took ...

. Other awards included 3 Teen Choice Awards in 2000 (Choice Single, Choice Music Video, and Song of the Summer), MuchMusic Video Music Award (Favorite International Group for "Bye Bye Bye") and Blockbuster Entertainment Award 2001 (category Favorite Single for "Bye Bye Bye").

Chart performance

"Bye Bye Bye" debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 42, the week of January 29, 2000, reaching the top 10 by the week of March 4. The song remained in the top 10 through May 20, 2000, for 12 weeks. The single peaked at number four in April 2000 for two consecutive weeks. On the

Mainstream Top 40 Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/ CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played on a panel of Top 40 radio stations in the U ...

chart the song reached number one on March 4, 2000, and stayed at the top of the chart for ten weeks, making it one of the songs with most weeks at number one on that chart. The song topped of the charts in Australia and New Zealand, and at number 3 in the United Kingdom. On the week of March 24, 2014, the song re-entered the

New Zealand Singles Chart The Official New Zealand Music Chart ( mi, Te Papa Tātai Waiata Matua o Aotearoa) is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The Music ...

at number 14.

Music video

Background

The video was directed by Wayne Isham, and was released on January 11, 2000. The budget was estimated to be $1 million, which was attributed to the band wanting to be noticed on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

. The song's dance routine was choreographed by

Darrin Henson Darrin Dewitt Henson (born May 5, 1973) is an American choreographer, dancer, actor, director and producer. Hensen was a brief member of freestyle music group Trilogy and was featured on their single "Good Time".Johnny Wright, as he was about to quit the music industry after missing out on a

MTV Video Music Award The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video categor ...

for

Jordan Knight Jordan Nathaniel Marcel Knight (born May 17, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. He is a singer in the boy band New Kids on the Block (NKOTB), who rose to fame in the 1980s and 1990s, using a falsetto style of singing influenced by ...

's " Give It to You". Henson flew to

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

in 1999, where the band were performing at the ''Billboard'' Music Awards, so that he would be able to listen to the track. The band rehearsed at the Alley Kat Studio in Los Angeles over a few days, where Henson stated in a 2020 interview with ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular ...

'' that he implemented moves that cannot be replicated by other groups such as the " black power fist", which he defined as "stop talking s—" when used in the song's title lyric. Henson won an

for Best Choreography at the

, while NSYNC also won

Best Pop Video The MTV Video Music Award for Best Pop was first given out in under the name of Best Pop Video, as MTV began to put several teen pop acts in heavy rotation. Nominations, however, were not just limited to pop acts, as dance, R&B, pop/rock, and reg ...

at the same ceremony. They contacted Isham through the phone, before he met them during dance rehearsals for the song. The band were fastened to bungee cords during the music video's shoot to mimick

puppet A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. The puppeteer uses movements of their hands, arms, or control devices such as rods or strings to move ...

s on strings. Choreography was performed in a blue

gimbal A gimbal is a pivoted support that permits rotation of an object about an axis. A set of three gimbals, one mounted on the other with orthogonal pivot axes, may be used to allow an object mounted on the innermost gimbal to remain independent of ...

room, which Isham pointed out was inspired both by

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history. Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...

Royal Wedding ''Royal Wedding'' is a 1951 American musical comedy film directed by Stanley Donen, and starring Fred Astaire and Jane Powell, with music by Burton Lane and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner. Set in 1947 London at the time of the wedding of Princess Eli ...

and

Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of funk band the Commodores; writing and recor ...

's "

Dancing on the Ceiling ''Dancing on the Ceiling'' is the third solo studio album by American singer Lionel Richie, released on July 15, 1986. The album was originally to be titled ''Say You, Say Me'', after the Academy Award-winning track of the same name, but it wa ...

" music video (directed and choreographed by

Stanley Donen Stanley Donen ( ; April 13, 1924 – February 21, 2019) was an American film director and choreographer whose most celebrated works are '' On the Town,'' (1949) and ''Singin' in the Rain'' (1952), both of which he co-directed with Gene Kell ...

). During the speeding train sequence,

Chris Kirkpatrick Christopher Alan Kirkpatrick (born October 17, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, music producer, and occasional actor, who is best known for his work as the founding member of the pop group NSYNC, in which he sang countertenor. He al ...

and

Joey Fatone Joseph Anthony Fatone Jr. (born January 28, 1977) is an American singer, dancer, actor, and television personality. He is best known as a member of the boyband NSYNC, in which he sang baritone. In 2007, he came in second place on the ABC reali ...

performed their own stunts as they jumped from one train carriage to another, as a

Steadicam Steadicam is a brand of camera stabilizer mounts for motion picture cameras invented by Garrett Brown and introduced in 1975 by Cinema Products Corporation. It was designed to isolate the camera from the camera operator's movement, keeping th ...

operator needed to be replaced mid-scene, due to being uncomfortable with the risk.

JC Chasez Joshua Scott "JC" Chasez (; born August 8, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, record producer, and occasional actor. He started out his career as a cast member on '' The Mickey Mouse Club'' before rising to stardom with NSYNC, and ...

and

Lance Bass James Lance Bass (; born May 4, 1979) is an American singer, dancer, actor, film, and television producer. He grew up in Mississippi and rose to fame as the bass singer for the American pop boy band NSYNC. NSYNC's success led Bass to work in film ...

were placed in a red Dodge Viper RT/10 as part of a

car chase A car chase or vehicle pursuit is the vehicular overland chase of one party by another, involving at least one automobile or other wheeled motor vehicle in pursuit, commonly hot pursuit of suspects by law enforcement. The rise of the automotive i ...

scene inspired by Chasez's favorite film, '' Ronin'' (1998); stunt coordinators who worked on the film were hired to assist with the music video shoot. The scene where Bass and Chasez drop into the car was filmed with an

18-wheeler A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semitruck, (or semi, eighteen-wheeler, big rig, tractor-trailer or, by synecdoche, a semitrailer) is the combination of a tractor unit and one or more semi-trailers to carry freight. A semi-trailer a ...

carrying a pole, which allowed the two to drop into the car. Both scenes were shot in

Fillmore, California Fillmore is a small city in Ventura County, California, United States, in the Santa Clara River Valley. In an agricultural area with rich, fertile soil, Fillmore has a historic downtown that was established when the Southern Pacific built th ...

as the train scenes were filmed on the

Fillmore and Western Railway The Fillmore and Western Railway was a heritage railway which operated on track owned by the Ventura County Transportation Commission. Visitors to Fillmore would see filming activity as well as sets and support equipment at the company's rai ...

, a heritage railway that ceased operations in 2021. Additional filming of the car-chase scenes was done on Piru Canyon Road, the route to

Lake Piru Lake Piru () is a reservoir located in Los Padres National Forest and Topatopa Mountains of Ventura County, California, created by the construction in 1955 of the Santa Felicia Dam on Piru Creek, which is a tributary of the Santa Clara River. ...

- which is visible in the background during the car chase. On the January 24, 2000 episode of ''

Making the Video ''Making the Video'' is an MTV show, consisting of half-hour episodes, which chronicles the process of filming various music videos. Usually the director outlines the concept of the video (or treatment) and the show often includes light-hearted ...

'', Timberlake explained his reaction to shooting his scene in the music video, stating that he had the easiest time with the stunts in comparison with the other band members, but wanted to "look good" while running instead of appearing like a "dork".

Synopsis

The video starts with the puppet master, Kim Smith, manipulating the NSYNC members as they are tied to strings. She cuts Chris and Joey loose first, as they run atop a speeding train and hide among the passengers to elude her. She cuts Justin loose next, as he outruns her trained dogs inside a warehouse and escapes into the pouring rain. JC and Lance are finally cut loose, as they fall into a red

Dodge Viper The Dodge Viper is a sports car that was manufactured by Dodge (by SRT for 2013 and 2014), a division of American car manufacturer FCA US LLC from 1992 until 2017, having taken a brief hiatus in 2007 and from 2010 to 2012. Production of the two- ...

RT/10. When the music pauses, JC cleans the disc and reinserts it before continuing. They flee from her, as she pursues them in a silver

BMW Z3 The BMW Z3 is a range of two-seater sports cars which was produced from 1995 to 2002. The body styles of the range are: * 2-door roadster (E36/7 model code) * 2-door coupé (E36/8 model code) The Z3 was based on the E36 3 Series platform, whi ...

. They eventually make a sudden u-turn when a truck blocks them, forcing the puppet master to brake more slowly and spend more time performing a u-turn, allowing the two to flee in the opposite direction. All the scenes are interspersed with shots of the band dancing in a rotating blue gimbal with a fixed camera, creating the illusion that they are on different gravity planes. The video edit of the song also briefly pauses the music when Justin lands in the warehouse, when JC and Lance land into the car to insert a CD, and the u-turn near the video's end. The final chorus is also extended twice; the first showcases the band inside the box, while the second highlights JC and Lance fleeing from the puppet master.

Reception

The music video peaked at number one on the '' TRL'' countdown for 25 consecutive days. The video was ranked at number 60 on

MuchMusic Much (an abbreviation for its full name MuchMusic) is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. MuchMusic launched on August 31, ...

's 100 Best Videos. In 2018,

iHeartRadio iHeartRadio (often shortened to just "iHeart") is an American freemium broadcast, podcast and radio streaming platform owned by iHeartMedia. It was founded in August 2008. , iHeartRadio was functioning as the national umbrella brand for iHe ...

's Nicole Mastrogiannis ranked Timberlake's appearance in the video as first on the Iconic Music Moments From the 00s list. The same year ''Billboard'' critics ranked it 21st among the "greatest music videos of the 21st century." As of August 2021, the music video has over 268 million views on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

In other media

"Bye Bye Bye" is featured in the 2003 film X2 and the 2021 film '' Red Rocket'' as well as being the latter's trailer.

Awards and nominations

Track listing

*CD single # "Bye Bye Bye" – 3:19 # "Bye Bye Bye" (Instrumental) – 3:19 # "Could It Be You" – 3:41 Remixes #"Bye Bye Bye" (Teddy Riley's Funk Remix) – 4:50 #"Bye Bye Bye" (Teddy Riley's Club Remix) – 5:28 #"Bye Bye Bye" (Riprock 'n' Alex G. Club Remix) – 6:32 #"Bye Bye Bye" (Riprock 'n' Alex G. Club Remix Radio Edit) – 4:53 #"Bye Bye Bye" (Sal Dano's Peak Hour Dub) – 8:30

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the back cover of "Bye Bye Bye". Recording * Recorded at Battery Studios, NYC; Cove City Sound Studios, Orlando, FL; and Cheiron Studios, Stockholm, Sweden. Personnel * Kristian Lundin songwriter, producer * Jake Schulze songwriter, producer * Andreas Carlsson songwriter * Michael Tucker recording engineer/

Roland TR-909 The Roland TR-909 Rhythm Composer is a drum machine introduced by Roland Corporation in 1983, succeeding the TR-808. It was the first Roland drum machine to use samples for some sounds, and the first with MIDI functionality, allowing it to syn ...

* Bray Merritt assistant engineer * Casey LaPoint harp * Esbjörn Öhrwall guitar * Tom Coyne mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1999 songs 2000 singles NSYNC songs Jive Records singles Music videos directed by Wayne Isham Music videos featuring puppetry Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in New Zealand Songs written by Andreas Carlsson Songs written by Kristian Lundin Songs written by Jake Schulze RPM Top Singles number-one singles Songs about parting