Lance Bass Biography
Summary
"James Lance Bass" (born May 4 1979), known as "Lance Bass" (), is an American pop singer, actor, producer and author who is best known as the bass singer for the American pop boy band 'N Sync. After the dissolution of 'N Sync he furthered his various film and television appearances and founded two production companies, Bacon & Eggs and Lance Bass Productions, as well as a now-defunct music management company, FreeLance Entertainment, which was a joint venture with Mercury Records.
Bass is also known for his 2002 attempt at space travel, for which he moved to Star City, Russia and entered cosmonaut training. Bass was eventually certified by both NASA and the Russian Space Program for a mission aboard a Soyuz space capsule to the International Space Station. However, after his financial sponsors backed out, Bass was denied a seat on the mission.
In July 2006, Bass revealed that he was gay in a front page cover story for "People" magazine, which received major media attention. Subsequently, Bass's romantic life became regular blog and tabloid fodder. He was awarded the Human Rights Campaign Visibility Award in October 2006, and released an autobiography, "Out of Sync", in October 2007, which debuted on the "The New York Times" Best Seller list.
Biography
Early life
Bass was born in Laurel, Mississippi to James Irvin Bass, Jr., a medical lab technician, and Diane Bass, a middle school mathematics teacher, and was raised in the town of Ellisville, Mississippi as 'a strict Southern Baptist'. Bass has one older sister, Stacy, and states that his family was 'completely traditional' and raised him with conservative values. At a young age, he developed a fascination with space, and, at age 9, traveled to Cape Canaveral, Florida with his father and grandfather to watch his first live space shuttle launch. Of this experience Bass said, 'I was certain from then on that that my future was to be involved with space.' Bass attended space camp the following year, and aspired to attend college and study engineering, with the hope that he would one day work for NASA.
When Bass was 10 years old, his father was transferred to a different hospital, and the family packed up and moved to Clinton, Mississippi. There, Bass began singing in his church choir and as a chorus member in his school. Bass soon joined Mississippi Show Stoppers, a state-wide group sponsored by the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum, and was a member of Attaché Show Choir, a national-award-winning competitive show choir group at Clinton High School. Bass also joined a seven-man vocal group called Seven Card Stud, which competed at state fairs and performed at several social and political events for Senator Trent Lott. One of Bass's vocal coaches in the Mississippi Show Stoppers was Bob Westbrook, a professional vocal coach who had previously worked with young performers Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears. Westbrook's connection to Timberlake would later play a large role in Bass joining 'N Sync.
During his time at Clinton High School, Bass was an outgoing student who frequently hosted parties in his home and was elected vice president of his junior class. Bass has said that he was 'extremely popular' among the female contingent of his high school and was sexually active with girls during this time. Regarding academics, Bass said that he remembers 'hardly anything' about classes, and feels that school left him 'unprepared for the real world', as his sole focus during his high school career was singing.
'N Sync
In 1995, Bass joined Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, Chris Kirkpatrick and Joey Fatone in the boy band 'N Sync, after the original bass singer, Jason Watkins, quit the group. In need of a replacement, the group began searching. Timberlake and his mother called Bass, following a recommendation by their mutual vocal coach, Westbrook. After flying to Orlando, Florida and auditioning in front of the other bandmembers and Lou Pearlman, Bass was accepted into 'N Sync and left his hometown to live and rehearse with the group in Orlando. 'N Sync toured Europe throughout 1996, and gained significant notability and success while still remaining anonymous in the United States. Two years later, the group broke the American market and became an 'overnight sensation', a period which Bass describes in his autobiography as 'the death of my own innocence'.
In 1999, 'N Sync entered much publicized legal battles with Pearlman, due to what they believed were illicit business practices on his part, other boy bands and young male singers have had similar legal battles with him. Of Pearlman, who has since been imprisoned for various bank fraud charges, Bass has said, 'I had thought of Lou as a member of the family, but I felt that I'd been completely screwed over... I had learned a cruel lesson. I knew I would never be able to completely rely on anyone in this business again, no matter how nice they seemed.' In a November 2007 interview with "GQ" magazine, Bass revealed that the last time he ever spoke to Pearlman was in court. After breaking free from Pearlman's management, the group released the fastest-selling record of all time, "No Strings Attached", and in 2001 followed it up with their "Celebrity" album, which scored the second highest first-week album sales ever.
During the height of 'N Sync's popularity, Bass began to experiment with his sexuality. He met a man in Orlando with whom he had 'shared something special', and entered a long-distance relationship with him. (Bass does not name the man in his autobiography, but instead refers to him by the pseudonym 'Scott'.) On nights when 'N Sync was not scheduled to perform, Bass would fly out to meet the man in random cities where the two would spend time together before Bass had to go back on tour. Bass developed strong feelings for the man and considered this the 'first real relationship' he ever had; however, the relationship turned sour when Bass realized the man was cheating on him with a female co-worker. Bass felt this was because the man was going through 'the time in his life when he needed to be experimental.' Nevertheless, Bass left him.
Film, television and theater
While 'N Sync was in the midst of recording "Celebrity", their last album before hiatus, Bass branched out into acting, and received his first starring role in the 2001 motion picture "On The Line". The film was produced by Bass's production company, Bacon & Eggs (formerly known as A Happy Place), and featured appearances by Jerry Stiller, Al Green, Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora, former WWE wrestler Joanie Laurer, and Bass's bandmates Justin Timberlake and Chris Kirkpatrick (who were seen only in the end credits). Miramax marketed the film heavily towards 'N Sync's teen fans, and the film's soundtrack featured songs by fellow teen pop sensations Mandy Moore and BB Mak, along with previously unreleased tracks by 'N Sync and Britney Spears. However, the film was a box-office flop, and grossed only $4.2 million domestically compared to its production budget of $10 million. Bass's acting abilities took the brunt of the film's criticisms, with one movie critic calling Bass 'a pitiful actor who should never be put in a position where he will be expected to emote.' "New York Post" film critic Lou Lumenick also stated that Bass's acting 'makes Freddie Prinze Jr. look like Al Pacino.'
Despite criticisms on his acting, Bass's film presence was described as 'darned nice' and 'likeable', with one critic saying that Bass provided 'a congenial presence for the movie to wrap around'. A review in "The Seattle Post-Intelligencer" stated that the 'puppy-eyed' Bass has a 'schoolboy allure that keeps him in good stead with the pre-teen crowd.'
After "On The Line", Bass has gone on to make several other film appearances, with cameos in both "Zoolander" and Wes Craven's "Cursed". In the 2007 film "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry", Bass played a wedding singer. Bass has also lent his voice to several animated television programs, such as "Robot Chicken" and Disney's "Kim Possible" and "Higglytown Heroes". In the gaming world, Bass was the voice of Sephiroth in the successful action role-playing game, Kingdom Hearts. He did not reprise his role in the sequel, Kingdom Hearts 2.
On August 14, 2007, Bass began a six-month stint as Corny Collins in the Broadway musical "Hairspray", coinciding with the play's five year stage anniversary. Of making his Broadway debut, Bass said, 'I've always wanted to do Broadway. I think every entertainer's dream is to eventually do some kind of theater in New York.'
Producing career
Bass's film production company, Bacon & Eggs, also produced a 2004 short film "Seek & Hide". In 2007, Bacon & Eggs produced the film "Lovewrecked", which starred Amanda Bynes, Chris Carmack and Jamie-Lynn Sigler, and had Bass in a minor role. Bass also formed a separate production company named Lance Bass Productions.
In addition to film production, Bass has also dabbled in music management. In 2000, he formed a management company for music artists called FreeLance Entertainment, which was a joint venture with Mercury Nashville, a division of Mercury Records. Bass partnered with MTV and conducted a nationwide talent search in which the winner was promised a recording contract with Bass's company. The search culminated with a special on MTV's "Total Request Live", where Bass, along with guest judges Brian McKnight and Pink, selected Ryan Tedder as the winner. However, Tedder's record deal never came to fruition, as FreeLance soon folded after disappointing sales of its first release, "Reach" by Meredith Edwards. (After seeing Tedder on Bass's talent search, R&B producer Timbaland sought Tedder out and later signed Tedder's band, OneRepublic, to his record label.)
On May 14, 2007, Brian Graden announced that Bass will be working with the LOGO network in executive producing a reality show about the music business. It has been reported that the show will focus on the creation and development of an all-gay boy band.
Spaceflight plans
In August 2002, Bass entered cosmonaut training in Star City, Russia. Bass was originally supposed to be the host of a space competition show to be entitled 'The Big Mission', in which several contestants would go through rigorous training in order to win a seat on a Russian Soyuz space capsule. However, the game show concept fell apart when the producers of the show decided it would be a much better idea to shoot a documentary of a celebrity actually training and going into space, and airing it on a major network. The producers came up with the idea of using Bass when, while sitting with a friend and discussing the space project, the friend's daughter shouted out, 'Lance Bass wants to go into space!' The girl, who was an 'N Sync fan, learned of Bass's lifelong dream of space travel when she read it in an online chat, and suggested Bass to the producers.
Of the opportunity to go to space, Bass said, 'I am completely overwhelmed at the invitation. I'm looking forward to completing this lifelong dream. I am honored and privileged to represent my country in this history-making mission.' Before being cleared for training, Bass had to participate in weeks of medical screening at the Institute for Bio-Medical Problems near Moscow, Russia. In order to be admitted into training, Bass agreed to undergo heart surgery to correct cardiac arrythmia, which was discovered in 1999 when he collapsed after a concert. Bass's training included parabolic flights, space flight theory, learning how to eat and drink in space, underwater training, and intense physical training, including daily four mile runs. The training also included 'survival training' for different climactic and geographical areas, in case there were complications with his shuttle landing; it was reported that Bass had to 'learn shooting techniques to defend himself against wolves and other predators, in addition to basic preservation skills such as building a shelter and starting a fire.' In order to communicate with his fellow cosmonauts Bass learned Russian from a French language tutor.
After several months of training, Bass received cosmonaut certification and was scheduled to fly into space on the Soyuz TMA-1 mission that was to be launched on October 30, 2002. The capsule was scheduled to fly to the International Space Station, and land in a desert in Kazakhstan. When the original deal to air the documentary about Bass fell through, Bass's camp turned to MTV who agreed to sponsor the trip but then backed out over 'payment, insurance, and indemnification issues'. Shortly after, all of Bass's other sponsorships fell through, including one sponsor that pulled out because they worried about the image of their brand possibly being tarnished if Bass were to die on the mission. Bass was eventually kicked out of the program, and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Lonchakov, along with an empty container, ended up taking his place. The capsule successfully landed on May 4, 2003, Bass's 24th birthday.
Bass's failed space attempt landed him on "People" magazine's list of '2002's Losers', coming in fourth place behind Michael Jackson, George Michael, and Senator Trent Lott. On September 26, 2002, rumors began to surface that Bass was 'depressed and suicidal' after his attempts at space travel had failed. Bass's camp denied reports, with one Jive Records executive saying, 'Lance is a very happy person and I'm sure he's got more in his life than this trip, so I'd be very surprised if he got that upset about it all.' In his 2007 autobiography, Bass wrote that his failure to make it onto the Soyuz mission was 'extremely embarrassing' and left him in a state of emotional exhaustion. 'I had lost thirty pounds during this ordeal. Even the green in my eyes had faded... I was hurt really bad.'
In October 2004, during World Space Week, Bass was formally inducted as a member of the National Space Society's Board of Governors. Serving in an advisory and public outreach capacity, Bass has joined astronauts and prominent individuals who have made a lasting, positive impact on human space exploration, including actor Tom Hanks, journalist Hugh Downs and author and futurist Sir Arthur C. Clarke, among many others.
Autobiography
Bass's autobiography, "Out Of Sync", was published on October 23, 2007. It was co-written by "New York Times" best-selling biographer Marc Eliot, who also wrote the book's introduction, and was published by Simon Spotlight Entertainment, a division of Simon & Schuster. The 208-page book covers what Bass describes as 'the first chapter' in his life, from his childhood growing up in rural Mississippi, to his efforts to obtain a seat on a Russian space capsule and the proceeding financial issues he had with his sponsors, and culminating with Bass's decision to go public with his sexuality. The book includes sordid details, telling about gay boyfriends that he kept from family and friends and recounting 'N Sync's 2002 decision to go on an 'extended hiatus', which left Bass shocked and 'completely betrayed.' "Out of Sync" debuted on the "The New York Times" Best Seller list for the week of November 11, 2007.
Shortly after its release, the book was in talks to be turned into a movie, but Bass is not currently pursuing the project, saying, 'I don't know if I want it to be a movie. I am afraid of who might play me.'
Coming out
Bass revealed that he was gay in a front page cover story for "People" magazine on July 26, 2006. There had been considerable media speculation about his sexuality due to numerous paparazzi snapshots of him at gay bars and nightclubs, most notably during the preceding July 4th weekend in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Celebrity gossip blogger Perez Hilton had also been posting items on his website about Bass's sexuality since September 2005, and New York gossip column "Page Six" ran a blurb on July 12, 2006 that reported a sighting of Bass at a gay bar with his then-boyfriend, Reichen Lehmkuhl. However, Bass has denied that any of these incidents were responsible for 'outing' him, instead saying that his mother had already suspected that he was dating Lehmkuhl after Bass had introduced him to her as his 'friend', and she eventually asked Bass's sister for confirmation. (Bass had come out to his sister the previous year.) Bass said he decided to go public with his sexuality because he wanted to end the speculation on his 'own terms'. In his coming out interview, Bass said,
Bass, who knew that he was gay since age five, has said that the image of 'N Sync was one of the main reasons for keeping his sexuality hidden. In his coming out interview, Bass stated, 'I knew that I was in this popular band and I had four other guys' careers in my hand, and I knew that if I ever acted on it, or even said that I was gay, it would overpower everything.' Bass has stated that, while there were many rules the members of 'N Sync had to follow in order to uphold their public image - such as not being seen smoking or drinking - he was never told, 'And you can't be gay'. Yet Bass said he knew that coming out would hurt the band's sales. 'If you can't have a beer in your hand - if that's going to make thousands of girls not buy your album - then being gay definitely is going to make girls not buy your album.'
Despite these fears, Bass revealed in an August 2007 interview with "The New York Daily News" that his female fanbase 'exploded' when he came out. On July 26, 2007, Bass celebrated the one year anniversary of his coming out with a letter to his fans on his MySpace page, in which he stated that coming out was 'the best thing I have ever done.'
Public response
Bass's announcement received a large amount of media attention. The American public's reaction was generally positive, with Bass receiving 'overwhelming support' from many teenagers and young adults who grew up listening to 'N Sync. Bass's announcement quickly found its way into popular culture when the term 'lanced', which means 'to be outed by someone in the public media', began to be used after his decision to come out. In recent months, this term was applied to actors T.R. Knight and Neil Patrick Harris after they faced similar media scrutiny regarding their being gay.
Bass received heat from the LGBT community when certain statements that he made in his "People" interview offended some activists. In the interview, Bass referred to himself and his friends as straight acting. 'I call them the SAGs - the straight-acting gays,' Bass said. 'We're just normal, typical guys. I love to watch football and drink beer.' This comment angered some members of the LGBT community, who believed that Bass not only implied that effeminate gay men were not 'normal', but further enforced unneeded stereotypes. Bass, according to LGBT groups, also seemed to imply that he had little interest in the fight for equal rights, after Bass commented that he was not planning on 'leading the parade'. In a 2007 interview with the "Southern Voice", Bass said these statements were misunderstood. 'I am very new to this, so I would be stupid to lead the parades and talk at these events, because I don't know what I'm talking about. I don't know the phrases to say, and everything that I say is going to be taken wrong... I'll definitely get involved, but I'm not going to pretend I'm the smartest person out there or say, 'Listen to me because I know what I'm saying.'? When asked by the "Dallas Observer" if he stood by his description of himself as a 'straight-acting gay', Bass replied, 'No... I was trying to say that there are so many types of gay people, just like there are so many types of straight people. And that just didn't read well. I didn't explain it well.'
On July 26, 2006, Equality Mississippi released a short statement on Bass' coming out, stating that the organization 'is proud of Lance for not only adding to the numerous faces of positive gay and lesbian Americans, but also adding to the faces of positive gay and lesbian Mississippians.'
On October 7, 2006, the Human Rights Campaign awarded Bass, with then-boyfriend Reichen Lehmkuhl (known from "Amazing Race"), its 2006 Visibility Award. The awards benefit gala was met with a harsh guest editorial in the "Washington Blade" from a long-time HRC supporter who claimed that neither had done enough to deserve the award and that HRC was simply capitalizing on their fame to sell tickets. One journalist at The Washington Blade threatened to walk out when Bass received the award, 'in a quiet form of protest'. The Human Rights Campaign stood by Bass and defended his award, responding to critics by saying, 'Bass is the biggest music star since Melissa Etheridge to come out, and maybe some people think HRC should just ignore these moments of cultural significance, but his declaration did initiate a positive, national conversation that continues today.'
Faith and philosophy
Bass has been vocal about his faith as a Christian, and has mentioned in several interviews that he considers himself 'very religious' and regularly attends church. Bass's 'N Sync album liner notes often included Biblical passages as well as extended writings on God and Jesus Christ, and he was known for wearing a large cross necklace around his neck at public events. After the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, Bass posted a message to fans on 'N Sync's official website, urging them to pray, and writing, 'I believe God loves us and will get us through this. I am comforted by that fact.' Though Bass has never specified with what Christian denomination he considers himself currently affiliated, he has said, 'I have my own personal relationship with my religion, and it really has nothing to do with any group of people.' In a 2007 interview, Bass stated that he attends Presbyterian church services but does not consider himself a Presbyterian.
Regarding obstacles he has faced for being a gay Christian, Bass has said that his sexuality has not affected his faith. 'I'm still a Christian. I was not raised in a Christian church to hate people. I was taught to love people and accept people.' Bass also stated that he was able to dodge many questions about his sexuality during the height of 'N Sync's popularity because of his image as a 'good Christian boy'. In his 2007 autobiography, Bass writes that, after revealing his sexuality to his mother, she asked him, 'If you died today, would you go to Heaven?' Bass responded, 'Yes, Mother. I would.' After Bass retold this exchange on the October 23, 2007 broadcast of "The View", Whoopi Goldberg appeared to find Bass's mother's question offensive, and reassured Bass by saying, 'I think Jesus is okay with you, baby.' Bass responded, 'Thank you. I am very at peace with that.'
While Bass was outspoken about his faith during his years with 'N Sync, he has recently refrained from speaking about it in detail during interviews. In a 2007 interview, when asked if he ever quotes the Scripture when defending his theory that God created him gay, Bass responded, 'No. I just kind of stay out of it. I don't want to try to change people's minds on their own religion, because all you do is piss people off when you talk about politics and religion. ...I just play dumb.'
Personal life
In an October 2007 interview, Bass stated that he married a former girlfriend in Las Vegas, Nevada in '1999 or 2000'. Of the quickie wedding, he said, 'The only reason we did it is because we wanted to get free drinks all night.' However, a marriage license search done the following day in Clark County, Nevada came up empty, with no record of Bass's marriage existing. Bass's publicist, Ken Sunshine, immediately issued a statement that Bass was joking and that a legal wedding never took place. 'By saying he was married in Vegas, it was a way to get free drinks,' Sunshine said. 'He never really got married. That's why there's no record of it.'
During his time in 'N Sync, Bass dated actress Danielle Fishel of TV's "Boy Meets World", whose high school (Calabasas High School) prom he attended. Fishel has said that she was not aware that Bass was gay during their time together. On the October 23, 2007 episode of "The Tyra Banks Show", Bass and Fishel said that their relationship was non-sexual.name ='FishelRelationship' /> Bass later said, 'I didn't want to do anything, because I knew I'd come out of the closet eventually, and I was thinking ahead, and didn't want her to say, 'I lost my virginity to a gay guy."Bass has said that the first time he had ever been in love was during his long-term relationship with Jesse Tannenbaum, now a modeling agent, which Bass documents in his autobiography. The two men met in Orlando, Florida; at the time, Tannenbaum was a senior at the University of Central Florida and Bass was preparing to leave for cosmonaut training in Russia. The couple established a relationship that continued over several years, in which they lived together in Bass's estate in Orlando and eventually moved into a Los Angeles home together until late 2004. In early 2006, Bass entered a relationship with "Amazing Race" winner Reichen Lehmkuhl, which quickly became high-profile after Bass came out in July of that year. The couple split in January 2007, amidst rumors of Lehmkuhl's infidelity. Of the split, Bass has said, 'It was embarrassing... I was madly in love. I was so happy. People would talk so much shit about him. I thought, Why does everyone hate him? At the end I'm like, 'Okay, everyone was right." After his breakup with Lehmkuhl, Bass briefly dated a Brazilian fashion model named Pedro Andrade. Bass is currently linked to New York-based hairdresser Ben Thigpen, who was first photographed with him in August 2007; various tabloid magazines began reporting sightings of the two men together in November 2007.Regarding his desire to start a family, Bass has said that he would like to have his own children as well as adopt. He is the godfather of Joey Fatone's daughter, Briahna.==Philanthropy==Bass has been involved with a number of charities during his career. In 2001, Bass founded The Lance Bass Foundation, a non-profit organization that was designed to meet the health needs of low-income children. After Hurricane Katrina, Bass launched 'uBid For Hurricane Relief', a celebrity auction to benefit victims of the hurricane, with uBid.com. Many of Bass's family members in Mississippi were directly affected by the hurricane.In 2003, Bass donated $30,000 to establish the Amber Pulliam Special Education Endowment at The University of Southern Mississippi. The endowment is in honor of his younger cousin, Amber Pulliam, who has Down's Syndrome, and was established to financially aid students from Mississippi's Pine Belt who plan a career in special education. On October 16, 2005, Bass appeared on an episode of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" where he wrote a check for $50,000 and presented it to a Russian woman with Cerebral Palsy who started a camp for disabled Russian children.==Filmography==*"Longshot" (2000)*"On the Line" (2001)*"Zoolander" "(as himself)" (2001)*"Cursed" "(as himself)" (2005)*"Lovewrecked" (2005)*"I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry" (2007)==References====External links=="Official"* (Official website) *"Biographical or discographical"*** (World Space Week biography of Lance Bass) * (Lance Bass Fafarazzi Profile)
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Lance Bass.
