No Strings Attached ('N Sync Album) - Criticisms and Recognitions

Criticisms and Recognitions

On mainstream reception, No Strings Attached received positive to mixed reviews. According to Entertainment Weekly' David Browne who gave the album a C- rating, "No Strings Attached is overstuffed with tracks clearly concocted with the concert stage in mind." He further criticized the songs as "synthetic-funk spectacles". He, however, added that the group's best performances on No Strings Attached "arrive only when they drop the pretenses". Browne's rating the album C- received a reaction from 'N Sync fans. One fan, in its mail to Entertainment Weekly, felt that Browne's review of the album was "totally uncool". Stephen Thomas Erlewine, senior editor of Allmusic, wrote, "To cynical critics, they very well might sound the same as ever, yet this really blows away their previous record." He, who gave a rating of four stars, said that the album "pulls away from the standard dance-pop formula". Robert Christgau gave the album a one-star honorable mention and defined the beats as "their statement, the ballads their way of life."

Leading up to the 43rd annual Grammy Awards, the album earned the band a nomination in the Best Pop Vocal Album category. At the 2000 Billboard Music Awards, the album earned the band four awards including in the categories such as Album of the Year and Top 40 Artist of the Year.