Backstreet Boys

'N Sync cares what the critics think? Who knew? Celebrity (Jive Records), the latest and by far the darkest 'N Sync album yet, arrives in stores today, and it's not the same old boy-band formula. No, the mega-selling vocal group's watery crooning has been transformed into a fine whine: the agitated yelp of multimillionaires who have had enough of being called a "boy band." The boys spell it out in the first seconds of the album, on the amped-up single Pop. It seems 'N Sync wants the one thing its record sales, sold-out stadium tours and MTV-fueled celebrity have not brought it: critical respect.

Chrysanthemum Festival at Longwood Gardens Garden fairies, bromeliad-studded snails, winged lizards and flying fish revel amid 20,000 colorful chrysanthemums Saturday through Nov. 18 at "A Garden Fantasy," the annual chrysanthemum festival at Longwood Gardens near Kennett Square, Pa. The whimsical sculptures are fashioned from stoneware and other materials, and many have horticultural ornamentation. The festival's weekday schedule includes talks on chrysanthemums, tours and history walks through the gardens, children's story times and cooking demonstrations.

TOKYO -- On the walls of the classrooms are stern portraits of North Korea's late "Great Leader" and his son the "Dear Leader," and a huge banner on the gymnasium declares, "Great Leader Marshal Kim Il Sung Is With Us Forever."But it is obvious that this high school is in Tokyo, not North Korea, when a cluster of giggly teeny-boppers bounce up and test their English by asking about something really important to 16-year-old hearts."Do you like the Backstreet Boys?" asked Yun Mi Hyang, a junior at the Korean High School in Tokyo, and she and her friends paused breathlessly.

Most acts on TV live in mortal fear of being "too hip for the room" -- that is, working off cultural references most squares wouldn't get.That's not an issue on MTV. Much of what gets airtime on MTV may sail right over the heads of average Americans (especially if they're over the age of 25), but within its own rarefied frame of reference, it's almost impossible to be too hip for MTV.But Lord knows, the Video Music Awards broadcast last night tried.With comedian Chris Rock as host, airing live from New York's Metropolitan Opera House (!

For a time, Carl A. Glorioso appeared to be leading the heady life of an A-list entertainment promoter. Investors gave him hundreds of thousands of dollars to promote concerts for the likes of the Backstreet Boys, Amy Grant and Jimmy Buffett. He promised big profits and doled out perks like front-row tickets. But, as Glorioso later would admit, he had no ties to the superstar performers and no role in their events. Rather than helping organize major concerts in 2000, the Frederick County man was juggling a precarious shell game, court records show, where he tried to avoid detection by paying back his first unwitting investor, Baltimore magazine publisher Stephen A. Geppi, with money from others.

Let's face it, the '80s will never truly be gone. Like bedbugs, Cher and Spam, the decade will always be around in some repackaged form. Just recently, the New Kids on the Block — yes, Donnie, Danny, Joey, Jordan and Jonathan — announced a reunion tour, which they'll perform with their '90s doppelgangers, the Backstreet Boys. Rick Springfield, '80s heartthrob and lover of Jesse's girl, released a new biography this year, "Late, Late at Night. " And on stage at the Hippodrome last month?

A Frederick County man who claimed to be a big-time concert promoter as he bilked investors of nearly $2 million was sent to federal prison yesterday and ordered to repay his victims, even though few expect ever to see the money fully returned. Carl A. Glorioso, 31, of New Market was sentenced to three years and a month in prison by Chief U.S. District Judge Frederic N. Smalkin, who also ordered Glorioso to make more than $1.3 million in restitution - in $500 monthly payments - once he is released.

If the Backstreet Boys and new Kids on the Block concert has you wanting to relive the '80s and '90s, there's plenty of options available, including several dance parties, nostalgia acts and even laser tag. The Ottobar 's upstairs floor has long been a shrine to the kind of unadulterated pop that flourished then. On Saturday, DJs Sarrs and Starlight host a no cover "All Excess" night that will feature a selection of the best of INXS, Depeche Mode, The Cure and other new wave classics.

It used to be assumed that boys would be boys, and girls would be nice. Not anymore. In today's teen pop music scene, the boy bands are more likely to play nice while the girl singers come on naughty. So while the Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync and 98 Degrees deliver blushingly sincere declarations of love, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Jessica Simpson load their singles full of nudge-wink double entendres about "What a Girl Wants." Nor is the notion that these teen idols are good girls going bad confined to their music.

People remember different things about MTV's Video Music Awards broadcast.In addition to the expected trophy-distribution rituals, each program features comedy bits, celebrity cameos and performances by some of the biggest names in pop music. This year's show -- which airs live from Los Angeles at 8 this evening -- has Ben Stiller as its host and will include music and mayhem from such stars as Madonna, the Beastie Boys, David Spade, Tyra Banks and Jackie Chan.Some people remember the comedians who played host and will argue passionately over who was lamer, Dana Carvey or Arsenio Hall.