To hear Lance Bass tell it, he and the other members of 'N Sync are five of the hardest-working guys in show business.

It isn't just that the quintet puts on a show with enough singing, dancing and eye-popping razzle-dazzle to rival the attractions at Universal Studios amusement park. As much work as the show may be, it's only part of the job of being in a teen sensation like 'N Sync.

"We never knew how difficult it would be," Bass says, over the phone from a tour stop in Albany, N.Y. "You just never imagine that it would really be a 24/7 job, that you would be on [24 hours a day, 7 days a week].

"But that's the way it is. You're not ever not 'N Sync. You're always going to be that, and there's people looking at you. ...

"All of us had always dreamed about what it was like to do this kind of stuff," he adds. "It was way beyond than what we thought it would be. It's a lot harder. You just never see what work really was involved in it."

Not that he's complaining. So far, 'N Sync's hard work has paid off beyond the group's wildest dreams. " 'N Sync," the group's debut album, has sold more than 6 million copies in the United States, and its current tour, which runs through May 16, is completely sold out. ('N Sync plays Washington's MCI Center this evening.)

The group has generated the sort of fan fervor only teen idols can inspire. Among the faithful, the five -- Joseph "Joey" Fatone, Christopher "Chris" Kirkpatrick, Joshua "J.C." Chasez, Justin Timberlake, and James "Lance" Bass -- are referred to on a strictly first-name basis, and woe to any oldster foolish enough to dismiss 'N Sync as being "just like the Backstreet Boys."

Being compared to the Backstreeters is also an issue for the group, although for entirely different reasons. Although 'N Sync hails from Orlando, Fla., the group was first launched in Europe, and while the five did well over there, they worried that some other pop-oriented harmony group would beat them to the punch at home.

"We wanted to release [the album] back in '96," says Lance. "But the record company was like, 'We don't think it's the time for your kind of act.' "

'N Sync disagreed and worried what would happen should they follow some similar act onto the scene here. "We were afraid that someone like us was going to come out, and because we would be the second group, no one would like us," he says. "People would hate us because we were trying to be like the other group."

As it turned out, 'N Sync did get beaten to the punch, by fellow Floridians the Backstreet Boys. "We thought, 'Well, it's going to happen,' " admits Lance. "Thank goodness everyone gave us a chance and found out for themselves that we are totally different."

Granted, both groups offer songs built around sweet soul harmony and surging synth-beats. But 'N Sync's sound is lighter, sweeter and more pop-oriented than the Backstreet Boys, making the two no more identical than Madonna and Mariah Carey.

Now, 'N Sync faces a new challenge: Convincing people that the group isn't just for 10-year-old girls. "Well, we're No. 6 on the Adult Contemporary [radio] charts right now," says Lance, laughing. "I think that's definitely not true that our audience is all under-10-year-old girls."

Instead, he says, the crowd 'N Sync gets is very mixed, running the gamut from middle-schoolers to college kids, along with a healthy smattering of parents and grandparents. "I had one guy come up to me, and he was, like, 'I was so afraid to go to your concert,' " Lance says. "He thought he was going to be the only guy there. But he wasn't.

"I think on the next tour, people are not going to be afraid to go to an 'N Sync concert."

'N Sync

When: 8 tonight

Where: MCI Center, 801 F. St. N.W., Washington

Tickets: Sold out

Call: 410-481-7328 for tickets, 202-628-3200 for information

Pub Date: 3/19/99