We're Getting the Band Back Together!

Of course I'm writing about *NSYNC again!

Unless you live under a rock, you know that my first and most true pop music love is *NSYNC. You may have missed my deep dive back in March, but I can assure you it won’t be the only one.

Let's Take It Back To 1998...

(Fun fact: I really want to write a nonfiction book about the evolution of the modern era boy band, but I would also settle on writing an oral history or biography of *NSYNC specifically if given the opportunity)

Soooooo, *NSYNC appeared at the MTV VMAs last night. This was a true surprise — my bestie shared an article on my Facebook in the afternoon saying that all five members had been spotted in NYC and that they were going to appear at the show. There was no word on what they’d be doing other than being together, but there was speculation about it having something to do with the upcoming Trolls Band Together. Since the SAG-AFTRA strike still blazes on, they weren’t going to be able to say or do anything about the movie anyway, so I didn’t think it would have to do with that. But honestly, after the weeks of speculation that they are getting the band back together (haha), who the fuck knows?

Thanks to my other bestie, I found out that they presented the moonman for Best Pop Video, which went to none other than my wife, Taylor Swift. I love when my main interests intersect in such a way. When I tell you that watching her react to being inches away from *NSYNC made me feel more connected to her than I ever have. I too, had the *NSYNC marionettes back in the day. They were creepy af to look at, but I cherished those cursed dolls.”Are you doing something? What’s gonna happen now??” are the two questions EVERYONE is asking, so thank you Tay Tay.

“omg guys, thank you so much, this is dedicated specifically to Sa’iyda Shabazz”

(I’m going to have to update my friendship bracelet collection to reflect this new update. Do I still remember all of their favorite colors? Maybe)

the bottom one is “For The Girl Who Has Everything” which is a track from their debut album

My social media feeds were on fire with all of the commentary and sharing of photos. The last time I had new pictures of *NSYNC on my phone, I still had a Blackberry! All of the pictures that have been released are horizontal, which means I can’t make them my phone wallpaper, but you bet your ass one of them is the background on my computer. How could I not? My room was plastered with their faces for like six years, the least I can do is have them on my laptop.

Millennials are suckers for nostalgia, but this goes so much farther than that. *NSYNC is such a huge part of not just my memories, but my literal DNA. So many of my life pursuits have been because of them, including writing. I wrote some really mediocre fan fiction back in high school, and if you ask nicely, I may share some in the future.

I was so fucking happy to see them that I couldn’t stop smiling and giggling and talking about it for hours. Beth is used to my boy band missives, so she just smiles and nods like a good partner is supposed to do. THEY LOOK SO GOOD!! I mean, I know this, but like, compared to their boy band peers, my boys are aging like the finest wines. These few hours of excitement will buoy me for weeks.

“It’s been 10 years since they were last at the VMAs,” I pointed out to Beth.

In my VMAs post from a couple weeks ago, I alluded to the fact that the only reason I was even watching the 2013 show was to see Justin Timberlake accept his Video Vanguard Award. He was right in the middle of releasing The 20/20 Experience, and it had been 11 years since he had released his first solo album Justified. As a Justin stan, I was so fucking excited that this was happening, because he fucking earned the recognition. Whether you like him or not, Justin created a new kind of blueprint for what a former boy bander could do. (You do not get a Harry Styles without a Justin Timberlake, I will defend this stance)

A couple of days before the VMAs, rumors started swirling around that the other four members of *NSYNC would be performing with Justin at some point during the show. As a skeptic, I actively hate speculation, so I refused to believe it could even be possible. All of my friends were absolutely freaking out, and I was too, but I was playing it close to the chest. It had been almost 10 years since they had sung together in public, so it all seemed too unreal to me. And if it didn’t happen, I didn’t want my disappointment to cloud my excitement for Justin.

That night, I sat on my couch, pregnant as hell, with my friend and our boyfriends. Justin opened his performance with his newest single, “Take Back the Night” before launching into some of his greatest hits. The intro to his song “Pusher Love Girl” starts as he walks to a different part of the stage and as the lights came into focus, there were the other four members of *NSYNC. I screamed. It was really happening, and I was watching it. They sang the bridge of “Girlfriend” before going into “Bye Bye Bye” using their choreography from the 2000 VMAs, where they performed the song behind large screens. Before they started, Justin said, “Let’s show these young ones how it’s done,” which is funny because during their performance, the camera pans to One Direction in the audience. Niall is the only one who is seemingly having a good time, which is adorable and unsurprising.

It was like, two, maybe three minutes, but it was the absolute best few minutes of my adult life. 

I never thought I would ever see *NSYNC together in public again. Unlike their peers, they had not reunited. Funny enough, as much as I wanted them to, I was always glad that they didn’t. The late 2000s into the 20teens saw pretty much every 90s (and 80s) boy band reuniting. I didn’t want it to seem like my boys were just jumping on the bandwagon, even though I always knew that if they decided to reunite they would fucking bury the others. If the time and circumstances were right, they would get back together, and they did. 

What I truly wasn’t expecting was during Justin’s speech, that he would thank the other members of the group. “Half of the moonmen that I’ve ever won, I won with those four guys right there,” he said, gesturing to where they were, off camera. I’m pretty sure I might have started crying, and if I did, I’m blaming it on the extreme amount of pregnancy hormones that were coursing through my body.

“we’re gonna keep it at my house, but we can share it!”

I didn’t think about it until today, but that was an incredibly important moment. Justin was always blamed as the reason that *NSYNC broke up and would never reunite. And while it’s true that he’s the one who pulled the trigger, they were going to break up or go on indefinite hiatus or whatever, anyway. By the time they finished their Celebrity Tour in the spring of 2002, the boy band bubble was already bursting. The Backstreet Boys had already gone on hiatus after releasing a greatest hits album at the end of 2001. O-Town and 98 Degrees were struggling to find another hit. People were moving on, and even if Justified would have tanked, no one would have been interested in seeing a reunited *NSYNC in the mid-00s. 

But seeing Justin acknowledge that the other four members of the group were integral to his success, and not only that, that they were still friends, was HUGE.

Honestly, it makes sense that *NSYNC keeps reuniting at the VMAs. During their time as a group, it was the one place they dominated. I still remember their first performance on 9/9/99 (it was a whole thing MTV hyped for weeks) with Britney Spears. The following year, they did a medley of their singles from No Strings Attached, “This I Promise You” into “Bye Bye Bye” with the aforementioned screens and finally a raucous version of “It’s Gonna Be Me” with a stage full of backup dancers. (I know the whole “It’s Gonna Be Me” section bc my friends and I did it for our high school talent show) 

Their 2001 VMA performance is one for the record books. That year, they performed “Pop” on a dayglo trip of a stage. After the final chorus, a giant etch-a-sketch behind them reveals the words “Kings of Pop” ; it shakes itself to reveal the very famous outline of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. And as the screen starts to lift, who is there, but MICHAEL MOTHERFUCKING JACKSON. The guys had performed with him during his 25th anniversary shows at MSG around the time of the VMAs. It truly lifted them to icon status in those five minutes. 

I truly have no idea if there will be a new *NSYNC song in a month to be the lead up to the new Trolls movie. I have no idea if there will be a tour (god help my bank account if there is). But I do know that even if it’s only for a few minutes at a time, I always love seeing the boys of my heart together.