NSYNC is back! The legendary boy band reunited to present the award for Best Pop Song at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards on Tuesday, Sep. 12. The beloved quintet, consisting of Justin Timberlake, Joey Fatone, Chris Kirkpatrick, Lance Bass, and JC Chasez, shared the stage at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Before presenting winner Taylor Swift with the award, JC reminisced on NSYNC’s success, saying, “Over 20 years ago, we were just kids when we won Best Pop Video for ‘Bye Bye Bye.’ It was our first VMA, and it meant the world to us. It validated our hard work.”
While NSYNC split up in 2005, the guys have seemingly remained on good terms, with them all seeming to be friends. In fact, the group even reunited for a short one-off performance a decade ago at the 2013 VMAs. The boy band reunited to perform a medley of “Girlfriend” and “Bye Bye Bye” alongside Justin, when he won the Video Vanguard Award. At the time, they had said that there were no plans for a reunion tour or any new music.
Of course, the boy band members are no strangers to the VMAs. The group won seven VMAs and received many more nominations between 1999 and 2002. They also performed at the 1999, 2000, and 2001 award shows. On his own, Justin has also won 11 moon people, and he’s been nominated 26 times.
While the group has reunited a few times since the 2013 VMAs, including when they received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, it’s been rare for all five members to collaborate together. While it’s been 10 years since their original VMA reunion, it was rumored that the group would release their first new song in over 20 years for the Trolls Band Together soundtrack. The movie is expected to hit theaters in November, and Justin voices one of the lead characters.
Even though reunions for all five members have been sparse, different members of the group have gotten together and even performed on various occasions. Chris, Joey, and Lance had a surprise reunion when they performed at Ryan Cabrera and Alexa Bliss’ wedding back in April 2022. All the members except Justin joined Ariana Grande on stage for her Coachella performance in 2019. They performed her song “Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored” and their track “Tearin’ Up My Heart.”