Ever since Justin Timberlake went solo, all *NSYNC fans have ever wanted was to see him reunite with the boy band that launched his career way back when. After all, *NSYNC was the peak of late '90s and early 2000s boy bands, possibly only matched in prevalence by The Backstreet Boys. Unlike The Backstreet Boys, however, we were only recently blessed to see *NSYNC reunite with their full strength. Unfortunately, now that I've gotten over my initial millennial freakout, am I alone in saying it feels disappointing?
At the risk of *NSYNC thinking every little thing they do never seems enough for me, I have to break my silence on how this reunion is nothing like I ever expected it to be. I've been thinking about my disappointment and why it's underwhelming, and I've come to a few conclusions about what's upset me and why this reunion hasn't been anything like I expected.
This Reunion Feels Primarily Corporate Driven
*NSYNC is back together, but it's worth noting that this doesn't feel like it came from some heart-to-heart or big deliberation. Justin Timberlake is reprising his role as Branch in Trolls: Band Together, and the third movie just so happens to revolve around Branch having brothers who he was part of a boyband with. While Joey Fatone, Lance Bass, JC Chasez, and Chris Kirkpatrick aren't voicing Branch's brothers, they did get together to create a new *NSYNC single for the upcoming movie.
We also had *NSYNC's big re-emergence at the VMAs, which was hype. At the same time, there's no real push toward something happening beyond that. Joey Fatone even flat-out said that if fans want to see a tour or anything of that nature, they'll have to hound Sony to make it happen. Understandably, the boy band is not willing to bankroll their own comeback tour, but it doesn't help the idea that this whole reunion was more about a corporate business decision than some heartfelt comeback made of passion.
If that's what it takes to get *NSYNC back on stage, so be it, but I feel like that could factor into my lack of excitement about it all thus far. There isn't some heartfelt story about everyone getting in a room and becoming passionate about new music, or how they've missed each other. It's more like "Hey, we're all together again after years of one of us not joining in our smaller reunions." I mean, let's be honest, we've seen members of *NSYNC get together several times over the years. The only difference this time is Justin Timberlake is involved, and while he may be the most successful member, what good is it if we're only getting one song out of the ride?
Everyone Is Non-Committal About What Comes Next
Lance Bass was recently asked about the future of *NSYNC, and while he didn't immediately close the door on the possibility of a tour or new album, he didn't sound too committed to the idea either. He mentioned ongoing strikes. as well as the fact that they all have "things to do," meaning "things other than go on a reunion tour with their former boyband."
It may seem like there's nothing more important for any of these stars than getting back to what made them famous, but each member has found their own pocket in Hollywood in the years following *NSYNC's official end. They have commitments to podcasts, TV shows, movies and, of course, families that need their attention as well. The decision for a reunion may be obvious in the eyes of fans, but I can empathize with how it may be more of a struggle to commit to over two decades later.
The good news is it doesn't seem like the door is completely closed on something coming after. I think that it really is a question of scheduling and whether it makes sense to do, all of which are valid things to consider. If I'm an *NSYNC fan saying the hype currently isn't doing it for me, does it need to go any further than this or should we all move on?
What Would It Take To Get Me Hyped About *NSYNC's Return?
At this point, I don't think this reunion for *NSYNC is going to feel real for me until I learn either one of two things. The first is that we need more than one song, ideally an album. And I'm not saying that Timbaland has to produce it, but damn, if he did, it would probably contend for a Grammy. Having one song tied to Trolls: Band Together just isn't enough to call this a proper comeback in my eyes.
If a world tour is off the table, and given all of these men have various projects and families at home, we at least need a few chances to see the full lineup in concert. Sure, I'd love to witness a proper 25-40 city tour, but if they just performed the hits at Coachella, Bonaroo, and Lollapalooza, I could live with that. We really only need a handful of dates provided there's a filmmaker out there ready to film the ride and get some butts in theaters, similar to what Taylor Swift is doing with The Eras Tour.
As I've laid out quite extensively above, we don't have either of those at the moment. It's a big deal, and without it, it's hard to take anything that's happening with this "reunion" thus far seriously. I guess it's better than nothing, but if in three months *NSYNC isn't doing anything and they're back to the same old thing, I don't see myself looking back on this "comeback" and feeling like it did anything more than give a boost to a kids movie. Maybe the real realization here is as I prepare to take my daughter to Trolls: Band Together in November, that's all it needs to be?
Clearly I'm going through some things dealing with this *NSYNC reunion. CinemaBlend will continue to keep an eye on it as it develops, and maybe I'll use my Netflix subscription to watch Trolls for the umpteenth time.
