They’re no longer saying “bye, bye, bye” to a reunion.
*NSYNC made their triumphant return to the MTV Video Music Awards on Tuesday night following weeks of rumblings that the iconic boy band has a new project in the works.
Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, Lance Bass, Chris Kirkpatrick and Joey Fatone took the stage at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, where the 2023 awards show was held, to present the award for Best Pop.
The crowd erupted into loud cheers when the fivesome walked onto the stage, as they had not been seen together at the VMAs for a decade.
Nominee Taylor Swift was especially flabbergasted and delighted to see the boy band reunited.
“Over 20 years ago we were here when we won Best Pop Video for ‘Bye Bye Bye,’ said Chasez. “It was our first VMA and it meant the world to us.”
“That award validated our hard work,” Kirkpatrick added, but it was announced that Swift won the category.
The “Anti-Hero” songstress was equally as excited to take home the moon person as she was to share the stage with the ’90s heartthrobs.
“I’m not doing well pivoting from this to this,” she said while accepting the trophy. “I had your dolls. Are you doing something? What’s going to happen now? They’re going to do something and I need to know what it is.”
“You’re pop personified to receive this from your golden pop hands is really it’s too much,” she gushed.
Swift also thanked the band for giving her friendship bracelets as she got on stage.
In 2013, Chasez, Bass, Kirkpatrick and Fatone joined Timberlake for a brief performance that was part of a larger medley in honor of the “Cry Me a River” singer, who was the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award recipient that year.
Shakira received the prestigious honor — named after the late King of Pop — at this year’s ceremony.
Prior to Tuesday’s VMAs, several members of *NSYNC had been spotted around New York City, fueling speculation that they were in town for the show.
Timberlake, 42, was spotted at the US Open in Flushing, NY, on Sunday, Bass, 44, posted a photo of himself out to dinner in Manhattan on Monday night via Instagram and Fatone, 46, posed for a picture with fans in the Big Apple on Monday morning.
Meanwhile, Kirkpatrick, 51, shared a photo on Instagram of a New York City fire truck to commemorate the Sept. 11 attacks, although it is unclear whether he took the pic himself; and lastly, Chasez’s manager shared a video via his Instagram Story of the “Some Girls” singer, 47, sitting on a private plane Monday.
In August, a source teased to “Entertainment Tonight” that *NSYNC was planning a musical comeback.
The insider claimed at the time that all five group members were “expected to have surprise roles” in the upcoming animated musical comedy “Trolls Band Together,” due out Nov. 17.
The “This I Promise You” singers reportedly also recorded a track for the film’s soundtrack.
Follow the 2023 VMAs with our up-to-the-minute coverage:
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Several people also posted on Twitter that there was a recent casting call asking for “real *NSYNC fans” who were willing to dance and shoot the “ultimate fan experience.”
The last time *NSYNC released a single was in 2002 with “Girlfriend” off their third and final studio album, “Celebrity.”
Chasez and Timberlake then went on to have solo careers, with the latter seeing more chart-topping success with hits like “SexyBack” and “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” from the first “Trolls” movie.
*NSYNC has made a handful of joint appearances over the years, including the 2013 VMAs and when they received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2018.
A year later, *NSYNC — minus Timberlake — took the stage at Coachella with Ariana Grande replacing the “Friends with Benefits” star for a rendition of “Tearin’ Up My Heart.”
