Millennials everywhere were thrown into a frenzy last year when *NSYNC reunited to release a single for the Trolls Band Together soundtrack, and there was hope that a reunion tour might be in the cards. That didn’t pan out, in part because Justin Timberlake was already prepping for a new album release and world tour. It almost felt like history was repeating itself two decades after the artist first went solo. However, while Chris Kirkpatrick confirmed that there was “animosity” when *NSYNC’s frontman put the band on perpetual hiatus in 2002, now they seem to mostly be over it.
Chris Kirkpatrick And Lance Bass Discuss ‘Anger’ Over *NSYNC Hiatus
On the new documentary Larger Than Life: Reign of the Boybands (available to stream with a Paramount+ subscription), *NSYNC member Chris Kirkpatrick recalled that after the band wrapped its 2002 tour, they were taking a break for Justin Timberlake to work on his solo album, which everyone was supportive of. The label apparently told the singers to come back in six months to start making new music, but due to Justified’s success, Timberlake never returned. Kirkpatrick said on the doc (via People):
It was hard. There was a lot of animosity at first. There was a lot of anger. There was a lot of resentment. I remember thinking, 'Are we ever getting back together again?'
Johnny Wright, who was *NSYNC’s manager and continues to manage the Everything I Thought It Was artist, talked in the documentary about how Justin Timberlake didn’t really have any choice but to ride the wave of his solo success, and while fellow boybander Lance Bass understood the predicament, he didn’t like the way it was handled, saying:
Business-wise, I get that. Justin has the most talent in the world and we wanted to give him that respect. But, tell us that.
Fast-forward more than 20 years later, and other than recording the single for Trolls Band Together — the third feature film in the franchise that Justin Timberlake stars in with Anna Kendrick — the five bandmates haven’t worked together again.
Joey Fatone Supports Justin Timberlake And Talks *NSYNC’s Future
With so much time having passed, much of the early aughts drama seems to be water under the bridge now. The band did reunite for a surprise performance at a JT concert in March, and Joey Fatone even supported his bandmate at the November 9 stop of the Forget Tomorrow World Tour in Orlando, Florida. He posted a fun video on Instagram, taking fans backstage and saying how proud he is of Justin Timberlake:
As for what the future holds for *NSYNC, it seems the band members are still at a stalemate, with Joey Fatone telling People:
We haven’t had that conversation yet… [But] hopefully at some point when [Justin] is done with his tour, we’ll sit down and go, ‘What are we doing?’ and figure it out. I would love to have that conversation, whether yes or no — I just want to know. Just tell me so we can move on with our lives. Either say we had a good run and be done with it, or see what we can do.
That sounds a lot like what Lance Bass wanted the first time around, and I know ‘90s kids are just as anxious as I am to see if those conversations ever come to fruition.