This month *NSYNC really got the Millennials riled up, when they not only reunited on stage at the VMAs but also dropped their first new music in two decades. As we tried to wrap our collective minds around what this could all mean, it’s impossible not to look back at how pop music has changed since the early aughts and how the members of *NSYNC compare to bands that came after them, including One Direction. Chris Kirkpatrick recently brought up an interesting point, explaining why they didn’t have one problem that plagued Harry Styles and company, and it actually makes a lot of sense.
After presenting a starstruck Taylor Swift with her Best Pop VMA and announcing their new single, “Better Place,” for Justin Timberlake’s upcoming movie Trolls Band Together, *NSYNC sat down with Hot Ones for some spicy wings and good conversation. When looking at how their band was formed in comparison to One Direction, Chris Kirkpatrick pointed out:
One Direction’s an amazing band but you have five guys that are amazing singers and great soloists. So when they come out and do songs, it’s like you fight over, ‘Where is this gonna be?’ We kind of knew we sucked at singing certain things, so we just fell into our spots and we knew our place. I knew I’d do the high stuff, these guys [Justin and JC], would do the leads, Joey would be in the middle and Lance would be the bass. It was a lot easier since we started with a sound rather than five amazing vocalists. I mean not to say we’re not, but I just did.
It’s funny to hear him say all of the members of *NSYNC “sucked” at certain aspects of singing. On the surface it seems like having too much talent could never be a bad thing, but this actually makes a lot of sense. Justin Timberlake and JC Chasez always took the lead for *NSYNC, with Joey Fatone, Chris Kirkpatrick and Lance Bass filling in the harmonies, Meanwhile, One Direction was formed after all five members auditioned as solo artists for The X Factor (UK) in 2010.
With Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson theoretically all possessing lead-vocal potential, their roles in the songs weren’t necessarily a given. Since Malik officially left the band in 2015 and One Direction went on indefinite hiatus not long after, all five members have released solo albums — to varying degrees of success. For *NSYNC, only Justin Timberlake successfully took his singing career solo following the boy band’s release of Celebrity in 2001.
So now that we’ve established that the boy band works well as a group, where do we stand on an *NSYNC reunion tour? Joey Fatone didn’t sound overly optimistic when asked about it, but given that the group just “fell into place” after 20 years — and with Hot Ones proving that they’re still doing appearances together — I’m not giving up hope just yet.
In the meantime, their single “Better Place” will drop on Friday, September 29, and you can catch Justin Timberlake as Branch in Trolls Band Together, which hits theaters on Friday, November 17.