Joey Fatone Gives An Update on Those *NSYNC Reunion Rumors (Exclusive)
Backstreet Boys will never play games with fans' hearts.
That's why AJ McLean said don't hold out hope on him and bandmates Nick Carter, Brian Littrell, Kevin Richardson and Howie Dorough hitting the road with fellow boybanders *NSYNC any time soon.
"They haven't done something in over 22 years," AJ said of *NSYNC's tour schedule in an exclusive E! News interview with the rest of the Backstreet Boys. "And we're gonna keep doing what we do."
However, the 47-year-old noted, "No one knows what the future holds."
He added, "We'll see what happens." (For more with the band, tune into E News tonight, Feb. 18 at 11 p.m.)
For now, BSB is focused on their upcoming residency at Sphere Las Vegas, which will see the quintet bring the entirety of their 1999 album Millenium to the stage.
"We're honored," Nick told E! News. "We are the first pop band ever perform at this incredible venue."
In addition to smash hits such as "I Want It That Way" and "Larger Than Life," fans can expect "other hidden little gems," including the group's new single "Hey," according to AJ.
But there is one song they won't be performing. "'If You Want It to Be Good Girl (Get Yourself a Bad Boy),'" Brian admitted of the 1997 track, with AJ quipping, "We hate that song!"
Explaining that Backstreet Boys dislike the Backstreet's Back track "collectively," AJ added, "We performed it once for the fans."
And with Backstreet back on the Vegas Strip, could that mean *NSYNC—who reunited for song "Better Place" last year—is eyeing their own residency? Not quite.
"The five of us need to get together to have that conversation," Joey Fatone told E! News in June of a reunion tour with Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, Chris Kirkpatrick and Lance Bass. "What does it look like? If we're going to do a tour, are we going to do new music?"
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Though he did team up with Backstreet Boys' AJ on the Legendary Nights Tour last year, Joey said there's likely a lot more coordination involved for a full *NSYNC tour.
"We're married, we have kids," he noted. "It takes a different perspective."
It's a sentiment shared by Lance, who previously said the idea of *NSYNC touring with Backstreet Boys is "fun to think about."
"I would say to fans don't give too much hope into it," he told E! News in 2023. "It would take a lot to convince some of the guys to do something like that."
To see the Backstreet Boys' full interview with E! News, tune in tonight, Feb. 18, at 11 .p.m.
—Reporting by Ashley Bellman
And to see what your favorite boy bands and girl groups are up to these days, keep reading...
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Backstreet Boys
Backstreet's back, alright! The Backstreet Boys released their first album in 1996, and redefined the turn of the century with 1999 record Millennium. Thankfully, Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson are still touring and belting our favorite hits over two decades later.
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Destiny's Child
All hail the girl group that gave us Beyoncé! Don't "Bug a Boo" when it comes to Destiny's Child because Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams are still icons in their own right to this day as well.
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'NSYNC
Justin Timberlake, Joey Fatone, Lance Bass, JC Chasez and Chris Kirkpatrick made up the iconic boy band group, 'NSYNC. We're still holding out for another reunion performance, and we promise, no strings attached because we aren't ready to say "Bye, Bye, Bye" just yet.
Spice Girls
If you wanna be their lover, you've gotta get with their friends...and they sure have a lot! The Spice Girls rocked the U.K. with their '90s fashion and catchy lyrics. Mel C, Victoria Beckham, Mel B, Geri Halliwell and Emma Bunton were the Brit girl group of our dreams.
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Hanson
Far out, man. The Hanson brothers joined the ranks of fellow '90s boy bands with hit song, "MMMBop." Hanson released an album together in 2013 before brothers Isaac Hanson, Taylor Hanson and Zac Hanson went their separate ways for solo careers—and in Taylor's case, raising seven kids! Thankfully, our favorite bros reunited in 2018 for album String Theory and are back on tour through 2022.
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TLC
Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins and Rozanda "Chilli" Thomas still make up '90s rap group TLC, after original member Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes tragically died in 2002. Lil Mama performed with TLC in 2013, before the "Waterfalls" singers announced their new album in 2017.
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BTS
Since 2017, Korean boy band BTS has been writing, producing and performing most of their songs as international superstars. The K-pop groups loyal Army of fans are some of the most passionate in music history.
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98 Degrees
Yep, Nick Lachey was in a boy band and we're burning up way past 98 Degrees just thinking about it. Joined by Drew Lachey and Justin Jeffre, music producers Lachey and Jeff Timmons formed the group after leaving college to pursue music careers in the '90s.
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New Kids On the Block
New Kids On the Block skyrocketed to fame in the late 1980s and the group reunited in 2011 for a throwback tour with The Backstreet Boys.
Original NKOTB members were brothers Jordan and Jonathan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg and Danny Wood. The group broke up in 1994 but then reunited several years later and went on tour with the Backstreet Boys in 2011. Not surprisingly, that tour announcement pretty much broke the Internet. They are still performing today.
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The Jonas Brothers
Thank god the JoBros are back! The Jonas Brothers gave us Nick Jonas' sweet smile, Joe Jonas' swagger and Kevin Jonas' big brother charisma. Oh, did we mention they can all sing and play instruments too? Excuse us while we're still swooning over these A-listers since their band debuted in 2006.
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One Direction
One of the best bands to ever come out of a singing competition series, One Direction took over the planet in the 2010s. And, the boy band has birthed plenty of successful solo careers, with Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Harry Styles all solidifying their place in music (and fashion and film) history.
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Little Mix
The X Factor-formed group are princesses of pop and sing about body positivity, feminism, the pressures of social media and juggling it all as young moms.
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BLACKPINK
Lisa, Rosé, Jennie and Jisoo make up K-pop group BLACKPINK, who released their first album—aptly titled, THE ALBUM—in October 2020. "BLACKPINK is—we kind of felt like there's two colors that represented us the most ‘cause we're very girly but at the same time we're very savage too," Rosé explained on Jimmy Kimmel Live at the time. "We have a song called ‘Pretty Savage' and it kind of goes with ‘black pink' and so we thought it described us the best."
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Fifth Harmony
Before the world experienced "Work From Home" life due to the coronavirus pandemic, Fifth Harmony gave fans an upbeat (and sexy) anthem to any WFH woes. Breakout singer Camila Cabello went on to have a successful solo career—including even playing Cinderella!—after the girl group went on hiatus in 2018 and other members have also released solo projects.
Five Seconds of Summer
Australian rockers 5 Seconds of Summer first started on YouTube before singles "She Looks So Perfect" and "Girls Talk Boys" got radio play. Eventually 5SOS opened on tour for One Direction, and the rest is history.
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Boyz II Men
Still performing as a trio, Boyz II Men's Nathan Morris, Shawn Stockman and Wanya Morris have been rocking the charts with hits like "I'll Make Love to You" and "One Sweet Day" for over 30 years.
The Wanted
The bad boy counterpart to One Direction, U.K.-based The Wanted hit it big stateside with 2012 banger "Glad You Came," before starring in their own E! reality series, The Wanted Life. The group went on hiatus in 2014 with promises of being back soon.
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CNCO
CNCO formed in 2016 with members Joel Pimentel, Richard Camacho, Erick Brian Colón, Christopher Vélez and Zabdiel De Jesús but gave their last performance as a five-some on May 14 after Pimental announced he was exiting the group.
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Big Time Rush
From Nickelodeon to national tours, Big Time Rush rocked hard for five years before parting ways in 2014. Good thing all four members—Kendall Schmidt, Logan Henderson, Carlos PenaVega and James Maslow—are back for two new shows in Dec. 2021.
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Girls Aloud
British pop group Girls Aloud made history as one of the first bands formed from a reality competition series. The year was 2002, the show was Popstars: The Rivals and the powerhouse vocalists were Sarah Harding, Cheryl (then known as Cheryl Cole), Nadine Coyle, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. Girls Aloud recorded 20 consecutive top 10 singles and four number ones, including "Sound of the Underground," during their reign.
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