Justin Timberlake reunites with Nsync in surprise LA performance
Justin Timberlake gave an extra special surprise to his Los Angeles audience by inviting Nsync to join him on stage, making it the group’s first performance since 2013.
Ahead of the release of his forthcoming album, Everything I Thought It Was, the singer-songwriter has been giving a series of free concerts across the US, as well as an attempted show in London, UK, which was abandoned due to illness.
Timberlake, 43, performed at the Wiltern in LA on Wednesday evening (13 March), to a full crowd complete with celebrity guests such as Chrissy Teigen and Ryan Tedder.
The singer performed many of his solo hits, including “SexyBack”, “Summer Love”, “Mirrors” and “Until the End of Time” – but according to videos posted on social media, some of the biggest applause was reserved for when Nsync emerged unexpectedly towards the end of the show.
Timberlake’s bandmates JC Chasez, Lance Bass, Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick came onto stage while singing their 2001 hit “Gone”, causing audience members to scream and, in some cases, burst into tears.
Although the band made a surprise appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards in November, Wednesday night marked their first time performing together in 11 years.
Their last performance came at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, when Timberlake received the Video Vanguard Award.
The group also performed their song “Bye Bye Bye”, “It’s Gonna Be Me” and their new single, “Paradise”, which features on Timberlake’s new album.
After the performance, the “My Love” vocalist posted a video with Bass, showing merchandise adorned with the lyrics to “Paradise”.
Timberlake first teased that a track on his album would feature his old bandmates last month with a post on social media in direct response to a fan.
“Blink twice if *NSYNC is on a song called ‘Paradise,’” the fan asked in a comment on Timberlake’s deluxe edition announcement video on TikTok.
Timberlake later responded with a video that showed him removing his sunglasses and intentionally blinking twice.
The band also released a song for the film Trolls Band Together in 2023 titled “Better Place”.
Before this, Nsync had not released new music together in more than 20 years, having gone on an indefinite hiatus in 2002.
