Why *NSYNC didn't perform “Better Place” on the MTV VMAs

m_nsync_mtvvma_091323940508
m_nsync_mtvvma_091323940508
Courtesy MTV

Watching *NSYNC reunite onstage to give Taylor Swift an award at the MTV VMAs was an exciting moment for fans — but it could have been even more exciting, if Lance Bass and Joey Fatone are to be believed.

Speaking to E! Online, Lance reveals the reunited quintet was supposed to sing their new track “Better Place,” from the upcoming movie Trolls Band Together, at the VMAs, but the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike put the kibosh on the plan.

“It was kind of bittersweet because we did have bigger plans for this song,” Lance said. “Unfortunately, there is a SAG strike and, in solidarity with WGA and SAG, we’re not able to promote the film and song. We were supposed to perform it.”

But, Joey adds, “hopefully, there’ll be a conversation” about some kind of performance in the future.

“This was honestly just to really get us reacquainted,” Joey says of “Better Place,” which is coming out September 29. “We haven’t been together in a group for over 25 years, so to do something like this — five different personalities, five different families now you’re involved with — there’s a lot of different things.”

He also notes that he, Lance, Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez and Chris Kirkpatrick are all in “different places” as far as what kind of music they want to make, so it’ll take time for the group to “creatively get back together and figure out what will work.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.