This possible Backstreet Boys/*NSYNC collab needs to quit playing games with our hearts

Back-Sync’s, well, not *quite* back… not yet, anyway. That said, the teaming up of two Backstreet Boys, AJ McLean and Nick Carter, and two *NSYNC members, Joey Fatone and Lance Bass, does bode well for a full-on collaboration of both boy bands in the future, right?

The foursome performed at Los Angeles’ outdoor shopping mall The Grove (so on boy band brand) over the weekend, joining forces to celebrate Pride Month and raise some cash for LA Pride and The Trevor Project.

It’s a melding of pop musical genius the world has been waiting decades for — a fact Carter himself is all too aware of. “Better late than never, right?” he quipped, speaking with Variety.

Twenty years ago, however? “Hell no!” he joked. “I’m kidding, because I still don’t understand why we didn’t get an opportunity to do more things together, but we learned that it was managers and stuff happening behind-the-scenes that prevented it.”

“It’s interesting to have the four of us knuckleheads do something together, which you’ve never seen before,” Fatone added. “BSB fans are very loyal, so we’re going, ‘We get it – certain people liked one band or the other back in the day, but now it’s okay to like both.’”

Finally, a truce on the boy band battlefield.

McLean agreed, telling the magazine, “This has been a long time coming. Everybody’s wanted us to do something together and now we get to come together for an amazing cause.” The Trevor Project supports LGBQT+ youth in coming out. Their mission involves decreasing suicide rates in the community by providing free counselling.

Trevor Project CEO Amit Paley, appearing on video, told the audience that “At least one LGBTQ person attempts suicide every 45 seconds in the United States, a statistic that keeps everyone at the Trevor Project motivated to create affirming spaces that we know save LGBTQ lives.”

The foursome was introduced on stage by Drag Race stars Michelle Visage and Todrick Hall, giving a performance that included the Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way” and *NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye” plus a solo from McLean written in support of the LGBTQ+ community.

“When we were writing the treatment for this video, I was adamant about having two beautiful transgender girls and that’s what we did to show our love and support for the community,” he told the crowd.

And while the foursome was more than enough to rock the crowd and fill the stage, there’s always room for more, said McLean — dropping a not-so-subtle hint that Justin Timberlake might be the lone holdout.

“The more the merrier,” he remarked. “Fans still want a Backstreet/*NSYNC tour, but it’s got to be all 10 of us. It’s the only way to make it work, so I think he’d be sleeping on it if he didn’t do it, but he’s a dad doing his thing and I completely respect that. This four is a dream team right now.”

In the future, however, a boy band supergroup (what’s up O-Town?), a Las Vegas residency, and even a movie are all on the table as project possibilities.

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