‘N Sync is back together, on a (chicken) wing and a prayer.
The band, which recently reunited at the MTV VMAs, got together again on the first episode of the 22nd season of “Hot Ones,” the famed YouTube series where host Sean Evans interviews guests as they eat wings that get increasingly hotter as the episode moves on.
The episode title, “*NSYNC Breaks Another Record While Eating Spicy Wings,” refers to the fact that the show has never had this many guests — or wings — on the show at one time, with five guests and 60 wings total on the table.
In the 24-minute episode now available on YouTube, the guys from ‘N Sync share a meaty toast while they each hold up a wing and say, “Cheers.”
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What the band’s legion of fans has been wondering about is their future plans, who just recorded a new song, “Better Place,” for the upcoming movie “Trolls Band Together” that prompted chatter about a reunion tour.
While all five of the boys — Justin Timberlake, Lance Bass, Chris Kirkpatrick, JC Chasez and Joey Fatone — remained tight-lipped about whether or not Taylor Swift’s dreams of a new album are underway, the band members reflected on their nearly 30 years of stardom, offering morsels of wisdom that at times were spicier than the wings themselves — though the wings were pretty spicy, judging by most of their reactions.
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“See you in the bathroom,” Kirkpatrick said early on before he sank his teeth into a wing.
He also pondered whether swallowing quickly helps, while Fatone (who a “Hot Ones” veteran, appearing all the way back in 2016 in Season 2) said, “Wait till you breathe.”
While the boys chattered among themselves like a group of decades-old friends tend to do, Evans chimed in to ask the band about their past stadium tour shows, with their pyrotechnics and other fancy effects. Fatone recalled an accident involving a “toaster” trap door while performing on stage, which the now-father-of-one recalls “slammed” his leg — a scary moment. Bass and Chasez then recalled a much more positive moment, involving the very first time they heard themselves on the radio.
“We were at a radio station in Germany … and I remember we were in two vans, we were like split up, and there were so many stuffed animals in the van because they loved throwing stuffies,” Bass said of their European fans. “And then we came on the radio and we just kind of geeked out.”
“And we put on a puppet show for each other,” Chasez added, painting an adorable mental image.
One of the juiciest moments in the interview came when Evans asked Timberlake about what might be the most meme-able moment of his career so far: his peculiar pronunciation of “me” (“MAY”) in ‘N Sync’s 2000 hit single, “It’s Gonna Be Me.”
Of course, if you’ve ever been on the internet on April 30, you’ve likely seen Timberlake’s smiling face (and ramen-esque hair), ushering in the spring month. And now, Timberlake has finally revealed why he pronounced it that way.
“I don’t remember the specifics … but I sang, ‘It’s gonna be me,’ and he was like, ‘No, no, no, no, no.’ And he was like, ‘It’s May,’” Timberlake told Evans.
Although he doesn’t mention who exactly gave him the instruction by name, the song was written by Max Martin, Andreas Carlsson and Rami Yacoub, all of whom are Swedish. So once, and for all, we know the truth: Timberlake was asked to sing it in a Swedish accent.
The band then reflected on their most treasured memories from the set of MTV’s “Total Request Live” (aka “TRL”) the popular music video countdown show once hosted by TODAY's own Carson Daly, of which they were frequent guests and chart-toppers.
Timberlake noted that “TRL” was “the pinnacle of pop culture for at least a decade,” with the rest of the band all agreeing. But then, they started feeling the true heat of the hotter wing sauces, which the group was well into at this point.
“Oh, yeah, there it is,” Bass said before getting up to grab a tissue. “Why is it so bad on the tongue?”
“Why is this a thing?” asked Timberlake — who’s also been on the show before, during Season 11 in 2020 — while Bass said his lips were on fire.
JC Chasez seemed bulletproof, though, when it comes to the spiciness.
“I’m actually OK,” he said.
“Shut up, JC,” Kirkpatrick fired back with mock anger.
Although Evans didn’t request that the band sing, they did break into expletive-laden song when they asked Evans who cursed the most on the show. Of course, the answer was Gordon Ramsay, but Fatone took that as an opportunity to scat the expletive “f---” in rapid succession, with Timberlake, Bass and Kirkpatrick joining in the adult chorus.
By the arrival of the “Last Dab” where guests are encouraged to put as little or as much of the final, spiciest hot sauce on their last wing, it’s obvious who has tapped out and who among them is the King of the Wings. That sauce, by the way, clocks in at over 3 million Scoville Heat Units. Compare that to a jalapeño pepper at 8,000 SHU.
The amount each puts on their last wing is telling: Timberlake poured a healthy glug on his, and Bass only put a drop on his, indicating his doneness with the whole experience. Kirkpatrick and Chasez both put a healthy amount on their wings, and Fatone, not to be outdone, drenches his wings in the stuff.
While its clear Fatone is the bravest by “Last Dab” standards, it is Chasez whose calm demeanor throughout the whole ordeal proves he handled the spiciness of the wings — and the questions — the best.
“Why did I do that again?!” Timberlake joked as the video cuts.
You can catch ‘N Sync’s entire episode on the “Hot Ones” YouTube channel.
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
