Why *NSYNC's "Bigger Plans" for Reunion and New Song "Better Place" Didn't Happen

*NSYNC knows that fans want them back on the stage, but there's a reason why they're holding out on a reunion performance.

The iconic boy band recently reunited at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards to present Taylor Swift with the trophy for Best Pop Video. Although the five-piece had "a blast" getting back together, according to Lance Bass, it's also been tearin' up his heart a little bit to know that the group's initial plans to perform their new song "Better Place" from the upcoming movie Trolls Band Together never got to see the light of day.

"It was kind of bittersweet because we did have bigger plans for this song," Lance—who teamed up bandmate Joey Fatone, as well as Backstreet Boys' AJ McLean and Boyz II Men's Wanyá Morris, for The Children's Place's "Dad Band" holiday campaign—told E! News in an exclusive joint interview. "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."

Joey noted that the band will just "play it by ear" for now and "hopefully, there'll be a conversation" about a musical reunion in the future.

"This was honestly just to really get us reacquainted," he said of the single, which drops Sept. 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."

The My Big Fat Greek Wedding alum added that he and his bandmates are now in "different places" when it comes to their approach to music, so it'll take time for *NSYNC to "creatively get back together and figure out what will work."

Meanwhile, Joey and Lance are enjoying their newly forged camaraderie with their The Children's Place campaign costars, who also came from '90s boy bands. For the campaign's photo shoot, Joey, Lance, AJ and Wanyá were joined by their respective kids to model the brand's new holiday pajama sets. 

"Everybody has different personalities but we mesh," Wanyá told E! News of the shoot. "That's what music does. It meshes people together to create harmony."

Joey agreed, adding that the combination of their musical background and experiences as dads is what makes this campaign so special. "We have worked together in some way, shape or form together," he said. "We all have kids as well, and it's something that we definitely take to heart."

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