Entertainment

Which 'NSYNC Member Is Most Ready for a Comeback? We Rank Their Chances

We saw them (briefly) strut their stuff at the VMAs, and now we can't stop talking about them. It's like that little hand movement they do during the chorus of "Bye, Bye, Bye" awakened some latent part of our adolescent souls and left us with some strange nostalgia for ramen hair and oversized overalls. It can't be helped. It can be soothed, however, by the fact that the recent PR boost for the boys has left a ton of people talking about the possibilities — not for a full-blown reunion (break it to your 1999 'NSYNC poster gently), but for some of the individual members of the band to start contemplating comebacks.

We rank who in the group's most likely to try to claw his way back to the top — or at least the middle.

by Alanna Bennett

We saw them (briefly) strut their stuff at the VMAs, and now we can't stop talking about them. It's like that little hand movement they do during the chorus of "Bye, Bye, Bye" awakened some latent part of our adolescent souls and left us with some strange nostalgia for ramen hair and oversized overalls. It can't be helped. It can be soothed, however, by the fact that the recent PR boost for the boys has left a ton of people talking about the possibilities — not for a full-blown reunion (break it to your 1999 'NSYNC poster gently), but for some of the individual members of the band to start contemplating comebacks.

We rank who in the group's most likely to try to claw his way back to the top — or at least the middle.

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4: Chris Kirkpatrick

Oh, he of the colorful dreds and the confusing facial hair. Since 'NSYNC disbanded, Kirkpatrick has appeared as a contestant in the country music singer-songwriter competition Gone Country 2. He's also the voice of Chip Skylark on The Fairly OddParents.

And... that's pretty much it. Kirkpatrick has kept a pretty low profile since his boy band days, and he seems the least likely of the non-Justin members to try a repeat at making it big. In fact, the exertion of just the VMA appearance reminded him how exhausting the whole thing can be: "Honestly, when he talked to us I thought we were just coming out with mic stands and singing," he recounted. "When I came home from rehearsals my girl's like 'Why are you drenched?' ... I'm too old for this! I was so worried about not messing up for him."

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3: Joey Fatone

Fatone, also known as The One With the Pun-able Name. Since 'NSYNC his most notable public career moments have taken place as a contestant on Dancing With the Stars (not to mention Dancing With the Stars at Sea, which is apparently a real thing that existed) and as host of The Singing Bee. He, like most of the group, has nixed the idea of a reunion, but who knows — he seems to still be putting his face out there, maybe he'll decide it's a good idea to reenter the music circus.

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2: Lance Bass

Bass is, arguably, the non-Justin member of the group with the most cultural capitol. He's still best friends with Danielle Fishel, who's in the midst of a comeback of her own with the Boy Meets World sequel series. He came out at what seems to have been the perfect time for a public figure to come out. He wrote an autobiography (Out of Sync), which debuted on the New York Times Bestseller list in 2007. He, like Fatone, was also a contestant on Dancing With the Stars. He even recently started mentoring a brand new boy band of his very own.

His face is out there more than some of the rest — if he wanted to start recording more music, I'm sure at least some of us would listen.

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1: JC Chasez

Oh, JC. You just try so hard. JC Chasez actually tried for a solo career when the band split up, releasing the solo album Schizophrenic in 2004. Unfortunately for him, this was also around the time "Cry Me a River" was released and Justin Timberlake was ripping Janet Jackson's clothes off at the Superbowl. But even Timberlake's said publicly before that he thinks JC "had the best voice of all of us."

Chasez seems the most likely to try to stage a comeback — in fact, he's been dropping hints all over the place since the VMAs performance that suggest he's ready to step back into the game.

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