It’s gonna be JC.
Former *NSYNC member JC Chasez graced the stage in a rare performance over the weekend alongside former Glee star Darren Criss in a delightfully 2000s throwback boy band moment.
The surprise appearance and performance took place at Elsie Fest — considered Broadway’s music festival — in New York City on Sunday, Sept. 8, and included acoustic covers of “Bye Bye Bye” and “It’s Gonna Be Me.”
“You still remember the words?” Criss teased Chasez before the pair launched into the songs. “My favorite verse from one of my favorite singers!”
“Bye Bye Bye” is having its moment in pop culture once again after the 2000 pop hit was used in the beginning of the summer blockbuster film Deadpool & Wolverine, which ended up grossing more than $1 billion worldwide. The track also ended up on the Top 10 of Billboard’s Global Excl. U.S. at the No. 8 position the week of Aug. 12.
The resurgence of the track even reunited Chasez with his former *NSYNC band members Lance Bass, Chris Kirkpatrick and Joey Fatone at the New York City premiere of Deadpool & Wolverine on July 23. Justin Timberlake did not make an appearance at the time since the premiere clashed with his European tour dates.
The band told Entertainment Tonight at the premiere that they’ve been “talking about [a possible reunion tour] for a while,” and that they are “kicking the tires, seeing if the car will still drive, and, you know, we’ll see where it leads.”
Other surprise performances at this year’s Elsie Fest included a collaboration between Rachel Zegler and Lizzy McAlpine, songs from Jordan Fisher and even a surprise Glee reunion between Criss and his former costar Chord Overstreet.
As for the *NSYNC moment, Criss told PEOPLE exclusively, “I’ve known JC Chasez a long time from my time in Los Angeles. We were writing music together and he’s just been such a bench in my life.”
“I’ll ask him to show up for shows that I’ll play, if I’m doing ‘90s songs, he’ll come up and say yes, which is beyond my wildest dreams,” Criss continued. “I have to play it cool as if I think I belong singing his songs with him on stage. I think people say this to be nice in interviews, like, ‘I was such a fan.’ But I was a f—ing fan! I am a f—ing fan of *NSYNC. I know that whole album like the back of my hand, No Strings Attached. And he was always one of my favorite singers so getting to be with him is pretty amazing.”
Along with the surprise performances with Criss, 37, Chasez also exclusively announced his upcoming new musical theater concept album, Playing With Fire, set to release in October.
“It’s a musical basically about Frankenstein,” the 48-year-old told the crowd. “We’re writing songs that will connect to one another and tell a bigger story and it’s one of the most fun things I’ve ever done.”
The upcoming concept album — a collaboration with Golden Globe Award-winning songwriter and composer Jimmy Harry — will be Chasez’s first major musical theater recording project. According to a release, Playing With Fire will “blend Electronic pop juxtaposed against classical music from the romantic era, forming a captivating symphony of contrasts that reflect the characters own internal conflicts.”
“When we first discussed creating a musical inspired by Frankenstein, obvious topics such as technology, artificial general intelligence, monsters, immortality and death came up,” Chasez said in the release. “However, when we began the process of writing the songs, we couldn’t help but lean into topics dealing with familial relationships, love, deceit and denial. In the end, we flipped the technological beast on its side to reveal that, in spite of all its benefits and horrors it creates, it changes nothing about our basic humanity.”
Playing With Fire will be available on Oct. 25. Criss returns to Broadway on Nov. 12, 2024, in Maybe Happy Ending.