Still in sync after all these years
The 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, held Aug. 25 at the Barclays Center, brought an influx of exciting and unforgettable performances that left viewers with much to talk about. Miley Cyrus wowed the crowd with her racy dance moves. Lady Gaga performed for the first time since her hip surgery in February. Katy Perry sang her latest single, “Roar,” in front of hundreds of screaming fans while under the Brooklyn Bridge.
However, no performance that night produced as much enthusiasm as did ‘N Sync and its brief reunion onstage during Justin Timberlake’s elaborate and lengthy medley. The former band members performed tidbits of their ’00s singles “Girlfriend” and “Bye Bye Bye,” garnering many tweets harkening back to the “good ol’ days.”
Yet the seemingly minute-long performance was too short to be anything extraordinary. By the time the crowd even realized the boy band was onstage, they were already making their way off to give Timberlake the spotlight once more. We, as fans, couldn’t even bask in the awesomeness of this reunion until after the fact.
So why is it everyone can’t stop raving about ‘N Sync’s comeback? Is the music produced nowadays really so terrible that we revel in every short moment we can obtain of wholesome ’90s pop? Or is it just the sentimental feeling we get when listening to music that leaves us wanting more?
Music is no longer made the way it used to be. We have entered an era in which electronically manipulated sounds are more popular than the antiquated strums of a guitar or beats of a drum. Now, mainstream fans go wild for house music or dubstep instead of rock ‘n’ roll or jazz. But ‘N Sync never produced high-quality music anyway. The band is certainly not at the top of my music legends list.
No, this phenomenon has more to it than just the music. It is the feelings and the memories that came along with the music that made the moment so special. ‘N Sync is from an era that symbolized our carefree childhood, full of hopscotch, chewing gum and action figures. The band name might as well be synonymous with innocence and youth because that is what comes to mind every time we hear it. The ‘N Sync reunion at the VMAs wasn’t about the band’s music per se; ‘N Sync could have sung “The Star-Spangled Banner” and garnered the same amount of hype.
The performance provided us with a blast to the past so strong it left us with a few rare yet precious moments of reminiscence. It gave us the chance to let our minds enter that worry-free zone we now associate with our childhood selves. The songs moved us to nostalgia and to a yesteryear we wish we’d never left.
