JC Chasez Clarifies Plans on NSYNC Reunion

JC Chasez has clarified where he stands on the possibility of an NSYNC reunion amid heightened speculation that the bandmates are set to reunite in the studio.

The iconic boy band—consisting of Chasez, Justin Timberlake, Lance Bass, Joey Fatone, and Chris Kirkpatrick—dominated global charts in the late 1990s and early 2000s with a host of hits. The group has sold over 70 million albums worldwide and remains one of the bestselling boy bands ever.

In 2002, it was announced that the group was taking what was supposed to be a temporary hiatus. However, NSYNC eventually disbanded.

While they have made occasional appearances together in the years since, they did not release any new music until last year, when they released the song “Better Place” for the Trolls Band Together film soundtrack. They also presented an award at that year’s MTV Video Music Awards and gave several interviews as a group, but diehard fans were disappointed when it did not amount to a reunion.

In an interview published in October, Lance Bass told Newsweek that the chances of an NSYNC reunion were “looking good,” though he added that they each have “so many things” to “deliver in our own lives before any of this happens.”

Chasez has now told Newsweek about his own position on a possible reunion and explained what has been keeping him busy in the interim.

“The reality is, Justin has got a tour, and I’m working on the beginnings of [a musical], and my goal is to see it through. But that being said, the communication is always…we’re always talking to each other all the time.”

“Everybody’s asked more recently because we made a piece of music—and we hadn’t done that in 20-plus years, or whatever. So, you know, the conversation has been taking place more than it ever has in the last 15 years, I’ll say that.

“But right now, the focus is on the projects that we’re working on—but the mumblings and the rumblings are more than they’ve been in the past,” he said.

‘Playing with Fire’

As for the work keeping Chasez busy, the musician recently released his album Playing with Fire, a musical theater concept. The 16-track project, a collaboration with award-winning songwriter Jimmy Harry, is based on a script of the same name by Harry’s late mother, the dramatist Barbara Field.

The musical reimagines Mary Shelley’s classic novel Frankenstein and follows a conversation between the protagonist, Dr. Victor Frankenstein, and his creation, The Creature. They speak at the grave of the doctor’s wife, Elizabeth, 10 years after her murder by The Creature.

“This is only the beginning of this project,” Chasez told Newsweek as he shared plans for it to spawn a show. “The real challenges are ahead for this piece. It’s like the music is an appetizer for the musical. I want to make a musical with talented and interesting people and to get this story on its feet and in front of audiences.

“And so the thing that I’m excited about now is working with directors, working with producers, and then crafting the music between the songs. And because we’ve written a book as well for this, we’re working on the [show] through workshops.

“Really, I want to see the completed vision—that’s going to be my big push in the coming years ahead.”

New Direction

Playing with Fire could mark the first of many things of a similar ilk to come creatively from Chasez.

“I’ve got the bug,” he said. “I wouldn’t mind writing another one, to be honest with you, because I like that it gives me an opportunity to do kind of all things—to make music, but to see it in a way that is also [a] performance.

“It also gives me an opportunity to make something, and if I get to sing on it, or whatever, in the creation process, great. But I also look forward to the opportunity to see somebody else sing it, and then I can work on something else that’s exciting to me.”

However, that doesn’t mean that fans should expect no more commercial music from the star.

“I definitely want to be in this space right now, and I do think I want to create more in this space,” he said. “But because of the day and age we live in, if I ever want to release something for myself, it’s it’s actually more accessible than it’s ever been. So if that opportunity arises, and I feel artistically that it’s the right thing for me, I would do it.

“But for right now, I am very focused on this because I’ll be honest with you, it’s inspired something inside of me. It’s gotten me very excited.”

Creating a ‘Monster’

Chasez has a brewing passion for bringing the story to life on the stage and wants to tell the story of a misunderstood figure to a new audience.

“I think the thing that attracted me to this Frankenstein piece is that I read it in a different way later in life, and I thought that I genuinely had something to offer this story with my point of view and with my co-writers,” he said. “When we started just talking about the story, we felt like the Frankenstein story being one of the first sci-fi stories written for modern time is one thing that’s exciting—it’s timeless.”

Tying the story to how artificial intelligence has proliferated in many areas of industry and everyday life, he went on: “The thing that humanity at this point is dealing with is something that is wonderful, but it’s also something that needs to be respected, and you need to be very responsible with.

“But the thing about this, our version of Frankenstein, is while we certainly put the science in there, we think that what we’ve done is really focus on the humanity and the relationships of the characters in Frankenstein…What we really got to the heart of in our telling is, this is a father-and-son story, and they’re working through some very human emotions and feelings.”

As for his own feelings on AI, Chasez accepts that while it’s here to stay, respect must be applied in its use.

“I don’t know if you can’t control it. I think you just have to approach any technology responsibly,” he said. “Whatever you want to say, I think everything that we create, we need to be thoughtful about, and we need to respect that. If it exists, what are the consequences of that?

“The musical is called Playing with Fire. Fire is an amazing technology, right? It keeps us warm at night. And yet, when it runs wild, it wreaks havoc on society—it’s a very dangerous thing…

“As we’re working with AI, we have to treat it responsibly and we have to respect [it], because it’s now created, it’s out there in the world, and it’s going to continue to evolve. So it’s just a matter of, as it’s evolving, how are we interfacing with it, and…how responsible are we being when we’re interfacing with it?”

“In our story, the reason why The Creature is perceived as a monster, and the creature eventually commits murder [is explored],” he added. “There are questions on who’s really responsible for that murder. Did The Creature behave that way because he was taught to behave that way? Or could he have chosen another path?

“Would The Creature have been different if it wasn’t treated the way that it was if it wasn’t shown to be that way? That’s the underlying theme in the story as well. Who’s the real monster? There’s a scientist and The Creature, but who’s the monster?”