Justin Timberlake Will Apparently Reunite with 'N Sync at the VMAs

You know you're a '90s kid if—well, if you've been thrown into a frenzy by unconfirmed reports that A-list boy band 'N Sync will reunite at Sunday night's MTV Video Music Awards.

You know you're a '90s kid if—well, if you've been thrown into a frenzy by unconfirmed reports that A-list boy band 'N Sync will reunite at Sunday night's MTV Video Music Awards.

Justin Timberlake is already slated to perform at the award ceremony, where he will be presented with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, along with six nominations. But the New York Post's Page Six is now reporting that his teenage-years bandmates—Lance Bass, J.C. Chasez, Joey Fatone, and Chris Kirkpatrick—will emerge onstage for a full-scale reunion. If true, that would be the first public 'N Sync performance since the members sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" at their 2004 Challenge for the Children basketball tournament nine years ago. (The group had gone on hiatus in 2002, when Timberlake wisely opted to focus on his solo career.) It could also mean several other things:

• MTV has done a terrible job of keeping its VMA surprises a secret. (Recall that Stephen Colbert popped the lid on Daft Punk's slated appearance during a spat with MTV. One week later, we learned that Robin Thicke is also onboard.)
• Timberlake is willing to do anything he can to drive up excitement for his forthcoming The 20/20 Experience: 2 of 2, particularly now that buzz surrounding his initial comeback in the spring and his summer tour with Jay Z has died down. (Even if that means diluting the prestige of his luxury brand by appearing with his former bandmates, none of whom have sustained an A-list career the way he has.)
• Given current boy band hysteria surrounding the Jonas Brothers and One Direction, now is about as logical a time to reunite as any other.
• Nostalgia sells. (Duh.)

There's no word on whether the reunion performance will lead to anything or if it's an, err, no-strings-attached deal. But Twitter has launched into full-on wisecrack mode:

Howie Dorough woke up on a pile of old pizza boxes thrilled to hear about the N'Sync reunion, only to remember he was in the Backstreet Boys

— Evan Mulgrave (@EMulg) August 20, 2013

"Sorry, no, I can't come to the NSYNC reunion," Joey Fatone says, hanging up the phone. Quietly, he whispers to himself: "I'm too busy"

— Sam Lansky (@samlansky) August 20, 2013

Shocker: J.C. Chasez, Lance Bass, Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick had nothing else going on for Aug. 25

— Jeevan Brar (@JeevanBrar) August 20, 2013

Anyway, prepare with 'N Sync's performance at the 2000 VMAs: