Stray Kids Perform *NSYNC Tribute at American Music Awards 50th Anniversary Special
Stray Kids recreated *NSYNC’s puppet-inspired “Bye Bye Bye” performance at the 2000 American Music Awards almost 25 years later with their own twist.
*NSYNC members Lance Bass and JC Chasez introduced the group, with the former explaining that the AMAs “have been around long enough for a lot of boy bands to have grown up on the show.”
A boy band retrospective was shown, depicting everyone from BTS to the Backstreet Boys, New Edition to One Direction accepting awards.
Stray Kids then took the stage, slumped over with strings attached much like *NSYNC in the video for “Bye Bye Bye.” The group launched into the choreography for the pop hit, recently repopularized by Deadpool and Wolverine. Alongside a crowd of dancers, the group also performed their song “Chk Chk Boom,” while being sure to weave in some *NSYNC into it.
In a chat with Billboard, the group revealed the performance was developed in collaboration with *NSYNC, calling the experience “memorable” and “special.”
The night was full of tributes to past AMA winners and performances. Jennifer Hudson donned a custom black La Roxx gown inspired by Whitney Houston’s 1994 American Music Awards performance and performed a medley of the singer’s greatest hits, “I Loves You, Porgy,” “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” and “I Have Nothing.”
Kane Brown also hit the stage to pay tribute to country legend Alan Jackson with a cover of “Drive (For Daddy Gene)” before launching into his latest collaboration with Marshmello, “Miles on It,” while London-born RAYE honored the legacy of James Brown, who received the American Music Award of Merit.
And despite St. Lunatics suing their former leader Nelly for unpaid royalties and lack of credit, they all set aside their differences for their first performance in years. Nelly also invited fellow St. Louis natives J-Kwon, who is experiencing revitalized success for Shaboozey interpolating his song “Tipsy,” and Chingy for a medley of their early 2000s club hits.
As for *NSYNC, Joey Fatone recently told PEOPLE that while a reunion hasn’t been discussed, that doesn’t mean it won’t happen.
“Hopefully at some point when [Justin] is done with his tour, we’ll sit down and go, ‘What are we doing?’ and figure it out. I would love to have that conversation, whether yes or no — I just want to know,” he said.