The level of excitement shared by 30-somethings across my social media over the last few weeks has been unprecedented and bizarre, especially given that the reason is a smattering of press appearances and rumors surrounding a group of five men, all aged 40+, who were popular 20 years ago. 

Last week, the 1990s/early 2000s hit boy band *NSYNC released a new song, “Better Place,” which is from the movie “Trolls Band Together,” set to come out in November, but also serves as a “reunion song” for the band. The song, while extremely catchy and playable, isn’t anything special — and that’s exactly why I love it. 

I spent many, many hours as a middle schooler listening to *NSYNC albums with my younger brother or friends, learning all the words to favorites like “Here We Go,” “Tearin’ Up My Heart,” and the ubiquitous “Bye, Bye, Bye.” 

These were the days pre-Spotify and iTunes, when you only got to hear your favorite songs if they came on the radio or when you saved up enough babysitting money, convinced your mom to drive you to Target or K-Mart, and bought a physical CD. With restrained thrill, my brother and I would unwrap a new CD like *NSYNC’s “No Strings Attached” from its fiddly shrink wrap, pop the disc in my boom box, and spend the next hour poring over the booklet included with the CD — which often contained lyrics for every song –- as we listened to each track. 

Somehow, *NSYNC reignited that anticipatory and genuine excitement over the last several weeks as it teased the new song and, many suspect, a reunion tour. (You best believe I’d fork over a significant chunk of change to see *NSYNC live in Michigan next year.)

“Better Place” sounds like the *NSYNC people my age know and love, but with a modern twist. Hearing the identifiable voices of Justin Timberlake and JC Chasez (and the rest of the band) awoke a long-asleep teenage excited in me. In an exciting twist, it’s a song my kids also discovered is perfect for dancing to, and I don’t have to worry about what the lyrics say, as like in most pop songs, the words don’t really mean much of anything. 

This is all we need from a song by the band 20 years after they lost popularity, and if the only people who download it are over the age of 30, that’s OK.