This Pop Star Appeared in a ’99 *NSYNC Special When She Was Only 6 Years Old

When *NSYNC were performing at sold-out shows in the ’90s, they had no idea who exactly was filling those seats, let alone that one concertgoer would end up becoming one of the biggest pop stars of her generation. Upon celebrating 25 years since their debut, the band members reflected on various moments from the past with People, including one concert special, where Ariana Grande was caught singing along from the audience.

The moment can be seen in the clip below (at 1:51), where the camera pans to a 6-year-old Grande, who is being held by her mother, Joan. The singer attended the show in Fort Lauderdale, and the footage was used for a pay-per-view special in ’99.

The band members commented on the special moment, with Joey Fatone telling People, “It's the circle of life. It is, because now whoever's watching Ari is going to be like, ‘I want to be that woman. I want to be up there.’ And whoever's in that audience, that person is there at some point in time to get the chance—it's there.”

Fatone also joked, “It is weird to see...to see even celebrities come up and say, ‘Listen, I used to listen to your music when I was 8, 9 years old.’ You're like, ‘Oh crap, I'm old.’” However, he added, “But it's also amazing. I actually did what I said I was going to do. That's the most amazing and rewarding thing for me in my life. I really think it is because it's one of those things where a lot of people don't get a chance to live out their dreams.”

Chris Kirkpatrick also commented on this iconic moment, saying, “We were not only enjoying it and hoping that our fans would enjoy it and doing it for them, but then, now our fans are becoming these people as well. They're giving back and they're in the midst of...Ariana is in the midst of being Ariana. Some day she's going to get to a point where she can stop and go, ‘Wow, look at not only what I've done, but who I've inspired.’”

In fact, Grande did invite four of the former members of *NSYNC to the stage for Coachella back in 2019. The boy band joined the singer for a rendition of their hit “Tearin' Up My Heart.”

This is a new pop music fact that we'll never forget.

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