Better Place (NSYNC song)

Last updated

"Better Place"
NSYNC - Better Place.png
Single by NSYNC
from the album Trolls Band Together (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
ReleasedSeptember 29, 2023 (2023-09-29)
RecordedMarch 2023 (2023-03) [1]
Genre Pop
Length3:37
Label RCA
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
NSYNC singles chronology
"Girlfriend"
(2002)		"Better Place"
(2023)
Lyric video
"Better Place" on YouTube

"Better Place" is a song by American vocal group NSYNC. It was released on September 29, 2023, through RCA as the lead single from the soundtrack of the film Trolls Band Together , in which band member Justin Timberlake voices the character Branch. He produced the song with Shellback and the two wrote it alongside Amy Allen. It serves as NSYNC's first release after a hiatus that lasted over twenty years and follows the release of their fourth studio album, Celebrity (2001). [2]

Contents

Release and promotion

Over two weeks before the release of the song, the band members put out a behind-the-scenes video, in which it showed the members recording their parts for the song. [3] A trailer video was also released, which included a pre-save link for the song and confirmed its release date. [4] Rumors of an NSYNC reunion have previously circulated after numerous posters of the film Trolls Band Together were spotted in New York City, which included the first letter of the band's logo and a QR code to the website TakeYouToABetterPlace.com to give a teaser of the song. [5] The band briefly reunited at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards on September 12, prior to the song's release on September 29, 2023. However, the song and film were reportedly not promoted by the band due to the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes. [6]

Composition and lyrics

"Better Place" is a pop song that is reminiscent of NSYNC's previous music from the late 1990s and early 2000s and is built on a disco pop instrumental as Timberlake, Chasez, Fatone, Kirkpatrick, and Bass sing the chorus: "Just let me take you to a better place / I'm gonna make you kiss the sky tonight / Yeah, if you let me show the way / I'm so excited to see you excited". [7] Timberlake first recorded a demo of the song in early 2023 before deciding to reunite the band and record it together, with the film's plot being considered a "perfect confluence" to carry that narrative. [8]

Commercial performance

"Better Place" debuted and peaked at number twenty-five on the Billboard Hot 100, tying the group's highest debut on the chart with their debut single, "I Want You Back". It became their thirteenth Hot 100 entry, eleventh top 40 appearance, and first since their previous single "Girlfriend" released in 2002. [9]

Critical reception

The single was positively reviewed by Sadie Bell of People , stating it as an "infectious pop banger — calling back the '90s and ‘00s icons' early boy band sound, while giving it a contemporary update with a disco-pop beat. Each member gets their own moment to shine, too, while Timberlake, 42, carries the chorus." [10]

Chuck Arnold of the New York Post gave a generally positive review: "Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, Lance Bass, Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick sound just in sync as ever on this buoyant bop from the "Trolls Band Together" soundtrack, which indeed takes you to a "Better Place." After a whistling intro — a hook that repeats throughout the song — it opens with what could be a statement about how they’re still better together after all these years: "It's some kind of love, it's some kind of fire/I'm already up, but you lift me higher." While other members of the group sing lead in the verses, it's Timberlake who owns the chorus with his familiar falsetto. And when he sings "I'm so excited to see you excited" over the bass-bumping disco groove, it’s as if he knows exactly how giddy this track is making *NSYNC fans all around the world."

Music video

A lyric video featuring characters from the Trolls Band Together movie was released on YouTube. [11] A fan documentary was then also shared on YouTube highlighting five of the group's biggest fans to star in the music video for "Better Place". It showcased the fans standing in for the band members and becoming *NSYNC as they perform choreography from the movie. [12] The lyric video has received over 10 million views on YouTube as of April 2024. [13]

Credits and personnel

Charts

Release history

Release dates and formats for "Better Place"
RegionDateFormatLabelRef.
VariousSeptember 29, 2023 RCA [44]
United StatesOctober 3, 2023 Contemporary hit radio [45]
ItalyOctober 6, 2023 Radio airplay Sony [46]
United StatesNovember 17, 2023 7-inch single [47]

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