What if I were to tell you that legends of ’90s pop, R&B and hip-hop joined forces to recreate classic ’80s music videos in a brand new song that somehow feels completely 2022?
Indeed, the impossible was accomplished. And it’s the earworm no one knew they needed.
The guest list for this nostalgia party is beyond impressive: New Kids on the Block invited En Vogue (yes), Salt-N-Pepa (you heard right) and Rick Astley (this is not a drill) to play in their new song “Bring Back the Time,” dropping ahead of the band’s MixTape Tour 2022. If this song is any indication of the tour, listeners are in for a rollercoaster ride of throwbacks. We’re talking a no-holds-barred barrage of crazy hairstyles and synth sounds galore.
The video has 12, count ’em, 12 references to songs from the ’80s. En Vogue transform into cheerleaders from Toni Basil’s “Mickey.” (You know, the song from “Bring It On?”) Salt-N-Pepa nail brazen glamor while channeling Madonna’s “Vogue.” Rick Astley kills it as David Byrne. NKOTB are fearlessly silly wearing those weird red bucket hats from Devo’s “Whip It.”
And yeah, that barely scratches the surface.
And while at first the tribute might seem only entertaining for the Gen X and millennial crowd, it’s the pure celebration of joy that makes the song instantly universal. Not to mention that ’80s sounds are totally making a comeback in the modern music scene.