Ten Reasons Why It's Not Pathetic for a Grown Woman to Go See NKOTB

In case you haven’t heard (because you’ve been doing some kind of David Blaine situation where you live inside a sealed barrel for one year and eat your own pee) New Kids on the Block is teaming up with Boyz II Men and 98 Degrees for a 2013 stadium-sweeping super-tour called THE PACKAGE. Ahem. Now, if you know anything about me, boyz, men, degrees, Jordan Knights, motownphillies, and packages, obviously I will be attending this concert. Obviously.

But why? Isn’t that a little…sad? Aren’t you a little…old?

Bitchez. No. Hush. You know, back in 2000, when I was 18 years old, I attended ‘N Sync’s No Strings Attached tour at the Tacoma Dome. (P!nk was the open!ng act. It was amazing. Retract your claws, jealous lioness.) And the thing was, I was self-conscious then. I felt over-the-hill then. And I was 18! I didn’t even have any weird skin tags yet! But part of aging is harnessing the power to do what makes you happy without giving a fuck—I am older and wiser now, and I will go see Digital Underground at a suburban casino on a Thursday if I want to. By myself! I don’t give a shit! I’m 30!

But if you’re still unconvinced—if you still think it’s sad and pathetic and looptid for an adult woman to pay money to watch middle-aged pop stars pantomime their former glory for a stadium full of moms—here are some facts that might convince you.

1. Nostalgia is powerful. Boyz II Men was middle school for me and a lot of people I know. We associate these things with defining moments in our lives. Like, I’m sure a lot of people had their first kiss to “On Bended Knee,” or…maybe…had their first kiss to “On Bended Knee” during Boyz II Men’s fourth reunion tour. So some of us were a little behind. Whatever. It’s not like I wanted to kiss any of those gross boys in middle school anyway. Sob.

2. Sometimes it feels good to do something pure and uncynical just because you want to. Sometimes it feels good to stop pretending to be cooler than you are. I was just chatting with a friend about this tour and she said, “In high school I felt like I was supposed to like Daria and stuff more than I liked ‘N Sync, but I REALLY LIKED ‘N SYNC.” Pop music is fun (and it’s also “real music,” dum-dums, so shut uuuuuup).