Britney can move, Christina can blow and *NSYNC got some street cred with 'Gone' — is blue-eyed soul the rebirth of cool?

IT WAS A seminal moment — as if life had just been discovered on Mars. The world's biggest boy band was on BET's 106 & Park, a show whose viewers tend to avoid the pop (read: white) fare you'd find on MTV's TRL. But with its precise, descending harmonies and shout-outs to "babygirl," *NSYNC's ballad 'Gone' is a straight-up R&B song, one that Stephen Hill, BET's Vice President of Music Programming and Talent, describes as "the best Michael Jackson song that Michael never recorded." With one hot track, Justin and the guys moonwalked from pop to urban — without losing cred in either camp.