Truth is indeed stranger than fiction.

2gether, the fictitious boy band concocted for an MTV original TV-movie of the same name, has outsold 'NSYNC on the singles chart for two weeks running.

The group's "The Hardest Part Of Breaking Up (Is Getting Back Your Stuff)" has outpaced 'NSYNC's "It's Gonna Be Me" by about 10,000 units over the past two weeks; on this week's SoundScan singles sales chart, 2gether comes in five slots ahead of 'NSYNC at number 14.

As further evidence that the group is turning into what it was intended to spoof, 2gether's second album, "2gether Again," sold more than 42,000 copies in its first week, landing the CD at number 26 on next week's "Billboard" album chart (see "Nelly Stays On Top As 'Backstage,' 2gether Hit Chart").

The five members of 2gether -- Evan Farmer ("Jerry O'Keefe"), Michael Cuccione ("Jason 'Q.T.' McKnight"), Alex Solowitz ("Mickey Parke"),

Noah Bastian ("Chad Linus"), and Kevin Farley ("Doug Linus") -- were tapped to star in director Nigel Dick's "Spinal Tap"-like spoof of boy band mania. Now, the group has gone on to spawn two albums, a weekly TV series, and even a stint on Britney Spears' recent tour (see "2gether To Open Select Shows For Britney Spears").

On Wednesday, MTV News caught up with the prefab five as they met the press before the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards and talked to the band about the secrets behind their semi-ironic success.

"We basically have two types of fans right now," Kevin Farley explained. "Those who like our music, and those who get the joke. We live in both worlds at the same time, and that's fine with us.

"We're surprised that we've done so well," he admitted. "We're

happy."

"Pop music is where it's at right now," Evan Farmer said, "so if we tap that market to get people to watch our show -- Tuesday nights at 10 p.m. [laughs] -- then we're stoked, 'cause we think we have a great show. We're having a lot of fun, and we want to share that." [RealVideo]

He added, "Everybody gets the joke, pretty much, and they like the music, 'cause it's funny. The music is actually pretty good, but the majority of everybody gets a kick out of us." [RealVideo]

The "2gether" TV series picks up where the movie left off and airs, as "Jerry" said, Tuesday nights at 10 p.m. (ET), with regular encore presentations throughout the week.