I may owe Chippendales an apology. Or they owe me a thank you. I’m not really sure.

Jeff Timmons in Chippendales at the Rio

See, back in February, I criticized the long-running male revue because its first-ever featured star—Ronnie Ortiz-Magro of Jersey Shore fame—failed to appear onstage in the iconic black-and-white bowtie and cuffs. Some muffled words and a flash of abs does not a guest star make—making the promised “Ultimate Girls Night Out” less than ultimate.

Enter Jeff Timmons.

The former 98 Degrees member signed on as Chippendales second guest star, and he delivered what the gorilla juicehead could not. During the sold-out grand opening of his monthlong stint, he went shirtless by ripping his white tank top off, sported the iconic (half) outfit and performed a medley of his boy-band hits, which, for all those *NSync fans like myself who weren’t paying attention, were “Because of You,” “The Hardest Thing,” “I Do (Cherish You)” and “Give Me Just One Night (Una Noche).” For anyone who showed up early enough, he also pulled at the heartstrings by appearing on the red carpet with his young son—both of them in the Chipppendales getup.

Ultimate? Now we’re getting there.

Timmons stopped just short of showing the man-ass I requested back in February, but I will take what I can get. After all, good man-ass is difficult to find.