Justin Timberlake Explains ‘It’s Gonna Be Me’ Meme Origins
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00:00 - In the "Vector Fiction," the hook on "It's gonna be me"
00:02 has that May punctuation because Justin got a note
00:05 from a producer that was,
00:06 "Yeah, I need you to say it more like May,
00:08 like a meaner me."
00:10 - I don't remember if the specifics were a meaner me,
00:14 but I was, I sang, ♪ It's gonna be me ♪
00:17 And he was like, "No, no, no, no, no, no."
00:20 And he was like, "It's May, May."
00:23 ♪ It's gonna be May ♪
00:24 - Yeah, I knew one day they're gonna invent this thing
00:27 called memes. - Memes.
00:28 - Yeah, while NSYNC was saying,
00:30 ♪ Bye, bye, bye ♪
00:31 To their taste buds on "Hot Ones" season 22 premiere.
00:34 - Uh-oh. - Oh yeah, there it comes.
00:36 Oh yeah, there it goes. - Wrong order.
00:38 - Stop.
00:39 - Justin Timberlake spilled deets on the origin
00:41 behind his viral "It's gonna be May" meme.
00:43 - I'm just enjoying the ride.
00:45 - It's a ride Justin goes on every year
00:47 as the band's song makes its rounds on social media
00:49 near the end of April,
00:51 all thanks to how JT uniquely pronounced the word "me."
00:54 ♪ Baby, when you find the beat ♪
00:57 ♪ You can love somebody ♪
01:00 ♪ There is a word ♪
01:02 ♪ It's gonna be May ♪
01:04 - And now Justin's revealing who's truly responsible
01:07 for that internet gem,
01:08 giving credit to or maybe calling out
01:11 the Swedish producers behind the track.
01:13 - I sang, "It's gonna be May."
01:15 And he was like, "No, no, no, no, no."
01:17 And he was like, "It's May, May."
01:20 - You also remember their Swedish accents.
01:21 - Yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:22 - And they had done a demo of it
01:24 and they were like, "It's like this."
01:26 They would put words away that almost didn't make sense,
01:28 but when you sang them, they were more memorable.
01:31 ♪ It's gonna be May ♪
01:33 - It was a specific note that I got
01:34 and I was just like, "This guy's crazy."
01:36 (laughing)
01:37 And, "This is gonna be so meme-worthy."
01:40 Yeah, I knew one day,
01:41 they're gonna invent this thing called memes.
01:44 But yes, it was a specific note
01:46 and I did it the way that he requested
01:49 and that's what made the record.
01:51 - Justin's explanation comes just days
01:53 after he poked fun at the meme on TikTok.
01:55 - It's crazy.
01:56 - The singer sharing this video,
01:57 which now has over 30 million views,
02:00 answering the prompt.
02:01 - So, where do you pronounce incorrectly one time
02:03 and it still haunts you to this day?
02:05 - Justin's answer.
02:06 - Me.
02:09 ♪ It's gonna be May ♪
02:11 - But hey, NSYNC fans are so here for the nostalgia,
02:14 especially since the group reunited at the MTV VMAs.
02:17 - Over 20 years ago, we were just kids
02:19 when we won Best Pop Video for "Bye Bye Bye."
02:23 (crowd cheering)
02:26 It was our first VMA and it meant the world to us.
02:29 - And that reunion quickly sparked tour rumors.
02:32 ♪ You're all I ever wanted ♪
02:37 ♪ You're all I ever needed ♪
02:41 But at 90sCon over the weekend,
02:42 Joey Fatone set the record straight.
02:45 - No, I do not know if there is a tour.
02:48 Trust me, you're being heard.
02:50 - In the meantime, NSYNC is giving fans a new song,
02:52 "Better Place" for the third "Trolls" movie.
02:55 ♪ Just let me take you to a better place ♪
02:58 - Who's ready for a reunion?
03:00 ♪ I don't mind that the world spins faster ♪
03:05 ♪ Faster, faster ♪
03:07 ♪ Just let me take you to a better place ♪
03:11 - I think the trick was to try to capture both,
03:14 you know, for our fans that have been with us for so long,
03:18 you know, to give them something that felt
03:20 not necessarily nostalgic, but familiar.
03:23 And then, you know, see if we could, you know,
03:25 take that sound and make it feel modern.
03:29 - As for if fans will hear the song live,
03:31 well, Joey says that's not totally out of the question.
03:34 - Obviously, Justin's gonna be coming up in hell,
03:36 so he's gonna be probably doing a tour,
03:38 so I'm sure he's doing that,
03:39 and then we're gonna hopefully cross our fingers,
03:41 I can't promise, but I'll believe we'll still be together.
03:44 (crowd cheering)
03:46 (upbeat music)
03:49 (upbeat music)
03:52 [BLANK_AUDIO]