Justin Timberlake dishes out details about origin of NSYNC single ‘It’s Gonna Be Me’

Justin Timberlake has recently dished out details about the origins of much-memed NSYNC single It’s Gonna Be Me.

Speaking on YouTube series Hot Ones, Timberlake explained why he mispronounce me in the 2000 hit track appeared on the band’s third studio album, No Strings Attached.

The five members currently reunited for NSYNC, Timberlake, JC Chasez, Joey Fatone, Chris Kirkpatrick and Lance Bass, who were also part of the interview.

During the show, the host questioned the members, “Fact or fiction: the hook on ‘It’s Gonna Be Me’ has that ‘may’ [pronunciation] cause Justin got a note from a producer that was, ‘Yeah, I need you to say it more like, “may”, like a meaner “me” in the recording booth.”

Timberlake replied, “I don’t remember if the specifics were ‘a meaner me’. But I sang, ‘It’s gonna be me’ and he was like, ‘No, no, no, no, no.’ He was like, ‘It’s ‘may’. May.’”

The host further asked if the meaning had been “lost in translation”.

However, Timberlake added, “You know what’s funny, specifically to Max Martin, the parts of their English that were broken actually made them catchier songwriters because they would put words in a way that almost didn’t make sense, but when you sang them, they were more memorable.”

“And yes, it was a specific note that I got, and I was just like, ‘This guy’s crazy’... I did it the way that he requested, and that’s what made the record,” he concluded.

Earlier this month, the members of NSYNC reunited at the MTV Video Music Awards for the first time in 10 years.