Entertainment Music Justin Timberlake Pokes Fun at the Mispronunciation That Inspired 'It's Gonna Be May' Meme Timberlake sang the titular line of *NSYNC's "It's Gonna Be Me" in a way that "haunts" him to this day, he joked on social media By Jack Irvin Jack Irvin Jack Irvin has over five years of experience working in digital journalism, and he’s worked at PEOPLE since 2022. Jack started in the industry with internships at Rolling Stone and Entertainment Tonight, and he worked as a freelance writer for publications including Bustle, MTV News, Shondaland, L’Officiel USA, Ladygunn, Flood and PopCrush before joining PEOPLE. In his current role, Jack covers daily music news and has interviewed both up-and-coming and established artists including Dolly Parton, Michelle Branch, Ashanti, Cyndi Lauper, Normani, Carly Rae Jepsen and Coco Jones. People Editorial Guidelines Published on April 30, 2024 10:00PM EDT Justin Timberlake at the MTV VMAs in Newark in September 2023. Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images May is almost here, and that's a bit triggering for Justin Timberlake. In a video shared to social media on Tuesday, the 43-year-old Grammy winner joked about his pronunciation of the titular line in *NSYNC's 2000 hit "It's Gonna Be Me" and how it spawned endless "It's gonna be May" memes. "What's a word you pronounced incorrectly one time and it still haunts you to this day?" asked influencer @umgabi in a TikTok video, which Timberlake stitched with a hilarious response, as he said in a front-facing clip: "Um... 'Me.'" Joey Fatone Reveals *NSYNC Share Their Own 'It's Gonna Be May' Memes in Group Chat: 'It's Funny!' (Exclusive) Decades ago, *NSYNC fans began circulating endless clips of the boy band members' distinct singing of the word "me" in the song, pairing the moment with pictures of the "SexyBack" singer in various scenarios. His bandmate Joey Fatone recently told PEOPLE the group trade "It's gonna be May" memes back and forth in an *NSYNC text chain. "There was the one meme that was like, Justin looking like he was dressed up in something from the Night's Watch from Game of Thrones and I sent him one of those," he said. Guess What? It's Gonna Be May: Everything to Know About the Annual Justin Timberlake Meme "It was really funny. Every once in a while, one of us will find a good one and we'll send it on the group text," added Fatone, 47, who explained the meme "wasn't even a thing" upon the chart-topping song's initial release on *NSYNC's No Strings Attached album. "It was just, 'It's gonna be me.' When you sing it, it sounds a lot harsher if you're trying to go, 'It's gonna be meeeee.' It doesn't sound very good to the ear," he said. "So when we pronounced it, [producer] Max Martin came up with the idea of saying, 'It's gonna be May.' But we never knew that it was going to take off and become its own thing. And every year you get crazy stuff. But it's hilarious. And we might as well embrace it." Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. *NSYNC at the MTV VMAs in September 2023. Kevin Mazur/Getty *NSYNC Addresses 'It's Gonna Be Me' Meme and Pronunciation: 'It Was a Specific Note' Last year, Timberlake similarly recalled the story behind the lyric's pronunciation in an interview alongside Fatone, JC Chasez, Lance Bass and Chris Kirkpatrick on Hot Ones. "I sang, ‘It’s gonna be me,'" recalled the "Rock Your Body" performer, "and [Martin] was like, ‘No, no, no, no, no.’ He was like, ‘It’s may, MAY.'”