‘N Sync's Joey Fatone and Lance Bass discuss ‘It's Gonna Be May' meme 25 years after song release

“It’s Gonna Be May” meme time has arrived — and ‘N Sync's Lance Bass and Joey Fatone are embracing it.

It’s been 25 years since 'N Sync released the song “It’s Gonna Be Me" as part of the boy band's "No Strings Attached" album. In an interview with TODAY.com, Bass and Fatone reflect on the success of the track and the timeless fame it reached, thanks to the internet.

Every year, when April is about to turn to May, fans circulate memes that show a snapshot of fellow band member Justin Timberlake and lyrics he sings in the song, which are tweaked to, “It’s Gonna Be May."

A classic version of the meme  those four words, while  asks, "Guess what tomorrow is?" before jumping into, "It's gonna be May," among  that have circulated online.

"'It’s Going to Be May’ time is always the gift that keeps on giving,” Bass tells TODAY.com.

While Fatone thinks the song is "fun" and "great" on its own, he says the group didn't see the next-level meme fame coming.

“It just brought it to a whole other level that we had no idea what was going to happen,” he says of the song becoming a meme. “Every year right before May, they just start flushing out everywhere.”

But what has helped it stand the test of time? Bass credits the fans.

“It’s the kids out there. They’re doing it” Bass explains. “I mean, memes last forever. Thank goodness. Who knew 25 years from now so remembered out of the way Justin pronounced ‘me?’ Thanks, Justin!”

The duo, who partnered with  for its upcoming May promotion, continue to lean into the popularity of the meme and how it spans across multiple generations.

Bass says , whom he welcomed with his husband, Michael Turchin, via surrogate in October 2021, aren’t old enough to celebrate the meme just yet. But Fatone, a , says his 15-year-old daughter, Kloey, is well aware of the internet trend — and is over it.

“My daughter, my younger one, she’s like ‘Oh, the memes are coming!’ And she tells everybody ‘Don’t send it to me, I don’t care.’ So, it’s a fun little thing that they do,” he says of his teenager's reaction. “It’s like they give it to more my kids in a sense jokingly. But we embrace it. I think it’s funny!”

“We’re nostalgic. We really are in the sense of that meme,” Fatone adds. “I think it just keeps going generation after generation.”

Bass and Fatone also reflected on the early 'N Sync years before they went on to hit global mega-stardom.

“When I look back at the 'N Sync days, those first few years are always my favorite,” Bass shares. “When we all lived in a house together. We didn’t have a record deal, we were working so hard, and it was just more of an innocent time."

Fatone echoes how unique those early years were.

“A lot of the boy bands out there will understand what we went through and how we went through it. Not many people can understand that,” says Fatone, who is currently starring on Broadway in "& Juliet."

“When we talk to some of the guys from even New Kids (On the Block) or Backstreet (Boys), they can really relate ... how fun it was, but also sometimes how challenging it was." 

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