How *NSYNC and Backstreet Boys Turned 'It's Gonna Be May' into an Unlikely Boyband Alliance

Every April 30, social feeds turn into a synchronized chorus of Justin Timberlake’s curled-lip enunciation from 2000’s hit single "It's Gonna Be Me." What began over a decade ago as an organic Tumblr joke has evolved into an inescapable seasonal ritual. This spring, the internet calendar tradition took an unexpected turn when *NSYNC's Joey Fatone and Backstreet Boys' AJ McLean joined forces for an overt commercial takeover.

As detailed in a [Yahoo Creators Report](https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMilAJBVV95cUxNZV9CMmNDMFVnZnFsTzZDUlJhUWZPRFBRYmk4ZHA5YUVCMHczVGVxTlpfS01UN3lYU0tUREtRclRBVWg5bTVUTW1YZWlpU0RWZjh0NERzN20xNUxscUUzTXBnelNfLXFGdkNKTW00RTNzUG1RSUtPSlVQNTNXQ0sycUVTZGR1ZEZSNldZY29yUTBvMUh5Zzk4YWY2NzEzdjZ3VnYtcWNZbmQtdldDY1JrZnRMV1lENUs2TVZYZDJhTHh5M2k5bDQ5RUE2M0puaGxUNW9hM09OOGF0VWlocFcwakpONUdrX3czd0dHNm44Ri1OSnE5N2lUdU5nYkdwWHZCZ2JQcU15Vnk4TDdoUDljUjlkemQ?oc=5), the two pop veterans appeared together at Great Wolf Lodge to launch a viral cross-brand campaign, effectively putting the final nail in the manufactured 1990s boy band feud while converting peak internet nostalgia into hospitality bookings.

📌 Key Takeaways:

• The Commercial Shift: Joey Fatone and AJ McLean paired up for Great Wolf Lodge's "It's Gonna Be May" campaign, offering promotional overnight stays starting at $84 per night to capture annual meme traffic.
• Burying the Rivalry: The collaboration dismantles the lingering narrative of a bitter *NSYNC versus Backstreet Boys feud, showing how late-90s pop tension has transformed into a collaborative business alliance.
• Pop Culture Longevity: Justin Timberlake's Swedish-produced vowel pronunciation from the 2000 track "It's Gonna Be Me" remains one of the few organic early-web memes to retain sustained cultural relevance.

From Max Martin's Phonetics to Tumblr Gold: The Meme's Origins

The genesis of the phenomenon dates back to Cheiron Studios in Stockholm. Legendary Swedish pop producers Max Martin and Rami Yacoub instructed a 19-year-old Justin Timberlake to over-enunciate the word "me" as "may" to make the vocal track cut through aggressive synthesizer arrangements and compression. That deliberate phoneme twist helped propel "It's Gonna Be Me" to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in July 2000, giving *NSYNC their sole number-one single in the United States.

The cultural inflection point arrived on January 29, 2012, when a Tumblr user posted an image of an April calendar page featuring Timberlake’s frosted curls above the simple caption: "It's Gonna Be May." By 2014, the joke was a certified digital holiday. Even Timberlake surrendered to the wave, posting an annual acknowledgment every April 30. Unlike most viral formats that burn out within months, this one tied itself to a recurring calendar event, guaranteeing an automatic traffic spike every spring.

The Great Wolf Lodge Gambit: Turning an April 30 Joke into Booked Rooms

Brands spent years posting desperate social copy trying to ride the wave with lukewarm results. In late April, indoor water park resort chain Great Wolf Lodge took a different approach by recruiting Fatone and McLean to anchor their seasonal push. Rather than a standard digital ad, the resort chain launched a limited-time flash discount, offering family suite reservations starting at $84 per night across select domestic locations.

The campaign video featured Fatone and McLean lounging poolside in robes, poking fun at boy band choreography and singing their respective catalogs. The stunt drove immediate engagement across TikTok and Instagram. It succeeded because it paired authentic self-deprecation with actual consumer savings, turning an ephemeral social media trend into quantifiable booking revenue.

Tracking the Cultural Shift of "It's Gonna Be May"

The transition from mid-2000s boy band tension to corporate joint venture highlights how aging fandoms consume legacy entertainment. The table below traces the shift over the past two decades.

Deconstructing the Myth: Why the Boy Band Rivalry Collapsed

During the height of total request culture in 1999, teenage fans treated the split between the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC as an absolute cultural divide. You bought the oversized cargo pants and backed BSB, or you bleached your hair and rallied behind *NSYNC. Record labels and teen magazines actively stoked this division to inflate record sales.

Behind the scenes, the dynamic looked entirely different. Both groups shared management ties under Lou Pearlman and operated out of Orlando studios, frequently running into one another at rehearsals and award ceremonies. During an interview with radio station 97.9 WRMF, McLean admitted the friction was manufactured by record executives looking to mirror historic rock rivalries.

Fatone echoed the sentiment, pointing out that maturity and family life stripped away whatever brief creative competition existed. Today, both singers tour together under collaborative banners like "Joey & AJ Live," blending Backstreet harmonies with *NSYNC choreography. The lingering rivalry exists only in 25-year-old internet forum archives.

Sphere Residencies and the Economics of 90s Nostalgia

During their joint media rounds, McLean joked about having "Sphere jealousy" watching modern rock and pop acts book long-term dates at Las Vegas's high-tech entertainment venue. His candid quip points to a broader trend: the commercial resilience of late-90s pop IP.

Millennials who bought cassette singles in 1999 now represent the primary spending demographic for experiential travel, live entertainment, and nostalgic family vacations. Combining forces allows legacy acts to pool ticket demand without carrying the massive overhead of full-group arena reunions. When Timberlake, JC Chasez, and the rest of *NSYNC staged brief reunion appearances for the Trolls Band Together soundtrack, demand broke social algorithms. By teaming with McLean, Fatone found a way to service that nostalgia on a continuous, agile scale.

Why Most Brands Fail to Harness Holiday Web Humor

Most corporate attempts to leverage recurring internet memes fall flat because marketing teams arrive late and take themselves too seriously. Slapping an image macro on a corporate Twitter account often comes across as clumsy posturing.

The Great Wolf Lodge campaign succeeded by avoiding corporate vanity. They brought in actual participants from the original cultural moment, embraced self-effacing humor, and gave consumers an actionable benefit. Offering concrete hotel discounts tied directly to an annual joke gave fans a reason to share the post without feeling like unwitting corporate shills.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: Who originally sang the line behind the "It's Gonna Be May" meme?

A1: Justin Timberlake sang the lead vocal on *NSYNC's hit single "It's Gonna Be Me," which was released in 2000 on their multi-platinum album No Strings Attached.

Q2: Why do *NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys collaborate despite their past rivalry?

A2: The perceived hostility between the two groups was largely orchestrated by marketing teams and teen magazines in the late 1990s. Joey Fatone and AJ McLean have repeatedly confirmed they remained friendly off-camera and now actively tour together.

Q3: What specific promotion was tied to the Great Wolf Lodge meme campaign?

A3: The resort chain launched an "It's Gonna Be May" seasonal promotion that cut room rates down to $84 per night for select family suites when booked during late April.

The Staying Power of Pop's Most Predictable Day

The annual resurgence of "It's Gonna Be May" demonstrates how early internet culture carved out permanent real estate in mainstream media. Max Martin's vocal coaching created an accidental earworm that social media users spent fifteen years turning into a fixture on the calendar. By leaning into that shared history instead of fighting it, veterans like Joey Fatone and AJ McLean have shown how legacy artists can extend their careers and keep two-decade-old music relevant to an audience that grew up alongside them.