Joey Fatone didn’t expect to say “Bye, Bye, Bye” to *NSYNC when he did.
The singer/TV personality, 46, opened up to Yahoo! Entertainment in an interview published Tuesday about his *NSYNC bandmate Justin Timberlake’s decision to go solo and their eventual split. He admitted that while he wasn’t “blindsided” by the band’s hiatus, he was by the fact that Timberlake, 42, was busy with his personal career.
“I wasn’t blindsided by the break; I was more blindsided as far as him coming out with music and not knowing he was going to go and do an actual album/tour,” Fatone told the paper.
*NSYNC’s Recent Reunion Timeline: From VMAs to ‘Trolls’ Soundtrack
He continued, “It was more like, ‘Hey, I’m going to play and then we’ll meet again.’ That’s what it was.”
The singer shared that he and his bandmates thought *NSNYC would resume normal operations after the “SexyBack” artist returned from his Justified The world tour, which lasted from May 2003 to June 2004 and followed the release of his debut solo album of the same name. “We thought he would just go out and come back after [Justified] tour. I said, OK. But he went on tour and then things took off.”
*NSYNC in 1999.
Bob Berg/Getty
Meet the children of *NSYNC’s bandmates
The Dancing with the stars the runner-up also clarified that he now understands that the changes the pop band went through were not solely his bandmate’s choice. “And it wasn’t him — it was the record company,” Fatone explained. “If it was him, then I would understand it. When you’re younger, you think it’s that person. But then you look at the whole bigger scheme of things and you say, ‘Oh, that’s why I wasn’t there for that.’ It’s a job. Okay, I get it.”
Fatone also told Yahoo! Fun that the band’s hiatus ended up being positive, so he was able to do “his own thing,” including Broadway and TV. “That’s the beautiful part of it: my career and my life have taken me somewhere else, I’m fine and I’m happy with that,” he said.
*NSNYC reunited with their first song in over 20 years last Friday. After weeks of teasing, the ’90s icons have released “Better Place,” an original single featuring Trolls Band together sound recording.
All five members of the beloved group – Fatone, Timberlake, Chris Kirkpatrick, JC Chasez and Lance Bass – appear on the song, which is a catchy track that recalls their early boy band sound and has a contemporary disco-pop beat.
Lance Bass Says He Was Surprised The *NSYNC Fandom Would ‘Go Crazy’ Over Reunion — And Blames Taylor Swift
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Although the “Tearin’ Up My Heart” band has reunited in the past — joining each other at their 2018 Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony and teaming up to honor Timberlake’s Video Vanguard Award at the 2013 MTV VMAs — “Better Place” was they dropped new music for the first time in decades.
The five officially reunited this year at the VMAs in September, where they shocked fans when they appeared on stage together to present the award for Best Pop Video.
Since then, they’ve shared a handful of fun, heartfelt posts on social media celebrating the reunion.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education