Inside Justin Timberlake's Layered Exit From NSYNC

When you think of the 90s, an array of pop culture moments come to mind. From Pokémon and Game Boys to Wonder Ball's and mood rings, the decade was a time of bliss for many millennials everywhere. But nothing is more vivid than the resurgence of the boy band craze.

During this era, the world was introduced to numerous hunky groups that fueled pubescents worldwide, which included 98 Degrees, Boyz II Men, Backstreet Boys and O-Town. While the aforementioned groups delivered unforgettable hits, no band was more iconic than the boys of NSYNC. The group, made up of Lance Bass, Joey Fatone, Chris Kirkpatrick, JC Chasez and Justin Timberlake, made their debut in 1996 with their iconic single "I Want You Back". From that moment on, the band took the music world by storm with hits like "Tearing Up My Heart", "Here We Go" and of course "Bye Bye Bye". Alongside their number one singles, the band embarked on various nationwide tours, released two diamond-certified albums and dropped showstopping music videos that ruled MTV's TRL countdown. But after six years of skyrocketing success, the band crushed the hearts of millions when they announced their indefinite hiatus in 2002.

And given the major love for the guys, there was understandably a lot of speculation about what sparked the disbandment, and why Timberlake seemed more than ready to say "Bye Bye Bye" to the group.

Shortly after NSYNC's "hiatus" news, Justin Timberlake revealed that the move was a universal decision during a 2002 interview with the New York Post. "There's no reason my solo career and NSYNC can't coexist in the same universe," he said. "The break was a conscious move. We all wanted to do it, and we were ready to do it."

Over time, Timberlake has remained firm in his stance while also giving fans further insight regarding the band's unfortunate end. In a 2017 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the "Trolls" star compared the group to a "snowball fight" that started out as fun but ended up "becoming an avalanche." The singer-songwriter even alluded that he "cared" about the music more than "other people in the group." His prickly interview wasn't the last time he discussed the group's disbandment.

During a sit-down with Zane Lowe in 2020, Timberlake said stepping away from the band  "was a natural progression" for him. "At that time, I think everybody had aspirations of doing other things and we had talked about it," he said. "For me it was always- I mean, when I was ten years old, my dream was to have my own record."

This sentiment, however, hasn't been shared by some of his group mates.

In 2019, Lance Bass and Joey Fatone opened up to the HuffPost about about the mixed signals regarding their hiatus. "We all decided, 'Ok, six months. We need it. We need the vacation time, we need the downtime,'" Bass said. Fatone added that after Timberlake "did his thing," the group would return back to the studio. "And then it was like, nope. The record company wanted to push Justin, I guess is what it was," he continued.

But for JC Chasez, his feelings regarding the breakup was similar to Justin Timberlake's. "For us, it happened organically. After you do something for a certain amount of time, you get into a rhythm of it and then new things spark your curiosity," he told the news outlet.

While each group member seems to have different outlooks regarding their breakup, the band has remained friendly and supportive of one another. In 2013, the "Pop" hitmakers took to the stage to perform a medley of their hits at the 2013 Video Music Awards. A few years after their one-off performance, the band reunited to receive their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2018. That would be the last time all five members would officially come together. The group also reunited at Coachella, sans Timberlake, in 2019 during Ariana Grande's set. Even though NSYNC'S pop life has faded out, band's music will always take fans on ride.