# "It's Gonna Be May" "It's Gonna Be May" is a mondegreen meme built around Justin Timberlake's pronunciation of the word "me" in the NSYNC song "It's Gonna Be Me," which sounds like "May." Starting on Tumblr in January 2012, the misheard lyric turned into a yearly countdown to April 30th, spawning image macros, calendar edits, and even a full Maytag ad campaign years later. ## Origin The mondegreen comes from NSYNC's "It's Gonna Be Me," released on June 13, 2000, as the second single from No Strings Attached. The official music video was uploaded to the NSYNCVEVO YouTube channel on October 24, 2009, and passed 20 million views by 2014[3]. On January 29, 2012, Tumblr user amyricha posted a picture of Justin Timberlake with the caption "It's gonna be May," pointing out that his pronunciation of "me" sounded like the month[4]. - **Platform:** Tumblr - **Creator:** amyricha (Tumblr) - **Date:** 2012 ## Overview "It's Gonna Be May" centers on a still of Justin Timberlake, usually caught mid-vocal, paired with the caption "It's Gonna Be May" over his mouth[1]. Common formats include calendar edits with Timberlake taped over April 30th, side-by-side clips of the lyric versus what fans hear, and image macros used as a countdown to the month[2]. The joke works because Timberlake's staccato delivery on the word "me" sounds like "May," turning a pop song from 2000 into a yearly countdown gag[1]. A subtler variant appears in late April when users post the phrase "So About Tomorrow" alongside a Timberlake picture[4]. Fans keep the format alive by posting the same joke every year in the final week of April. ## How It Spread The joke picked up on March 15, 2012, when the Nairobi-blue Tumblr posted a photo of a calendar turned to April with Timberlake taped over the last day, and BuzzFeed reposted the image within 24 hours[4]. YouTubers began cutting clips of Timberlake singing the title as their own countdown edits later that same month, and the joke settled into an annual ritual on Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook every April 30th. In April 2019, Maytag built an ad campaign directly on the format, replacing Timberlake with a Maytag Man singing "It's Gonna Be Maytag" and pushing the hashtag #itsgonnabemaytag[2]. Lance Bass of NSYNC tweeted an image of the Maytag Man in the classic meme layout, and the Daily Dot covered the campaign as a rare case of a brand using a meme without dulling it[2]. CNN also ran a segment tied to the annual joke around this window[6]. On April 30, 2020, NSYNC updated the title of "It's Gonna Be Me" on Spotify and Apple Music to include the phrase "It's Gonna Be May," temporarily rebranding the song across streaming services[1]. TikTok picked up the format later, with users like @chandrajordan4 posting Timberlake image macros around April 30, 2023[5]. The song still spikes in plays every April 30th on streaming services[1]. ## How to Use The template is simple. People typically pair a still of Justin Timberlake mid-lyric with the caption "It's Gonna Be May" in bold text[1]. A common variation swaps in a calendar photo with Timberlake taped over April 30th[2]. Timing is the whole joke, so posts land in the last week of April, usually peaking on the 30th itself. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is "It's Gonna Be May"? A mondegreen meme built around Justin Timberlake's pronunciation of "me" in the NSYNC song "It's Gonna Be Me," which sounds like "May"[1]. It appears as image macros of Timberlake shared in late April every year[2]. ### Where did "It's Gonna Be May" come from? Tumblr user amyricha posted the first known image with the caption on January 29, 2012, joking about Timberlake's vocal delivery[4]. The song itself was released in June 2000. ### What does "It's Gonna Be May" mean? It plays on the fact that Timberlake sings the word "me" like "May," turning the NSYNC track into an unofficial countdown to April 30th[1]. ### How do you use "It's Gonna Be May"? Post a picture of Justin Timberlake with the caption "It's Gonna Be May" in the last week of April[2]. A subtler version pairs a Timberlake image with the phrase "So About Tomorrow" near April 29th[4]. ### Is "It's Gonna Be May" still popular? Yes. Streaming plays of the song spike every April 30th[1], and brands like Maytag have built full ad campaigns on the joke[2]. ## References 1. [https://www.theverge.com/tldr/2020/4/30/21243072/nsync-its-gonna-be-may-me-meme-twitter-spotify-apple-music]() 2. [https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/its-gonna-be-maytag-meme/]() 3. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQMlWwIXg3M]() 4. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/its-gonna-be-may]() 5. [https://www.tiktok.com/@chandrajordan4/video/7227891065062182187]() 6. [https://edition.cnn.com/videos/entertainment/2018/05/01/nsync-hollywood-star-its-gonna-be-may-day-orig.cnn]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/its-gonna-be-may Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library