"It was one of those songs where, it felt a little more personal to me, because I had written it for the biggest artist of all time. I guess Michael did hear it, and called me on the phone and said that he wanted to cut the record, but he wanted it to be a duet between himself and I. And I said, 'Well, it's already out, we've already cut the song as an 'N Sync record ... could we do, like, an 'N Sync featuring Michael Jackson, or Michael Jackson featuring 'N Sync?' And he was very absolute about the fact that he wanted it to be a duet between himself and I. I think it's the first idea that I ever got about doing something on my own because it was the first time I ever really felt the confidence to do it."Since then, JT has released three chart-topping Grammy award-winning albums - 'Justified' in 2002, 'Future Sex/LoveSounds' in 2006 and 'The 20/20 Experience' in 2013. However, N-Sync member Lance Bass contradicts these claims and says he's never heard this story before. Apparently, all this time he assumed it was P. Diddy who caused the band to split up because he overheard the rap mogul telling JT to go solo.
With or without Michael or Diddy's counsel, JT would have went solo regardless. It was always in the cards as is the case with most lead singers of a popular band. I just wish JC had the success because he was the better singer by far and he was more likable. JT had the overall pop package, with top producers giving him their best work so he was never destined to fail. Anyway, JT kicks off the new season of Oprah's Master Class on May 11th at 10PM on OWN.