NSYNC bandmates Lance Bass and Chris Kirkpatrick detailed their take on the process of Justin Timberlake's transition to a solo career — and they were less than pleased.
The singers recalled exactly what happened, in addition to the moment they realized that the band may not be getting back together anytime soon.
In the Paramount+ documentary, 'Larger Than Life: Reign of the Boybands,' Bass and Kirkpatrick gave fans details behind their emotional breakup following their Celebrity Tour back in 2002 — the last time they'd grace the stage as a team.
"2002 was our last tour. Justin was going to start his solo album which we were super supportive of. I thought that was a great idea," Bass, 45, recalled.
"The label told us, 'Look, come back in six months,' and we were supposed to go right into the next album. And that just never happened," he added. It seems Timberlake, 43, was a bit tied up following the success of his debut album, 'Justified,' which featured fan-favorites including, "Cry Me a River" (2002) and "Rock Your Body" (2003).
Bass stated that NSYNC gradually "phased out without any fanfare at all, no goodbye. We just never got back together."
"It was hard," Kirkpatrick chimed in. "There was a lot of animosity at first. There was a lot of anger, there was a lot of resentment. I remember thinking, 'Are we ever getting back together again?'"
Read more: Chanel Maya Banks, Missing 'Gossip Girl' Actress, Found Safe After Vanishing For Weeks
That said, it seems their manager at the time, Johnny Wright, added a bit of understanding to the heartbreaking situation, acknowledging the importance of the opportunity that Timberlake had.
"From Justin's standpoint, when he's got the No. 1 album in the country and he's got offers to tour the world, it's like, how do you come back to that?" Wright asked in the documentary. "'I've got to fulfill this. It's not that I'm saying goodbye, I just can't stop this,'" he said of Timberlake.
The bandmates seemingly understood the perspective, however, they admitted that things could have been handled differently. "Business-wise, I get that. Justin has the most talent in the world and we wanted to give him that respect," Bass said. "But, tell us that."
The boy band, who has been nominated for eight Grammy Awards, performed at the Super Bowl, sang the national anthem at the Olympic Games and World Series, and completed five nationwide tours. With over 70 million records sold, they became one of the best-selling boy bands of all time.
You can watch the Paramount+ documentary, 'Larger Than Life: Reign of the Boybands,' here.
--- Originally published in Enstarz
