Flashback Review: NSYNC - It's Gonna Be Me
Year Released: 2000
Yes, absolute sacrilege, reviewing this song in August instead of May (I mean, they even put it in the official video title!), but the song got stuck in my head, and I don't need a better reason than that.
'90s western pop was a strange era for sure. Boy bands and girl groups were all the rage, pop took R&B influences and grew to be highly commercialized, leading to the birth of grunge rock spreading across the world (if you haven't heard of it, give Cranberries' Zombie a listen ASAP, it is considered one of the greatest rock songs of all time for a reason). NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys dominated the boy bands of this era, competing with their female rivals in the Spice Girls and a young Britney Spears, and the grunge of Nirvana. Along with the 2000s pop-punk revival, '90s pop has been gaining some momentum, and while far from the best example, I think It's Gonna Be Me is a perfect example of what made the genre so successful.
(Yes, I know the song was released in 2000, but it still is conceptually a '90s pop-R&B song in its styling)
A week ago, I mentioned my "Acoustic Melody Test", if a song can stand an acoustic instrumental of the main melody. So much of '90s pop was created simply to ace this test. There is hardly anything remarkable or revolutionary in It's Gonna Be Me, but the melody has aged like fine wine. The hooks are catchy and memorable, without ever reaching the level of cringe associated with boy bands by many. At the same time, there is just enough heart in the melody for nostalgia and emotion to grow over time.
This '90s rise in melody is attributable to the Swedish songwriter invasion. Future producing legend Max Martin was associated with this song, along with equally legendary Andreas Carlsson and Rami Youcab. Seriously, if you are bored, browse Wikipedia to see which songs were written by them, you all will be quite shocked with at least one song each, I can almost guarantee that!
It also is useful to contextualize It's Gonna Be Me based on what came before it. Its accompanying album, No Strings Attached, already had a massively successful single in Bye Bye Bye. It's Gonna Be Me acts as a counterpoint to the gritty breakup of the aforementioned single, as a calmer, pop-leaning love song.
Everything about It's Gonna Be Me is perfectly calibrated for maximum pop satisfaction. This leaves little room for experimentation and energy. Thankfully, the singing provides some additional personality. The song is basically a duo between a then-respected and loved Justin Timberlake and JC Chasez, who, when combined, sing 88.4% of the song themselves. JC's little "Just tell me why" in the second verse, but easily the most iconic line would be Justin's "It's gonna be MAY", which has went on the secure internet virality like few other song moments. It certainly is quite deserved, as It's Gonna Be Me holds strong twenty-two years later.
Rating: 9/10
Purchase NSYNC's It's Gonna Be Me, and its accompanying album No Strings Attached, right here!
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