Exploring the Hilarious Justin Timberlake ‘May’ Meme: Why it’s taking over Social Media
3 min read
From Jive Records
An online meme featuring Justin Timberlake goes viral every April. Several social media platforms have become part of this pre-May ritual, including Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and others. Every year, people wonder what the meme “It’s gonna be May” means, and this year is no exception. The majority of the memes feature Timberlake as a young man singing NSYNC’s It’s Gonna Be Me. Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, Lance Bass, Joey Fatone, and Chris Kirkpatrick comprised the band. In March 2012, a Tumblr blog shared an image of a calendar that opened to April, with a picture of Justin attached, along with the caption “It’s Gonna Be May,” which became a viral meme.
Today is the last day of April which means tomorrow, it's gonna be May! Unfortunately, it's going to be a struggle to reach 50 degrees here in central Indiana on Monday. @WISH_TV pic.twitter.com/bpCQpRoWRC
— Ryan Morse (@RyanMorseWx) April 30, 2023
The Timberlake meme has become a staple of the internet culture, and people share memes and GIFs of Timberlake with the famous caption every April. Over the years, the joke has become so popular that it reached the artist as well. During the 2020 pandemic, the singer himself shared the meme. In 2014, he uploaded a picture of himself wearing a face mask and captioned it, “It’s Gonna Be May.” The same image was also shared by other celebrities and former President Obama.
Boss: "Don't post it, the Justin Timberlake meme has nothing to do with Web3" 🤨
— BNB Chain (@BNBCHAIN) April 30, 2023
May: pic.twitter.com/qvR8N7eQPg
In The Wake Of Justin Timberlake’s May Joke Trending On Social Media Platforms, We Explore The Meaning Behind It
Justin Timberlake memes go viral online every year during the month of April. Social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and several others have adopted this ritual in anticipation of May. Everyone is wondering what the “It’s gonna be May” meme means now that it’s back once again. In most memes, Timberlake is seen with lyrics from the 2000 NSYNC song, It’s Gonna Be Me. This band consisted of Lance Bass, Joey Fatone, Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, and Chris Kirkpatrick. As the meme emerged in 2000, users began sharing Timberlake’s picture saying “It’s Gonna Be May,” because, in the song, he pronounces “me” as may. Know Your Meme reports that the viral meme was first seen on a Tumblr blog in March 2012, when Justin appeared alongside a calendar and a caption reading It’s Gonna Be May. GIFs aren’t the only thing people share; short 5-second clips of Justin Timberlake are also common. It’s gonna be me.
Every April, people share memes and GIFs of Timberlake with the famous caption, as the meme has become a staple of internet culture. In recent years, the joke has become so popular that it has reached the artist as well. It was shared by the singer himself during the pandemic in 2020. In the caption, he used a picture of himself wearing a face mask and wrote, “It’s Gonna Be May.”. Thank you, Internet. His pronunciation of “me” appeared to be a pun in an interview with a reporter in 2016. He was asked to explain why he was pronouncing it as “may.” In response, he claimed that the song’s co-writer instructed him to perform the line in that manner. He probably wanted me to sound like I was from Tennessee. Apart from Justin, several celebrities, including former President Barack Obama, uploaded a photo with the same statement in 2014. The song has become immensely successful, with over 177 million views on YouTube over the previous 13 years.
Justin Timberlake awakening from hibernation to let us know if there's gonna be 31 days of May… pic.twitter.com/DzQJGiSPoP
— Sarah Ainslee (THAT WASN’T IN THE SCRIPT OUT NOW) (@sarahisawriter) April 30, 2023
Justin Timberlake #May memes are sooo old. Can we please retire them? pic.twitter.com/XUbFHZxZVG
— Carol Vazquez (@Songbird1172) May 1, 2023
It's Gonna be may 😂😂😂
— Tiago Pereira (@Tiagupereira) May 1, 2023
Happy Justin Timberlake Day!@jtimberlake @NSYNC
#Maio #diadotrabalho #JUSTIN #DiaDelTrabajador pic.twitter.com/fb0c0CiI0S
Spring Summer 2020. Thanks for this, Internet. pic.twitter.com/I3mdWPTjiN
— Justin Timberlake (@jtimberlake) May 1, 2020
