Joey Fatone and Lance Bass Reflect on *NSYNC Days In The 2000s: 'It Was The Most Eclectic Time in Pop Music'

Back when *NSYNC reigned in the early 2000s, pop music was having a renaissance. Just ask Lance Bass.

"It was such a great time in pop music," says Bass on the latest episode of the PEOPLE Every Day podcast hosted by Janine Rubenstein. In the interview he and bandmate Joey Fatone open up about their boy band days and how the music industry has evolved over time.

Along with acts like Destiny's Child, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, *NSYNC ruled the radio back then with hit singles such as "Bye Bye Bye", "It's Gonna Be Me" and "Gone". Fatone, 44, and Bass, 42 —who have teamed up to celebrate KIDZ BOP's 20th anniversary with a new viral TikTok challenge and giveaway inspired by "Bye Bye Bye" being on the inaugural KIDZ BOP album— explains it wasn't customary for artists or genres to cross pollinate in those days. "We were all kind of in groups, in sections. You didn't go over and cross over to the rap section," Fatone says.

Although Bass says that era was "the most eclectic time in pop music", he admits collaborations were not standard practice. "We would be lucky to have one on an album." Fatone adds, "It was like, you didn't talk to Eminem. No, no, no because he's a rapper."

Two decades later, Bass is seeing changes as joint efforts are seen left and right across the board. "These days, it's all about collaborations. I can't name one song that doesn't have a collab on it."

Listen to Joey Fatone's and Lance Bass' interview below and check out more episodes of PEOPLE Every Day, airing on iHeartMedia, Apple podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Amazon Music or wherever you listen to your podcasts.