Nick Carter Talks Collaborating With Britney Spears and Secret Project With *NSYNC's Lance Bass (Exclusive)

ET also spoke with the Backstreet Boy about his participation in the latest season of 'The Masked Singer' and coming in third place.

Nick Carter is finishing off 2020 with many highs! While the Backstreet Boys were forced to postpone their DNA World Tour earlier this year, the 40-year-old singer still got to perform on stage for thousands of viewers -- even if it was all in disguise.

Carter, dressed as The Crocodile, finished in third place on the latest season of The Masked Singer, and couldn't have been happier to keep putting on a show. He, along with the rest of BSB, also released an unexpected collaboration with Britney Spears, titled "Matches," this month.

"I’d like to say that when I did 'Toxic' on Masked Singer, that was in honor of Britney," Carter told ET’s Deidre Behar about one of his most memorable performances. "I tried to do my best female voice to throw judges off and mix in some dance moves emulating her. And maybe, it's a possibility she watched and was inspired. And right after, the song came out."

The Backstreet Boys and Spears were label mates on Jive Records for many years, with Carter saying they "crossed paths many times."

"We like to say it was us, Britney and *NSYNC who broke down the door with '90s pop music," he noted, adding that they didn't get to record "Matches" in the studio together with Spears.

As for whether there could be a possible performance between the artists in the future, he said, "Yeah, it would be really cool! So many things can happen."

"First and foremost, acknowledging the whole world is in a healing mode phase and we all wanna get to that light at the end of the tunnel, trying to do the right things to protect one another," he continued. "But once that all clears, you could do a music video, all these things still can happen."

Back in September, Carter also teased a project with *NSYNC's Lance Bass. The two have yet to share an update on what's in the works until now.

"We had this idea of something that [we're] not giving it out quite yet, but with everything that's been going on…We've been playing phone tag," he shared. "All I can say is it's in the realm of what we said, a collaboration, and that's all I'm gonna say right now. But we're still talking."  

"The time frame is probably January, maybe, to have an announcement," he continued. "I see on the horizon a lot of really big things happening in January, around my birthday month."

When asked if he could describe their collaboration in three words, he teased, "Exciting, diverse and I guess you could say liberating."

Carter, meanwhile, enjoyed participating on The Masked Singer and getting to share the stage with many other talented artists.

"I was just grateful to be amongst just the most incredibly talented people, Aloe Blacc and LeAnne Rimes, Tori Kelly," he expressed, before diving into the reason why he did the show. "It really was all about my kids...I have two kids who watch the show and [loved] seeing Daddy -- didn't tell them I was doing it -- [but] loving the costumes, pink Croc, the stories, the songs. I wanted to do the show at a time when everyone is craving entertainment and release during quarantine. If I could lift up somebody a little, give them a little joy, I wanted to be a part of that story."

Carter also explained how, even though he wore a mask, being on stage was "liberating and freeing."

"I was just so honored to be able to perform in some way or another, especially at a time right now when we were just on our DNA tour, selling out arenas every night," he reminisced. "And obviously everything happened and we had to do the right thing and lay low, but to have the opportunity to perform one way or another [was great]."

As the year wraps up, Carter is grateful for the many opportunities that came during this topsy turvy year. He even released a new solo single titled "80's Movie" this week.

"I have thankfully had so many incredible experiences from a career standpoint and very grateful and thankful to just be here after 28 years," he expressed. "I haven't had this much time [off] since I started with the boys. We've always been on tours. We've always been releasing albums, going and going. And the families would have to come on the road with us…But now I'm home and I'm 100%, like, 1,000%, dad right now...Watching them grow in real time, honestly, I'm achieving the bucket list in real time right now."

The Masked Singer returns to Fox in 2021.

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