Super Bowl in Tampa: Joey Fatone Looks Back at *NSYNC's Epic Performance 20 Years Later (Exclusive)

The boy band performed with Britney Spears, Nelly, Mary J. Blige and Aerosmith at the Super Bowl 20 years ago.

Joey Fatone remembers Super Bowl XXXV in Tampa, Florida, for many reasons. Twenty years ago, Fatone and the other members of *NSYNC shared the stage with Aerosmith, Nelly, Mary J. Blige and Britney Spears for a historic halftime show. 

Two decades later, Fatone, who has since gotten rid of his frosted tips, shared with ET's Kevin Frazier a story from that time that many fans have probably never heard before. In 2001, Super Bowl Sunday fell on Fatone's 24th birthday, and he received the best gift ever from Aerosmith. 

"That was iconic for me because I got one of the signed guitars from Joe Perry and the whole Aerosmith signed it for me," the 43-year-old singer recalled. "That's a bit about my career right there."

Britney Spears shares the mic with Aerosmith's Steven Tyler at the 2001 Super Bowl halftime show in Tampa, Florida. - KMazur/WireImage
Chris Kirkpatrick, Mary Blige, Justin Timberlake, Steven Tyler and Britney Spears performing at the 2001 Super Bowl in Tampa, Florida. - Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
*NSYNC's Joey Fatone performing at 2001 Super Bowl halftime show in Tampa, Florida. - KMazur/WireImage

Fatone also had some advice for The Weeknd as he gears up to perform at Tampa's Raymond James Stadium for what will also surely be an unforgettable show. 

"What I would say to The Weeknd is enjoy and embrace the performance because it goes by so fast," he noted. "It really does. It's one of those things of like you're in a rush. The adrenaline is kicking in. It's like you got to pull yourself out of it to go, 'OK, this is what I’m here to do. Let's have some fun with it.'"

Fatone continued, "People get so tied up with what needs to happen or what needs to go on. Things happen, let it go, man. It's a celebration."

As for the fans at home that will be having significantly smaller Super Bowl parties due to the coronavirus pandemic, Fatone has teamed up with Heluva Good! dip to help one lucky snacker find their "virtual snacking buddy" come game time.

Super Bowl LV airs live on CBS and Paramount+ on Sunday, Feb. 7. Kickoff is at 6:30 p.m. ET. Additionally, you can also stream the game for free on CBSSports.com and on the CBS Sports app on your mobile device. In the meantime, stay tuned right here to ETonline.com for more exclusive Super Bowl coverage coming your way before game day!

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