The meme stems from NSYNC's 2000 smash hit "It's Gonna Be Me." When singing the titular line in the song, Justin Timberlake annunciates the word "me" as "May." According to a 2016 article from E!

The recently reunited pop group appeared on Hot Ones and clarified why band member Justin Timberlake sings “me” in a way that sounds like “may” on their 2000 hit “It’s Gonna Be Me ...

Use of the nerd emoji in this manner began in 2019 when a 3D animated version of the emoji appeared on stock image sites like Shutterstock. It evolved into a meme in ... s making me feel sad ...

Let me explain: In the summer of 2022 ... claiming that Cohen misled investors by using the emoji the way meme-stock types sometimes do—to suggest that the stock was going “to the moon.” ...